Posts Tagged ‘calgary’
Photo: Heang Uy (flickr: heanguy)
If you are a habitual jaywalker, this morning may not be a good day to do it. Calgary Police and Calgary Transit officers will be out in full force starting at 6:30am targetting pedestrians who jaywalk. The goal of the blitz is to increase awareness of the dangers that jaywalking poses.
Police departments from all across Canada have been focusing on pedestrian safety after a rash of pedestrian deaths in Toronto and one just last month in Calgary. In all of these cases, the pedestrians were crossing the street at an unsafe spot.
“It’s a concern to us and that’s why we’ve decided to take this initiative,” he said, adding the idea that drivers are always to blame in pedestrian-vehicle crashes is simply untrue.
“Anybody who uses the road has a responsibility to make sure they’re using the road properly, safely and lawfully.” - Const. Peter Adria, Calgary Police Service
The safety blitz is expected to run through to the end of the morning rush hour and if the past is any indication, the City of Calgary will be getting a nice injection of revenue after this is all said and done. Last summer during a crackdown on pedestrians on 8th street and 7th avenue, officers were kept busy issuing warnings and tickets.
The tenth annual Driven car show will be rolling into Calgary on June 12th. This year it is returning the Olympic Oval after last year’s break due to the Olympic trials for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games. With capacity of around 300 vehicles, the show organizers are extremely excited to be back at this venue and they promise that this year’s show will be better than ever.
If you are interested in showing off your vehicle, check out the exhibitor info page
If you are interested in becoming a model at the show, more information can be found at the model registration page.
Link: Driven 2010 Calgary Car Show
When the Tsuu T’ina nation surprised Calgarians (and Premier Ed Stelmach) by voting against the proposal that would have saw the SW portion of the ring road cut through their reserve, the Municipal and Provincial Governments immediately began working on alternative plans. Action on the alternative plans was so swift that even the Tsuu T’ina nation seemed to be caught off-guard as Chief Sandford Big Plume held onto his hope that talks would resume. Unfortunately for Big Plume, the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary were done talking. 40 Years of talking is too much, even for politicians.
The City took the first step to alleviate traffic pressures in the SW by constructing a roundabout on 37th street. Instead of allowing eastbound Glenmore Trail traffic to turn left across westbound Glenmore Trail traffic the new configuration has drivers making a right turn at 37th street. They then enter the roundabout to make a u-turn to continue travelling on north on 37th street. The location of the roundabout irked the Tsuu T’ina tribe–it is located right at the entrance of the Grey Eagle Casino. The City received a letter from the tribe on October 16th, dated October 2nd which warns that the Tsuu T’ina nation:
“does not consent to any road construction on or near Tsuu T’ina Nation lands not accounting for the Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights to enter and leave lands at any point along our borders.” It goes on to say that “any interference by the city of Calgary of Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights to enter and leave its lands at any point along Tsuu T’ina Nation boundaries constitutes a breach of our rights under Treaty No. 7.
The next part is the kicker:
“Any construction of roads by the city of Calgary or the permitting of any other buildings or development along the road is a breach of Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights under Treaty No. 7.”
Mayor Dave Bronconnier was not deterred by the threat of legal action. “We’re not going to stop because the First Nation writes a letter asking us to stop.” He went on to reiterate that the City of Calgary will continue to provide the tribe legal access to the reserve through the Anderson Road and 37th street intersection. The mayor said the city would consult with the Tsuu T’ina nation as a courtesy. “We would seek their input, not their approval.”
Brilliant. I say if you’re going to play hardball, you better be ready to deal with the outcome. The Tsuu T’ina gambled for a better deal from the Province and City but their bluff was called. They now face the prospects of getting nothing and may even lose a key entrance to their Grey Eagle Casino. Perhaps the gambling should best be kept inside the casino.
Source: City of Calgary
When the Tsuu T’ina Nation voted against the Ring Road deal, The City of Calgary promised quick actions on a Plan B and today it has announced plans to alleviate the traffic congestion faced by commuters everyday along Glenmore Trail at the 37th street intersection. The solution, albeit a temporary one, is to no longer allow eastbound traffic on Glenmore to make a left turn to head north on 37th street. Instead, they will make a right turn to head south on 37th street where they will enter a roundabout / traffic circle to turn around and head north again. The City admits this is not a long term solution, but only one that will temporarily ease the congestion.
