whatchyyc
Active Member
The first bus with the new Consat CAD/AVL system has hit the road
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Calgary Transit
- Thread starter Always_Biking
- Start date
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Interesting update and strange communication style for Calgary Transit on the North-Central BRT projects - link here: https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/transit-north-central-brt.html?Location=28+Ave.
Saw this under construction today, looks like a MAX-style canopy and station. But I don't think it's for anything to do with the Centre Street project, I assume it's actually for MAX Purple:
Broken record alert - but just another weird communications for an otherwise good news story! The improvement is buried in the second sentence of the second bullet on an update page for a project that doesn't even have the MAX Purple in scope.
Just confusing and indecipherable to the public about why an upgrade is happening and how they are benefitting. Come on transit - be clearer and sell the good stuff you are doing!
Saw this under construction today, looks like a MAX-style canopy and station. But I don't think it's for anything to do with the Centre Street project, I assume it's actually for MAX Purple:
Broken record alert - but just another weird communications for an otherwise good news story! The improvement is buried in the second sentence of the second bullet on an update page for a project that doesn't even have the MAX Purple in scope.
Just confusing and indecipherable to the public about why an upgrade is happening and how they are benefitting. Come on transit - be clearer and sell the good stuff you are doing!
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
More of these shelters are needed downtown. The MY has no shelters and because of construction along 5th and 6th Ave stops have shifted.
Oddly enough the MY stop you show at 2nd Street both does and doesn't get used depending on the bus driver. The temporary stop is written in Sharpie on a sign where the 6 stops on 6th Ave east of 2nd Street. When standing there I had buses blow past me and then need to rush across 2nd Street to catch the bus. While yesterday the bus stopped where the 6 stops and then almost left me and ten others behind at the stop west of 2nd Street.
The City's service updates website lists the change and the description lists two different MY stops for EB and WB, the map however only shows one WB on 6th Ave. And the stop location shown on the map on 6th Ave is not where 'MY' is drawn on a sign with Sharpie:
Two right lanes on eastbound 5 Avenue S.W. between 1 Street S.W. & 2 Street S.W. will be closed. Routes 1, 2, 3, 7, 142, 301, and MAX Yellow will have stop closures.
- EB 5 AV @ 2 ST SW (#9957) - Temp Stop - Routes 1, 2 & MAX Yellow
- WB 6 AV SW @ 2 ST SW (#4583) - MAX Yellow
And yes I did call 311 about this. Larry was great and he's getting a supervisor to look at it.
Red Star
Active Member
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Gazyyc
New Member
The one under construction is on the north side of 7th. By the kiosk on the plaza
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
Saw it this morning. It isn't the full-on stop infrastructure, it is the overhead canopy one that is still open to the air. Those shelter's are a huge maintenance issue. The ones at Crowchild and 54th Avenue SW constantly have broken doors and glass. Recently someone started a fire in the one on NB Crowchild, when I went there in the morning to catch the bus there was a pile of ashes in the shelter and burnt logs behind the sound wall. People...
Red Star
Active Member
Is there an arrival times screen?
whatchyyc
Active Member
whatchyyc
Active Member
I think it's going to be the full shelter still, I contacted the city and they said it would be a standard max stop
Gazyyc
New Member
None of the new ones up Centre, have the arrival time screens. Unless they are going to add them in later but I did'nt see any spots in the concrete pad for where they would go. When the original ones went in, the screens came a bit later but the 2 spots for the 'legs' were visible.
So unless they have a new screen type. its a true City project and theyll go back in 6 months, rip up the concrete and install them.
whatchyyc
Active Member
Most of them were installed on top of the concrete later after substantial completion of the station. I guess they're just waiting on them still
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
Nice, guess the glass just wasn't there yet. You can look forward to those doors on the shelter being functional half of the time.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
I like the big shelters and don't know enough about their design to comment on the MAX-style robustness and cost-effectiveness for replacement. I am always suspicious of Calgary's fetish for angular plane-based architecture on public facility and infrastructure like bus stops, recreation centres, convention centres etc. I assume that boring old rectangles and right angles are cheaper than the strange pointy MAX roofs but who knows?
Upgrading a random station upgrade on a different MAX line not in the scope of the MAX Centre Street program probably makes sense behind-the-scenes (e.g. our crews are already mobilized for other shelters, easy to add another to the list), but is a wild decision strategically.
It's so ad-hoc and is about 10 steps ahead of the usual question that should be answered - what does 1st Street SW as a transit hub actually need?
1 Street SW is a huge interchange for 5 to 10 bus stops and an LRT station. But it's tragically depressing - for the transit volumes it sees, the conditions and infrastructure is appalling. The sidewalks are falling apart, the signage, wayfinding transit information and lighting are all horrible.
It's got to be in the top 3 or 5 busiest transit hubs in the city for volume and it's one of the few areas where pedestrians and transit riders vastly outnumber vehicle volumes - not that you'd be able to tell with what the street looks like.
So great - a "free" MAX Purple upgrade brought to you by Centre Street! But so random it obviously doesn't align to any Centre Street engagement process, doesn't align to any 1st Street plan or larger corridor strategy, and happened almost secretly and with zero fan fare - so no ability for the public to help champion transit improvements, no ability for engagement to influence outcomes.
Good news story - but just a bizarre way to upgrade the transit system!
Red Star
Active Member
I find it weird that CT chose that particular MAX station to upgrade.
I think the bus stop on 6th Ave and 3rd street is more deserving of an enclosed shelter and arrival screen. It'd a stop for the:
301
302
MAX Yellow
#1
#3
In fact, it'd be nice to see more bus stations have MAX style shelters and real time information. Especially at stations that see high ridership. The bus stations at Market mall and South Centre are prime candidates.
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CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
This coming election there will be those running that will want nothing more than to promise tax cuts or property taxes staying flat. We need to resist that, the dumb "search for waste" will turn up peanuts. I want someone who is going to prioritize proper Calgary Transit funding. Enough of the top of the line rec centres and hockey arenas (I say this as a rec hockey player). We need to get better at building basic but flexible facilities that allow us to be able to do more.
As has been said, we don't need super fancy shelter's either, they end up working at most half the time and a simpler shelter is probably better.