Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[Burninator]

What's the status on the 4 car ctrains? I know that all the upgrades to the platforms on the south line have been completed.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Burninator

What's the status on the 4 car ctrains? I know that all the upgrades to the platforms on the south line have been completed.

3 station upgrades are still being completed (Zoo, SAIT, Banff Trail). 4 car service will start next year.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Burninator

What's the status on the 4 car ctrains? I know that all the upgrades to the platforms on the south line have been completed.

They are still upgrading Banff Trail and SAIT.

I'm not sure if Lion Parks or University can accommodate 4 cars yet.

[Finger Cookin]

Upgrades for 4-car capacity are complete at Lions Park and University.

[calgarygeologist]

I asked this in Bunk's thread but I don't an answer was posted regarding how the 4-car trains will be handled going in and out of 7th Ave along the NW line. The NW line joining 7th Ave passes through two (possibly three) blocks where 4-cars trains could not stop (between 4&5 Ave and 5&6 Ave and possibly 6&7 Ave.) Currently, the 3-car trains sometimes stop along the tracks along those blocks as signals change. With the 4-car trains the management system will have to allow the trains uninterrupted access from 4 Ave onto 7 Ave and vice versa. Have Calgary Transit and the Traffic Management groups worked out a plan for this yet so that either trains don't get significantly backed up along the lines or traffic doesn't get backed up constantly waiting for trains to cross the roadways?

I potentially view the scenario as a logistical nightmare.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I asked this in Bunk's thread but I don't an answer was posted regarding how the 4-car trains will be handled going in and out of 7th Ave along the NW line. The NW line joining 7th Ave passes through two (possibly three) blocks where 4-cars trains could not stop (between 4&5 Ave and 5&6 Ave and possibly 6&7 Ave.) Currently, the 3-car trains sometimes stop along the tracks along those blocks as signals change. With the 4-car trains the management system will have to allow the trains uninterrupted access from 4 Ave onto 7 Ave and vice versa. Have Calgary Transit and the Traffic Management groups worked out a plan for this yet so that either trains don't get significantly backed up along the lines or traffic doesn't get backed up constantly waiting for trains to cross the roadways?

I potentially view the scenario as a logistical nightmare.

Trains up and down 9st rarely stopped before 2008 when the light timings were changed to favor vehicle traffic from 6th. I imagine they will need to be tweaked again.

[Ducay]

Trains often clog up 6th Ave WB because they go roughly 2kph around that bend as they're transitioning onto 7th Ave from the North, and often finish clearing the intersection when traffic turns green.

Can't wait to see how even sh*ttier 6th Ave becomes once 4cars start up.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Didn't the river crossing dictate that a large portion of south of 16th ave leg was going to be underground anyways?

If there's 1 section I do hope is underground - it's 16th and Center. That intersection does not need train delays to add to its current misery.

Sounds like the north line will not be going under the river and instead will have to use Center Street.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...956/story.html

LRTs should roll across the Centre Street Bridge in the future, because tunnelling a northbound CTrain line from Eau Claire would be too expensive, transit planners have decided.

It’s a reversal in thinking for Calgary Transit officials, who publicly showed preference in August for a train tunnel that bored underneath the Bow River and deep beneath Crescent Heights, emerging in the middle of Centre Street at 24th Avenue N. for its journey to Country Hills.

[SebC]

Considering what Calgary pays to other levels of government that we don't get back, it's ridiculous that we have to skimp like this.

[nik-]

adding CTrain traffic to the intersection of 16th and Center? ... yeehaw!

What a shame, we were that close to a real city's solution.

[Bill Bumface]

Adding LRT to the Centre Street Bridge? Ha! Maybe they can throw some nice rusty metal cantilevers on the edges of our nicest bridge to accommodate the extra right of way required.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by nik-

What a shame, we were that close to a real city's solution.

Going from the Bow to Beddington Blvd along Center Street is just over 8km. They should just put that whole section underground.

