Calgary's Public Realm - Page 18

outoftheice · #**341** Posted **Aug 20, 2016, 6:23 PM**

Anyone know who's responsible for the decorative overhead street lighting along Stephen Ave? Is it the City of Calgary or is it the Calgary Downtown Association? Just curious as this lighting is no longer turned on at night and I'm curious as to why? I'm fairly certain the lights were on all of last year but for whatever reason the lights were turned off this year shortly after Christmas.

It's a shame because something simple like the overhead lighting serves as a great way to passively announce a spot as a destination worthy of being checked out. Stephen Ave is slowly starting to have a night life after years of being dead after 6pm. These lights are already installed... why not just turn them on and help give the restaurants/bars along the Avenue just that much more of a buzz!

UofC.engineer · #**342** Posted **Aug 23, 2016, 5:56 PM**

It's finally happened! Crosswalk is going in across from the peace bridge.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/peace-bridge-jaywalk-crosswalk-1.3730064

Fuzz · #**343** Posted **Aug 23, 2016, 6:16 PM**

Nope. Cross walk is going a block west of the Peace bridge. So there is one a block east, now a block west and still no crossing at the bridge...This will be a full light, not just a pedestrian cross.

lineman · #**344** Posted **Aug 23, 2016, 7:47 PM**

Not sure if the new crossing to the west of the peace bridge will solve anything. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As for the crossing not being at the bridge itself, I believe the city cited complexity and cost.

McMurph · #**345** Posted **Aug 23, 2016, 9:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lineman

Not sure if the new crossing to the west of the peace bridge will solve anything. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As for the crossing not being at the bridge itself, I believe the city cited complexity and cost.

It's going in at 9th street, less than a block to the west and at the point that pretty well everybody going into northern reaches of Kensington and points further north are most likely to cross. It will get good use. The other crossing is a block and a half to the east. Signalled full lights (presumably coordinated somehow?) at those two streets is probably the safest and most convenient option for pedestrians and cars alike.

A single crossing at 8th (closest to the bridge) probably would have made the most sense. IIRC that was the original plan and it was nixed by the community.

milomilo · #**346** Posted **Aug 23, 2016, 11:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by McMurph

A single crossing at 8th (closest to the bridge) probably would have made the most sense. IIRC that was the original plan and it was nixed by the community.

Why? It's so blindingly obvious that that is where the crossing should always have been from the start.

Ramsayfarian · #**347** Posted **Aug 24, 2016, 12:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by milomilo

Why? It's so blindingly obvious that that is where the crossing should always have been from the start.

IIRC The City's questions to the community was slightly misleading. Something to the effect, "Are you happy with the currently location of the pedestrian crossing?". Price might have played into the wording as well. Others here will remember it better than I.

Bigtime · #**348** Posted **Aug 29, 2016, 2:56 PM**

Finally it will be easy to make a turn from Sunnyside onto eastbound Memorial during the rush hour (or heavy traffic times) thanks to this light going in. I'll gladly drive a little west to 9th street to use it.

Tarsus · #**349** Posted **Sep 8, 2016, 6:52 PM**

Yeah, having the crossing at 8th made so much sense in the beginning!

I'm glad to see the city finally come to their senses, it's too bad they didn't get with it in the beginning.

Suburgatory · #**350** Posted **Sep 8, 2016, 8:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarsus

Yeah, having the crossing at 8th made so much sense in the beginning!

I'm glad to see the city finally come to their senses, it's too bad they didn't get with it in the beginning.

But they haven't. The new crossing is at 9th, so there's 2 blocks between crossings, with the bridge slightly west of the center between them.

We'll have to wait and see if this works. Part of the problem is some people unfamiliar with the area, exiting the bridge, still won't know there's a crosswalk one block each way and will try to cross in between.

What they could also do is run a section of the wire railing part way between the bridge and the crossings. It doesn't have to go the full way, just far enough that you notice the crosswalk is there once you reach the end of the railing. For those whose thought is to go around the end of the rail, they'll pick up where the crosswalk is and not bother to cross in the middle (in theory).

