Quote:
Originally Posted by Full Mountain
To everyone, please go read the full reports before making your opinions up
Low Floor - From 16th north is planned as an in-street lrt, in the southern end (130th south) it will be a similar situation where the train runs beside the roadway. In both these situations it is far better to have a low floor system. Given the modal split on center is over over 60% public transit and only going to increase, not to mention that once the dedicated bus lanes go in it will be down to 2 lanes anyway, I'm not sure that you'll end up with much if any push back from the people immediately affected by the change.
Crescent Heights stop - There are destinations there (including a high school) and only are going to be more going forward, there is no reason to treat this line any differently than the rest. The assumption that seems to be made here is that everyone's destination is downtown, what about the people travelling from the SE to Crescent Heights or the reverse? Given that this line will travel by the major industrial areas in the city, it's going to be a valuable resource for those people that work in that area.
Elevated - Ah no, one thing that you almost never see under an elevated track is active uses, I would take at grade over elevated, clearly buried would be ideal.
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130 Ave and south is three suburban stations on a SE portion that is entirely within a dedicated ROW. The difference between high floor and low floor is nominal for the SE.
The report suggesting at grade north of 16 Ave is the entire debate. It is deeply flawed, it arbitrarily gives additional points to at grade in various categories. This includes an instance where at grade is given additional points over underground for the portion north of Beddington Trail where both options follow the same at grade ROW in the median of Harvest Hills Boulevard. Basically the report was written so as to favour predetermined routes. Even still it notes that additional grade separation would be needed. It is hardly the final word on deciding that the NC LRT will run in street.
Turning Centre Street into 36 St NE but with half the traffic lanes will definitely cause a backlash and for good reason; it will hugely affect traffic and create a massive barrier between the east and west for vehicles and pedestrians.
Low floor systems involve 15% higher costs to vehicle maintenance and 20% higher costs for track maintenance. The vehicles are also generally more expensive. The designs of low floor vehicles involve real compromises that affect performance. Combine that with all of the synergies that a unified fleet allows and there is no reason to create a second low floor system in Calgary. Low floor systems might make sense in routes that swing closer to the streetcar end of the spectrum in cities that lack preexisting routes, which isn't Calgary, isn't the SE LRT, and shouldn't be the NC LRT.
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or maybe they'll do it themselves).
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