Always_Biking
Senior Member
Does anyone know if there are any public consultations involving the 4th street station? I'm guessing it's probably too early yet.
Many European and a few American stations do it well too. All I'm looking for is a seamless integration with built form, retail, and pedestrian corridors in all 4 compass directions in 3 dimensions. Too much to ask?
Here's a quick link to give you an idea of what metro stations are like in many parts of the world - "station" is synonymous with "mall", even in distant suburbs and smaller cities:
http://web-japan.org/trends/09_lifestyle/lif110120.html
What I (cynically) expect we'll get is a concrete stair and tunnel with only 1 or 2 entrances. Really, a station under 2nd St between 7th and 9th Ave could have as many as 12 entrance (or 6 split entrances), and direct connections to the future 8th Ave subway, 7th Ave ctrain corridor, CORE shopping, and possibly interior connections to other private properties. AND, the corridor and platforms should enable retail, food vendors, buskers, and public art. This really ought be the model for a future downtown stations (especially GreenLine Eau Claire, Green Stephen Ave, Red 5th St, Red 2nd Ave, Red Olympic Plaza - speculating on station names) and any future TOD projects. Imagine restaurants, shops, fitness facilities/gyms, daycares, and office lobbies right at the edge of the platform. And, most importantly, unimpeded connection from one mode of travel to another in any direction.
One reason I really like the way 7th Ave is set up is that there are no barriers (stairs, doors, tunnels, turnstiles, narrow corridors) to access the platform. But while it's easy for an at-grade station to blend seamlessly with the city, Calgarians might not realize some of the problems that commonly irk the success of underground stations (crowds, minutes added to commutes waiting in lines, poor ventilation, poor handicap access, poor lines of vision, perception of danger, poor lighting, poor pedestrian environments at grade, etc).
We've learned a lot since Toronto opened its subway in 1954 (and expanded in 1966); London's Tube has been a work in progress since 1863, Paris's Metro since 1900, and NYC Subway since 1904. Other cities hold Paris, NYC, and London as examples of successful metropolises - and there are many admirable things about these cities - but technology, design, and democratic capitalism has changed a lot since these systems were built. Calgary was right to build an at-grade LRT in the '80s, rather than trying to be Montreal or Toronto. Now that the benefits of grade separation are beginning to outweigh the cost of cut-and-cover in Calgary, it's only natural that Calgary build a subway, but let's build one for 2050, not 1950. Yes, it could be a lot of work and innovation for zoning (a la bonus density) and persuading adjacent properties to buy in, but having a plan and regulations developers can count on would be a start. It would be especially great if we figured this out before the 2nd Brookfield tower is built, if it's not too late already.
All this flexibility, integration, and access is made easier by Calgary's free fare zone and progressive honour-system boarding. Let's lead, not follow.
Can't wait to find out what option the city is choosing early next year. The Beltline is the last portion that needs to be determined. I hope it's underground as long as possible. It would also be nice if they moved the station from Centre Street to as close to the 2nd street turn as possible. I just think it would be so nice to get out of the subway and be at Central Memorial Park, a great urban experience.
Yes the recommendation but not the final decision.
There was a pretty major Herald article this morning. It sounds as though the city is moving towards building the Green line in phases rather than as a one shot. The first and most major phase would run the stretch from Beddington to Shepard Road. Here's a map:
View attachment 98797
The big losers appear to be the people in the South East. Most of the stations to be built later are in their neck of the woods.
The main driver for this is funding. The province has still only committed a small amount of the requested $1.5B. And the cost estimates for the line as a whole are probably above the $4.5B according to the article. The new estimate is $5.8B to $6.7B.
Additionally and of grater concern, the potential for higher cost could mean less stations through the central portion of the line. Eau Claire and Centre Street (in he beltline) could be delayed and 9th ave and 16th ave North of the river could be merged into a single station.
The article is also pushing ahead the start date to mid-2019. I believe Fall 2018 was put forward sometime last year.
In all it's disappointing, but not surprising. The west leg of the Blue Line came it at nearly $2B for a little over 8km of track. I know that involved a large elevated portion and a good deal of tunneling, but nowhere near as much as the Green Line calls for, and then add in the fact that the Green line is 5 to 6 times as long, there's no way they were going to keep it at two and a half times the cost. I'm happy with the decision to phase the construction, becuase that means getting more sooner, but I really hope they don't leave too much of the downtown portion unbuilt. Skipping the lone Beltine station in the first phase seems like an utterly bizarre decision to me.