Quote:
Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed
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That sure is one weird routing they've got for themselves in the northeast.
One thing I haven't been able to figure out is why the route goes along major arterials rather than striking a course on its own RoW through a community (sort of like they did in Martindale, not that the actual design of the Martindale LRT RoW is anything to be especially proud of).
The way development planning works around Canada's major cities generally but especially in Alberta is that a section (or concession in Ontario) of land is taken in hand and the original survey roads generally become the major arterials, thus defining each planning 'cell'. The development pattern within each cell is basically oriented away from the arterial roads.
Given all this, the place you want to run transit is not down the edge of a community (i.e. the arterials) but rather smack dab through the middle of it with a station in the middle of the cell acting as the primary node to the community. Development should have a density gradient from the centre to the edges of the cell.
60 St as an alignment probably makes some sense since it's not along one of the survey roads but rather quarter section lines and it is half way between Stoney Trail and Métis Trail... were it not apparently to be turned into a major arterial itself. From Saddletown northwards it should have been conceived of as, at most, a mainstreet or high street; instead it's going to get itself an interchange at Airport Trail and extra expense for the LRT to cross it. The alignments of 52 and 68 could have served as collectors.
Similarly, 128th as an alignment would make some sense were it not too being turned into some kind of arterial.
One still gets the impression that LRT is something to push to the edge of communities rather than to be integrated into their cores.
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