Calgary Public Transit II

[RyLucky]

How to stage future rapid transit expansions is interesting. Studies that look at what made a particular LRT system (ie Calgary) successful often cite mode staging and phasing as factors to success. Staging builds travel patterns and gives the government time to secure funding.

However, in the case of Centre Street and the SETway, I think there are a few problems with mode and length staging. For Centre St, the corridor is already a highly-used transit corridor - much higher than the rapid buses that preceded the SLRT and NWLRT in the '70s and '80s. Disrupting service for construction will have a significant cost to transit efficiency. Also, I don't think it is reasonable anymore to introduce a line that will block downtown avenues (trains will be longer than n-s blocks). And, building a line in phases(ie stop at 20th ave N) as Nenshi has suggests, also presents problems, because for the VAST majority of commuters from the North, this will introduce a transfer and INCREASE travel times. The SE is a different but similar situation, where the line has little utility unless it is built the full distance and on a fully separated ROW than transects the Manchester/alyth/Bonnybrook area.

Personally (and my opinion on this is always evolving), I think the best/only move is to build the entire SELRT first, and the 8th ave subway, and then the entire NCLRT extending from the SELRT under the Bow River from 2nd St, underground to Ctr street. While we wait, we can create transit lanes and densify around corridors.