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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

haltcatchfire said:
33rd - Sifton - Landsdowne - 42nd should be tunnelled between Crowchild and Deerfoot.
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The lowest point along the direct route only has a volume of 6000 cars a day. Even 33rd just west of 14th Street only carries 12,000 cars a day.

The only even mild inconvenience of that route is 33rd west of 20th St. And traffic volume there has stayed flat despite population growth in the vicinity.
 
darwink said:
The lowest point along the direct route only has a volume of 6000 cars a day. Even 33rd just west of 14th Street only carries 12,000 cars a day.

The only even mild inconvenience of that route is 33rd west of 20th St. And traffic volume there has stayed flat despite population growth in the vicinity.
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I forgot green text.
 
darwink said:
The lowest point along the direct route only has a volume of 6000 cars a day. Even 33rd just west of 14th Street only carries 12,000 cars a day.

The only even mild inconvenience of that route is 33rd west of 20th St. And traffic volume there has stayed flat despite population growth in the vicinity.
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33rd west of 20th doesn't move that little traffic very well. Its for vehicle traffic coming off Crowchild going to 14th St. and beyond. Its for vehicle traffic turning south into Garrison/Altadore/Marda Loop (that doesn't use the Flanders interchange) and north into South Calgary. Its for people accessing the businesses around 33rd and 34th Avenues and between 22nd and 19th Streets.

When trying to do all of those at once it kind of misses on some. There's only one thru-lane off Crowchild, but that's blocked at 20th by drivers turning north and south (frustration). It does fairly well feeding people south, since its a simple right turn at 22nd or 20th (check-ish, just have to get to 20th), if you're turning north you're blocked from doing so at 22nd and 21st which forces you to turn at 20th where there's a short advance but this traffic normally ends up blocking people trying to go straight (frustration). Now, I live in the area so I normally don't drive here but if you wanted to access the businesses on these blocks you're either looking for street parking, or parking in an off street lot that may or may not police the fact you're using its adjacent businesses or not (frustration and confusion).

In off-peak times its fine and works well, but in peak times it can be really bad where even a small amount of cars (12,000 a day) can cause frustration, possibly keeping people from outside the area away. I think the traffic here is fairly local as a result, which is a shame because it's not the volume that's the issue its how poorly the little volume moves.

Saying all that, this is all about to change! Read the Main Street plan and you'll find the goal is to make 33rd worse of a thru-road and more of a destination. From 22nd onward it will have only one lane of traffic, no slip lanes at intersections, other than the interchange, and be generally a pretty slow road to drive down.

The Master Plan calls it a more pedestrian focused main street that prioritizes safety and comfort.

It goes on to say:

"Our approach to right-sizing the right-of-way
converts the main street from auto-centric to
community focused with high quality public
realm elements that maintain the necessary traffic
volumes while reducing vehicular, pedestrian,
and cycling conflicts. This will create a place that
encourages community members and visitors to
stay, shop, and enjoy."

Will making it a destination bring more people into the businesses? Or will it become that much more local? Also, good luck to those trying to cut through to 14th and beyond, they might need that tunnel.
 
Why you would want to use 33 Ave to quickly cut between Crowchild and 14 St is beyond me. If you're coming from the north, use 17 Ave. From the south? Use 50 Ave.

I'm not going to shed a tear that 33 Ave is being redesigned as a destination rather than a thoroughfare. The road improvements will do wonders for local businesses. As someone once said: places can either be quick to drive through, or appealing to stop at. You can't have both.

It's a moot point anyway. 33 Ave only has 2 lanes at the moment and will continue to have 2 lanes after the reconstruction. There will be minimal impact on driving, but walking will be greatly, greatly improved.
 
CalgaryTiger said:
Will making it a destination bring more people into the businesses? Or will it become that much more local? Also, good luck to those trying to cut through to 14th and beyond, they might need that tunnel.
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TBH, I would be totally okay if they simply blocked access to 33rd from Crowchild.
 
Silence&Motion said:
33 Ave only has 2 lanes at the moment and will continue to have 2 lanes after the reconstruction.
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Edit: I misunderstood what Silence&Motion meant… but I’ll keep this here for the pictures.

I could be wrong but my reading of the master plan is 33 will have one driving lane.

The only place I see two lanes at the sections are westbound 33 at 20 and 33 at crow to 22.
33.20.PNG
33.crow.PNG
33.14.PNG
 
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Surrealplaces said:
TBH, I would be totally okay if they simply blocked access to 33rd from Crowchild.
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That's the kind of comment that will get you an angry mob of boomers marching to your front door. (Not that I disagree!)

CalgaryTiger said:
Edit: I misunderstood what Silence&Motion meant… but I’ll keep this here for the pictures.
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Sorry. Never know whether to call these kinds of streets "one lane" or "two lane".
 
Silence&Motion said:
That's the kind of comment that will get you an angry mob of boomers marching to your front door. (Not that I disagree!)


Sorry. Never know whether to call these kinds of streets "one lane" or "two lane".
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Biggest change will be the curb extensions at intersections. Prepare for more people trying to use Flanders, keyword being ‘trying’. I’ve seen some wild things on that interchange.
 
I was walking along 9th Ave SW today beside those huge parking lots where that poor excuse for a sidewalk is. You know, the skinny one with the street lights in it where not even a wheelchair or stroller can get through? Anyway, while thinking how nice it would be to have developments in these parking lots, I quickly realized why there isn't any residential on that entire strip (except for the Palliser that is being converted). On one side you have the train-tracks (alone, it's manageable), BUT on the other side you have a super pedestrian-unfriendly, very wide, very noisy, very fast, and hard to cross 9th Avenue. There's no escape.

Where I'm going this is the city needs to do one or the other or both if they want to see that area developed: Remove the traintracks or revamp and quiet down 9th Avenue and make it more pedestrian friendly.
 
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I forget if this has been posted or not but the site on 10th Street where that old apartment building was torn down has a sign posted out front saying it's been conditionally sold! So hopefully that means some action on that parcel in the next few years!

It's a prime spot and I think it would be a good candidate for a taller building, maybe even 12-18 stories 🤞
 
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