Ring Road To Nowhere

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I already have to wear noise-cancelling headphones when I’m on my back deck due to cars ripping down the SW ring road at 120k. And no, this isn’t part and parcel of living in an urban environment. At various times I’ve lived in the beltline, in close proximity to Crowchild, and on the Macleod Tr / South LRT line corridor, and none of those locations were anywhere close to as noisy as my current house 500m from the ring road. Cars doing 100+ are way louder than cars doing 80-90. Especially the dick-wads on motorbikes who use the RR as a race-track.

It would help if they enforced the speed limit. I drive the SW RR almost daily, and I’ve never seen any speed enforcement. Maybe it’s a jurisdictional grey area through the Tsuu Tina. Which would explain why it’s used as racetrack on summer evenings.

I am a block off Crowchild and at least once a night there is one of those packs of Fast and Furious white guys wishing they were black, race pods that roar at 2 am. I have dreamed about the city installing something that detects if a car/bike is going over 170 kph that the road elevates like a ski jump and these bikes go launching into the middle of lakeview like Grand Theft Auto, maybe make it over the weaselhead and land in Oakridge.

One day I will hear a massive explosion/crash and that's probably why I wake up, because I want to fully enjoy that when that happens.

But then I realize I bought there and its my own dumb fault but my commute is glorious though.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

In particular, they couldn’t have anticipated the dude-bro culture of modding cars and bikes to make them louder that has become popular in the last 10-15 years, and the seeming inability of cities to do anything to enforce the noise bylaws these drivers break.

First off, irrelevant as tires -- by far -- are the largest contributor to total noise comprising 50% of total noise produced by vehicles.

Also, modding cars and bikes to make them louder has become popular in the last 10-15 years? Wut? I thought you were old balls, Cliff, modding cars has been a thing since before the first world war. Hotrods, muscle cars, I'm 38 and this sh-t has been around since my grandparents were toddlers.

Last 10-15 years, LOL.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

First off, irrelevant as tires -- by far -- are the largest contributor to total noise comprising 50% of total noise produced by vehicles.

Also, modding cars and bikes to make them louder has become popular in the last 10-15 years? Wut? I thought you were old balls, Cliff, modding cars has been a thing since before the first world war. Hotrods, muscle cars, I'm 38 and this sh-t has been around since my grandparents were toddlers.

Last 10-15 years, LOL.

Yes, much of the droning sound from traffic is caused by tires. I don’t have a big problem with that - it’s background noise. But I’m talking about the high, piercing engine/exhaust whine of a car or bike ripping down the RR at very high speeds. The kind where I have to break off a conservation I’m having and wait 5-10 seconds for it to pass. In the summer, this happens every 3 or 4 min.

Modded cars aren’t new, but they’ve become much more common.

Fast 9 Is Here: The Deep Impact of the Fast & Furious Franchise on Car Culture

…Along with its effect on the car community, the original Fast & Furious film had massive repercussions for the aftermarket industry. "I went back to the companies that provided us parts for the movie," Lieberman recalls, "companies like Sparco, GReddy, and Nitrous Oxide Systems, and they all reported their sales went up. Not hundreds of percentage points, but 1,000-plus percent."

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...lture-feature/

How the Fast and Furious Changed Car Shows Forever

For many automotive enthusiasts, the Fast and the Furious franchise had some of our favorite movies and favorite cars. Whether the producer intended to or not, they managed to alter car culture in a pretty significant way. In the early 2000s, the popularity of heavily modified cars skyrocketed, and you can still see a generation…

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-the...shows-forever/

[TorqueDog]

Yeah, so based off of that, it's been around for 23 years (first movie was in 2001)... but you're acting like this is some sort of recent 10-15 year phenomenon.

Even then that's still short-changing the pervasiveness of car enthusiast culture, for example Winnipeg's 'Cruise Night' had existed long before the first FnF. All that FnF did was prime part of the new generation to partake in car enthusiast culture. Even before FnF, tons of kids growing up all wanted 5.0L Mustangs, V8 Camaros, and Trans Ams to rip around in when they got their driver's licenses.

[TheIronMaiden]

It's easier than every to make your car louder, that said, most stock cars are quieter than ever.

I think what the real difference is, is that there are more motorists in Calgary than ever before.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

It's easier than every to make your car louder, that said, most stock cars are quieter than ever.

I think what the real difference is, is that there are more motorists in Calgary than ever before.

