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Calgary Bike Lanes and Bike Paths

Is 14 St actually unsafe for pedestrians or is this just a vibe you're getting?

(For context, I walk this street as well. It's kind of loud and unpleasant, but I've never even had a close call with a car there, unlike urban darling 11 St.)
 
The only really unsafe part of 14st is crossing 12Ave where you have turning cars rushing to beat the light and almost hitting pedestrians. I see it a few times a week as I'm waiting to cross in the bike lane.

I refuse to use the bike lane on 11st now, had too many close calls with cars turning or going around a turning car and almost hitting me.
 
badc0ffee said:
Is 14 St actually unsafe for pedestrians or is this just a vibe you're getting?

(For context, I walk this street as well. It's kind of loud and unpleasant, but I've never even had a close call with a car there, unlike urban darling 11 St.)
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Mountain Man said:
The only really unsafe part of 14st is crossing 12Ave where you have turning cars rushing to beat the light and almost hitting pedestrians. I see it a few times a week as I'm waiting to cross in the bike lane.

I refuse to use the bike lane on 11st now, had too many close calls with cars turning or going around a turning car and almost hitting me.
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Here's the latest heat map of collisions, all the regular collision data caveats apply (we don't count near-misses, unreported collisions, the severity of the injuries isn't tracked etc).

By inner city standards, 14th Street SW does stand out as a corridor with more collisions and a history of collisions are every intersection.

1704825971547.png


But what about pedestrians?

Here's the data that is labelled with "Pedestrian" from the dataset from May 2017 to current. 15 total collisions on 14th or immediately nearby. 5 flagged with EMS on site - 10, 11(x2), 13, 15 Avenues all since June 2022. Perhaps a data issue where EMS was only flagged after a certain date? Not sure.

1704826229208.png


I walk down 14 Street SW about 5 times a week from the river to 15th Avenue. By far the most dangerous is evening rush hour. A similar pattern replicates on most corners, but 10th and 14th Street is the most noticeable. Non-scientifically, I would guess 75% of cars turning north onto 14th Street SW from WB 10th Avenue do not look for pedestrians, roll the stop to make a right-turn on red, or block the crosswalk waiting for a break in traffic.

I diagramed below, green is pedestrian movement, red is cars. Highlighted where I have almost been hit repeatedly:

1704829419997.png

In my opinion, partially it's a sightline issue due to the rise in 14th Street to the south and the construction scaffolds blocking view to the south that encourages cars to creep out over the sidewalk looking left but not right. The exacerbating issue is a formalized right-turn lane and 14 Street's conversion into a semi-expressway features just north of here and the narrow, crap state of all sidewalks in all directions and poor lighting. All in all, about as dangerous of an intersection that we have in the inner city, it encourages dangerous driving, and is likely only not worse because congestion is bad enough speeds are lower than they otherwise would be.

A similar problem occurs with right turns from 11th Ave to 14 Street NB. 12th Avenue is more interesting as it's often intersection-blocking traffic trying to make the light, plus aggressive last minute turns onto 12th Ave from 14 Street SB and 14 Street NB. Most corners are wide and sweeping to encourage turns at speed, including right-turns, and everywhere paint is missing and sidewalks are poorly lit and in bad condition.

I could go on, but I have seen enough in person and enough in the data to suggest this is a dangerous road for pedestrians. It's probably more unsafe than many other roads in the area. Should we do anything about it? Well that depends on if we want to prioritize high-speed, no-look right turns on red for commuters or people's lives.
 

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christopherplace said:
As a younger man in genteel downtown Toronto, I'd do this more. In Calgary, I'm much more cognizant about being shot
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Was this not a joke?

I get the frustration, but cool it with the name calling and take it down a notch. You are largely talking to people who agree about the issues of traffic safety you're raising. Please argue with structure, data and opinions or you'll lose your narrative and no one will listen.
 
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Dude, we all agree with you for the most part! When you start to get emotional, maybe just take a few minutes to calm down and come back and have a conversation. Getting all defensive because not everyone is as concerned as you are doesn't seem to be working for you.

If you are as concerned as you seem about pedestrian safety, message your councilor, report specific incidents to 311, go to community meetings and raise concerns. There are lots of ways to try and raise awareness and get change to happen.,
 
Anyone else noticing CP trucks driving on the bike path near their tracks lately? Is this allowed? seems foolish to allow heavy trucks to drive on a bike path that's clearly not designed for them.
 
CBBarnett said:
Was this not a joke?

I get the frustration, but cool it with the name calling and take it down a notch. You are largely talking to people who agree about the issues of traffic safety you're raising. Please argue with structure, data and opinions or you'll lose your narrative and no one will listen.
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Agreed. I agree with almost all of what he posts, but some of the posts are extreme in nature. Hyperbole works when joking around but has the opposite effect if it’s meant to be taken seriously.
 
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