News   Apr 03, 2020
Pastel Morning
 6.3K     1 
News   Apr 02, 2020
A Message to Our Readers
 7.8K     3 
News   Apr 02, 2020
Soon to be Gone
 4.6K     0 

Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

Calgcouver said:
I just don’t think we need 4 oversized one way freeways through the downtown (4th, 5th, 6th and 9th).
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but I'm going to keep saying this. You need to learn what a freeway is. These are one-way avenues with wide sidewalks, bus routes, street parking, traffic lights every 160 metres, buildings fronting them. Traffic moves 50 km/h when it's not stopped at a light. You can walk or bike down them, they're fine. Literally nothing could be further from a freeway.

Is 5th Avenue in Manhattan a freeway in your world? How about the Champs-Elysees? That's pretty wide too.

Getting back on topic, these one way couplets are matched up with Bow Trail on the west end and the ramps to Memorial on the east end. Maybe we have excess road capacity, especially after oil post 2014 and WFH post 2020, but I don't know if the office core of downtown would be more pleasant if we changed them.
 
I think a good compromise for 8 Ave would be to tunnel until 5th S, come to grade for a station at Century Gardens (or a block east of there so you avoid a level crossing of 8th St), and then go elevated for the turn north and to connect to the bridge over the Bow. Reduces it to 1200 meters of tunnel and 2 UG stations.
 
badc0ffee said:
I'm sorry, but I'm going to keep saying this. You need to learn what a freeway is. These are one-way avenues with wide sidewalks, bus routes, street parking, traffic lights every 160 metres, buildings fronting them. Traffic moves 50 km/h when it's not stopped at a light. You can walk or bike down them, they're fine. Literally nothing could be further from a freeway.

Is 5th Avenue in Manhattan a freeway in your world? How about the Champs-Elysees? That's pretty wide too.

Getting back on topic, these one way couplets are matched up with Bow Trail on the west end and the ramps to Memorial on the east end. Maybe we have excess road capacity, especially after oil post 2014 and WFH post 2020, but I don't know if the office core of downtown would be more pleasant if we changed them.
Click to expand...
I was being hyperbolic, i'm aware of the difference between a freeway and a stroad with very oversized lanes. That said, if you have the same amount of vehicular throughput lanes and the designed width of the lanes is the same width as most sections of Deerfoot Trail, I would say that yes the people that designed these avenues did whatever they could to turn 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th Avenues into what they hoped would work more like a freeway than an urban street particularly at rush hour.
1752697687891.png

1752697770432.png


Actually to be fair, some of the downtown outside lanes closest to the sidewalk are at least 0.4m wider than a lane on Deerfoot Trail. Put a sidewalk where the shoulder is on Deerfoot Trail and add cross streets and lights and it is the same approach to the design. These one-way avenues don't need to have intentional design choices that value vehicular throughput over pedestrian safety and comfort at virtually every corner on these Avenues. West Georgia Street and Howe Street in Vancouver function just as well without making pedestrians hate their lives.

And yes, what wide and comfortable sidewalks we have in the downtown on these one way avenues. You can really feel the attention to detail from engineers when on-foot:
1752698871101.png

1752698972750.png
1752699104313.png


I agree with you, these are perfectly fine pedestrian realms to walk and bike down and are in no way compromised due to dedicating far too much space for suburban commuters.
 
Some minor renos happening to Stampede Park along with the start of work for a new master plan...

"The Stampede has also hired global architectural firm Populous for a two-year term to study the park and surrounding connectors of 17 Avenue and the Culture and Entertainment district...

...A focal point for that will be the 1919 agricultural building that no longer meets the needs of the Stampede, and then what becomes of the Saddledome land when the Calgary Event Centre is completed."

livewirecalgary.com

Work to transform Calgary Stampede infield and park begins - LiveWire Calgary

With the 2025 Calgary Stampede having come to an end, big changes are being planned for Stampede Park, and that began with the demolition of the north infield building immediately after the close. That building, which has been used for the production and broadcasting of the rodeo and chuckwagon...
livewirecalgary.com livewirecalgary.com
 
Calgcouver said:
I was being hyperbolic, i'm aware of the difference between a freeway and a stroad with very oversized lanes. That said, if you have the same amount of vehicular throughput lanes and the designed width of the lanes is the same width as most sections of Deerfoot Trail, I would say that yes the people that designed these avenues did whatever they could to turn 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th Avenues into what they hoped would work more like a freeway than an urban street particularly at rush hour.
View attachment 666579
View attachment 666580

Actually to be fair, some of the downtown outside lanes closest to the sidewalk are at least 0.4m wider than a lane on Deerfoot Trail. Put a sidewalk where the shoulder is on Deerfoot Trail and add cross streets and lights and it is the same approach to the design. These one-way avenues don't need to have intentional design choices that value vehicular throughput over pedestrian safety and comfort at virtually every corner on these Avenues. West Georgia Street and Howe Street in Vancouver function just as well without making pedestrians hate their lives.

And yes, what wide and comfortable sidewalks we have in the downtown on these one way avenues. You can really feel the attention to detail from engineers when on-foot:
View attachment 666582
View attachment 666583View attachment 666584

I agree with you, these are perfectly fine pedestrian realms to walk and bike down and are in no way compromised due to dedicating far too much space for suburban commuters.
Click to expand...
Trust me downtown lanes (besides the out side parking lanes aren’t anywhere near Deerfoot width. Deerfoot lane width is 3.7m. The four main avenues downtown varrie from 2.6m to 3.5m. Some may be wider in certain spots. They certainly aren’t set up for larger vehicles to speed down them during higher volume Periods of the day. Just because a road has 4!or 5 lanes doesn’t make it a good comparison. Mainly for width and the outside two lanes have parked cars and buses using them on off peak hours.
 
Calgcouver said:
I agree with you, these are perfectly fine pedestrian realms to walk and bike down and are in no way compromised due to dedicating far too much space for suburban commuters.
Click to expand...
I noticed you picked 3 Ave for one of these photos, which is not one of your problem avenues.

I will grant you that 9 Ave has some terrible sidewalks on the south side in parts. But, like the north side of 10 Ave, notice that the problem here is not the road width (the curb is generally in a consistent spot), but the fault of those parking lots/underused CPKC lands, and will improve with development.

Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 4.06.16 PM.png


I walk these avenues all the time and I'm not too precious about it. I actually like one way avenues in a lot of cases because they're easier to jaywalk across.

They're not "stroads", either! That word also has a meaning. MacLeod Trail south of 17th is a stroad. And that stroad is actually terrible to walk along. 33 Ave at Crowchild/east of there is another - I've almost been hit there in a slip lane because of the pedestrian hostile design at that interchange. Southland Drive right near Southland station was another stroad, another slip lane and a similar story. But, downtown avenues? Not really.
 
conductordove said:
I'm not sure if there's already a form for this project (or how to create one), but the land use was just approved for this site on the corner of 14th Ave SW and 1st SW.

Policy and Land Use Amendment in Beltline (Ward 8) at multiple addresses, LOC2024-0047, CPC2024-0914 - Public Hearing Meeting of Council - July 15, 2025

pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com pub-calgary.escribemeetings.com

View attachment 666586View attachment 666585
Click to expand...
Looks to be a Western Securities project:
 
Golfing guy said:
The reason they didn’t do subway initially was to get more line built. I believe it’s one of the reasons are lines are so successful is because the built out so far in The early days. Didn’t Edmonton build subway like through downtown and didn’t get that far out initially?
Click to expand...
The reason they didn’t do subway initially was to get more line built.
Click to expand...
Exactly, because it would cost more. Still should have done it.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top