MF YYC Politics - there, I mega did it

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by FormerPresJamesTaylor

But it's the only colour it comes in! They can't paint them!

And in one page we've went from people complaining about city vehicles costing to much, to people saying they wish we spent thousands of dollars more so we could have them a different colour. It just doesn't matter what we do, people will be upset regardless.

And for the record I think the best looking police cars are Saskatoon, if we could do something similar here but with more red, because Calgary, that'd be awesome.

[81MC]

No way. Regardless of your opinion on policing, Calgary patrol cars are objectively the best looking police vehicle. I think they knocked it out of the park there.

[PepsiFree]

Objectively the best looking police vehicles are obnoxious looking European ones, because it’s not about looking cool, it’s about blatantly looking like an emergency services vehicle. Calgary loses hard.

I’m also still not sure (though thanks for the explanation btimbit) why we can’t use something like Hyundais while they’re being used across the ocean and are one of the most popular consumer brands here. Maybe the police requirements here are the issue, not the cars?

To pull it back on topic, at least, that’d be a pretty monumental increase in fuel efficiency. Especially using a Hyundai EV.

[btimbit]

I can kind of answer that anecdotally too

A few years ago when the push to see what parts of the fleet we could downsize was really at it's peak, myself and a few others were given the task to see if we could make a Ford Escape work for my job. After going over what we needed in the vehicle, fleet eventually came back to us with a car that was already at 90% of it's gross registered weight before I even loaded any of my gear, let alone my fat ass, into the thing.

It was back to Ford 3 times in 3 months. Brake problems from hard stopping at full weight, cooling problems from running in harsh conditions for 12 hours straight, a weird AC thing where the compressor somehow rusted in place (Can't say that one's job related, just, come on Ford) and it didn't take much longer before we said screw the whole thing and I got my truck back

Can't speak for CPS but I know EMS had similar experiences when they thought they'd get clever and replace their Papa unit Tahoe's with Caravans. That was a trainwreck

It's payload that matters to all Emergency Services, not just physical size


Just go EV, anything else in the next 5 years is silly

[Slava]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Objectively the best looking police vehicles are obnoxious looking European ones, because it’s not about looking cool, it’s about blatantly looking like an emergency services vehicle. Calgary loses hard.

I’m also still not sure (though thanks for the explanation btimbit) why we can’t use something like Hyundais while they’re being used across the ocean and are one of the most popular consumer brands here. Maybe the police requirements here are the issue, not the cars?

To pull it back on topic, at least, that’d be a pretty monumental increase in fuel efficiency. Especially using a Hyundai EV.

Is it feasible to use an EV for an emergency vehicle at this point? Seems like the potential range issues would be a concern?

[btimbit]

And sorry, one last thought on the black cars before we truly move on;

The city has been trying to save $ by minimizing fleet markings city-wide, it's not just the police that have done it.

Just look at something as simple as a Parks, or a Traffic truck. 10 years ago they had multiple red stripes, business unit decals on each side and the rear, unit numbers in about 5 different places, three different City Logos each in three spots including that big city Coat of Arms, with several seperate decals for stuff like 'call 311' and other random info

Now it's just single red stripe, single new simplified version of the Calgary - call 311 decal on the door, unit # in three spots, that's it.

[Fuzz]

They might be out of sight, out of mind once they're flushed down the toilet, but single-use wipes are causing a headache for Calgary wastewater crews.

"For the wastewater treatment plants and just even our our collection system, they are becoming more and more of a problem," says Marissa Mitton, leader of the city's Wastewater Operations and Maintenance department.

The wipes, along with a whole host of other items not meant to be sent down the toilet or the sink, cause sewer backups in homes and businesses and clog pipes along city streets.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...508884?cmp=rss


First, eww, gross. Second, stop flushing unflushables, people! Costing me tax dollars.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...508884?cmp=rss


First, eww, gross. Second, stop flushing unflushables, people! Costing me tax dollars.

Get a $99 tushy and stop smearing #### all over your butt like a savage. Problem solved.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I can kind of answer that anecdotally too

A few years ago when the push to see what parts of the fleet we could downsize was really at it's peak, myself and a few others were given the task to see if we could make a Ford Escape work for my job. After going over what we needed in the vehicle, fleet eventually came back to us with a car that was already at 90% of it's gross registered weight before I even loaded any of my gear, let alone my fat ass, into the thing.

