5Th & Macleod | ?m | 50s | Great Gulf | Henriquez Partners

Bertie Wooster said:
One way being successful is highly reliant on it being narrow and slow, not mega wide and fast. Two way mega wide and fast is also not great. Common denominator- width and speed.
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Agreed. The biggest issue I have with the downtown one way streets is how wide they are and how fast the cars go. I still prefer 2 way streets, but even with 2 way streets we would still need to change things up.
 
artvandelay said:
Just like when they made Fifth Ave a two-way and it turned into a pedestrian paradise? 😂

Two-way traffic is marginally better for the viability of street-front retail, but it doesn't really have an impact on the hostility of the public realm when the root causes relate to the fundamental design of the roads: excessive lane width (especially wide outside lanes), restrictions against on-street parking during the day, lack of sidewalk width, scarcity of street trees, lack of bike facilities etc.
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Yeah tighten up the curb-to-curb by a minimum of 3 - 5m or more for the most over-built avenues.

Many downtown one-ways could cut their width by 20 - 30% without losing a lane by just reducing the ridiculous wide-outside lanes, all the gynormous lay-bys and tightening the lane geometry by 0.3 - 0.5m per lane. All that extra space should be plowed right back into wide consistent sidewalks, street trees, cycling infrastructure, patios, bus lanes - literally anything that makes the core more inviting and livable.

What shouldn't be forgotten, is what I said above isn't even what we should do - it's just the free lunch available at next lifecycle replacement of a major avenue.

Drivers don't lose any capacity, and pedestrians, cyclists, transit, downtown residents, downtown visitors all gain - it's why our car-centric street designs are so maddening; the cars don't even need the extra space they are given, but yet they have it and continue to have it despite many plans, policies, budgets and strategies that say we should probably be doing something else with the space.

What we should do is a far more aggressive version of above, where we don't just give the wasted space to non-drivers, but actively prioritize non-drivers in all elements of street design. If there's ever a place for it, downtown is it.
 
Bertie Wooster said:
One way being successful is highly reliant on it being narrow and slow, not mega wide and fast. Two way mega wide and fast is also not great. Common denominator- width and speed.
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I think narrow one-ways could be a really good solution for many inner city roads that are in redeveloping areas. Can tame traffic flow and make it more predictable, while freeing up more space for either wider sidewalks or added street tree buffers, depending on the context. Inner city Toronto and Montreal have many, if not most of their side streets as narrow one-ways and it contributes to a far more livable neighbourhood.
 
CBBarnett said:
Yeah tighten up the curb-to-curb by a minimum of 3 - 5m or more for the most over-built avenues.

Many downtown one-ways could cut their width by 20 - 30% without losing a lane by just reducing the ridiculous wide-outside lanes, all the gynormous lay-bys and tightening the lane geometry by 0.3 - 0.5m per lane. All that extra space should be plowed right back into wide consistent sidewalks, street trees, cycling infrastructure, patios, bus lanes - literally anything that makes the core more inviting and livable.

What shouldn't be forgotten, is what I said above isn't even what we should do - it's just the free lunch available at next lifecycle replacement of a major avenue.

Drivers don't lose any capacity, and pedestrians, cyclists, transit, downtown residents, downtown visitors all gain - it's why our car-centric street designs are so maddening; the cars don't even need the extra space they are given, but yet they have it and continue to have it despite many plans, policies, budgets and strategies that say we should probably be doing something else with the space.

What we should do is a far more aggressive version of above, where we don't just give the wasted space to non-drivers, but actively prioritize non-drivers in all elements of street design. If there's ever a place for it, downtown is it.
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Ya not so fast with reducing the lane widths downtown… especially 4,5&6th avenues. Minus the curb/parking lanes the inside lanes are the narrowest in the entire city.
 
As a driver and a pedestrian I prefer one ways. It’s the size and speed of a road and design of the pedestrian realm that’s an issue not the direction of the vehicles.

One ways are better for pedestrian and traffic when there are large volumes of pedestrians crossing as there’s only one vehicle turning movement interaction.

Way better for j walking too.
 
MichaelS said:
Well, I think it is now safe to say this one is officially dead. Hopefully a more interested developer picks up the site and moves forward with the project. Too bad Great Gulf didn't make a better attempt at Calgary, but I am sure they have their reasons for not doing so:
renx.ca

An entire city block, 2.83 acres, for sale in downtown Calgary

An entire city block - 2.83 acres - is for sale in the heart of downtown Calgary.
renx.ca renx.ca
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Frustrating to see this one die.
I suspect it’s due to “that area of town”.
I heard recently the new EV Superstore is having endless security issues - to the point people will not shop there any more as they don’t feel safe. It’s a shame.
 
FCC1982 said:
Frustrating to see this one die.
I suspect it’s due to “that area of town”.
I heard recently the new EV Superstore is having endless security issues - to the point people will not shop there any more as they don’t feel safe. It’s a shame.
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This isn't the thread for this... at least its not the most appropriate but the death of this and the slow progress in the EV can be directly related to the DIC. Knowing people who live in the EV and have for years, the situation was never great but it has gotten worse. This is a big problem. Good luck to them with the sale and good luck to the businesses in Arris, they'll need it.
 
CalgaryTiger said:
This isn't the thread for this... at least its not the most appropriate but the death of this and the slow progress in the EV can be directly related to the DIC. Knowing people who live in the EV and have for years, the situation was never great but it has gotten worse. This is a big problem. Good luck to them with the sale and good luck to the businesses in Arris, they'll need it.
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Right thread or not, that's the reality...there's zero doubt that the primary deterrent to business/development activity in the area is due to the presence of the DIC and the increased activity around it. You’d have to be insane to invest there right now…there’s very little incentive, and a ton of risk. I know it’s not the thing to say these days, but until there is a concerted emphasis put back on public safety, over progressive goals of harm-reduction, don’t expect that area to reach its potential any time soon.
 
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DiscoStu said:
Right thread or not, that's the reality...there's zero doubt that the primary deterrent to business/development activity in the area is due to the presence of the DIC and the increased activity around it. You’d have to be insane to invest there right now…there’s very little incentive, and a ton of risk. I know it’s not the thing to say these days, but until there is a concerted emphasis put back on public safety, over progressive goals of harm-reduction, don’t expect that area to reach its potential any time soon.
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You're 100% right. Will can have empathy for the homeless but we have to be realistic and acknowledge that nobody in their right mind would ever want to live next to the DIC. Nobody. Especially when you can live somewhere in the west Beltline, or one of the satellite neighborhoods like Mission, Bridgeland etc.. I mean pretty much anywhere would be more desirable.
 
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