Calgary Roads Discussion Thread

[Bunk]

Starting January 1st the City is re-organizing functionally into planning, infrastructure, operations, community services, and the various enabling funcitons.

I'll be moving to a director position responsible on the planning end of the spectrum for city planning, including transportation network planning and policy (all modes). This is different than the detailed design and construction phase of major projects (infrastructure department) and then the ultimate asset management in operations (things like lifecycle, maintenance, traffic optimization, calming etc).

What would you say should be the priorities for network planning?

[sleepingmoose]

January 1st in which year Bunk? This seems to have been dragging on forever.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by sleepingmoose

January 1st in which year Bunk? This seems to have been dragging on forever.

Yeah it did get pushed back from Oct 15 to Jan 1. Turns out re-orging a 15,000 employee organization isn’t too easy! But, it’s definitely on the way.

[Erick Estrada]

I don't pretend to know road paving strategies but why does the city grade roads and then not pave them for weeks? Having to take roads daily for weeks with exposed manhole covers and big abrupt transitions is really hard on suspension.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't pretend to know road paving strategies but why does the city grade roads and then not pave them for weeks? Having to take roads daily for weeks with exposed manhole covers and big abrupt transitions is really hard on suspension.

Ideally it doesn't and they happen back to back, but crew availability and scheduling is the issue there. Milling is a much faster process

[Weitz]

Was there an influx of money to the roads department this year? It seems a lot of work is being done downtown on roads (repaving) which is much welcome.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Was there an influx of money to the roads department this year? It seems a lot of work is being done downtown on roads (repaving) which is much welcome.

The annual paving program pretty much going as normal which this year included parts of 17th ave, 10th ave, 12th ave and 11th street. but what's different this year as well was a bike lane resurfacing project that also saw 7th st, 8th ave and 9th ave re-paved.

You can check out the roadways activity map to see what the paving schedule loosely looks like

https://maps.calgary.ca/RoadwayActivities/

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Ducay

My overarching complaint is that the City Roads dept is given carte blanche for a huge volume of work (more like re-work) at intersections where it is not critical. However under the guise of safety, etc, these are pushed through the City's capital budget with relative ease. I think the roads dept needs to have a much tighter leash - any candidate for council/mayor that explicitly supports nuking their budget by two thirds will receive my vote. I swear between all the rebuilding they are doing and poorly designed intersections & light timings, their departmental goal is to make everyone's commute as long and painful as possible.

[calf]

The one intersection I'm trying to wrap my head around is going onto Northbound Crowchild from Westbound 24th Ave NW. Before there was an admittedly short merge, but now they've replaced that with two merge lanes and a traffic light. I get that it helps to avoid backups as people struggle with the merge during rush hour, but in less busy times people are waiting to merge onto Crowchild for no reason while they wait for the light to change.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I find it works fairly well, but you'd have to talk to Alberta Transport about that one, not the city

Yes, it looks complicated, but I use all those exits and it's really not bad at all.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by calf

The one intersection I'm trying to wrap my head around is going onto Northbound Crowchild from Westbound 24th Ave NW. Before there was an admittedly short merge, but now they've replaced that with two merge lanes and a traffic light. I get that it helps to avoid backups as people struggle with the merge during rush hour, but in less busy times people are waiting to merge onto Crowchild for no reason while they wait for the light to change.

Quite frankly, that is a intersection that can't be converted to a interchange soon enough for all modes of mobility using 24 ave.

[woob]

Originally Posted by calf

The one intersection I'm trying to wrap my head around is going onto Northbound Crowchild from Westbound 24th Ave NW. Before there was an admittedly short merge, but now they've replaced that with two merge lanes and a traffic light. I get that it helps to avoid backups as people struggle with the merge during rush hour, but in less busy times people are waiting to merge onto Crowchild for no reason while they wait for the light to change.

I'll gladly sit waiting at that light at 11:00pm with little traffic, if it means northbound Crowchild rush hour doesn't have to deal with the strugglers who try to merge into traffic at that intersection.

[Macman]

There's a sunken manhole cover northbound Crowchild on the curve right before the exit to Richmond road that I always try and avoid, it's a big bump when you go over it. The road is a bit sloped there but the manhole cover shouldn't be embedded that deep.

[timun]

^I avoid that one every day too. Stay to the right!

[timun]

Originally Posted by bob-loblaw

I drive this every day and I actually think it works pretty well.

A little off topic, but looking at your map, I noticed that 'Festuburt' is the name of the area where the Grey Eagle Casino is. I've never heard of it before, but thanks to Google Maps and Google Search, now I know it's named after a town in France where there was a battle involving Canadian troops in World War I. It makes sense given the significance of the military that trained in the area and the white regiment numbers on the hill by Sarcee.

It's nice to learn something once in a while...

I've tried to get that Festuburt "neighbourhood" name removed from Google maps for a long time... That area was never named as such. All the old streets at the army barracks there were named after battle sites, and one of them was Festuburt Avenue, but the area as a whole was never called that.

[Lubicon]

So after all that work on Crowchild over the river, the speed limit is lower (or the same?) than before? And that lower speed limit extends further south on Crowchild than it did prior to the project.

[bob-loblaw]

Originally Posted by timun

I've tried to get that Festuburt "neighbourhood" name removed from Google maps for a long time... That area was never named as such. All the old streets at the army barracks there were named after battle sites, and one of them was Festuburt Avenue, but the area as a whole was never called that.

It's funny you say that, because when I first noticed it, it thought it must have been a mistake because the land is part of the Tsuut'ina Nation. It definitely needs to be changed because that appears to be the case.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Bunk

I'll be moving to a director position responsible on the planning end of the spectrum for city planning, including transportation network planning and policy (all modes). This is different than the detailed design and construction phase of major projects (infrastructure department) and then the ultimate asset management in operations (things like lifecycle, maintenance, traffic optimization, calming etc).

What would you say should be the priorities for network planning?

Congrats! That's great news to hear. I'm hopeful the re-org sets up NP, TI, and UI into a more cohesive group that can come to consensus on planning studies a bit more smoothly.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

So after all that work on Crowchild over the river, the speed limit is lower (or the same?) than before? And that lower speed limit extends further south on Crowchild than it did prior to the project.

Don't worry, they're regularly patrolling the end of the bridge going SB with photo radar. Now that the road is way better it makes sense to have it signed lower to keep everyone safe preserve the honey hole CPS got used to during the construction.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Don't worry, they're regularly patrolling the end of the bridge going SB with photo radar. Now that the road is way better it makes sense to have it signed lower to keep everyone safe preserve the honey hole CPS got used to during the construction.

I did notice that they've increased the limit on Crowchild SW NB to 70 KM/H at the Bow Trail exit where it was 60 for the longest time.