Accident at Olympic Station - 7th Ave CTrain Service Suspended

[4X4]

Originally Posted by zamler

Calgary has one of the worst, if not the worst train system anywhere. It is simply beyond belief that a modern transit system could be so dangerous. The very nature of the system is prone to accidents.

Horrible, just horrible. And don't tell me that it is the persons fault. People have mental lapses, some people are vision or hearing impaired, there is a whole host of thing that can occur to cause someone to lose concentration and make a mistake. And in Calgary, that mistake can cost your life. Who ever designed the C-Train infrastructure should be taken out and shot, it's shameful.

Lol. Really? I'm no mass transit expert, but I don't see these insanely dangerous flaws you claim exist. Care to elaborate?

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by zamler

Calgary has one of the worst, if not the worst train system anywhere. It is simply beyond belief that a modern transit system could be so dangerous. The very nature of the system is prone to accidents.

Horrible, just horrible. And don't tell me that it is the persons fault. People have mental lapses, some people are vision or hearing impaired, there is a whole host of thing that can occur to cause someone to lose concentration and make a mistake. And in Calgary, that mistake can cost your life. Who ever designed the C-Train infrastructure should be taken out and shot, it's shameful.

This isn't a Calgary thing at all. I have had ample opportunities to walk in front of trains in cities all over the world. So far, however, I have managed not to.

We're not going to hear about someone in (insert city here) that got hit by the train. It's a local news story and nothing more. It happens all over the world.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by zamler

Calgary has one of the worst, if not the worst train system anywhere. It is simply beyond belief that a modern transit system could be so dangerous. The very nature of the system is prone to accidents.

Horrible, just horrible. And don't tell me that it is the persons fault. People have mental lapses, some people are vision or hearing impaired, there is a whole host of thing that can occur to cause someone to lose concentration and make a mistake. And in Calgary, that mistake can cost your life. Who ever designed the C-Train infrastructure should be taken out and shot, it's shameful.

Uh, Calgary actually has a pretty decent public transportation system in place. The platforms are clearly marked on where you should stand, everyone should know to look both ways before crossing the street, and people shouldn't day dream when they're standing on the platform. It's not a difficult concept.

[TylerSVT]

The proper way to prevent this kind of stuff is more people using that thing between their ears...

[zamler]

You simply don't put pedestrian crossings right by the train tracks with little to no warning involved. Not to mention the mess they created on 36th street with all the train crossings. It's ugly and slows down traffic. In the heavily congested areas it should have been underground. I realize it costs more, but in the long run it is worth it.

I stand by what I said, the C-Train is inherently dangerous. BTW, it's not the platforms I'm concerned about, it is the the numerous intersections where cars are involved, and where pedestrians cross the tracks.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by zamler

You simply don't put pedestrian crossings right by the train tracks with little to no warning involved.

What more do you want? There's already plenty of signs and lights to warn people. Should we should flash strobe lights into everyone's eyes every time a train is coming by? That will make them stop since they'll be temporarily blind and all.

[CrunchBite]

Quick!

Put up gates around all cross walks, streets, alleys, whatever the hell else.

Probably much more likely to get killed by vehicle on the road than a train.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

What more do you want?.

Put the trains underground in the dense areas. This is not necessary in more open areas where you can build overpasses and the like. I like the C-Train otherwise, but I don't understand how so little thought and planning was put into the system in some areas.

I can understand in an old city, you have to deal with a system that has been in place for a very long time. But that does not apply here, it should have been done properly from the start.

BTW, I have a good reason to be overly sensitive about this.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by zamler

I stand by what I said, the C-Train is inherently dangerous. BTW, it's not the platforms I'm concerned about, it is the the numerous intersections where cars are involved, and where pedestrians cross the tracks.

If I dashed across 36th Street against the light (or any other road in the city) and got hit by a car, it would be my own fault. But if I'm hit by the train, I can blame the system?

36th is a mess for a number of reasons, I'll give you that, but you have a 100% chance of not getting hit by the train if you obey the lights and are aware of what's going on around you. People will always have lapses, but whenever I'm in a situation that could potentially kill me, my awareness is heightened. I could have a lapse crossing a residential road and still get hit.

Edit: And I am not trying to be insensitive about this - there is truly a human factor to all of this. I'm just not sure what can be done, in a practical sense, to take away all risks. Going underground is great in theory, but in a city that is as spread out as much as it is, we'd barely be outside of downtown with the train by now and probably all sitting in even more gridlock.

