Ring Road To Nowhere

[sleepingmoose]

I do remember seeing that Highway 901 was earmarked as a potential new Trans Canada route some time ago - that attaches to 22X, which obviously will become Stoney in Calgary. So I guess it's possible to continue that along Highway 8 and 22.

[Acey]

I like when my Wikipedia maps make it to other parts of the internet.

I remember seeing that too, but now I can't seem to find any solid reference to a 901 freeway upgrade, though there are documents about twinning and upgrading 22X east of Calgary. This document talks about extending 22X east as a freeway to meet up with Trans-Canada after it bends left to pass north of Namaka Lake, It also cites potential environmental issues with building out 901. I see that 901 also cuts right through Siksika First Nation. Maybe we should stop building freeways right through First Nations land.

With the end actually in sight for southwest and west Stoney, I don't see why you need highways 8 and 22 at all, because southwest Stoney is going to be the last absurdly large freeway Alberta ever builds so you might as well use it as Trans-Canada if you feel the need to re-align. It could just turn south on Stoney at COP, follow it down to 22X, and then continue east on 22X and 901 to meet up at Gleichen. In my opinion the actual Trans-Canada alignment doesn't really matter, as long as you have a solid freeway bypass of Calgary, which we already have as of 2009 with Stoney NW and Stoney NE.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by zarrell

If that isn't the biggest waste of money on roads in this city, I don't know what is. They've been working on this for 5+ years and all we have to show is the same amount of lanes, no overpasses and a dedicated bus lane? Why even bother?

It was mostly utility work, not roadwork. That bus lane is pretty crazy though it's not hard to see why even that'd take some time

[Acey]

The new big flyover from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore opens at some point tomorrow morning. You'll no longer be able to access 37 St if going from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore. Until everything else opens, you'll have to use Richmond Rd to get over to 37 St.

Spoiler!

Link

[lazypucker]

Originally Posted by Acey

The new big flyover from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore opens at some point tomorrow morning. You'll no longer be able to access 37 St if going from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore. Until everything else opens, you'll have to use Richmond Rd to get over to 37 St.

That's great news. Last Saturday I spent more than half an hour just to get from Sarcee (south of Richmond Road) onto Glenmore East. Can't wait for Stoney to open from Sarcee to the South in a month...

[Acey]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

That's great news. Last Saturday I spent more than half an hour just to get from Sarcee (south of Richmond Road) onto Glenmore East. Can't wait for Stoney to open from Sarcee to the South in a month...

Yeah I was over there last Saturday but luckily was going the other way, WB to NB. I saw the massive backup all the way under the bridges back up to Richmond Road.

[powderjunkie]

Took a spin through the Glenmore/37th/Grey Eagle Blvd and around the reservoir tonight for the first time in a long while; a few random thoughts that are probably equally appropriate in the cycling thread, but all specific to this project:

1. New interchange is a lot nicer for cyclists/pedestrians than the previous iteration. Didn't hurt that I hit all 'walk' signals, but even with patchy pavement connections it was a lot better than the uphill curve with traffic circles on each side (where most drivers didn't seem to have the bandwidth to process pedestrians).

2. Lakeview folks have nothing to complain about. 37 st used to be a racetrack. Doesn't seem like this will add more than a minute or two.

3. I had heard there were plans to pave a MUP parallel to 37 St on the west side; no action yet, but hopefully that happens. This is still one of the worst connection points for the Rotary Greenway loop (see point 4).

4. Seeing the build out in person from down in the Weaslehead, I'm incredibly disappointed they didn't find a way to connect a MUP from the Weaslehead to the far east Discovery pathway near the wetlands. It's simple and obvious - I had emailed all of the relevant people with this question/suggestion, but to no avail.

It shouldn't be too hard to retrofit, especially if they include a sidewalk on 'Bridge 30'. I'll post an ugly paint mockup in a minute.

[powderjunkie]

Spoiler!

Purple line was an even better idea than the first red one I drew (but too lazy to delete/edit).

I'm also curious what the pedestrian situation will be on those sections within Tsuu Tina? Are they planning to build them out immediately, or will they be sidewalks to nowhere?

For that matter, are those roadways Tsuu Tina responsibility? Will they be build right away and accessible for all Calgarians? (Westhills Way to Tsuu Tina Parkway to Grey Eagle Blvd)

[Acey]

Seems like in the agreement Anderson might be the only place a crossing was negotiated. That Weaselhead Road is a private Tsuu T'ina road and likely why there's not a public sidewalk down the side of it. I think the rest of the roads there are to be built at their discretion, so sidewalks to nowhere could very well be happening there.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Sometimes but not always. The worst offenders are the ones who close the road themselves.

Anyway, whoever puts up the speed reduction sign should be accountable for it’s use. Seems like a simple concept.

They are.