The good news is that construction will start as early as next week and it should not disrupt traffic as it is on a relatively quieter section of 37th street. The project is expected to take about a month to complete so we will not have to wait long to see how well it will work. The City estimates that the construction of the traffic circle and accompanying changes will cost about $250,000. A proper long term solution to the congestion in the area is a full interchange with a pricetag of $85M.
I see this as a great solution. It does not cost that much, and eliminating the left turn allows traffic on Glenmore to keep moving for an extra 20 seconds. Cars blocking the left lane trying to get into the turn lane will also no longer be an issue. However, an issue that may potentially arise is that the increased westbound traffic flow will now bottleneck at the Highway 8 intersection. The City and province needs to move quick on the 37th street Ring Road and in the mean time expand Glenmore capacity in case of any future construction or planning delays for any alternate routes.
Re-elect me! We'll needlessly close roads again next year!
The organizers may have named it the Bow River Flow, but this event made traffic do anything but flow on Memorial Drive on the weekend. It was back in April when we first wrote about Ald. Druh Farrell’s idea to completely close the eastbound lanes on a section of Memorial Drive. At the time, the plan was to have the closures occur on every sunday during the month of August. When Calgarians spoke out against this idea, City Hall decided to allow it to be closed on a single Sunday, which was this past weekend. Calgarians tried to send the message to City Hall, and Ald. Druh Farrell but their reasoning fell upon deaf ears.
The idea was to have two lanes closed so Calgarians could go down and ride their bikes, or rollerblade their way down the roadway. Others could enjoy a nice walk on the road, or even practice some tai chi on the road. Critics of the plan said that Calgary already boasts one of the largest pathway systems in North America. There are pathways on both sides of the Bow River, and on the south shore there is a large greenspace that is perfect for hosting festivals like this. Organizers of the Bow River Flow, by virtues of their actions this weekend seemed to agree that the pathways are quite excellent as they setup the festival tents along the existing pathways!
Organizers expected about 10,000 people to attend the event, but estimates show the number was closer to 1,500–the majority of which walked along the existing bike paths adjacent to Memorial Drive. People were also discouraged to congregate on the roadway due to safety concerns about them being hit by cyclists or rollerbladers. The truth is, the only danger on the roadway were people tripping over the pylons that were setup. For most of the day there were more pylons on the road than people. In fact, there were more members of the media there than people on the road.
Supporters of the event ask why there is such a strong opposition to the roadway being closed. They argue that roads are closed each year for the Stampede Parade, the Lilac Festival, and Marda Gras to name a few. The key difference is that for each of these events, the roadways are closed for a reason. The Stampede Parade route runs on the actual roads that are closed. The festival tents are setup right on 4th street for the Lilac Festival, not on the side streets. The same goes for Marda Gras, tents are setup along the road and pedestrians walk along the closed street. For the Bow River Flop–err… Flow, two lanes of Memorial Drive were closed while festival tents were setup on the bike paths. The closure of Memorial Drive was unnecessary plain and simple. I would be just as peeved if they closed Northbound Macleod Trail during the Calgary Stampede while everyone is on the grounds.
This year’s Bow River Flow was a trial run and Ald. Druh Farrell must have accepted that the idea was bad. So, lesson learned right? Yeah, no thats not how we roll in Calgary. The event was a big bag of fail as I said on twitter, and our dear old Druh is talking about EXPANDING the event. I’m at a loss for words, so this will have to suffice.
Fun Fact:
Ald. Druh Farrell voted AGAINST saving Race City. Remember that during the next election folks.
The title is a bit misleading, but we are one step closer to seeing some expansion of the roadways in the southwest portion of Calgary with Premier Ed Stelmach saying today that the province is not going to resume talks with the Tsuu T’ina Nation after the band voted against the Ring Road proposal. Instead the Municipal and Provincial Governments will work together to fund the expansion of existing roads to alleviate the traffic pressures caused by the numerous delays to the SW portion of the ring road project.
The vote was taken. The agreement was turned down. There’s no coming back,” the premier said in Calgary today.
Tsuu T’ina Chief Sandford Big Plume as recently as last week hoped talks would resume. From an outsider’s perspective it looks like Tsuu T’ina people gambled for a bigger and better deal from the Province and lost big time. Instead of a counter-offer, the Province and City have officially closed the doors to any talks and plan to build around the reserve. The band has scheduled a meeting to discuss the ring road for later this week.
However, the Tsuu T’ina First Nations are not the only group that is not ready to move on. Environment Minister Jim Prentice said today that he hopes talks will resume between the Province and the band. I think 40 years is enough talking and every year we sit around and do nothing, the traffic continues to grow. The costs to build the roadway will continue to soar.
