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Calgary Bike Lanes and Bike Paths

I'm in my Canadian Cities class with a representative from Bike Calgary here today, and apparently the bike lane to the Barley Belt has been approved. :D
 
Very cool! Any idea what the alignment will look like? I can't seem to find anything on the city's site...
 
Nice having the new separated paths through Eau Claire.

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UrbanWarrior said:
I'm in my Canadian Cities class with a representative from Bike Calgary here today, and apparently the bike lane to the Barley Belt has been approved. :D
Click to expand...

Great news if it's true! Do you know where I can find more info on this? I checked the City's website and Bike Calgary.
 
She said it to a whole lecture hall, and she's one of the executives of Bike Calgary, so if it's a safe bet that it's true. I posted it seconds after she said it.
 
I'm curious if it's changed from what was first proposed in November - paving the service road beside the LRT between 42nd Ave and 58th Ave (which already had some funds set aside but needed council direction to talk to CPR) along with a multi-use pathway along 42nd. I'm really hoping it can connect to Stanley Park on the west and go all the way to 12th St SE which can then connect to the 11th St lanes that have been isolated since they were put in years ago. The item in the budget deliberations in November was "$5.5 million to Sidewalks and Pathways to fund active mobility in the 42 Avenue SE multi-use pathway and other priority pathway connections;".

Also in improvements, public consultation on the 12th Ave Cycle Track extension will be showing up https://engage.calgary.ca for some value of soon. I'm hoping the plan is at least to extend it past 14th St and connect to 15th St where you can go north to behind the LRT or south along the existing blue signed route.
 
The 12th Ave Cycle Track extension and engagement sessions are listed online now at https://calgary.ca/12ave

3 consistent lanes for general traffic and extending into Sunalta.

It'll be done in three phases:
Phase 1 (2019) - Improve the roadway and track between 4th and 11th St.
Phase 2 (2019) - Improve the roadway and extend the track from 11th St. SW to 16th St. SW
Phase 3 (2020) - Extend the track through to the pathway to cross the railway tracks at 10th Ave and 19th St.

May 28, 2019, from 7 - 9 p.m. at Connaught School, Main Gym
June 4, 2019, from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Sunalta Community Association, Club Room
 
I'd like to see the actual plans because this could either be done very poorly, or somewhat ok. 14th and 12th handles a lot of movement and having bicycles in the rightmost lane could serious fubar the light sequence. Saying this as someone who would probably use this almost every day once implemented.
 
darwink said:
I'd like to see the actual plans because this could either be done very poorly, or somewhat ok. 14th and 12th handles a lot of movement and having bicycles in the rightmost lane could serious fubar the light sequence. Saying this as someone who would probably use this almost every day once implemented.
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Huge and awesome news! 12th Avenue has become the backbone of Beltline cycling and is a big reason for the big growth in bicycle counts and the increasingly urban vibe of the neighbourhood. This is a huge move for Calgary's bicycle users. And an opportunity to address some deficiencies (beyond the lane jogging for cars):

If I am imagining this correctly, I would assume the bicycles are in the left-most lane of 12th Avenue (as they are now). I would also assume they would implement it similarly to the existing 12th Ave; where major turning movements have dedicated turn-cycles for cars that preempt cycle movements. This is a huge pet-peeve of mine as it undercuts bicycle efficiency significantly for often trivial / negligible auto throughput, particularly outside of rush hours where there is little turn movements from 12th Ave to 11th, 9th, 8th or 4th Streets northbound.
The turn-cycles from 12th Avenue onto 4th and 9th Streets northbound are the most egregious; 4th because the turn cycle is like 30 seconds long *for every cycle all day and night* which is only required for that length of time for about 15 minutes of rush-hour. 9th because it's a side road and has no traffic (or at least any more traffic than any of the intersections where they didn't bother with turn-cycles).

The final pet peeve of mine is MacLeod's weird bicycle-preemption; where bicycles get 5 seconds out of every 12th Avenue eastbound green to cross ahead of the cars, then get a red signal for the rest of the green and subsequent MacLeod Trail northbound. Results in an almost certainty that a east or westbound bicycle will be stopping for a full (or longer) light cycle. Really weird, because none of the other signals are like this (causing confusion) and the pedestrian signal is normal (causing further confusion)

Perhaps all my complaints are reasonable trade-offs to slowly eek out acceptance of bicycles from the complete car-culture hegemony we find our society in. But would be nice to do some minor tweaks (e.g. no turn signals outside rush hours to improve after-rush cycling, tighten up the cycle-length to avoid long bicycle wait-times etc.)

At any rate, exciting times ahead! Can't wait to go to Sunalta!
 
CBBarnett said:
The final pet peeve of mine is MacLeod's weird bicycle-preemption; where bicycles get 5 seconds out of every 12th Avenue eastbound green to cross ahead of the cars, then get a red signal for the rest of the green and subsequent MacLeod Trail northbound. Results in an almost certainty that a east or westbound bicycle will be stopping for a full (or longer) light cycle. Really weird, because none of the other signals are like this (causing confusion) and the pedestrian signal is normal (causing further confusion)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the creative efforts from Roads, but I also find all the one-of-a-kind signals and timings to create more confusion than efficiency. I am a fairly confident urban cyclist but crossing Macleod and 12th always terrifies me because I seriously doubt whether everyone else on the road understands the signaling (took me 3-4 times through there to get it myself). I would say the same about crossing Memorial at Edmonton Trail. Not timing pedestrian and cycling signals the same strikes me as too clever by half in every case I’ve seen it.
 
I like their plan of keeping with 12th ave as the backbone of the cycling track and building it out from there. So far it's worked really well along 12th. The other day, I rode it for the first time and was impressed. I agree with @darwink point about the intersection at 12th and 14th. It's something that'll need careful planning...not that it can't or shouldn't be done, but it'll need to be thoroughly thought through.
 
The Macleod signalling is problematic especially with a pedestrian walk light and a red for bicycles. Only riding this route infrequently each time I feel like maybe the bike signal is a mistake since pedestrians are crossing and end up just crossing. If you're the only cyclist too you have no one else to watch (I compare this to the criss-cross intersection in eau claire where tourists routinely step out when they anticipate a walk sign only to see regular users still waiting then step back and wait)

I also love seeing all the new condo development along 12th ave and the bike lane. I know you can't link the two but I use that as further prove to any doubters of the value of bike lanes "Look at all these multi million dollar condos all being built just because of the bike lane"
 
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