The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[lrt's friend]

To me rapid transit is any means that moves transit faster than in mixed traffic. From there it is just a matter of degree. Obviously bigger cities will have to take more extreme measures to accomplish this and only the bigger cities have to the tax base to pay for it.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

To me rapid transit is any means that moves transit faster than in mixed traffic. From there it is just a matter of degree. Obviously bigger cities will have to take more extreme measures to accomplish this and only the bigger cities have to the tax base to pay for it.

(sarcasm) But that is not the "proper" definition. (sarcasm)

[Nouvellecosse]

"To me"

Well of course that's the whole issue we've been discussing. If words mean something different to each person, then no one knows what others actually means when they say them.

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I didn't intend to drive you away from the thread. I admit I have a temper and I can overreact when I perceive someone as having a smug or condescending attitude. But I realise it's possible to misinterpret these things and if that's the case, I apologize.

Oh, you didn't drive me away. The thread did. And, while we disagree, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure we agree on lots of things. Like I said, you are one of the reasonable posters here. Generally I like what you have to say. No hard feelings generated and no apologies required. I'll 'talk' with you on other threads perhaps.

And, with a smile: good luck to the whole gang on the next 300 posts.

[jmt18325]

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[Chadillaccc]

As of yesterday, Calgary City Council has voted in favour of adding another $1 billion in funding to the Green Line. That brings the total funding of the project so far to $3 billion, with an anticipated contribution by the provincial government, this project will likely begin construction on schedule in 2017 Amazing! This was supposed to be built as only an Ottawa-style Bus Transitway and only to the Southeast Quadrant of the city by 2020... and now we'll be getting a 40 kilometer LRT Line from the Northern Border of the City all the way to the Southern Border by 2023, complete with our first (2-5 depending on option chosen) truly urban subway stations. Absolutely fantastic news.

This will be the largest single investment in transit in Alberta's history.



Here's some pics of Calgary's new S200 LRV's currently UC in Sacramento. The livery is not yet complete in any of the pics...




http://carsandtrains.com/calgary9/

[SkahHigh]

Nice light rail vehicles

[Chadillaccc]

Not sure if this has been posted here, I don't think it has. These are the options for the downtown alignment of the Calgary Green Line. Option B seems likely, though Option D is of course the best option as far as flood protection and the preservation of the urban realm go. The recent massive increases in funding are making option D more and more likely. My motto is build it right the first time instead of looking back and regretting it in 20 years, so my vote is for D. (pardon the gay inuendo


Option A
Cost of Centre City Segment: $600 million
Cost of Green Line North Using this Option (10 Ave S to North Pointe): $1.1 Billion
Travel Time Estimate (10 Ave S to North Pointe): 33-35 minutes

Plan View:



Profile View:






Option B

Cost of Centre City Segment: $800 million
Cost of Green Line North Using this Option (10 Ave S to North Pointe): $1.3 Billion
Travel Time Estimate (10 Ave S to North Pointe): 30-32 minutes

Plan View:



Profile View:






Option C

Cost of Centre City Segment: $800 million
Cost of Green Line North Using this Option (10 Ave S to North Pointe): $1.3 Billion
Travel Time Estimate (10 Ave S to North Pointe): 30-32 minutes

Plan View:



Profile View:






Option D

Cost of Centre City Segment: $1.3 Billion
Cost of Green Line North Using this Option (10 Ave S to North Pointe): $1.8 Billion
Travel Time Estimate (10 Ave S to North Pointe): 28-30 minutes

Plan View:



Profile View:



Source: http://www.lrtonthegreen.ca/about-the-green-line/

[SFUVancouver]

Great news for Calgary!

Thrilled to hear that this project is on the cusp of moving forward.

[WhipperSnapper]

Underground seems the obvious choice but, wow, do those those stations seem really deep. Have to look up the numbers of some deep metro lines to compare how deep

[Beedok]

I think a station on the park island would be cool, but probably not practical.

[ssiguy]

Fantastic news. Calgary really is such a forward thinking city in many ways. The term "world class' is thrown around too much but in this instance it's true...........for it's size Calgary really does have a world class system.

As far as the downtown I like Option B with the tunnel thru to Centre Street and a new bridge. They should have a tunnel downtown and under no circumstance should they elevate thru downtown. Not only would it be ugly but also the stations and track would have to be very high due to the city's Plus15/30 system.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Underground seems the obvious choice but, wow, do those those stations seem really deep. Have to look up the numbers of some deep metro lines to compare how deep

The Option D stations are pretty deep but in the first three options they're very shallow for a modern tunnel project. Strongly suggests the use of cut and cover, unless Calgary has very shallow bedrock.

[eemy]

Yeah, Option D doesn't seem obviously better to me at all. It actually seems more vulnerable to flooding than the other options (the elevated one actually appears to win on that front) and the extreme depth of some of the stations is definitely not beneficial.

[Trans Canada]

A fifth option was also presented, at-grade with new bridge (compared to at-grade over Centre Street bridge):


(click for full size)

Source http://www.calgary.ca/_layouts/cocis/Dir...eLRT_options_final.pdf&noredirect=1&sf=1

Some of the options:







Source City of Calgary via CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/how-will-next-c-train-go-through-downtown-1.3362093

[Beedok]

I like the 4 storey high elevated because that just seems silly with how high it is.

[DizzyEdge]

B seems like a reasonable compromise, but I do worry about the train in the street on Centre. Being that Centre is a 'high street' transitioning from strip malls to new condos with sidewalk retail I would want pedestrian crossing opportunities to increase, not decrease. The various plans has it underground to 20th or 24th, but the retail is currently up to about 28th and can reasonably be expected to stretch until 32nd.

[hipster duck]

That elevated option is blade runner crazy. It would be extremely impractical, though, and would knock out a traffic lane along 2 St SW, so I'm wondering if the planners put it in only for it to be unanimously eliminated.

[eemy]

I saw a comic about that once, the planner basically has three options outlined: one is far too expensive, the other is completely inadequate, and the third is just right. Goldilocks planning I guess.

[FFX-ME]

Not many people are talking about this but it seems that Ottawa may beat Halifax and become the fourth city in Canada to have a commuter rail service. A consortium called MOOSE is working to get commuter rail to the national capital region by 2017. The most interesting part of this is that the project will be 100% privately funded and, unlike all other transit projects in Canada, will require no funds from municipal governments.

www.letsgomoose.ca

Unfortunately, the city of Ottawa is trying to undermine this project as it would compete with their expensive LRT network and would promote sprawl outside the city of Ottawa.