Where there's issues is with temporary closures. The longer term ones are generally fine, but if someone needs a lane closed for a day, gets a permit for it to be closed 9-4, but then finishes at 1 and doesn't tell the city, they still won't come open it until 4 so a lane sits closed and empty for 3 hours

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Acey

Seems like in the agreement Anderson might be the only place a crossing was negotiated. That Weaselhead Road is a private Tsuu T'ina road and likely why there's not a public sidewalk down the side of it. I think the rest of the roads there are to be built at their discretion, so sidewalks to nowhere could very well be happening there.

The light blue square on my 2nd image is listed as 'Pedestrian Access Route' on the legend, and the purple lines running east/west from it seem to be nowhere to nowhere (though would naturally connect on either side).

I suppose it just gives them the option to tie it on or not if they so choose, but somebody must have asked for it somewhere along the line.

[the-rasta-masta]

I live in Valley Ridge, and it's pretty amazing watching the progress they are making on the Ring Road and the new bridge across the Bow. Should be a pretty good boost to property values in Valley Ridge and Crestmont in a few years when it opens, combined with the new mall complex they will begin construction on around the new climbing center when the ring road is complete. Biggest knock to the area is lack of amenities.

I was a little surprised to see them paving the road underneath the underpass by COP this past week. It's only been about 2 years since they opened that underpass, and it already needed to be re-paved?

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

I was a little surprised to see them paving the road underneath the underpass by COP this past week. It's only been about 2 years since they opened that underpass, and it already needed to be re-paved?

New construction roads will quite often have an initial pave, then a final pave to bring to grade a few years later. You'll notice this especially in the city where there are gutters, how the paving seems to be below the gutter lip by a few inches after construction appears to be done. One example is the ogden road/glenmore interchange which just received it's second pave.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Acey

The new big flyover from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore opens at some point tomorrow morning. You'll no longer be able to access 37 St if going from SB Sarcee to EB Glenmore. Until everything else opens, you'll have to use Richmond Rd to get over to 37 St.

The Crowchild North exit is going to get BUSY for the next little while from people turning back onto Glenmore West to get to 37th St after they realize they can't get to 37th from that ramp.

Is this a permanent change or temporary?

[Acey]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

The Crowchild North exit is going to get BUSY for the next little while from people turning back onto Glenmore West to get to 37th St after they realize they can't get to 37th from that ramp.



Is this a permanent change or temporary?

As of today you can still cut across the solid lines to get to 37 St. Once they're done the work in the median on Glenmore under 37th, which is days or maybe a couple weeks, you won't be able to.

I imagine people will quickly realize Richmond Rd to get over to 37 St is likely faster, and as aforementioned, doubling back on the new Westhills Way interchange will be fastest once everything opens.

[woob]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

I live in Valley Ridge, and it's pretty amazing watching the progress they are making on the Ring Road and the new bridge across the Bow. Should be a pretty good boost to property values in Valley Ridge and Crestmont in a few years when it opens, combined with the new mall complex they will begin construction on around the new climbing center when the ring road is complete. Biggest knock to the area is lack of amenities.

I was a little surprised to see them paving the road underneath the underpass by COP this past week. It's only been about 2 years since they opened that underpass, and it already needed to be re-paved?

I am loving driving through this area with my 4 year old son. It is literal non-stop excitement for him from when he sees the cranes in the distance (working on the new Bow River bridge) coming down the hill towards them. I often will try to go through there on purpose when we head out somewhere, even if it extends our outing by 10+ minutes.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

I live in Valley Ridge, and it's pretty amazing watching the progress they are making on the Ring Road and the new bridge across the Bow. Should be a pretty good boost to property values in Valley Ridge and Crestmont in a few years when it opens, combined with the new mall complex they will begin construction on around the new climbing center when the ring road is complete. Biggest knock to the area is lack of amenities.

I was a little surprised to see them paving the road underneath the underpass by COP this past week. It's only been about 2 years since they opened that underpass, and it already needed to be re-paved?

Any idea what stores are going into that new development?

[Acey]

The more I think about how things tend go in this city, this is what I foresee happening on EB Glenmore between Sarcee and 37 St.

1) CPS will be camping there nailing people cutting across the lines
2) CPS will ask the province to do something about it, and the province will say no because the road is built to spec
3) Calgary will pay for their own semi-permanent barrier, something like these:

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Any idea what stores are going into that new development?

You can find out more info about the development in the link below. They are the same developer that did the Deerfoot City update. I met with them a few years ago and they wanted to start this a while back, but Valley Ridge and Crestmont blocked the development from starting until the ring road could build out another access point, since the access to the development was originally planned to be through the Valley Ridge/Crestmont access, which the community was worried would create traffic problems since there is only one access point to both communities.

It doesn't look like they've released any tenants, but I remember at the time Loblaws City Market was going to be the grocery store in the development.

http://shapeproperties.com/leasing/#/calgary-west

[powderjunkie]

Is the high water level in the reservoir related to the RR construction at all? Seems oddly high this time of year? Or maybe it's normal that they top it up before the winter?