YYCVotes: Ward 12 Discussion

[ken0042]

Anyway- getting back to those of us who know each other and want to discuss the issues.........

With the Express bus making extra stops- I actually complained to Calgary Transit about that. There was one guy who would get on and in the north part of Ogden ring the bell. (not the signed 151 stop in Ogden.) Pretty annoying; and if others started doing that the bus would take forever.

The thing is, I don't see any of the candidates who have talked about fast tracking the SE LRT. If I was running, that would be the first thing I would bring up. (OK, Keating talks about it, but he's now out after the last 2 pages here; if he wasn't already from his attempted hug-a-thon.) I noticed Crowe talks about changes to Deerfoot- which is fine if the City had any say in Deerfoot.

[Rathji]

I agree Transit as a focus would bring huge amounts of support for many people who use it daily.

I just posted some thoughts on the 302 in the transit thread.

Without reposting the entire thing:

When the SE BRT first started I was expecting a lot less stops...

I really think they should cut out 1/3 to 1/2 of the stops and encourage people to drive and park at the existing Mackenzie Town and Douglas Glen lots.

Then they should add a parking lot in the Ogden Area ... You could also add parking ... towards Inglewood near the Shamrock or the flea market.

At the same time they should add in short route buses which sole purpose is feeding these 302 bus stops at a couple points...

[celly]

I was looking for a source that my wife and I read a while back about the long term prospects of the SE LRT expansion and seem to recall it's at least 10 years away from completion. I agree that fast tracking the project is a great idea given the gridlock communities down here experience on a daily basis.

As much as LRT expansion is much needed, I'm just glad the SE Stony Trail extension beyond 17th ave to points south has begun. This will take a lot of traffic off of Deerfoot which will alleviate some of the traffic problems we're facing.

Seems that the only candidate of any measure that was truly pushing SE LRT in this election was Hawkesworth and we all know where he ended up.

[ken0042]

Yeah Rathji, I saw your post about transit- it was a good post.

The only thing is the BRT gets different use throughout the day. I have taken it home mid-day, and also after a night course at SAIT. At those times it is really an Ogden Express- last trip home from SAIT had 3 of us going past DouglasGlen; out of maybe 15 passengers.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Yeah Rathji, I saw your post about transit- it was a good post.

The only thing is the BRT gets different use throughout the day. I have taken it home mid-day, and also after a night course at SAIT. At those times it is really an Ogden Express- last trip home from SAIT had 3 of us going past DouglasGlen; out of maybe 15 passengers.

How would users at both of those times, midday and later at night, be negatively impacted by the changes I was suggesting? Right now these people either are taking the 302, or taking the LRT down the south line and busing from anderson or somerset (which is brutal imo).

The changes I suggest would eliminate some demand for routes that run from the Southern LRT line to the deep SE and allow some consolation of those routes. These consolidations, along with the elimination of the express buses would then offset the additional short trip feeder buses to the BRT line. If it was done right, you could even include routes like the 24 to either cover more area to fill gaps, or reduce service area and become a more direct feeder or the 302.

It obviously isn't as simple as this, because man-hours and equipment doesn't just grow out of thin air and would need to be neutral in the current budget, but if I was a candidate I would seriously be pushing an idea like this.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by celly

I was looking for a source that my wife and I read a while back about the long term prospects of the SE LRT expansion and seem to recall it's at least 10 years away from completion. I agree that fast tracking the project is a great idea given the gridlock communities down here experience on a daily basis.

As much as LRT expansion is much needed, I'm just glad the SE Stony Trail extension beyond 17th ave to points south has begun. This will take a lot of traffic off of Deerfoot which will alleviate some of the traffic problems we're facing.

Seems that the only candidate of any measure that was truly pushing SE LRT in this election was Hawkesworth and we all know where he ended up.

Ultimately, the fix for gridlock will be redesigning the bridges at Glenmore and Anderson. Stoney Trail SE really won't help the morning commute that much.

