You seem to have a very detailed response here which makes me think you work for one of the campaigns. Deerfoot is a huge and very dangerous problem and needs to fixed before we think about any other roads. Especially since it may soon become the main route to the airport.
I would like to add a comment that I think Kent Hehrs signs are offensive and should not be allowed to go up. They are offensive to people who have lost families through gun deaths. Please change them now.
I will take that as a compliment!
I do not work for a campaign. I have a Poli Sci degree, so I am interested in Civic and Provincial Politics.
I agree with you regarding Kent Hehr 100%
Wow, I really think he missed the boat on the SW Ring Road. That sucks for him...
He should probably look up destination traffic studies for Glenmore Trail before making those kind of comments. Apparently he forgot that other employment centres and major commercial pieces exist in the south end of the City, and a large amount of traffic on Glenmore Trail from Highway 8 to Barlow Trail is NOT going downtown.
I agree that there are traffic issues to be resolved, but an 8-lane, 100 km/h highway on the proposed ring road route is not the only answer. Smaller-scale improvements within the city, including adding an extra lane each way to Highway 8, putting in an overpass at Sarcee/Glenmore, and maybe putting in a smaller, 80 km/h highway on 37th, for example, would improve things considerably without having to tear up as many houses. Hwy 22 could then be expanded as the main bypass route.
Does anyone know how the bike lanes he proposes would work? I picture expensive little go kart tracks that either eliminate current road space or have to be added on to existing roads, but that sounds sorta dumb. Thinking there must be more to it.
Not practical.
We are covered in snow 1/2 or 3/4 of the year (depending how you look at it) and we are going to spend hundreds of millions on little commuter pathways for bikes? So 1/50 Calgarians can bike to work/school 4 months out of the year?
Not practical.
We are covered in snow 1/2 or 3/4 of the year (depending how you look at it) and we are going to spend hundreds of millions on little commuter pathways for bikes? So 1/50 Calgarians can bike to work/school 4 months out of the year?
No thanks.
"Not to be a jerk or anything" but you sure seem to like things that work for you, and dislike things that you don't partake in yourself.
I'll leave the off roading thing alone, since you never bothered to reply in the other thread, but you're ok with cutting through the weaselhead, since it's man made, and since we really need the road? So it's not really about nature, it's about convenience.
You don't want bike lanes because only 1/50 Calgarians will use them 1/2 or 1/4 of the year? Your commute must be straight up McLeod or something, because if you used any roads that pass by any pathways, you'd see bikes on them year round. Yes, even in -30. And I'm willing to bet that if there were more pathways, there'd be a lot more bikes using them. Most people that bike recreationally would never bike to work because sharing the road with cars is taking your life in your hands.
If anything is "not practical" about the bike lanes, it's not the weather. It might be the cost, or it might be the required space, just not weather or how many people are currently using what exists.
Sorry if this post sounds dickish. It just bugs me when people are so adamant about things they don't partake in, and use BS figures to make their point.
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"Not to be a jerk or anything" but you sure seem to like things that work for you, and dislike things that you don't partake in yourself.
I'll leave the off roading thing alone, since you never bothered to reply in the other thread, but you're ok with cutting through the weaselhead, since it's man made, and since we really need the road? So it's not really about nature, it's about convenience.
You don't want bike lanes because only 1/50 Calgarians will use them 1/2 or 1/4 of the year? Your commute must be straight up McLeod or something, because if you used any roads that pass by any pathways, you'd see bikes on them year round. Yes, even in -30. And I'm willing to bet that if there were more pathways, there'd be a lot more bikes using them. Most people that bike recreationally would never bike to work because sharing the road with cars is taking your life in your hands.
If anything is "not practical" about the bike lanes, it's not the weather. It might be the cost, or it might be the required space, just not weather or how many people are currently using what exists.
Sorry if this post sounds dickish. It just bugs me when people are so adamant about things they don't partake in, and use BS figures to make their point.
