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Originally Posted by Boris2k7
Wrong. You'll note that such "lifestyle choices" didn't exist for the majority before the 1950's. Government policy and freeway building has everything to do with sprawl. The industrial areas on the eastern edge of the city used to be more compact and oriented around a streetcar line that was demolished as a result of the sprawl industry. Choice, in this case, is an illusion that's created by special interests.
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Before the 1950's Calgary had a tiny population, I'm sticking to my guns on this one. I think the draw of the suburban lifestyle is our biggest reason for sprawl, having the Deerfoot feeding all of these neighborhoods definitely doesn't help, but there are other options like Barlow, 52nd, Ogden, Blackfoot... when I lived in Douglasdale (deep SE for those of you who don't know) and commuted to downtown every morning, I would leave at 7:45, and be downtown by 8:15 at the very latest (unless there are accidents of course).
our industrial park is getting more spread out because big retail companies are putting their distribution centres there (Wal Mart, Canadian Tire, Sears, Western Grocers), and there are more, bigger, manufacturing facilities like SMED (who actually got bought out and has a different name now). The proximity of the foothills industrial to the deerfoot makes perfect sense, in the trucking business (which is huge in Calgary) time is money, so you will want your warehouse somewhere near both the edge of the city, and the customers you serve.
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Originally Posted by Boris2k7
Calgary does not have a BRT, we have an express bus. BRT and LRT work in different situations, and Ottawa's system carries as many people as Calgary's (Curitaba's bus-based system carries around 2/3 of the commuting population, the most successful BRT system in the world).
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My mistake, I thought our express buss service was a BRT system.
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Originally Posted by Boris2k7
As I said before, choices (or rather "free choices") are an illusion. If I provided you with the option to live in a highrise condo or to live in a townhouse, and most people chose townhouses, would it then be valid to say that most people prefer to live in townhouses?
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That IS a lifestyle choice, some people want a yard, and others don't.
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Originally Posted by Boris2k7
We ARE demolishing neighbourhoods. That's why 16th Ave is taking so long, they have to expropriate all the land. The Ring Road is an awful thing, as it will accelerate sprawl. They should have just rerouted the Transcanada down to Glenmore and out the other side of the city, thereby making use of existing infrastructure.
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true, but we are not turning 16th into a freeway, we are making it a more vibrant urban street, while eliminating the majority of the trucking traffic on it. That road was congested 24-7, and it would have only gotten worse. based on this, I would say that the north leg or the ring road is perfectly justifiable. The south leg will (as you said) will contribute to more sprawl. Rerouting the transCanada to Glenmore would completely cripple it, and all the work they have been doing there for the last 5 years would be a complete waste, as traffic would be bumper to bumper from one end of the city to the other. The only thing that can stop sprawl in Calgary is if it ceases to be profitable for developers to build massive new suburbs (unlikely with our over heated marked, and high demand for large suburban homes), or if the city or province step in and tell them they can't go any further.
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Originally Posted by Boris2k7
As engine efficiency gets better, the amount of fuel burned in traffic will go down. The sprawl won't go away, however. Besides, it isn't an exaggeration to say that one could be stuck in traffic for hours, freeway or not. All it takes are a couple of accidents and every road is clogged.
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Very true, if we all drove hybrid cars, there would be far less pollution as we would be using electricity during idle.
I think if you don't want to sit in traffic all day, you should live closer to your work. Working in the core, and living straight down McLeod tr. in Chapparell (about 25km from downtown) is just irresponsible.