Safety review for Deerfoot?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by J pold

Glenmore is a huge problem as well for north bound when it only goes down to too lanes on the bridge and the problem is that it is going to be almost impossible to fix

Not impossible, just expensive. Here's the plan for it: http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/INFT...on/glen-m1.pdf

[Eddie Bronze]

I was on Deerfoot aka Death Alley heading north only two times in the past year. Both times my life flashed before my eyes. It is easily the scariest highway I've ever driven on and it was just about speed and following distance.

I think permanent speed traps are necessary and I think you pretty much have to get the people in a state of mind where they'll be so scared to take another fine that they just won't speed anymore. The death toll is obviously not getting peoples attention so I think you need to start hitting them in their pockets and don't be pansies about it, drill them so hard you'll make them think because they aren't now.

People are using their cars as weapons and the justice system needs to start punishing them accordingly. Driving is a responsibility that people don't take seriously. The people driving next to you, and the people in the car with you, their lives are in your hands. People need to think about that before they get behind the wheel. Accidents do happen but speed and just simply paying closer attention to what you are doing would probably cut them in half, if not more.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by flambers

Highway 401 in Toronto is a good example of a road that handles way--way more traffic than Deerfoot and it flows much better. I believe it has 5 lanes plus it handles the merge lanes properly.

Man oh man... When I was in TO a few years ago I was stunned at how well that road flows. I think that if you rubberneck on that road you're liable to get run off the road by a semi.

[SpitFire40]

I dunno, I enjoy driving on deerfoot more than downtown. I find if you go the pace it's no problem.

Downtown driving scares me though for some reason, all the one way roads confuse the hell out of me. I'd rather take transit!

[Hemi-Cuda]

the worst onramp on Deerfoot has to be at Paegan Trail. you have traffic, most of which is travelling above 110 km/h, and it's a flat out yeild, not even a small merge. i feel like i'm playing Russian Roulette whenever i'm unfortunate enough to find myself on that

i'm glad though i no longer take deerfoot for work. even though it's only 2 lanes, highway 1 from Chestermere seems to flow much better because people actually realize they're on a highway and not bumper to bumper city traffic

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

the worst onramp on Deerfoot has to be at Paegan Trail. you have traffic, most of which is travelling above 110 km/h, and it's a flat out yeild, not even a small merge. i feel like i'm playing Russian Roulette whenever i'm unfortunate enough to find myself on that

Yes. This is the worst on ramp I've ever seen. The mild curve at the end is just enough so that shoulder checking is awkward as hell, and the fact that it's not a merge is absolutely ridiculous. All the truck traffic around there trying to get on to a lane that is already full of those timid idiots that ride the right lane because they want to be sure they get their exit at glenmore....

[Ironhorse]

edit: nm, Ken beat me to it.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

That yield on Peigan is incredibly stupid. General rule of thumb when designing roads: do not put a yield on a ramp leading onto a high-speed freeway..

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

I'm just curious what they are doing on Stoney that sucks so bad? I was glad to see that Scenic Acres Link and Tuscany Blvd will be combined into one interchange so you don't end up with a Deerfoot/McKnight and Deerfoot/64th Ave situation where interchanges are WAY too close together.

For one thing, it comes down again to an inability to choose the proper number of basic lanes ala Deerfoot south of Glenmore. Some have 2-lane cross-sections, some have 3, probably some have four. Just pick a set number of lanes for freakin' sakes! Worst part of that is that you end up stuck with bridge structures that you can't use if you ever need to add extra lanes.

Another problem is that they're are phasing in the interchanges and starting with at-grades with signals, which doesn't sound like a bad idea. But ultimately they're really unsafe because when you stage intersections like that, the interchanges end up being sub-standard due to a severe loss of sight distances when the interchange is put in. You're better off just doing the ramps first, and phasing in the bridge structure after (like they did for some of Anthony Henday in Edmonton and in fact is why they went that route).

And then on top of that there's a whole slew of crappily designed ramps, merges and tapers.

[Dion]

Considering the way people drive the Deerfoot, i'm surprised I haven't seen a car equiped with these

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by flambers

Highway 401 in Toronto is a good example of a road that handles way--way more traffic than Deerfoot and it flows much better. I believe it has 5 lanes plus it handles the merge lanes properly.

It is 16 lanes most of the way, 8 a side, 4 expressway and 4 collector. The whole expressway/collector idea really helps with it's flow, but it still sucks balls in rush hour. Not as bad as the QEW though I guess.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

It is 16 lanes most of the way, 8 a side, 4 expressway and 4 collector. The whole expressway/collector idea really helps with it's flow, but it still sucks balls in rush hour. Not as bad as the QEW though I guess.

Long-term plans for the outer ring road in Calgary show the lanes for the outer ring straddling the lanes for the inner ring road. So 16 lanes in that stretch!

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

It is 16 lanes most of the way, 8 a side, 4 expressway and 4 collector. The whole expressway/collector idea really helps with it's flow, but it still sucks balls in rush hour. Not as bad as the QEW though I guess.

Yeah QEW is brutal, but the volume along there would probably be just as great, if not greater, than the 401 if it had the same number of lanes.

I knwo people who took the Go Buses who would mention how the driver would use the service roads instead of the QEW. Even with the lights and twists, it was a lot faster.