Maclean Creek is a Provincial Park in some of the most majestic backcountry in the world.
The Weaselhead is a man-made floodplain within the city limits.
These are two different issues.
Your activity is voluntary nature destruction as a result of a hobby,
Whereas, road construction through the weaselhead is based on necessity.
I too am sorry if I come across as hostile in my reply.
This is just my opinion.
I love the river pathways by the way, I use them in the summer months when it is nice outside. I am a bigger fan of practicality and building infrastructure the majority of Calgarians can enjoy, rather than experiment with transportation models used in mild European cities.
Last edited by 1stLand; 09-17-2010 at 06:14 PM.
Reason: spelling
You seem to have a very detailed response here which makes me think you work for one of the campaigns. Deerfoot is a huge and very dangerous problem and needs to fixed before we think about any other roads. Especially since it may soon become the main route to the airport.
I would like to add a comment that I think Kent Hehrs signs are offensive and should not be allowed to go up. They are offensive to people who have lost families through gun deaths. Please change them now.
How are the signs offensive? Kent was shot and it didn't stop him. How that fact is offensive is a mystery to me?
Edited to add: I write those questions out of curiosity, in case it comes across as anything differently!
Last edited by Slava; 09-17-2010 at 07:23 PM.
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Maclean Creek is a Provincial Park in some of the most majestic backcountry in the world.
The Weaselhead is a man-made floodplain within the city limits.
These are two different issues.
Your activity is voluntary nature distruction as a result of a hobby,
Whereas, road construction through the weaselhead is based on necessity.
I too am sorry if I come across as hostile in my reply.
This is just my opinion.
I love the river pathways by the way, I use them in the summer months when it is nice outside. I am a bigger fan of practicality and building infrastructure the majority of Calgarians can enjoy, rather than experiment with transportation models used in mild European cities.
Well, the second picture is from New York and the third is from Montreal, both of which have winter as well.
Not practical.
We are covered in snow 1/2 or 3/4 of the year (depending how you look at it) and we are going to spend hundreds of millions on little commuter pathways for bikes? So 1/50 Calgarians can bike to work/school 4 months out of the year?
No thanks.
Calgary weather easily allows for biking April-October which is at minimum 7/12 months of the year. This can easily extend + a month to either side as well depending on snow levels and removal. I don't buy into your theory that Calgarians can only bike 4 months a year. They can 7-9 months a year if there are routes provided for them. People don't because in snowy months their option is to battle it out between traffic and curbside snow piles. If dedicated bike lanes were provided people would take advantage of them in spring/fall seasons.
rather than experiment with transportation models used in mild European cities.
Copenhagen is one of Europe's most cycle-friendly cities and it's climate is far from mild. In addition, other cycling Meccas like Amsterdam and Berlin aren't exactly Mediterranean cities themselves.
Edit: Here's some visual evidence.
__________________
“Such suburban models are being rationalized as ‘what people want,’ when in fact they are simply what is most expedient to produce. The truth is that what people want is a decent place to live, not just a suburban version of a decent place to live.”
- Roberta Brandes Gratz
Last edited by Addick; 09-17-2010 at 06:40 PM.
Reason: Added A Video
I would like to add a comment that I think Kent Hehrs signs are offensive and should not be allowed to go up. They are offensive to people who have lost families through gun deaths. Please change them now.
I'm not a Kent Hehr supporter, but I can say he's devoted a great deal of his professional life to justice and disability issues. I don't find that billboard offensive at all. In a way, it's life-affirming.
Copenhagen is a tropical paradise compared to Calgary. Check climate data...
Considering it's damp cold, it's a pretty crappy paradise.
__________________
“Such suburban models are being rationalized as ‘what people want,’ when in fact they are simply what is most expedient to produce. The truth is that what people want is a decent place to live, not just a suburban version of a decent place to live.”
Subsidzing suburban development is social engineering. And I don't like what it produces (unnecessary tax burden, low density city where everything's far from everything else).
