Calgary Stoney Trail [Ring Road]

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

I sure wish there were highway patrols out at the Deerfoot/Stoney construction zone where the speed limit is 80 but most drivers choose to make up their own speed limit, mostly faster. Does this speed limit apply to after dark when the workers are probably not working anyways?

As far as I know, yup.

What's more infuriating is that most of the drivers who blast along doing 100 or so through that zone, don't speed up a single bit once the speed goes back up to 110.

Making up speed limits is a Calgary tradition.

[KrisYYC]

You know what kind of irritates me? I might get flamed for this but why does Calgary insist on giving tribal names to our major roads? Calgary is trying be a world class city but we name our streets like we're some little town in the middle of nowhere. The worst has to be Shaganappi trail (which if you're british sounds like slang for "have sex with a diaper trail"). And why call a huge multi lane freeway "trail"? When I have friends and family from overseas visiting they laugh at it.

Glenmore causeway, the GE5, Macleod, John Laurie sound like proper big city major roads.

What's next? The West LRT going to be called "The Buffalo Run"?

/rant

[frinkprof]

^I kind of like the native names. Lots of Canadian town and city names are named after tribes or are native words, which isn't the same as streets/thoroughfares, but still highly visible. The "trail" thing though, I kind of agree on. I think the only one that should be called a trail is MacLeod, since it actually was a trail, and referred to as such on maps, at one time.

Some of the names might sound funny (Shaganappi, Sarcee, lots of towns in eastern Canada). However, if you ask me, names like Wolverhampton, Borehamwood, and Gloucester sound strange, and that's just England (yes those are place names, and not streets). What's worse than names for thoroughfares sometimes is community names. Tuscany, Royal Oak, Mahogany, Sundance, Discovery Ridge. All rather arbitrary, other than they combine words that are pleasing to the ear, or in Tuscany's case, named after a well-known region of Italy, but still for no other reason. And just so I'm not picking on newer communities, Sunridge, Tuxedo, Oak Ridge, Eagle Ridge, and Dover are all seemingly arbitrary too.

I guess the question I'm asking is, what's in a name?

[Wooster]

Good god these interchanges take up a lot of space.

[mersar]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

I sure wish there were highway patrols out at the Deerfoot/Stoney construction zone where the speed limit is 80 but most drivers choose to make up their own speed limit, mostly faster. Does this speed limit apply to after dark when the workers are probably not working anyways?

Speed limits are still in effective when no workers are present, what changes is that the doubled speed fines drop back to normal speed fines.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by KrisYYC

Calgary is trying be a world class city but we name our streets like we're some little town in the middle of nowhere. The worst has to be Shaganappi trail (which if you're british sounds like slang for "have sex with a diaper trail"). And why call a huge multi lane freeway "trail"? When I have friends and family from overseas visiting they laugh at it.

Seriously? I mean, seriously? People come over from Europe, which has some of the most goofy and arbitrarily-named roads imaginable, some so ancient that the point of the name has been forgotten for centuries, and they laugh at us trying to incorporate a bit of our country's history into our cities?

I admit I've had a juvenille laugh or 2 at Shaganappi, but come on - do you giggle when you go to Phuc's Chinese restaurant? Do you laugh when British people use the expression "knock you up in the morning", and assume they're all rural hicks for using such terms?

Is this a tolerance for other places thing, or is it specific to our Native peoples? I'll give you that I'm surprised we don't have more John Lauries and whatnot, but Calgary isn't chock full of famous people at this early stage in its life. Should we be only pulling white folk names out of it?

Little towns in the middle of nowhere, from what I've seen, usually have street names like Elm or Oak Street, or (more commonly) numbered streets because they have all of 5.

And many places in Europe have seemingly strange names for their "streets" - motorways, gardens, ways, bays, all sorts of things that were picked somewhat arbitrarily. "Trail" has an historical connection to the area - it's how everyone got around at one point. I suppose we could have used "railway" but that would conflict with existing railways.

Calgary's street naming is a bit quaint and lends a bit of interesting flavour to the city - but laughing at it? Being upset that we've chosen Native names for *some* of our streets?

Seriously?

[Skeletor]

Originally Posted by freeweed

do you giggle when you go to Phuc's Chinese restaurant?

Yes!! There's this one called Phuc Duc, I think, and I nearly get in a car accident everytime I pass it!

Originally Posted by freeweed

Do you laugh when British people use the expression "knock you up in the morning", and assume they're all rural hicks for using such terms?

Hell yeah. Never heard that one, but I nearly fell out of my chair just now. And I only assume that some of them are hicks. It depends on the teeth.

Seriously?

A little bit.

[Skeletor]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Good god these interchanges take up a lot of space.

It's so you can go 100 km/h around the bends. Good thing space is something we have no shortage of, especially on the edge of the city!

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by freeweed

As far as I know, yup.

