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Calgary Bike Lanes and Bike Paths

Mountain Man said:
There's an old pier or the foundation for one in the river right by 37St, probably used to be a pedestrian bridge there a long time ago. Satellite view
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This structure in the river was put in at some point in the late 70's. The 1975 imagery does not have it but it first appears in the 1979 historical imagery on the city's website:
BowRiver_32St.png


But I think that is an intake pump added for the pump station on the North bank that provides the cooling water for the air conditioning systems at the UofC and Foothills Campuses. Bow River Pump Station
 
Interesting, I always thought it was an old bridge pier. They is an orange floating ball attached to it so boaters and floaters don't hit it, I always wondered why they didn't just rip it out...
 
CalgaryTiger said:
View attachment 441096
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As the kids say, Let's Go! Total of $40 Million in 5A funding if you add up the first amendment in II a. and this additional amendment.
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A decent chunk of $20m for local area plan amenities will also contribute pedestrian and cycle improvements. Not to mention Established Area Growth investments ($33m), mainstreets $60m, TOD $16m at Inglewood/Ramsay and downtown capital investments. Lots of wins for better public space and active mobility!
 
The pathway is technically closed, but I'm definitely not the only one who uses it still. With the studded tires on my bike, it really isn't an issue to ride over the ice, but the city has liability concerns to deal with. What surprises me most about all this is that there is liquid water running down the hill in sufficient quantities to create this ice. When I took that pic this morning it was -16 and the ice was quite soft and was steaming in places, definitely water running over top still...

Lots of footprints on the train track to avoid this section (there are 3 sections of ice in about 1.5km), so it's only a matter of time before another person is killed walking on the tracks with headphones...
 
Mountain Man said:
The pathway is technically closed, but I'm definitely not the only one who uses it still. With the studded tires on my bike, it really isn't an issue to ride over the ice, but the city has liability concerns to deal with. What surprises me most about all this is that there is liquid water running down the hill in sufficient quantities to create this ice. When I took that pic this morning it was -16 and the ice was quite soft and was steaming in places, definitely water running over top still...

Lots of footprints on the train track to avoid this section (there are 3 sections of ice in about 1.5km), so it's only a matter of time before another person is killed walking on the tracks with headphones...
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I almost wonder if there's a point in the future where there's no southside path at all, at least as a standardized pathway - the hiking trails can remain of course. I would assume also one day CP rail will double their main line here and there's not a lot of space to fit a pathway either (or potentially if there's a ton of earth moving involved in such a major rail project, make room for the pathway on the otherside of the tracks by the river).

It's near impossible to maintain in the shaded hillside as a year round snow-cleared route and there is a duplicate route across the river for any wheeled pathway user. The main pathway traffic volumes aren't generated on this stretch either as it's entirely isolated at the bottom of the valley. People coming from either end typically would start at Edworthy Park or nearer to Crowchild with an existing bridge readily available with little backtracking.

@Mountain Man is there any commuter or trips I am missing in my logic here? Where this south bank pathway in this stretch shortens travel time or is significantly more convenient? I get the busy summer season and the general recreation/dog walkers in the area, but I am struggling to think of who really benefits this stretch of pathway year-round.
 
There isn't really any reason for this pathway aside from providing access to and from the Douglas Fir trail. Lots of people park in the Edworthy main lot and commute on the north side of the river utilizing the bridge by Angels. I use this pathway because it's less busy and I'm not breathing exhaust from riding beside Bowness Rd / Memorial. It actually adds 1.5km to my commute, but it's a nicer ride. In the summer I only take that pathway in the morning because it's full of park users in the evening, who all seem to need to walk 5 wide and get mad if a cyclist has the audacity to try and get by lol. Basically it's a beautiful spot, and that's why it's popular, but the pathway on the north side can easily handle the demand. That being said, if they pathway was closed permanently, more people would just walk on the train tracks, so it would make sense for the City and CPR to figure something out.

Adding a ditch wouldn't work because the slope above is constantly shifting, and the ice would pretty much erase the ditch every winter. What's needed is a major retaining wall and some way to channel the water to an engineered location that can handle the runoff / ice. This would be millions of dollars in a location that's really not required to be a pathway. The bridges in Edworthy and Crowchild are about 2km apart, so for commuting, the pathway on the N side is sufficient. The best solution for the pathway would be to move it on the N side of the CPR line, but that would likely be tens of millions of dollars. Long story short, the demand will not justify the cost, so I don't see anything happening any time soon. Replacing the fence to prevent people trespassing onto CPR land is likely the only solution, but as you can see from the pic I posted, the ice will just push the fence over eventually.
 
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