Roads, Highways & Infrastructure

[FriendlyDrunks]

Big fan of these signs.

It's anecdotal, but since a bunch went in on Northmount Drive I've noticed traffic moving slower.
Plus they're cheap to install.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Lets see how they survive the winter...

 

[trtcttc]

Big fan of these signs.
View attachment 615730
It's anecdotal, but since a bunch went in on Northmount Drive I've noticed traffic moving slower.
Plus they're cheap to install.

I think these work in certain situations but installing them on roadways like Elbow Drive will just lead to it getting hit and flattened.

Roughly one-third of in-street crosswalk signs hit by Calgary drivers - LiveWire Calgary

The City of Calgary has replaced more than 132 mid-street crosswalk signs in an elementary school safety project, with most due to drivers hitting them. Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner asked about the issue last week during Question Period at the regular meeting of Calgary city council. Back in...

livewirecalgary.com

 

[trtcttc]

Because of $$$. I believe it’s around $100,000 per crosswalk. Believe there are 30,000+ crosswalks in Calgary. What would fix this issue the most is if drivers and pedestrians pay attention more. I’m on the road everyday for work and I see people just walk across roads without even looking. Assuming the drivers are always looking out for them.

Right, they are currently expensive but why? Is it the electrical wiring to provide power? Why can't we use a small solar array and lights? People use them as walkway lights and it's like $10 a piece. Sure this needs to be more reliable, higher battery capacity, etc. but even at $100 (10x the consumer lights) it's pretty affordable.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

The new flashing lights that are the new standard are definitely over engineered. Something simpler would probably work in 90% of the use cases.

 

[Woosh]

I think these signs are mostly window dressing; safety theatre.

If we actually want to reduce pedestrian injury it's not complicated, but Calgarians hate to hear it. We need to invest in permanent infrastructure that slows cars down.


My biggest frustration with Calgary (and really most cities) is the delusion that physics work differently here. Cities are the perfect natural experiment. Yet, we're unwilling to study what policies have worked in other cities and replicate them here.

Want to improve pedestrian safety? Narrow roads and install automated speed enforcement everywhere you can. That's the only thing that works.


We're in the midst of a pedestrian crisis. The last three months were the most dangerous for walking Calgary has ever seen.

My fear is that most Calgarians don't actually care. If 50 people get sent to the hospital every month because of our transportation network, that's fine, as long as their commute isn't lengthened by 5 minutes.


Probably no surprise that a city defined by the oil and gas sector is unable to address any collective action problem. Very similiar dynamics at play. Both the extraction industry and the car dependent transportation network are systems which primarily benefit the wealthy and hurt the poor.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

There must be problem areas that can be looked at and improved. Somewhere on here someone had a map of where incidents are happening. No offense to the city but curb extensions in Marda Loop should probably come after there's some effort put into the issue areas.

 

[lemongrab]

View attachment 615790

I think these signs are mostly window dressing; safety theatre.

If we actually want to reduce pedestrian injury it's not complicated, but Calgarians hate to hear it. We need to invest in permanent infrastructure that slows cars down.


My biggest frustration with Calgary (and really most cities) is the delusion that physics work differently here. Cities are the perfect natural experiment. Yet, we're unwilling to study what policies have worked in other cities and replicate them here.

Want to improve pedestrian safety? Narrow roads and install automated speed enforcement everywhere you can. That's the only thing that works.


We're in the midst of a pedestrian crisis. The last three months were the most dangerous for walking Calgary has ever seen.

My fear is that most Calgarians don't actually care. If 50 people get sent to the hospital every month because of our transportation network, that's fine, as long as their commute isn't lengthened by 5 minutes.


Probably no surprise that a city defined by the oil and gas sector is unable to address any collective action problem. Very similiar dynamics at play. Both the extraction industry and the car dependent transportation network are systems which primarily benefit the wealthy and hurt the poor.

The worst part is that the 'benefit' side of the equation from travelling faster in pedestrianized areas is so damn weak in terms of overall travel time. Probably +/- one light cycle on most trips.

And of course there are several other costs to increased speed (noise, local pollution, etc)

 

[Woosh]

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The above is a map of every place a driver has sent a walking Calgarian to the hospital in the past 3 years. Unsurprisingly, downtown is the major hotspot.

The thing is, you can't just focus on improving walkability where people are getting hit. You'll notice that the areas with the least amount of incidents are also the least walkable.

When things are so dangerous for pedestrians, people just don't feel safe being outside of their car.

 

[Woosh]

The worst part is that the 'benefit' side of the equation from travelling faster in pedestrianized areas is so damn weak in terms of overall travel time. Probably +/- one light cycle on most trips.

