Ring Road To Nowhere

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Wait a minute... couldn't they simply add a mini-exit immediately after the Glenmore overpass bridge? That way you add a 2nd lane to the exit loop leading to TT south without needing to make any changes to the single-lane bridge. But there's probably a reason why it hasn't been considered. Just spitballing here.

Not exactly sure what you mean.

If the bridge leading up to the loop is still only one lane, then adding a second lane to the loop loses a majority of its effectiveness. It does appear the exit to southbound could be 2 lanes before merging into the single lane for the bridge would might help slightly.

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Sorry late to the thread. What part of the SW design is everyone upset about? Thanks.

Because of the nearby power station, the loop ramp from wesbound Glenmore to southbound Stoney has a very tight turning radius and traffic moves slowly to the degree that it's backing up onto westbound Glenmore allegedly all the way to 37 St, compounded by a confusing lane configuration approaching the entire interchange.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Acey

Not exactly sure what you mean.

If the bridge leading up to the loop is still only one lane, then adding a second lane to the loop loses a majority of its effectiveness. It does appear the exit to southbound could be 2 lanes before merging into the single lane for the bridge would might help slightly.



Because of the nearby power station, the loop ramp from wesbound Glenmore to southbound Stoney has a very tight turning radius and traffic moves slowly to the degree that it's backing up onto westbound Glenmore allegedly all the way to 37 St, compounded by a confusing lane configuration approaching the entire interchange.

It's completely unacceptable. So bad.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by jayswin

It's completely unacceptable. So bad.

But we can’t be mean to the engineers. They tried their best.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Technically not part of the ring road but part of the project and a topic of discussion here recently. Speed limit of WB TCH has been raised to 110 now, just as you leave the City. Used to be 80 all the way to Old Banff Coach Road.

Only speeding ticket I've ever gotten. Going 91 on a road clearly built for 100+ speeds.

Not exactly sure what you mean.

If the bridge leading up to the loop is still only one lane, then adding a second lane to the loop loses a majority of its effectiveness. It does appear the exit to southbound could be 2 lanes before merging into the single lane for the bridge would might help slightly.

The right lane of Glenmore right after crossing the TT bridge, there is a very short section where an exit could be put to allow a lane of cars to enter the loop that goes to SB TT. The initial lane coming from the one-lane bridge could be tightened slightly to allow room for the new outer lane. The result being two lanes looping into TT south instead of just one. Put a speed limit on the loops to ensure safety. Ban those huge trailer trucks from using the outer lane.

And there would be no point in forcing the two loop lanes to merge into one before entering the highway, or you've just recreated the bottleneck and defeated the purpose of the whole thing. Each lane must be its own added lane to the highway. Since SB traffic from Sarcee is already calmed by the Richmond Road intersection, it likely wouldn't be an issue to force them into the left lane temporarily for that one small section.

Kinda hard to explain without pictures/illustrations...

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Kinda hard to explain without pictures/illustrations...

I did figure out what you mean and it's actually not a bad idea, just breaks a lot of design rules and would make signage even more confusing than it already is.

Originally Posted by rohara66

But we can’t be mean to the engineers. They tried their best.

It's not a matter of being mean, it's a matter of just trying to understand why the people who know a lot more about building roads than any of you built it the way they did, instead of just saying it sucks.

[ken0042]

I think they under estimated the traffic flow. Myself living in Copperfield- I find I often take that route home as it's the same time or faster than going EB Glenmore to Deerfoot/ Barlow. Also being free flowing it is typically an easier ride.

Or at least it was free flowing until recent months.

My guess is they didn't account for people preferring to take a longer loop around a part of the city as opposed to being stuck in traffic going through it.

[Titan2]

Originally Posted by red sky

Well Apple was actually updated before it opened by a few days, which I think explained why I saw more people doing u-turns.

Edit: looks like Google maps is directing me to 69th street, heading east off of Highway 8 to circle back to get on to the ring road. So not perfect yet.

Nice.

You know what they have on 69th Street, eh, eh?

[TorqueDog]

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I f-cking LOVE the fact that some of the street lights on Highway 1 and Stoney have turned blue. Driving through them feels so nice.

I experienced them for the first time driving to and from Winnipeg this past week. I say make all of them that colour.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Potentially unpopular opinion, but I f-cking LOVE the fact that some of the street lights on Highway 1 and Stoney have turned blue. Driving through them feels so nice.

I experienced them for the first time driving to and from Winnipeg this past week. I say make all of them that colour.

Yep, love it, too. There's some down near Seton on Deerfoot and it feels so cool driving through there at night.

[Weitz]

They may be cool but I don’t feel like they actually light up the area well. And with the ####ty drivers everywhere it’s a bit concerning.

[TorqueDog]

They definitely don't do nearly as good of a job as properly functioning lights would, that I'd agree, but you get a good song with the right vibe playing while cruising through those things, your drive instantly gets better for those several seconds you're cruising through.

Woke Up This Morning (Sunset Mix) by Alabama 3 was playing on my Spotify radio and the blue lights came up at just the right moment.

[Minnie]

Went for a drive on boxing day and have a question. On 22 south, right between the horrible Super 8 mansion monstrosity & the Hwy 8 roundabout, is a bunch of construction. Is this flood mitigation or are they realigning from Stoney over to 22S and ditching Hwy 8 in its current configuration?

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Went for a drive on boxing day and have a question. On 22 south, right between the horrible Super 8 mansion monstrosity & the Hwy 8 roundabout, is a bunch of construction. Is this flood mitigation or are they realigning from Stoney over to 22S and ditching Hwy 8 in its current configuration?

I'm pretty sure that I saw signage last time I was through there indicating it's part of the Springbank Dam project / flood mitigation.

"Super 8 mansion monstrosity" - flawless.

[Fuzz]

Super 8 Manstrosity.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by you&me

I'm pretty sure that I saw signage last time I was through there indicating it's part of the Springbank Dam project / flood mitigation.

"Super 8 mansion monstrosity" - flawless.

This is indeed the “dry dam” construction. I suppose they may be going improve 22 at the same time.

[2ArmBands]

Have driven the new ring road a few times now from SE Calgary to HWY 1 WEST and its a real treat. Biggest asset is getting my kids to ice times in NW Calgary and getting out of the city. Not having to deal with Sarcee any more is a big big win.

Southbound on the ring road offers some incredible views of the mountains and I really enjoy coming down the hill northbound west of COP and the view it offers of NW Calgary.

I know not everyone is 100% satisfied but this is a game changer living in the SE.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by 2ArmBands

Have driven the new ring road a few times now from SE Calgary to HWY 1 WEST and its a real treat. Biggest asset is getting my kids to ice times in NW Calgary and getting out of the city. Not having to deal with Sarcee any more is a big big win.

Southbound on the ring road offers some incredible views of the mountains and I really enjoy coming down the hill northbound west of COP and the view it offers of NW Calgary.

I know not everyone is 100% satisfied but this is a game changer living in the SE.

Agree 100%.

What are the complaints?

[Coys1882]

Totally agree with this ^

I live in Cranston and the drive to my soccer game at Bearspaw was considerably quicker and easier than previously

You're also so right about that view of NW calgary lights coming down the COP hill - it was beautiful.

[TorqueDog]

I really gotta try driving this stretch now that I'm home from Christmas break.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

What are the complaints?

Not the newest leg, but there was some recent discussion in this thread about backups for WB Glenmore to SB Stoney.

I think that's natural though, and criticism is fine. It has been "when does this leg open?" for years and years, so people are naturally going to talk about their experiences, good and bad.