“It’s an essential project,” Prentice said. “I hope that the province and Tsuu T’ina pick up that ball and get on with it.”
We don’t necessarily need the SW portion of the ring road. Aside from the fact there wouldn’t be a “ring” around the city, there is no harm in leaving out the portion that would have run through the Tsuu T’ina land. Instead, expanding Glenmore Trail to 6 lanes and building an interchange at 37th street and Highway 8 would keep traffic moving there for years. A 37th street tunnel (or bridge like the one over Bowness Park) would further alleviate any traffic pressures. The 37th street tunnel would be subsidized by the Tsuu T’ina First Nations because they need easy access to the Grey Eagle Casino at the corner of Glenmore and 37th street.
I wish city planning was as easy as Sim City :)
Over 700 Tsuu T’ina band members voted earlier today on the SW ring road deal and only 38% voted in favor of selling over 400 hectares of reserve land to the Alberta Government for the construction of the massive ring road project. Details of the proposal were not made public but the Calgary Herald obtained documents showing the Provincial Government offering up to $275M with a minimum $240M held in trust by the Federal Government. The band would have also received 2000 hectares of crown land on the northwestern border of the reserve in exchange for 400 hectares needed for the construction of the roadway.
“The agreement did not guarantee that the Nation would receive additional reserve land,” Chief Big Plume said in a news release following the vote, “Tsuu T’ina tried to solve that problem at the negotiating table. We regret that we were unable to do so.”
The City of Calgary will now have to work on an alternative plan with the Provincial Government and decide if the SW portion of the ring road will ever be built. Alberta Transportation planners have been looking at constructing a SW freeway like the ring road since the 1960’s and with today’s vote it may be another 50 years before we have improved north-south corridors in the Calgary area.
I’ve read on the forums about this proposal, and I think it just might work. Instead of transferring $275 to the Tsuu T’ina band, why not buy up all the properties in Lakeview along 37th street and tunnel under the weaslehead area? Of course with the alignment of the ring road running along 37th street there will be no more access to the Grey Eagle casino on the Tsuu T’ina reserve from Calgary but I say we leave that problem to the band members to deal with.
The City of Calgary has identified the roads that would be part of a 220km network of HOV lanes throughout the city. Last September, Ald. John Mar asked for a report on the feasibility of HOV lanes in Calgary and the report has been in the City’s hands since January. When I wrote about the HOV lane idea back in January I was worried that the city would assume the newly designated lanes would magically solve the traffic congestion problem but it appears that the City will at least consider adding new lanes instead of converting existing lanes to HOV lanes (at least on some roads).
While that is a step in the right direction, I still feel that if ANY existing lanes are converted over to HOV lanes it would have a negative impact on traffic congestion. In 10 years, traffic will only get worse as the City has no plans to add any major roads to the road network for at least the next 25 years.
Some of the roads identified as part of the HOV lane network will have bus-only lanes as a conventional HOV lane would not work. Center Street North, and Macleod Trail are examples of such roads. Like I mentioned in my HOV lane post, only free-flowing roads such as Crowchild Trail, the new Ring Road and possibly Glenmore Trail would be good candidates for HOV lanes. Some of the roads that the city has identified as part of the network include:
- Country Hills Blvd
- John Laurie Blvd
- Macleod Trail
- Glenmore Trail
- 52 Street East
If a city committee approves the HOV lane network, the proposal will be tabled at a city council meeting later this month.
The City of Calgary has started the annual street sweeping to get rid of all the rocks and other debris that may have accumulated on our roads during winter. To assist the city in keeping your street clean, check the schedule posted below to see when your community will be swept. Vehicle owners are asked not to park on the street from 7:00am until 4:30pm during the cleaning days. Parking bans will be enforced on some streets but on most streets the sweepers will simply drive around parked vehicles. Over 900 vehicles were ticketed and towed last year, so try to keep your vehicle off the streets.