The 2nd crosswalk should definitely help cut down on those crossing illegally from the north though.

Wooster · #**351** Posted **Nov 24, 2016, 9:34 PM**

Here's some details of the 1st Street SW improvements in Beltline

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TI/...-sw-corridor-display-boards-june2016.pdf

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TI/...reet-view-improvement-plans-june2016.pdf

Extending the streetscape treatment that's between 12th and 14th north and south to 17th and 10th Avenues. This project is funded and should start soon. Nice.

CalgaryAlex · #**352** Posted **Nov 24, 2016, 10:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wooster

Here's some details of the 1st Street SW improvements in Beltline

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TI/...-sw-corridor-display-boards-june2016.pdf

http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TI/...reet-view-improvement-plans-june2016.pdf

Extending the streetscape treatment that's between 12th and 14th north and south to 17th and 10th Avenues. This project is funded and should start soon. Nice.

Exciting!

RyLucky · #**353** Posted **Nov 26, 2016, 3:17 AM**

Awesome. 100%.

speedog · #**354** Posted **Nov 26, 2016, 4:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suburgatory

But they haven't. The new crossing is at 9th, so there's 2 blocks between crossings, with the bridge slightly west of the center between them.

We'll have to wait and see if this works. Part of the problem is some people unfamiliar with the area, exiting the bridge, still won't know there's a crosswalk one block each way and will try to cross in between.

What they could also do is run a section of the wire railing part way between the bridge and the crossings. It doesn't have to go the full way, just far enough that you notice the crosswalk is there once you reach the end of the railing. For those whose thought is to go around the end of the rail, they'll pick up where the crosswalk is and not bother to cross in the middle (in theory).

The 2nd crosswalk should definitely help cut down on those crossing illegally from the north though.

Maybe a row of very thorny bushes in the center of Memorial between 9th and 7th accomplish the task of deterring jaywalkers?

Fuzz · #**355** Posted **Nov 26, 2016, 7:15 PM**

I've been watchnig this one. I've noticed plenty of people still J-walking, always in the morning going from Sunnyside to the bridge. These aren't people who don't know what they are doing, they are daily commuters. You can't put a hedge in the middle of Memorial because their is a road intersection there. The best you could do would be hedges on the south side, if you wanted to continue this crazy game.

milomilo · #**356** Posted **Nov 26, 2016, 8:47 PM**

Or, crazy idea, you could build a crossing where people actually want to cross?

MasterG · #**357** Posted **Nov 26, 2016, 9:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by milomilo

Or, crazy idea, you could build a crossing where people actually want to cross?

Bingo. Why we can't build a mid-block crossing immediately at the bridge is silly.

RyLucky · #**358** Posted **Nov 27, 2016, 2:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by milomilo

Or, crazy idea, you could build a crossing where people actually want to cross?

Yes!

outoftheice · #**359** Posted **Jan 21, 2017, 11:51 PM**

One public realm/park improvement that will be coming to Council for approval soon is the 'Bend in the Bow' project. This one seems to kind of flown under the radar as the public engagement occurred. The Grand Vision includes renewing Pearce Estates Park, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Inglewood Wildlands as well as taking measures to connect them as a continuous park space. While I think the Bird Sanctuary is quite well known, the rest of the area is a bit of a hidden gem in Calgary's park system and I'm hopeful this project will increase public awareness and utilization of the spaces. The Grand Vision is available online and can be seen here:

http://calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Documents/Locations/Bend-in-Bow-Grand-Vision.pdf

UofC.engineer · #**360** Posted **Jan 23, 2017, 12:40 AM**

The city is looking for input on the space under the 4th ave flyover in Bridgeland.

http://engage.calgary.ca/flyover?redirect=/flyover

It might not be spectacular, it might not cost that much, but small improvements like this can make a big difference on the aesthetics of the city in the long run. I think we need more initiatives like this!

Open house is this Wednesday...I can't make it so hopefully one of the forumers can fill me in.