West LRT | 7 Stations | 8.0 KM | In Service

[MrOunce]

Saw a couple of trains out on the tracks yesterday during my commute home. I believe it was 4 cars and the sites were Shaganappi & 45th street. Unsure if this was a test or a photo shoot, as I saw a photog on the tracks at the same time.

Great to finally catch these in action.

[Vascilli]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

So Coach Hill is whining about losing the 101 bus route once the WLRT opens. Anything going to come of that?

Oh well. I'll lose direct service to downtown for much faster, more reliable service with a transfer. As long as the route within Coach Hill isn't changed then I'm happy. (And last time I looked, it's the same.) Plus it continues to Westhills, no? Huge plus.

[bakersdozen]

Originally Posted by Vascilli

Oh well. I'll lose direct service to downtown for much faster, more reliable service with a transfer. As long as the route within Coach Hill isn't changed then I'm happy. (And last time I looked, it's the same.) Plus it continues to Westhills, no? Huge plus.

Yeah, I gather during rush hour the ctrain will be much faster than sitting in traffic on Bow Trail and all the lights. Especially on those icy days when people with crappy tires can't get up the hill west of Sarcee.

What would really be interesting is doing a car count prior and after the ctrain opens heading into and out of the downtown core on Bow Trail at rush hour. I'd be curious to see how many cars the ctrain (if any?) takes off the road.

[MalcolmTucker]

The reduced congestion (potentially) could cause a rebound effect as well. I wouldn't count on much of a difference.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

So Coach Hill is whining about losing the 101 bus route once the WLRT opens.

Us living in the SE will gladly trade places with the residents of coach hill. I'll trade express buses for LRT any day of the week.

[mersar]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The reduced congestion (potentially) could cause a rebound effect as well. I wouldn't count on much of a difference.

I can see the first few days its open that congestion might actually be worse, but will probably ease a bit after that. It will take some time for it to drop to the levels the city is predicting if it even does.

[yads]

Originally Posted by CTrainDude

And just found out today that 69th St bus terminal will be opening at the very beginning of October, and buses will move there from Sirocco so the PnR can be completed at Sirocco. The operator lunch room/washroom and passenger shelter will also be turned over, so they'll also be in use at 69th. The first part of West LRT open to the public!

Any more info on this? I don't see it on the Calgary Transit website.

[Yahoo]

I sure hope they change the light timing around Mewata once the LRT kicks in. It's too bad they made the street crossing at-grade by the old Science Center since that just causes delays and danger for cars, buses, people, and trains. (I'm one who advocated building it shorter if the money isn't there to build it right. Building it right is best in the long term - but unfortunately city planners & council never look for long term advantages - it's almost impossible to fix it now without spending a fortune.)
By the way, I'm not saying the lights were always timed incorrectly. They re-timed the lights to accommodate construction but never changed them back. Now there are often a long lines of cars & buses every morning waiting at red lights with empty intersecting roads. Even when it does turn green there is an immediate "don't walk" countdown so many people and vehicles can't all get across in time. Hopefully they'll fix it once the trains are running - but my guess is they'll forget.

Just like they'll likely forget to remove construction speed limit signs like they did all winter leaving downtown. They left the 50 sign up for absolutely no reason - unless they were worried that a car would somehow veer off Bow Trail and fly upwards and hit the elevated LRT tracks. It's like when Crowfoot station was essentially complete and all the barriers were done and in place. They left the slow speed limit sign up for months for no reason other than disrespect for the commuting public.

[Calgarian]

Having the on grade crossing for both the CPR and WLRT seems pretty silly, that will make 11th even more of a parking lot lol.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

I sure hope they change the light timing around Mewata once the LRT kicks in. It's too bad they made the street crossing at-grade by the old Science Center since that just causes delays and danger for cars, buses, people, and trains. (I'm one who advocated building it shorter if the money isn't there to build it right. Building it right is best in the long term - but unfortunately city planners & council never look for long term advantages - it's almost impossible to fix it now without spending a fortune.)
By the way, I'm not saying the lights were always timed incorrectly. They re-timed the lights to accommodate construction but never changed them back. Now there are often a long lines of cars & buses every morning waiting at red lights with empty intersecting roads. Even when it does turn green there is an immediate "don't walk" countdown so many people and vehicles can't all get across in time. Hopefully they'll fix it once the trains are running - but my guess is they'll forget.