It was back to Ford 3 times in 3 months. Brake problems from hard stopping at full weight, cooling problems from running in harsh conditions for 12 hours straight, a weird AC thing where the compressor somehow rusted in place (Can't say that one's job related, just, come on Ford) and it didn't take much longer before we said screw the whole thing and I got my truck back

Can't speak for CPS but I know EMS had similar experiences when they thought they'd get clever and replace their Papa unit Tahoe's with Caravans. That was a trainwreck

It's payload that matters to all Emergency Services, not just physical size


Just go EV, anything else in the next 5 years is silly

Do you know why we need so much more #### in our vehicles than Europeans do?

Not that I'm questioning that we do, just trying to wrap my head around why the vehicle requirements are so different.

Originally Posted by Slava

Is it feasible to use an EV for an emergency vehicle at this point? Seems like the potential range issues would be a concern?

Probably in some cases and not for others. The IONIQ 5 gets over 450km, which seems like it would be more than plenty for a patrol car.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Do you know why we need so much more #### in our vehicles than Europeans do?

Not that I'm questioning that we do, just trying to wrap my head around why the vehicle requirements are so different.

The militarization of our police forces might have something to do with it.

[btimbit]

In North America we tend to have more of a jack of all trades approach to emergency services. We take the approach of having every unit able to handle as much as possible, rather than a bunch of specialized vehicles.

For EMS, for example, most European countries will have several tiers of units unlike Alberta where everyone is simple either a PCP or ACP. Other than our Papa units, our ambulances have everything they need for any situation, whereas in Germany for example, you might have to call in several different specialist units that only carry what they need for a specific role. Life support units, mobile doctor cars, transport units, even specialized SUV's that act as an emergency pediatrician unit specifically for incidents involving kids

UK cops, for example, you have a few basic levels of police cars. Incident Response Vehicles, your average beat cop patroller is usually a small car with not much more than some traffic cones and a radio in it.

Armed Response Vehicles, bigger cars or SUV's that carry way more equipment for higher risk situations

Road Patrol Units, are usually bigger, faster, specialized vehicles that are pursuit-rated and carry heavy traffic equipment and usually stuff like ANPR.

In a lot of European countries police can't even transport criminals themselves, they call in a transport van for every person they arrest

In North America, for the most part, a regular police car encompasses all of the above, they want to be able to handle any tasks rather than call in and wait for specialized assistance

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

The militarization of our police forces might have something to do with it.

Yaah, 5lb C8 in the trunk or behind the seat sure moves the needle

[timun]

Originally Posted by btimbit

In a lot of European countries police can't even transport criminals themselves, they call in a transport van for every person they arrest

In Calgary isn't this pretty much the de facto situation anyway? Not that I notice many arrests, but when I do see them it seems to me they wait for a paddywagon to show up.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by timun

In Calgary isn't this pretty much the de facto situation anyway? Not that I notice many arrests, but when I do see them it seems to me they wait for a paddywagon to show up.

Depends, if it's multiple suspects or maybe if their shift is ending. But I see people tossed into the back of regular units every night

[timun]

Maybe it's also a factor of I only ever see arrests downtown, where calling in a paddywagon is likely much quicker and easier than if it was in the far flung 'burbs.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by timun

Maybe it's also a factor of I only ever see arrests downtown, where calling in a paddywagon is likely much quicker and easier than if it was in the far flung 'burbs.

Actually now that you mention it, downtown could be a factor, since it's the only zone where the police station is out of it's own boundries


The fact that there hasn't been a police station downtown for a while now always struck me as odd

[bizaro86]

As long as the vehicles that spend all day parked giving out photo radar tickets are full size trucks and explorers there is no wall of text that can ever demonstrate that the city cares about spending its fleet dollars responsibly.

Because that role absolutely does not require a vehicle of that size/cost.

[btimbit]

Fleet commonality

If it makes you feel any better, they pay for themselves

edit: Sorry I kept that answer short, but I guess anything more than 3 paragraphs is just a wall of text. Guess you're one of the people we talked about in this thread the other day that just reads the headline and not the article?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Fleet commonality

If it makes you feel any better, they pay for themselves

edit: Sorry I kept that answer short, but I guess anything more than 3 paragraphs is just a wall of text. Guess you're one of the people we talked about in this thread the other day that just reads the headline and not the article?

The City has two types of quarter ton trucks and two types of SUVs in their standard fleet but there's no way anyone can use a sedan because of commonality?

https://www.calgary.ca/visual-identi...-services.html

[btimbit]

Not sure what to tell you, I gave you the answer, you didn't accept it. Shrug.

I'm sure they'd love to mount them on nice cheap steel poles if it was legal to do so