Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I always heard the NE-W line would go to subway (not sure how the engineering would work on that) since the traffic is much lower than the NW SW line.

I think you have it backwards. A subway would have more capacity than a surface line because it won't have to wait for lights for pedestrians/auto traffic to cross. So it can have higher capacity, and should be used for the busiest line, which is S/NW.

[RW99]

So I filled out the survey. I don't particularly like the newest version, I prefer the 2nd generation. And I really hate those yellow poles on the newest version. It makes it really hard to walk around them at each end when there are people sitting there.

I'm also sad that there is a delay for the launch of Connect

[frinkprof]

This thread is hurting my brain today. Point form is all I can do right now.

- Express trains aren't happening. They would be a bigger nightmare than almost any other solution - possibly excepting moving the CPR out of downtown.

- Next order of LRVs isn't exclusively for 4 car operation. A lot of it is for replacing the older LRVs (U2s) meaning not as many net additional cars.

- Utlimate plans (nothing set in stone but basically moving that way) is to have the south and northwest lines operate in an 8th Avenue Subway, northeast and west lines continue to use 7th Avenue, which could possibly turn into a subway of its own in the very long term. Southeast gets its own subway under 2nd Street West and 10th Avenue South. North central still to be determined.

- 7th Avenue is current bottleneck of entire system due to interlining (all lines share it and converge on it) and having to wait at lights at cross streets. It is over capacity.

- South line is the busiest line by a fair margin. Northeast and Northwest are roughly equal, west is projected to be lowest ridership for the foreseeable future.

[Jimmy Stang]

Poor Frink. Getting all stressed today because he wants to talk transit but has to put us on the backburner. I always appreciate your insight, whether it be within the hour or within the week.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Frink, you probably can't even answer this yet but where would the nw/s line turn to go underground downtown?

Big ass project wherever they go with it.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

This will make the #### hit the fan.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...924/story.html

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Handsome B. Wonderful

This will make the #### hit the fan.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...924/story.html

8th Ave subway should go in before both of them!

[You Need a Thneed]

I think the NC would have mre ridership, but the SE would certainly have more ridership growth. The NC can be served fairly well by busses.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by SebC

8th Ave subway should go in before both of them!

Imo.... North-central, 8th ave subway, then SE line.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Imo.... North-central, 8th ave subway, then SE line.

In terms of cost benefit, that would seem to make the most sense.

[SebC]

I think SE before N does make sense ... take some pressure off S and the SE component can run at grade whereas N should be cut-and-cover under Centre St.

From the "deserves it more" perspective though, definitely N before SE.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Frink, you probably can't even answer this yet but where would the nw/s line turn to go underground downtown?

Big ass project wherever they go with it.

This is what I wonder. How do you get underground after Sunnyside without closing down the line for an extended period.

Nevermind, I guess they wouldnt go underground until after 7 ave? But I guess that means closing 10 Street for a block for an extended period.

[You Need a Thneed]

Updates on the City's webpage:

7th Ave between 8th and 11th Update - July 9

Closure of 10th St West info

Downtown West - Kerby Station update

7th Ave Refurbishment Phase 4 Update

[bomber317]

City Council voted to raise the fine of not having a valid fare from $150 to $250

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...019/story.html

[Bigtime]

The SELRT versus NCLRT debate will be very interesting to watch play out. The Herald article is pretty good, however a friend of mine on facebook brought an interesting view to the thought that since more people in the NC area already use transit it should get the go-ahead:

Now, I do have to challenge one of the article's points. It is mentioned (presumably in the report) that north-central riders already use the bus system in great numbers, and this is seen as a positive. What that says to me is that, while indeed the ridership may be certain, the potential impact per dollar spent on transit would be negligible compared to building in the auto-dependent southeast.

[frinkprof]

Video report about concerns from those with limited mobility about station access during ongoing platform work at C-Train stations.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...s.html?cmp=rss

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Frink, you probably can't even answer this yet but where would the nw/s line turn to go underground downtown?

Big ass project wherever they go with it.

Originally Posted by mykalberta

This is what I wonder. How do you get underground after Sunnyside without closing down the line for an extended period.

Nevermind, I guess they wouldnt go underground until after 7 ave? But I guess that means closing 10 Street for a block for an extended period.

I'm not sure how "set" the above map is. I would think there is a lot of head-scratching to do about the northwest end.

The tie-in to the south line is easy. They just take out the cinderblock wall that is between the current tunnel and the partial City Hall underground station.

The northwest side is tricky. It's all about having a enough room with which to make a portal that will get the trains from at-grade to the subway. The maximum gradient the trains can operationally handle is about 6%. The trouble is that with the north-south blocks being much shorter than the east-west blocks downtown, there isn't much room to make this happen considering the LRT crosses 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Avenues at grade.

There may be just enough room between the bridge over the river and 4th Avenue to do it, but it would be very tight. Might have to raise 4th Avenue a bit to get that extra bit of clearance. Also, how do you do it without shutting down the northwest line for months?

If they do it as the map above (roughly) shows, it would almost assuredly require the acquisition and use of the property at the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and 9th Street SW (currently a surface parking lot) for construction/staging purposes at the very least.

There may be some other possibilities in there, but it won't be easy.

[You Need a Thneed]

I'm pretty sure that at leat one road will have to be raised over a partially sunken LRT line, or closed completely. Considering that the line will cross 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th, and there is no chance that 7th will be raised over, it would have to be 4th, 5th, or 6th. My best guess would be that the trains will come down from the bridge over the river, and just continue down into a tunnel right away, and 4th ave will be raised as needed.

The other feasible option that I see, is maintain the existing 4th ave crossing, then raise the line up slightly, before starting to head down so that it's going down slightly as it crosses 5th at the current grade, but revised, then slope down under 6th,which would have to be raised, before getting under 7th as it is right now.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Thanks guys, one more.

Would the West - NE line have access to the Tunnel at all?

In case of having to shut down 7th ave or even some thing as simple as getting the trains to the ne yard.?

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Thanks guys, one more.

Would the West - NE line have access to the Tunnel at all?

In case of having to shut down 7th ave or even some thing as simple as getting the trains to the ne yard.?

The current ramp out of the tunnel from the S line onto 7th Ave would stay, as the connection would be needed, and they might as well keep the connection that they have. This would allow trains to get to OBMF, but wouldn't allow NE-W trains to bypass 7th in case of a shutdown.