Community Date
Abbeydale April 27 - May 1
Acadia May 18 - 22
Albert Park April 20 - 24
Altadore April 27 - May 1
Applewood Park April 27 - May 1
Arbour Lake April 27 - May 1
Aspen Woods May 11 - 15
Auburn Bay April 20 - 24
Banff Trail May 18 - 22
Banff Trail - North May 25 - 29
Bankview April 27 - May 1
Bayview April 13 - 17
Beddington May 11 - 15
Bel-Aire April 13 - 17
Bowness April 20 - 24
Braeside May 18 - 22
Brentwood May 25 - 29
Briar Hill May 25 - 29
Bridgeland April 13 - 17
Bridgeland - North May 25 - 29
Bridlewood June 8 - 12
Britannia April 13 - 17
Cambrian Heights May 18 - 22
Canyon Creek Estates May 25 - 29
Canyon Meadows May 25 - 29
Canyon Meadows - East of Canterbury Dr. June 1 - 5
Capitol Hill May 18 - 22
Capitol Hill - North May 25 - 29
Castleridge May 4 - 8
Cedarbrae May 18 - 22
Chaparral June 15 - 19
Chaparral - North & West June 8 - 12
Charleswood May 25 - 29
Chinook Park May 11 - 15
Christie Park May 11 - 15
Citadel April 27 - May 1
Cliff Bungalow April 20 - 24
Coach Hill May 4 - 8
Collingwood May 25 - 29
Copperfield April 20 - 24
Coral Springs May 4 - 8
Cougar Ridge May 4 - 8
Country Hills Village May 11 - 15
Coventry Hills May 11 - 15
Coventry Hills - South May 4 - 8
Cranston April 13 - 17
Crescent Heights April 13 - 17
Crestmont April 20 - 24
Dalhousie April 27 - May 1
Deer Ridge June 8 - 12
Deer Ridge Estates June 8 - 12
Deer Run June 8 - 12
Diamond Cove June 1 - 5
Discovery Ridge May 4 - 8
Douglas Centre April 13 - 17
Douglas Glen April 13 - 17
Douglasdale April 13 - 17
Dover April 20 - 24
Eagle Ridge April 13 - 17
Edgemont May 4 - 8
Elbow Park April 20 - 24
Elboya - East April 13 - 17
Elboya - West April 20 - 24
Erinwoods April 20 - 24
Erlton April 20 - 24
Evanston May 4 - 8
Evergreen June 1 - 5
Evergreen - North May 25 - 29
Fairview May 18 - 22
Fairview - East May 11 - 15
Falconridge May 4 - 8
Forest Heights April 20 - 24
Forest Lawn April 20 - 24
Garrison Woods April 27 - May 1
Glamorgan May 4 - 8
Glenbrook April 27 - May 1
Glendale April 27 - May 1
Glengarry April 20 - 24
Greenview May 18 - 22
Hamptons May 4 - 8
Harvest Hills May 11 - 15
Hawkwood April 27 - May 1
Hawkwood South May 4 - 8
Haysboro May 18 - 22
Haysboro - West May 25 - 29
Hidden Creek May 4 - 8
Hidden Valley May 11 - 15
Highland Park May 18 - 22
Highwood May 18 - 22
Hillhurst April 13 - 17
Hounsfield Heights May 25 - 29
Huntington Hills May 11 - 15
Inglewood - North of 9th Ave. May 18 - 22
Inglewood - South of 9th Ave. May 26 - June 2
Kelvin Grove May 11 - 15
Killarney April 20 - 24
Kincora May 4 - 8
Kingsland May 11 - 15
Lake Bonavista June 1 - 5
Lake Bonavista Downs June 1 - 5
Lakeview April 13 - 17
Lincoln Park April 13 - 17
Lynwood April 13 - 17
Macewan Glen May 11 - 15
Maple Ridge May 25 - 29
Marlborough April 27 - May 1
Martindale May 4 - 8
Mayfair April 13 - 17
Mayland April 27 - May 1
Mckenzie Lake April 13 - 17
Mckenzie Towne April 20 - 24
Meadow Lark Park April 13 - 17
Midnapore - North & East of Midlake Blvd. June 8 - 12
Midnapore - South & West of Midlake Blvd. June 15 - 19
Millrise May 25 - 29
Millrise - South of Millrise Dr. June 1 - 5
Mission April 20 - 24
Monterey Park - North May 4 - 8
Monterey Park - South April 27 - May 1
Montgomery April 20 - 24
Mount Pleasant May 18 - 22
Mount Royal April 20 - 24
Mountain Park April 13 - 17
Mountview May 18 - 22
Mountview - South May 25 - 29
New Brighton April 20 - 24
North Glenmore May 4 - 8
North Haven May 18 - 22
Oakridge May 11 - 15
Ogden April 13 - 17
Palliser May 11 - 15
Panorama Hills May 4 - 8
Parkdale April 13 - 17
Parkhill April 20 - 24
Parkland June 8 - 12
Patterson May 4 - 8
Penbrooke Meadows April 27 - May 1
Penbrooke Meadows - South & East April 20 - 24
Pineridge April 27 - May 1
Prestwick April 20 - 24
Pump Hill May 11 - 15
Queensland June 1 - 5
Queensland - West June 8 - 12
Radisson Heights April 20 - 24
Ramsay May 18 - 22
Ranchlands April 27 - May 1
Renfrew May 25 - 29
Research Park May 25 - 29
