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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

IMO opening the grounds opening to 17th is a game changer. It helps the 17th Ave corridor east of 2nd st to continue progressing eastward, which means more people in the area.
Projects like Stampede Station would not be proposed if they hadn’t have opened up the grounds to 17th Ave.
Other proposals in the area are popping up, I believe partly due to this.
 
Rollerstud98 said:
I remember back in '04 how much of a pain in the ass it was after the games leaving the dome heading for the red mile. Would have been amazing if this had been done back then.
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I think that was an artifact of everyone trying to cram onto the open air +15 thing out of the dome and the piss ramp over Macleod. But there was always the option to leave the dome at surface level, and cross Macleod at the light. Now those are the only options.

There's also a crossing guard in front of the dome now, and I don't remember that before.
 
badc0ffee said:
But there was always the option to leave the dome at surface level, and cross Macleod at the light. Now those are the only options.
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Only at 12 Ave...for 17th you had to climb the ramp to cross the tracks, and then you could descend stairs on the east side of Macleod if you wanted to...but you could only cross on the south side of 17th and there wasn't even a beg button.
 
Mull said:
From an urban planning perspective, why is the updated LRT crossing at 17th ave better for the City then when it was 'walled' off?
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Not sure about an urban planning perspective, but from my own perspective it's 100 times better for pedestrians or cyclists. Being able to walk down 17th into the grounds, or walk down 17th leaving the grounds is such a nicer experience, than the old zag over to 15th and crossing over Macleod using the piss ramp. The big wall facing Macleod felt like the Stampede was turning it's back on the city.
 
Surrealplaces said:
Not sure about an urban planning perspective, but from my own perspective it's 100 times better for pedestrians or cyclists. Being able to walk down 17th into the grounds, or walk down 17th leaving the grounds is such a nicer experience, than the old zag over to 15th and crossing over Macleod using the piss ramp. The big wall facing Macleod felt like the Stampede was turning it's back on the city.
Click to expand...

Walling off Stampede from 17th was way worse than what we have now.

Even better would be deleting the oversized 1st/2nd st McLeod couplet and restoring normal two-way urban streets with wide sidewalks.

Like the ridiculously wide 4/5/6/9 one-way avenues downtown, there is no political will to do it now. First we need to first see the population and local activity along these corridors ramp up, so there are local interests that can face down suburban commuter preferences. The current solution of an at-grade crossing of a ridiculously wide one-way McLeod does seem to be inducing investment, and it is a step in the right direction.
 
The southbound segment of the Macleod Trail couplet (1st St SE) was supposed to get a cycle track as part of the original pilot program back in 2015. This would have linked the Bow River MUP with the Elbow River MUP with connections to Stephen Ave/Olympic Plaza and the 12th Ave cycle track. It was removed from the pilot as part of the horse trading required to get the pilot project across the finish line with 8 votes at Council.

In the decade since the cycle track was cut from the program we have seen:
- Long term lane closures on 1st St SE to accommodate the construction site that eventually became UpTen
- Extension of Red Line CTrain platforms and the launch of 4 car trains
- A reduction in traffic volumes along 1st St SE
- The construction of significant new residential buildings along 1st St SE (Boulevard and UpTen)
- The launch of several residential conversions in close proximity to 1st St SE (The HAT, Palliser Square)
- Construction of the 15th Ave cycle track, which adds another network connection
- The extension of 17th Ave into the Stampede grounds
- Proposal for 2 high-end hotels on the couplet (Trueman Marriotts)

So all that to say, the intention for 1st St SE to become a bit of a mainstreet with cycling facilities and a better urban realm has been clear for over a decade. The case to support it has only grown stronger. Yet it no longer appears in any City of Calgary capital plans and City staff all avoid discussing it despite the fact that several Councillors from the previous Council made statements that they felt design/construction would move ahead as part of this next 4 year budget cycle.

Personally I think Admin took one look at this new Council and combined it with all the anti cycletrack statements the UCP have made via Minister Dreeshen and recognized there is zero hope bringing this project forward any time soon. I think it's a real shame because I think there would be massive benefit to it and I also think it would complement the Truman hotel projects nicely as it would give guests on bikes/scooters a safe way to easily access major attractions such as Glenbow, Arts Commons, Olympic Plaza and the Bow River Pathway.
 
One thing that I find is a bit unspoken about the new Stampede Victoria Park Station is the pedestrian connection on the north side of the station. It allows pedestrians to walk from the north side of the BMO and 14th Ave. I also use it to walk to 1st Street SW from the grounds. So, not only has it opened up the grounds to 17th Ave but also to 14th Ave. I think that 14th Ave connection will be important once the new arena opens as it would be pretty efficient to walk to the arena through the portal between the BMO and the Casino.
 
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CalgaryTiger said:
One thing that I find is it but unspoken about the new Stampede Victoria Park Station is the pedestrian connection on the north side of the station. It allows pedestrians to walk from the north side of the BMO and 14th Ave. I also use it to walk to 1st Street SW from the grounds. So, not only has it opened up the grounds to 17th Ave but also to 14th Ave. I think that 14th Ave connection will be important once the new arena opens as it would be pretty efficient to walk to the arena through the portal between the BMO and the Casino.
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Agreed that crossing at 14th and Macleod has helped a lot and I use it often.

If only there was a proper sidewalk on either side of 14 Ave west of Macleod…
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7UeQLBgma2ScKLLo7
 
BrandedBlue said:
Agreed that crossing at 14th and Macleod has helped a lot and I use it often.

If only there was a proper sidewalk on either side of 14 Ave west of Macleod…
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7UeQLBgma2ScKLLo7
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That section will be remedied. But in general, the sidewalks on McLeod or any of these wide car boulevards has to be updated. I understand the lack of political will to convert these roads, but at a minimum can we get some setback on the sidewalk. All these sidewalks are built as property boundary-grass-sidewalk, when it should be property-sidewalk-grass or just widen the sidewalk. It's done in new section like the sidewalk next to BLVD, but waiting for every stretch to get redeveloped takes a long time.
 
CalgaryTiger said:
Have I got news for you about the southside of 14th Ave... haha
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Yeah, it’s gonna be a construction zone for 3+ years and the project won’t have to accommodate a sidewalk during building because there isn’t one to begin with.
I’m excited for the new towers there, but it’s hard to get excited for a completed sidewalk connection that won’t be done until 2030.
 
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