I must be unique, because I find traffic to be a very low priority in my personal situation - but I don't drive downtown to work, so that helps a lot. I go to an alternate business hub in Mount Royal, and for me it is a quick run up Barlow/Shepard to Glenmore and done.

With Stoney Trail under construction, the 52nd St. widening under construction and the Deerfoot/Glenmore bridge approved, a lot of the big traffic initiatives for this area are already in the books. Douglasdale will remain screwed until Deerfoot/Anderson is completed, but that is a result of how that neighbourhood is designed, and the short sighted planning when they built the Douglasdale/24 St. interchange. It will get fixed, but it is still a few years away.

And I would suggest that SE LRT would happen in 10 years only if it is fast tracked. Realistic estimates would go more towards 2025-2030 in my view.

[celly]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Douglasdale will remain screwed until Deerfoot/Anderson is completed, but that is a result of how that neighbourhood is designed, and the short sighted planning when they built the Douglasdale/24 St. interchange. It will get fixed, but it is still a few years away.

Remember, it was not that long ago that 24th/D'Dale and also 130th had LIGHTS. That was brutal. I agree that it's a gong show now (I don't have to deal with it since I work near by) but it was worse not too long ago.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

And I would suggest that SE LRT would happen in 10 years only if it is fast tracked. Realistic estimates would go more towards 2025-2030 in my view.

I would be very suprised if the SE LRT was not fully completed in 10 years.

[ken0042]

^^ Yeah, the big thing will be what happens after the West LRT is done. IIRC the contractor building the West leg offerred a discount because all of the heavy machinery is already here in Calgary. And all that will take place within the next Alderman's term.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I would be very suprised if the SE LRT was not fully completed in 10 years.

Yeah. Hawkesworth wanted it done by 2015, and even though he won't be mayor, I wouldn't be surprised if the next council carried that through. Should start up shortly after the West LRT is done, if not before.

[frinkprof]

All in all. the southeast has a tremendous package of infrastructure on deck.

- South Hospital

- SE ringroad

- SE LRT

[Resolute 14]

And no community centres or rinks...

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I would be very suprised if the SE LRT was not fully completed in 10 years.

Part of the issue with the SE line isn't just building it, but dealing with congestion downtown. The city has a lot of work ahead of it before route 203 can come online.

[celly]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Part of the issue with the SE line isn't just building it, but dealing with congestion downtown. The city has a lot of work ahead of it before route 203 can come online.

That's exactly what I was thinking. All these trains coming and going from downtown need to go somewhere. 7th Ave could be a nightmare to get across during rush hours.

[frinkprof]

^Not sure if Resolute14 is under the wrong impression as well, but the SE line will not use 7th Avenue. It will have its route downtown in a subway under 10th Avenue and 2nd Street West. Might want to check out the tranist thread.

[Resolute 14]

Hmm. That alignment certainly is different from the last one I saw. That would be better, but that is a lot of infrastructure with a fair bit of tunneling.

It can be done in the next 10 years if the city has the will and the money to do it. I can very easily see cost resulting in delays.

[celly]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

^Not sure if Resolute14 is under the wrong impression as well, but the SE line will not use 7th Avenue. It will have its route downtown in a subway under 10th Avenue and 2nd Street West. Might want to check out the transit thread.

Thanks for the info. FYI, your link isn't working.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Hmm. That alignment certainly is different from the last one I saw. That would be better, but that is a lot of infrastructure with a fair bit of tunneling.

It can be done in the next 10 years if the city has the will and the money to do it. I can very easily see cost resulting in delays.

On 10th, I don't think they would need to tunnel, just cut and cover. Heck they had eastbound traffic on 10th blocked pretty much all summer for the bulding on the south side by 4th (I think) and it really didn't hurt much at all, and I work on 10th.

[3thirty]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

And no community centres or rinks...

Didn't some 70+ million dollar rec centre just get approved to go in by the hospital to begin the SE "downtown" construction?

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alber.../13898696.html

[Resolute 14]

Cool, thanks. And lol @ Dr. No's opposition there. Guess he was kinda pissed he couldn't get his developer buddies in on the action.