And of course there are several other costs to increased speed (noise, local pollution, etc)

And don't even get me started on the general quality of life that walking provides over driving. The number one thing that I hear Calgarians driving about is traffic and parking. The whole system makes people miserable and yet they refuse to replace it with a mode that will make them happier and healthier.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

You'll notice that the areas with the least amount of incidents are also the least walkable.

When things are so dangerous for pedestrians, people just don't feel safe being outside of their car.

You cannot try to boil the ocean with this.

Some of those downtown incidents must be jaywalking, not much you can do about that. The one-way freeways downtown I assume are a factor as well... I wish there was more nuance downtown besides a red blob of problems.

Without that context and specifically looking downtown, my answers are curb extensions, rush hour parking in the left lane of downtown one-ways, coupled with rush hour bus-only in the right lane. The curb inconsistency and fast travel speeds along these avenues specifically cause a lot of risk. Maybe some of this money going into downtown can go towards that.

 

[Woosh]

Some of those downtown incidents must be jaywalking, not much you can do about that. The one-way freeways downtown I assume are a factor as well... I wish there was more nuance downtown besides a red blob of problems.

The jaywalking excuse is classic victim blaming. Why does Calgary have a higher rate of pedestrian incidents than Toronto? Are Calgary residents just poorly behaved?

No, of course not. It's because downtown has been built to serve the interests of suburban commuters at the expense of inner city residents.

It's really non nonsensical and clear for anyone that has walked around downtown and seen it outside their heated F150. Pedestrians don't have a death wish. People aren't flinging themselves into traffic.

Humans are really good at two things:

1. Trying not die
2. Recognizing velocity

 

[CalgaryTiger]

The jaywalking excuse is classic victim blaming. Why does Calgary have a higher rate of pedestrian incidents than Toronto? Are Calgary residents just poorly behaved?

No, of course not. It's because downtown has been built to serve the interests of suburban commuters at the expense of inner city residents.

It's really non nonsensical and clear for anyone that has walked around downtown and seen it outside their heated F150. Pedestrians don't have a death wish. People aren't flinging themselves into traffic.

Humans are really good at two things:

1. Trying not die
2. Recognizing velocity

You just took a throwaway line, attacked me for it, and completely skated past the rest of my points. I'm on your side but no one will come onside with you if you don't accept that you can't fix everything at once.

I have jaywalked downtown and its obviously more dangerous than doing it in my neighborhood but I accepted the risk and yes, was poorly behaved. My point was making it generally easier and more predictable for pedestrians should make it safer.

 

[badc0ffee]

I've almost been hit before, and it didn't come down to speed - it might have even been in a 30 zone. It came down to the driver not following the law.

This was a road with 2 lanes in each direction. One lane of traffic had stopped for me. That should be a cue for the next lane to stop, and in fact it's the law to do that. But that driver didn't.

I don't know how we fix that - camera enforcement? It's not always some bogeyman dude in a F150 either, it's also drivers like the ones in this case, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 70s driving a small car (Pontiac Vibe) who probably would never in their lives consider walking anywhere.

 

[trtcttc]

I've almost been hit before, and it didn't come down to speed - it might have even been in a 30 zone. It came down to the driver not following the law.

This was a road with 2 lanes in each direction. One lane of traffic had stopped for me. That should be a cue for the next lane to stop, and in fact it's the law to do that. But that driver didn't.

I don't know how we fix that - camera enforcement? It's not always some bogeyman dude in a F150 either, it's also drivers like the ones in this case, a woman in her 80s and a woman in her 70s driving a small car (Pontiac Vibe) who probably would never in their lives consider walking anywhere.

People have difference experiences but definitely lower speed would reduce the likelihood and severity of any incident. Unfortunately, when it comes down to driving, it is very hard to enforce and I'd caution people that want excessively low speed limit. While it's not an excuse, frustrated drivers are probably the most dangerous drivers.

I don't want to be off topic, but as a former Torontonian, the driving here is pretty good. In Toronto, if you are walking across a signalled crosswalk, you almost always have to check your left side because almost always the driver would try to sneak in a right turn in the couple seconds where it's a red light an the pedestrian light is about to turn on. Rarely happened to me here. Earlier this week, when Crowchild NB had the water main break, almost everyone lined up. If the equivalent was to happen in Toronto, the NB exit to 33rd would be completely filled with drivers looking to take the exit and re-enter Crowchild 50m ahead using the NB on ramp. In the GTA, speed cameras positioned in school zones had 245 reports of vandalism in a year.

‘They don’t care’: Mississauga photo radar speed cameras increasingly vandalized, city numbers show

Mississauga received over 50 per cent more reports of speed cameras being vandalized in 2023 compared to 2022, something that a former councillor says could mean city’s program needs to be changed.

www.mississauga.com