WRT to bolded: It is actually not any easier. Engine bays are tighter so high-flow manifolds are more intricate and expensive to produce, and less likely to be available for your specific car depending on what you drive, and the manifolds may have additional components integrated such as the catalysts. And there's another thing: catalysts. Since OBD-II introduction in 1996, removing the catalysts requires a dummy post-cat O2 sensor simulator, tuning out the catalyst from the vehicle's ECU to not throw an annoying CEL light on the dash, or you need to replace with a high-flow catalyst ($$$). Options have always been available for the enthusiast cars, but they've gotten far more expensive, and with the packaging in modern cars requiring a bit more finessing by the exhaust shop, again increasing effort, time, and ultimately cost.


As for the underlined: Bingo.

Manufacturers put far more effort now into refining vehicles to cut out NVH. Engine mounts, valvetrains, etc. all designed for quieter operation. Tire manufacturers pump tons into R&D to both improve tire performance and reduce tire noise. Exhaust systems are made quieter than ever (except for performance vehicles where they're designed to comply pretty much precisely with the law and nothing more, because that's what people are paying for). Intake systems are designed to make the induction noise as quiet as possible (and if you wanna hear the really good sh-t, find something with loud induction noise).

Car with a nice exhaust:

Spoiler!

Car with loud induction noise:

Spoiler!

[Acey]

The interchanges are too close together in pretty much the entire northern half to raise the limit, from 60 St NE all the way around to pretty much Tuscany. In the southern half, there are two minimum radius curves for mainline that have to be a 100 kph limit; the curve through everyone's favourite interchange at Sarcee/Glenmore then the curve in the deep SE by Mahogany at the 22X/88 St interchange.

As for the gray area for enforcement in the SW, while that land was acquired from TTN by the province, it still isn't part of the City of Calgary. This is similar to Henday in Edmonton, where a big chunk on the eastern half actually lies in Strathcona County. I've seen EPS, RCMP, and Alberta Sheriffs doing enforcement in that case.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

First off, irrelevant as tires -- by far -- are the largest contributor to total noise comprising 50% of total noise produced by vehicles.
.

Regarding tire noise. I've driven the new portion twice now (Hwy 8 to the TCH), northbound both times. Each time in a different vehicle and both times have noticed a hum from my tires on the stretch between Bow Trail (perhaps 17th Ave) and Old Banff Coach Road. To the point I thought I may have drifted out of the land an into a grooved section like they sometimes put on shoulders of roads. It was very noticeable and only on this short stretch of road. Twice is not a large sample size so I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed it?

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Regarding tire noise. I've driven the new portion twice now (Hwy 8 to the TCH), northbound both times. Each time in a different vehicle and both times have noticed a hum from my tires on the stretch between Bow Trail (perhaps 17th Ave) and Old Banff Coach Road. To the point I thought I may have drifted out of the land an into a grooved section like they sometimes put on shoulders of roads. It was very noticeable and only on this short stretch of road. Twice is not a large sample size so I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed it?

Definitely have. Both vehicles.

[The Yen Man]

I actually find there's way less car modding now than back in the early 2000's. Maybe I'm just old now and not in the scene anymore, but it's actually pretty rare to see POS rice rockets now compared to the early 2000's.

[Icon]

I suppose I could search on my own but maybe someone here just knows the answer or it was discussed in this thread already...

Was there initially plans for a exit from westbound Stoney onto 6th Street SW / Sheriff King? They put lights in for the exit from 6th/Sheriff King onto Westbound Stoney, which really don't need to be there as there's no reason the northbound traffic on 6th will ever need to stop currently (the light's always green). The only lights they currently need are for the southbound 6th/Sheriff traffic to stop occasionally to allow northbound traffic to turn left. The light poles look like they're built to add an arm for what would be lights on a ramp from westbound Stoney.

Was an offramp originally planned then cancelled?
Or still gauging traffic volume first before adding it?

Having that entrance would sure be handy. Don't get me started on the fact that there isn't an exit from 6th/Sheriff to eastbound Stoney, while I understand the reason is having ramps too close together there was a fairly simple solution in just having a cloverleaf ramp the same as what's everywhere else in the city, but I digress.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Icon

Was an offramp originally planned then cancelled?

Never planned due to weave distances. The traffic light there does indeed give false hope, but it's just a requirement for the spec that northbound has what appears to be a full set of lights even though they're always green.

Originally Posted by Icon

there was a fairly simple solution in just having a cloverleaf ramp the same as what's everywhere else in the city, but I digress.

That would create a pretty nasty weave that is no longer acceptable. We no longer build interchanges like this ever on freeways. Henday/Whitemud is kind of an exception but has collector/distributor roads that move the weaving off the mainline.

