Edmonton, which has primarily run buses for years, is now expanding their C-train network. I suspect it's because the train is superior.
I do, however, agree with Lafleur that we have to be careful not to induce demand for sprawl with the LRT. Building to Somerset, for example, contributes to demand for Silverado, which as a new community costs the city money. I don't like building the LRT to the edge of the city, at least not until the inner city routes are more developed.
I think created more routes, not extending the existing ones, is obviously the ideal course of action. Unfortunately building lines out of downtown and into the surrounding established areas that were not planned for LRT is the most expensive part of the whole process....
Yesterday was the last day of Park and Ride fees. Today parking is free, and on Monday, some of the lots will have a number of reserved spots, but there will still be lots that are free.
I do, however, agree with Lafleur that we have to be careful not to induce demand for sprawl with the LRT. Building to Somerset, for example, contributes to demand for Silverado, which as a new community costs the city money. I don't like building the LRT to the edge of the city, at least not until the inner city routes are more developed.
Although I believe that the LRT does help fuel sprawl-type development, I'm wary of the alternatives. Obviously if we stopped extending the LRT the best alternative would be inner-city densification and the development of compact, transit-oriented suburbs. However, I believe the worse, and more likely outcome, would be completely auto-dependent suburban sprawl. Limiting the improvement of public transit to inner-city improvements and extensions into compact suburbs that follow the principles of Smart Growth would have to be part of a larger and holistic spatial planning approach.
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Although I believe that the LRT does help fuel sprawl-type development, I'm wary of the alternatives. Obviously if we stopped extending the LRT the best alternative would be inner-city densification and the development of compact, transit-oriented suburbs. However, I believe the worse, and more likely outcome, would be completely auto-dependent suburban sprawl. Limiting the improvement of public transit to inner-city improvements and extensions into compact suburbs that follow the principles of Smart Growth would have to be part of a larger and holistic spatial planning approach.
Well the other part of the strategy is that you don't build freeways to the outer suburbs either. I'm looking at you, ring road.
Or you make the new suburbs pay for themselves, including their roads, transit, and downstream effects, and then induced demand isn't a problem at all.
Yesterday was the last day of Park and Ride fees. Today parking is free, and on Monday, some of the lots will have a number of reserved spots, but there will still be lots that are free.
Drivers who had paid the $70-a-month fee could park in any of spots in the reserved section of certain lots, but those sections may have been filled up early by "free parkers," who didn't see the sign or didn't care.
Drivers who had paid the $70-a-month fee could park in any of spots in the reserved section of certain lots, but those sections may have been filled up early by "free parkers," who didn't see the sign or didn't care.
That's exactly what happened.
I reserved a spot thinking if the lots filled up I would be glad to pay to have a spot for sure, if they didn't then no big deal it's a $70 insurance policy for my convenience, as I can always cancel it next month, and if the lots are filling up, I don't want to be on a waiting list for a reservation.
I was pretty pissed this morning at Crowfoot and had to go to Dalhousie to get a parking spot. Calgary Transit will be getting a strongly worded email from me later today.
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Last edited by Bring_Back_Shantz; 04-04-2011 at 04:17 PM.
Either alot of people are complete dou-ches or the signage is just so bad.
Because CT doesnt have a great track record at this kind of thing I will wait for others to answer.
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Enforcement by ticketing and/or towing will help alleviate the ######baggery from obnoxious parking lot users. All new policies need to reach a state of balance, and this is just working out the kinks.
Enforcement by ticketing and/or towing will help alleviate the ######baggery from obnoxious parking lot users. All new policies need to reach a state of balance, and this is just working out the kinks.
Yup. I think there will be a level of relative chaos for the first week or so. Remember that you are also getting people that will "flirt" with the service now that the payment structure has changed and there are free spots. Some of these people will end up abandoning it again after trying it for a bit. Enforcement (perhaps including a "crackdown" where enforcement is heavier than it normally would be) will help restore order after that.
I recall a second hand story many years ago that somebody had the "great idea" of slashing all 4 tires of all the cars that were parked illegally at the University CT-station.
Any word on how quick the lots with reserved spots are filling up now? I'm leery about trying to get a free spot at Crowfoot (more about how early I need to be there to get one), but it does change the economics of it enough to make it impossible to justify driving downtown.
Enforcing the paid spots is going to be interesting.
Do they give you any kind of tag to display in your car? If not, there's no way of knowing who's using the paid parking without paying (since they likely don't want any vigilante justice going on, I'm sure they won't have tags). The reserved spots are only set aside until 10am, so they'd have to have someone at each lot by 10am to hand out the tickets/towing.
They'll either have to install a card-controlled gate that opens itself at 10am every morning, or hire someone with a plate scanner to sit at each station from 2-10am every day.
Also, unless they have some sort of instant enforcement, it won't help someone who has paid for a spot if there aren't any available when they enter the lot.
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^I think you just register a plate number when you reserve a spot. I don't think constant enforcement is necessary. Intermittent (providing it's not once in a blue moon) should work.
^I think you just register a plate number when you reserve a spot. I don't think constant enforcement is necessary. Intermittent (providing it's not once in a blue moon) should work.
Considering it's just driving around taking pictures I imagine enforcement will be dead easy.
I was at Fish Creek this morning at 7:30. Plenty of reserved spots but everything else was gone and you could tell some were already taking spots that shouldn't (driving around and around and finally just taking a spot).
I recall a second hand story many years ago that somebody had the "great idea" of slashing all 4 tires of all the cars that were parked illegally at the University CT-station.
Slashing seems like a lot of work when a couple pebbles do the trick just as hilariously.
I know that it would have cost a little bit of coin, but having a couple of people wearing fluorescent vests directing people and answering questions would've been pretty easy. Just for the first few days. In the big picture, it would've been a few hundred bucks in labour but it would've been a nice little PR thing too.
Traffic officers patrolled park-and-ride lots on Tuesday morning, hoping to help drivers avoid frustration during the first week of a new parking reservation system.
At the Crowfoot Station on Tuesday morning the free parking areas were full, but there was plenty of reserved parking for C-Train commuters who had paid the $70-a-month fee for those spots.
That marked a sharp contrast to Monday when the reserved section was full by 7:30 a.m. Frustrated drivers, who had paid the reserved parking fee, couldn't find a spot.
But on Tuesday, two uniformed peace officers were keeping free parkers out of the reserved spots.
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