Richmond April 27 - May 1
Rideau Park April 20 - 24
Riverbend April 13 - 17
Rocky Ridge April 27 - May 1
Rosedale April 13 - 17
Rosemont May 18 - 22
Rosscarrock April 27 - May 1
Roxboro April 20 - 24
Royal Oak April 27 - May 1
Rundle April 27 - May 1
Rutland Park April 20 - 24
Saddleridge May 11 - 15
Saddleridge - West May 4 - 8
Sandstone Valley May 11 - 15
Scarboro May 18 - 22
Scenic Acres April 20 - 24
Shaganappi April 20 - 24
Shawnee Slopes May 25 - 29
Shawnessy June 1 - 5
Sherwood May 4 - 8
Signal Hill - North May 11 - 15
Signal Hill - South & Center May 4 - 8
Silver Springs April 20 - 24
Silverado June 15 - 19
Somerset June 8 - 12
South Calgary April 27 - May 1
Southview April 20 - 24
Southwood May 25 - 29
Springbank Hill May 4 - 8
Spruce Cliff April 20 - 24
St. Andrews Heights April 13 - 17
Strathcona Park May 11 - 15
Sunalta May 18 - 22
Sundance June 15 - 19
Sunnyside April 13 - 17
Taradale May 4 - 8
Temple May 4 - 8
Thorncliffe May 18 - 22
Thorncliffe - North of 56 Ave at Skyline West May 11 - 15
Tuscany April 20 - 24
Tuxedo Park May 18 - 22
University Heights April 13 - 17
Upper Mount Royal April 20 - 24
Valley Ridge April 20 - 24
Varsity Estates April 27 - May 1
Varsity Estates - East May 25 - 29
Vista Heights April 27 - May 1
West Hillhurst April 13 - 17
West Springs May 4 - 8
Westgate April 27 - May 1
Whitehorn May 4 - 8
Wildwood April 20 - 24
Willow Park May 25 - 29
Windsor Park April 13 - 17
Winston Heights May 18 - 22
Woodbine May 25 - 29
Woodbine - West May 18 - 22
Woodlands May 25 - 29
Source: City of Calgary
After spending millions of dollars adding planters on Memorial Drive, the city plans another move for the major east-west roadway that will be seen as another waste of time and money. During August of this year, the roadway capacity will be reduced by 50% as the city shuts down the two lanes adjacent to the river. The westbound lanes will be turned into 2-way traffic. Before you even ask, there are no construction projects planned for the eastbound lanes. Ald. Druh Farrell pushed for the idea to close two lanes of Memorial Drive to create a more pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment.
“It’s about getting people to come out and get active. We’re not reducing capacity. In fact, we’re anticipating more volumes of people.” Farrell added she’s not worried about impeding traffic because that stretch of Memorial Drive is “a pretty sleepy road on Sundays.”
I hate to break it to Ald. Druh Farrell, but when you close two lanes you are in fact reducing capacity. Just because cyclists and pedestrians may end up using the roadway to travel, does not mean the roadway capacity has not been reduced. Another potential issue is that construction on 16th avenue is already limiting capacity on that east-west road, this unnecessary bottleneck on Memorial Drive will further strain the road infrastructure.
Calgary has one of the best pathway systems in North America, and right along the stretch of Memorial Drive that will be closed, from 10th Street to The Calgary Curling Club, run bike and pedestrian paths that are not even close to capacity on their busiest days. In fact, there are bike and pedestrian paths on BOTH sides of the roadway.
It would make much more sense to close down 4th Street (all four lanes) between 17th Avenue and 25th Avenue (Lilac Festival) every Sunday or even Kensington Road (all four lanes) between 10th and 14th Street. These two areas would have less impact on east-west vehicle traffic and would actually encourage people to visit via walking, jogging or cycling as both of these locations are accessible by the existing pathway systems.
This ridiculous idea was hatched and then launched without the slightest debate at City Hall. I personally plan on driving down to the area as a form of protest, and I hope other drivers do as well. Perhaps all the vehicles idling in the ensuing traffic snarl will put an end to this stupid idea.
Loading ...