Just like they'll likely forget to remove construction speed limit signs like they did all winter leaving downtown. They left the 50 sign up for absolutely no reason - unless they were worried that a car would somehow veer off Bow Trail and fly upwards and hit the elevated LRT tracks. It's like when Crowfoot station was essentially complete and all the barriers were done and in place. They left the slow speed limit sign up for months for no reason other than disrespect for the commuting public.

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.

[You Need A Thneed]

Call 311 for issues like that.

[kora]

Personally I think the bus changes are bad because they increase trip times and lead to the dreaded transfer. Nobody wants to transfer if they can avoid it. I visit Strathcona often by bus and right now my bus stop in Strathcona is 50 metres from my destination. With the changes, I'll either have to walk 1.2 km to the LRT or wait for the bus. It's better in peak times, when the bus is always coming but not in off-peak, which is when I mostly travel to Strathcona. It's just a nuisance. Before we had 1-stop, no transfer service to downtown. Now it's a feeder community. I guess I'll probably walk to the LRT station (15 minutes) except when it's really cold and then I'll just accept the transfer. Either way, the quality of the trip is reduced.

[DizzyEdge]

That said transfer to an LRT is pretty painless due to the frequency.

[MalcolmTucker]

And until we know the frequency of the feeder routes, it is hard to tell whether average trip time (including average waiting time) will be better or worse.

[CTrainDude]

Originally Posted by yads

Any more info on this? I don't see it on the Calgary Transit website.

Yep.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/pdf/Sirocco-eRider-Guide.pdf

[Calgarian]

Just watched a 4 car train pull into Sunalta Station while drinking a coffee on my balcony, pretty cool to see, I think it adds to the big city feel a bit more.

[frinkprof]

On October 8th, all of the buses that had been terminating at the Sirocco Park and Ride temporary bus loop during construction will switch back to using the 69th Street Station bus loop.

Many of these changes will only last a couple of months of course, until West LRT opens for service on December 10th. After that, the permanent bus network will come into effect.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/pdf/Sirocco-eRider-Guide.pdf

[ByeByeBaby]

Originally Posted by kora

Personally I think the bus changes are bad because they increase trip times and lead to the dreaded transfer. Nobody wants to transfer if they can avoid it. I visit Strathcona often by bus and right now my bus stop in Strathcona is 50 metres from my destination. With the changes, I'll either have to walk 1.2 km to the LRT or wait for the bus. It's better in peak times, when the bus is always coming but not in off-peak, which is when I mostly travel to Strathcona. It's just a nuisance. Before we had 1-stop, no transfer service to downtown. Now it's a feeder community. I guess I'll probably walk to the LRT station (15 minutes) except when it's really cold and then I'll just accept the transfer. Either way, the quality of the trip is reduced.

Wait, so the service will be much more frequent when you travel (offpeak), and your destination is only a 15 minute walk to the LRT? Instead of a 30 minute headway, you have a 10 minute headway max as well as a shorter ride time due to fewer stops and separated ROW. I think that most people would trade situations with you, "dreaded transfer" or not.

[5seconds]

Looks like the original December 2012 deadline will be met. I know it was rumoured, but they are making staffing plans around it now.

That makes it 67 days till opening?

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/We...ing+original+deadline/7346284/story.html

[frinkprof]

New construction photos just posted on westlrt.ca.

Lots of interior photos of the stations.

Westbrook Station Light Cannons




Westbrook Station South Entrance




Westbrook Station Looking North




Westbrook Station Platform Level




Westbrook Station Interior Looking South




Westbrook Station Interior Looking North




Sunalta Station Entrance




Sunalta Station at Night




Sunalta Station Aerial




Sunalta Station Interior Upper Level




Sunalta Station Plaza




Sunalta Station Platform Level




Sunalta Station Interior Second Level




69th Street Station East Head




69th Street Station Tunnel




69th Street Station East Entrance




69th Street Station East Entrance




69th Street Station East Plaza




69th Street Station Interior Looking East




69th Street Station Interior Looking West




69th Street Station and Bus Terminal Aerial




Sirocco Station Looking East




45th Street Station Tracks




45th Street Station Platform Level




24th Street Pedestrian Bridge