Weaves are why Deerfoot sucks, period. On Stoney and Henday they decided to just nuke entire movements instead of recreating the abomination of Deerfoot.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Acey

Weaves are why Deerfoot sucks, period. On Stoney and Henday they decided to just nuke entire movements instead of recreating the abomination of Deerfoot.

Every time I take the scenic/main route out of Tuscany, I tell myself that am doing it for the greater good re: weaves.

But it honestly is better with fewer weaves, even if it takes me a little longer personally. I even recall that when Crowchild and Stoney was in the planning stages, there was a group that wanted the Rocky Ridge Road / Crowchild intersection to remain somehow, maybe as a right-in, right-out, despite being very much in the way of the eventual SB Stoney to WB Crowchild ramp.

If I remember the details correctly, the province even humoured them by saying "sure - let's see what the armchair engineers can come up with" and invited them to provide some input. Then built it properly anyway.

Obviously there was no real alternate option that would keep the ramp safe at speed, no weaving, the future LRT station, etc.

I'm OK with Stoney proper being the priority, with more space between ramps.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I even recall that when Crowchild and Stoney was in the planning stages, there was a group that wanted the Rocky Ridge Road / Crowchild intersection to remain somehow, maybe as a right-in, right-out, despite being very much in the way of the eventual SB Stoney to WB Crowchild ramp.

I used to live up that way. Those guys were relentless. They'd wait at the red light to get you to sign petitions. It was not appreciated when I'd remind them that intersection had been slated to be closed for decades, and they should review plans more carefully before making house purchases.

[stevinder]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Regarding tire noise. I've driven the new portion twice now (Hwy 8 to the TCH), northbound both times. Each time in a different vehicle and both times have noticed a hum from my tires on the stretch between Bow Trail (perhaps 17th Ave) and Old Banff Coach Road. To the point I thought I may have drifted out of the land an into a grooved section like they sometimes put on shoulders of roads. It was very noticeable and only on this short stretch of road. Twice is not a large sample size so I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed it?

Noticed the noise on my 2-month old tires. Thought something was very wrong.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I feel bad for people living along Memorial in Bridgeland. The speed limit is 50, but it's built like a freeway and bikes/cars go racing up and down all summer. Those condos have no AC, and the side facing the road is south facing. So windows open and suffer the noise, or windows closed and sweat yourself to death.

The speed limit on Memorial is 80 as it passes Bridgeland. Going westbound, it drops to 70 just before the C-Train station and 50 as you pass the flyover, just before Edmonton Trail.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by stevinder

Noticed the noise on my 2-month old tires. Thought something was very wrong.

It’s just a couple of sections of very new asphalt. For whatever reason you hear that hum when high speed roads are freshly paved and it goes away when the road wears in a bit. Less whirring and more hum.

There was a couple km long section of hwy 2 that was paved this summer and it was very strange to drive. I experienced it for the first time in a rental I thought was broken when they re paved 22x about a decade ago near Bragg Creek.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by getbak

The speed limit on Memorial is 80 as it passes Bridgeland. Going westbound, it drops to 70 just before the C-Train station and 50 as you pass the flyover, just before Edmonton Trail.

Correct, and the light at Edmonton Trail going east on Memorial becomes a race start in the summer. The people living around Flyover Park get it pretty bad.

In the 70 there's a few larger buildings, and they most definitely get a ton of WoT noise all summer. You can hear it constantly from the tennis courts down there.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Correct, and the light at Edmonton Trail going east on Memorial becomes a race start in the summer. The people living around Flyover Park get it pretty bad.

In the 70 there's a few larger buildings, and they most definitely get a ton of WoT noise all summer. You can hear it constantly from the tennis courts down there.

I don't know, those people knowingly bought right beside a major artery for the city. Why is it that we have this artery already in place and set, and now people build residences beside it and now we all have to suffer inconvenience to accommodate them? I have a little more sympathy for people near the SW RR, because I can see that they never thought it would happen. I still think that they had basically a decade leading up to this to move, but at least you could say it was less-foreseen. Memorial has been there for decades, and it's not new in any sense of the word.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Slava

I don't know, those people knowingly bought right beside a major artery for the city. Why is it that we have this artery already in place and set, and now people build residences beside it and now we all have to suffer inconvenience to accommodate them? I have a little more sympathy for people near the SW RR, because I can see that they never thought it would happen. I still think that they had basically a decade leading up to this to move, but at least you could say it was less-foreseen. Memorial has been there for decades, and it's not new in any sense of the word.

So you're saying that people should just tolerate those breaking multiple traffic laws at the same time on a regular basis? And your other point is that following traffic laws is having to "suffer inconvenience"?