What's more infuriating is that most of the drivers who blast along doing 100 or so through that zone, don't speed up a single bit once the speed goes back up to 110.

Making up speed limits is a Calgary tradition.

Most Calgarians believe speed limits are merely suggestions and they only apply to other drivers anyhow. Same with no parking zones, handicapped parking spots, and parking stall line markings.

[shogged]

Originally Posted by lubicon

Most Calgarians believe speed limits are merely suggestions and they only apply to other drivers anyhow. Same with no parking zones, handicapped parking spots, and parking stall line markings.

biggest problem with Calgary roads is the combination of drivers from all over Canada. Take the driving styles of people from Ontario, bc, the maratimes, and then of course native calgarians... You get a giant clusterfuck of people who don't know how to merge, treat the passing lane like their own personal fast lane, and the list goes on!

[craner]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

The "trail" thing though, I kind of agree on. I think the only one that should be called a trail is MacLeod, since it actually was a trail, and referred to as such on maps, at one time.

I agree. I don't mind the native names but the "trail" thing is hick.

[reflexzero]

Originally Posted by shogged

biggest problem with Calgary roads is the combination of drivers from all over Canada.

Heh, very true, although there are a lot of drivers on the road who come from lands without snow, ice, stop signs, shoulder checking, lane designations... etc.. or at least it seems that way.

[korzym]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Good god these interchanges take up a lot of space.

its not like this is japan or the Netherlands. get real

[sauril]

Originally Posted by shogged

biggest problem with Calgary roads is the combination of drivers from all over Canada. Take the driving styles of people from Ontario, bc, the maratimes, and then of course native calgarians... You get a giant clusterfuck of people who don't know how to merge, treat the passing lane like their own personal fast lane, and the list goes on!

Exactly. I'd also add to your list the ruralites who move to the big city, who take 3 lanes to make a left hand turn. There seem to be fewer of them these days though.

Merging is the worst though. Why do people not understand that when you want to enter a freeway from an onramp, you should probably be going somewhat near the speed limit.

[Oliver Klozov]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

... The "trail" thing though, I kind of agree on. I think the only one that should be called a trail is MacLeod, since it actually was a trail, and referred to as such on maps, at one time....

What about Bow Trail? Banff Trail? Edmonton Trail?

Edmonton Trail is the southern end of what was the Calgary & Edmonton Trail, the original Hwy 2. Parts of the original trail are stilled signed C&E Trail from Ponoka to Innisfail.

[Doug]

Ring road deal inches forward
Updated: Mon Mar. 23 2009 11:53:25

ctvcalgary.ca

After decades of planning and negotiation, the southwest west ring road is another step closer to reality.

There are reports that a tentative deal has been struck between the provincial government and the Tsuu T'ina Nation.

No details are being released but it is believed that the two sides now have a deal on the table which will go to members of the First Nation for ratification.

Earlier this month, Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette said a draft agreement was in place but there were still some outstanding legal issues.

The northeast and northwest sections of the ring road are scheduled to open to drivers in November.

Construction on the southeast portion of the road will begin in the spring of 2010.

The province says it remains confident that the entire ring road will be open to traffic by 2015.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by korzym

its not like this is japan or the Netherlands. get real

All I'm saying is that just because you have land doesn't mean you have to use it wastefully. Surely there's a way to make these interchanges more compact and still function effectively. Look at the ramp going East-bound Transcanada turning onto Stoney Trail North in the NW - I swear you drive an extra KM just making the turn around that enormous ramp. It's ridiculous!

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by Doug

Ring road deal inches forward
Updated: Mon Mar. 23 2009 11:53:25

ctvcalgary.ca

After decades of planning and negotiation, the southwest west ring road is another step closer to reality.

There are reports that a tentative deal has been struck between the provincial government and the Tsuu T'ina Nation.

No details are being released but it is believed that the two sides now have a deal on the table which will go to members of the First Nation for ratification.

Earlier this month, Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette said a draft agreement was in place but there were still some outstanding legal issues.

The northeast and northwest sections of the ring road are scheduled to open to drivers in November.

Construction on the southeast portion of the road will begin in the spring of 2010.

The province says it remains confident that the entire ring road will be open to traffic by 2015.

If I had a buck for every time we heard there was a 'tentative deal' or a deal is 'close'...

[BFHeadstone]

Originally Posted by sauril

Exactly. I'd also add to your list the ruralites who move to the big city, who take 3 lanes to make a left hand turn. There seem to be fewer of them these days though.

Merging is the worst though. Why do people not understand that when you want to enter a freeway from an onramp, you should probably be going somewhat near the speed limit.

Or people that try to merge/change lanes and SLOW DOWN

I had someone do that to me again...

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Look at the ramp going East-bound Transcanada turning onto Stoney Trail North in the NW - I swear you drive an extra KM just making the turn around that enormous ramp. It's ridiculous!

It'll be needed when the full intechange is built.