Green Line LRT | ?m | ?s | Calgary Transit

Go Elevated or try for Underground?

  • Work with the province and go with the Elevated option

    Votes: 41 78.8%

  • Try another approach and go for Underground option

    Votes: 7 13.5%

  • Cancel it altogether

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Go with a BRT solution

    Votes: 3 5.8%
  • Total voters
    52
Fun portal work:
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darwink said:
Fun portal work:
_h2A91XJJ-WJysIZJQNWyjL9rMqz3EpAT77JkUKzcXaIQnKuaqrU6fXrw2vOqzZw4GNFm3MhxtZW41djWsWoPW4SBdpYkNsj4cNPy_CTEZTjEcmw5r7P8sFMFJlgyTRbEYsELtdAiCs
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K now I'm down for a bridge! This rendering really emphasizes how badly the Waterfront properties messed up by not adding retail to help activate the riverfront (now they're gonna unknowingly miss another opportunity of activating a park/plaza). Could have been a really well-integrated TOD. Let's see what the Eau Claire redevelopment does to bring some vibrancy.
 
I love that idea. Make the best of a bad situation and completely activating the area around it. Very cool.
 
Mountain Man said:
Now can we just get this approved at all levels so we can start building?
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No, because there is still fundamental differences with how the city thinks contracting should go, and the province. And those differences as discussed here amount to a huge black hole cost wise.
 
That Eau Claire landing is a mess. Rarely will people ever go up those steps to a platform that doesn't have a purpose to justify the cost of all of that work. No pedestrians are going to go up steps just to get to the other side. They will go around. A wide and gradual sweeping arc to the south of both path & bike route up and over the line would be much better and simpler. Goal One here should be the simplest and most accessible pedestrian and cycling route east-west through the area.

The east-west pathway route creates major conflict with the entry doors to the station. Not to mention this design hasn't thought one iota about the other seasons, which is typical for this city.
 
haltcatchfire said:
That Eau Claire landing is a mess. Rarely will people ever go up those steps to a platform that doesn't have a purpose to justify the cost of all of that work. No pedestrians are going to go up steps just to get to the other side. They will go around. A wide and gradual sweeping arc to the south of both path & bike route up and over the line would be much better and simpler. Goal One here should be the simplest and most accessible pedestrian and cycling route east-west through the area.

The east-west pathway route creates major conflict with the entry doors to the station. Not to mention this design hasn't thought one iota about the other seasons, which is typical for this city.
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I agree. Pockets of landscaping and multiple overhanging stairs creates ice dripping/snow maintenance issues, random width of pathways intersecting at weird angles will create weird congestion and pinch points all over, despite a big increase in pedestrian area overall.

I would remove all the weird stairs, triple the width of the gradual sweeping arc pathway for both pedestrians and cyclists and the make the size of the mixing zone/station plaza as large as possible in front of the station. Remove as much pointless random grass bits as possible and allow wide sweeping arcs to give real capacity with very wide pathways. This is forever the heart of the pathway network and will always have extremely high traffic. Build it with less landscape architecture flourishes and more sheer capacity.

1618861477715.png
 
Thoughts on the portal:
1) Biggest fail is trying to turn the portal into a plaza
2) Why does the LRT bridge have not only another pedestrian crossing, but one on either side? Pedestrian crossings of the lagoon already exist to the immediate east and immediate west. Keeping the bridge narrower will lessen it visual impact. Creating a redududant north-south pedestrian flow only adds to congestion
3) How about a restaurant building above the portal? I would offer excellent views and be far more utilized than a dead end plaza
4) I'm torn about providing pedestrian passage under the bridge by the portal. It would be dark, prone to ice build up and yet another spot for undesirables to congregate
5) Perhaps a wide ramp in the location of the stairways could minimize the jog in the pathway. Closer to the station, where the ramp is located in the image, could be another restaurant
6) Could the portal and bridge approach be shifted westward so that the pathway wouldn't have to make as sharp of a jog next to the Waterfront. This would likely be cost prohibative but even a 15m shift would make a difference. Perhaps eliminating the pedestrian pathways on either side of the tracks will allow the bridge to shift westward within the footprint shown in the image
7) Maybe enclose the section of the bridge through the park with something like this
1618868580925.png

1)
 
artvandelay said:
I'm not a fan of the way this cuts off the river walk. I understand the grade challenges but I think the path should be continuous under the bridge, even if the river channel has to be shifted slightly northwards. I believe that area is largely manmade anyway.
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Yeah that is definitely an oversight, I'm sure the pathway will be continuous the entire way.
 
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