[#-3]

To me the biggest thing is not reducing the upper deck bridge to 1 lane and sharing it with the train. But The 16th and McKnight crossings, they just can't add more load to those intersections, they are too important to how the North part of the inner city works. It has to go over or under those.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by #-3

To me the biggest thing is not reducing the upper deck bridge to 1 lane and sharing it with the train. But The 16th and McKnight crossings, they just can't add more load to those intersections, they are too important to how the North part of the inner city works. It has to go over or under those.

They'll have to tunnel those intersections on the crossroads so they pass under Centre. Otherwise that is going to be a total disaster.

This really sucks

[The Yen Man]

Do it right or don't do it at all. Either tunnel it up centre street, or leave it as is and make do with buses. There is no way people are going to agree to adding more volume to the 16th and Mcknight intersections. It'll be like the clusterf we have on 36th ST NE, except even worse.

[craigwd]

Just make it an elevated SkyTrain like they have in Vancouver.

[Finger Cookin]

Regarding 16th Ave and McKnight, the linked article does conclude with the following:

Council will be asked to confirm a route for the LRT line in December. Lea’s team is keeping the tunnel option on the table for them to consider.

Either way, the city does plan to put the train beneath 16th Avenue and McKnight Boulevard to limit traffic tie-ups.

[Jimmy Stang]

The article mentions that there will eventually be two bus-only lanes on the Centre Street Bridge, and two lanes for traffic. Any idea when this is supposed to happen?

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

The article mentions that there will eventually be two bus-only lanes on the Centre Street Bridge, and two lanes for traffic. Any idea when this is supposed to happen?

I think they talked about making the "green" line a bus only right of way as soon as possible, from Quarry Park to Beddington. then adding the rails some time in the next 10 - 20 years.

So presumably where they plan on putting the tracks, they will either kick commuters off those roads. Or build new roads for buses only.

I think they have allocated something like $75M for stag one, but I am not sure if that is enough for the entire bus only right of way?

Someone will probably correct me.

Edit: http://www.calgarytransit.com/pdf/NC...rds-Oct-10.pdf

This looks pretty recent and includes most of the stuff already said here.

Tunnel Under the River would be too expensive, and would exclude the option for a station at the bottom of the hill.

Looks like they are really recommending at grade, wherever it's possible.
It is still in the Plan to go under 16th, McKnight and Beddington.

Not Really Stations like the current setup, More like widened side walks where the train stops

& It actually looks like they plan on maintaining 2 lanes, for most of the road except the inner city.

Except where underground, it looks like this line would travel slower than current lines, and will require reduced speed limits on roads.

They want to build a transit right of way first, and tracks and cables after.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

OK, I know that $700M is a lot of money but this just sounds like a mess in all regards:

The train connection with the future southeast LRT would emerge from its 2nd Street tunnel at 3rd Avenue, and instead have a curbside station in Chinatown on 1st Street S.W., Lea said.

Then, the train would have to slowly turn at 90 degrees before it starts scaling the Centre Street Bridge.

So the route would be this:

- Lose a block of roads between BP Center and the old Japanese Village on 2nd st SW between 4th and 3rd ave (by the old French Maid) due to the train surfacing from the tunnel.
- The train will then trundle along 3rd Av between Jameison Place and the International Hotel.
- Turn north for one block onto 1st SW past the Chinese Cultural Center
- Turn east onto 2nd ave and run past the Sakana Grill/ old folks home.
- At that point it has to wait for a light to turn left north onto Center Street and finally cross the bridge.

EDIT- here's a diagram of what I mean:



There are 4 turns between the tunnel and bridge - what happens at those intersections? Signals? This will run right through quiet part (albeit dumpy) of Chinatown and turn it into a transportation corridor (I'm picturing the 7th Ave / 10th St NW no mans land). And really pretzel traffic coming off of the lower deck of the Center Street Bridge since it has no where to really go other than east.

So you get all of this mess, plus losing 2 lanes of traffic across the center street bridge and much of center street? I know it's $700M but this is just plain terrible.

I thought we had learned after the airport tunnel to do things right....this isn't it.