[4X4]

Amsterdam is a trip. The trains are super quiet and they buzz around the streets almost silently. When they ring their bell it's a really soft ding. It's like they don't want to startle the stoners.

[theonlywhiteout]

i love the internet. dude gets hit by a train cuz he's an idiot and a huge fight breaks out on whos going to protect the morons from themselves

[zamler]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

i love the internet. dude gets hit by a train cuz he's an idiot and a huge fight breaks out on whos going to protect the morons from themselves

If that moron was someone you cared about, you might not have such a dickish attitude.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by zamler

If that moron was someone you cared about, you might not have such a dickish attitude.

Dude, we get that you're somehow related to C-train safety. We're not being insensitive; we're being rational. You can't bubble-wrap transportation methods, whats next, laying subway lines for every road so people don't get hit by cars?

[WhiteTiger]

The thing is, Zamler...at what point should folks take responsibility for themselves? Lapse or not, "look both ways before you cross a street" should be drilled into most folks heads. Almost anything using a street for it's intended purpose can kill you quite easily if it hits you.

I'm on the Health and Safety Committee at work, and the sheer number of ways people injure themselves, and the bending over backwards we do to try to prevent it boggle the mind. At some point, you just have to say "You got hurt because you were being stupid."

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

i love the internet. dude gets hit by a train cuz he's an idiot and a huge fight breaks out on whos going to protect the morons from themselves

Where's the huge fight? Its called a discussion.

Anyways, I do somewhat agree with Zamler. Although the popular thing is to call these people idiots for getting hit, there are a host of reasons that these incidents do or can occur. People with mental disability, recent immigrants who don't understand the signage, careless youth, people with headphones on, distracted parents, a wasted university student. Its the same reason car accidents still happen every day. People are human...yet car manufacturers still strive to make safety improvements to their cars every new model. Some are idiots, some just have an unfortunate split second mistake and thats the end. Of course cost is a factor, but when you have a train system where the train, vehicle traffic, and pedestrians can all intersect you have an increased risk of collision or accident. Its not the optimal design. Too late to go back and change much of it now, but I see no reason not to look at making improvements to ensure both efficiency and safety.

[flames_1987]

Dear god some of you people are tough to handle when you start making comments like that, without a grasp on the whole story or what might've actually happened. Jumping to the verdict that a guy is just an idiot and making light of his intelligence, when we could be talking about a man losing his life here.

I just got done watching CTV and the witness they interviewed it sounds like he got something caught in the ctrain doors and was banging for people to help him, and other people waiting on the platform began to yell in hopes of stopping the train from taking off. If this is the case, the guy could've been simply trying to make the train and just honest to god bad luck.

Or perhaps the full report will come out and it turns out he was under the influence and his lack of awareness caused him to fall between the two cars. Either way, I really get disgusted at how some people on CP react so quickly after something like this happens, and the insults being thrown at this guy.

[worth]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Amsterdam is a trip. The trains are super quiet and they buzz around the streets almost silently. When they ring their bell it's a really soft ding. It's like they don't want to startle the stoners.

Yeah, they have bikes, cars, pedestrians and trains all to look out for in Amsterdam. We have it easy here.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Ducay

I consider us lucky, there are way more stoppages and incidents with fully buried light/heavy rail. Hopefully I can dig up a stat on subway "jumpers" that shows this.


You really don't get an appreciation for how many people the c-trains move until they're all stuck standing around on 5th and 6th Aves downtown. Quite the sight it was...

Over 30 people were killed in incidents involving the NYC subways last year. Read that this morning actually. Like you said, underground does not mean safer.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by zamler

If that moron was someone you cared about, you might not have such a dickish attitude.

Many things in life are dangerous if used improperly or safety standards are not followed. Many tragic deaths occur on a daily basis, and without marginalizing any of the individual deaths, I think we can say that there is nothing we could do to prevent every single one of them.

The fact of the matter is that of all the cities I have been in, with mass transit systems, every one of them has had places where people could die if they were not paying attention.

[GGG]

I would be all for stricter enforcement of Jay walking laws at ctrain crossings. Put plain clothes ticket writers in that will pay for themselves. Too many people jay walk that eventually some one makes a mistake.

People don't respect the train enough. People running with there arms outstretched to make the train. I think it would be better if the doors were more similar to new york doors where they don't open when you get in the way they just let you pull your arm out.