Calgary Public Transit II

[O-tacular]

Drove by the 17th ave portion of the wlrt yesterday and was surprised at the state of the landscaping. I would say maybe only 10% looks finished. All along the new sidewalk it's still dug out with no sod. The area around the Westbrook station looks like a sad gravel pit. There's still a mountain of dirt beside Sarcee and 17th. Virtually no trees anywhere. I would think at this point it would be done already.

[O-tacular]

Saw the new chinook station on Friday. The new lighting and layout looks really good. It looked like it was still missing a couple glass panels at the corners of the large canopy though.

[O-tacular]

I was curious why CT seems to be updating and lengthening the platforms everywhere for new 4 car trains except for at 39th ave station (possibly the oldest and shittiest in the city). Anyone know when they plan on doing that one?

[Chadillaccc]

This is from wikipedia but I couldn't locate a source:

39 Avenue Station is slated to be completely demolished and rebuilt owing to its current poor shape and unfriendly design. Construction work is expected to start in late 2013. This redevelopment will require a temporary closure of the station.

[frinkprof]

39th is actually one of a few that haven't been extended or currently undergoing construction for extension.

These include: 39th Avenue, SAIT, Banff Trail, Zoo, Bridgeland and Barlow/Max Bell.

The three in the northeast have firm start dates in 2014 while there is less information on the others.

39th Avenue, SAIT and Banff Trail are actually the three that are the hardest logistically to extend so I'm not sure exactly what the delays are. Hopefully these are all done by sometime next year.

[Fuzz]

I just got back from Montreal, and was amazed by the scale of the metro system there. Tell me again why we can't bury 2km of track through downtown, while they have 70km of it??? Yes, they have a larger population and pay more taxes (which I am not against) but even that can't explain how pathetic it is.

Frankly, our LRT is a joke. At least through the core. The speed those trains move without having to stop every 2 blocks made me realize just how ridiculous a situation we have here.

Whichever politicians decided to cancel the underground plans should be ashamed. Taking on the debt then would have been well worth the future savings. Now it will be another 20 years before anything useful exists.

Oh, they also have electronic passes...Why aren't we just buying an off the shelf system? Do we need to re-invent the wheel here?

Sorry, rant over.

[J-D]

Shouldn't they adjust the number of reserved spaces? That's like 40% of the lot that's unusable.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I just got back from Montreal, and was amazed by the scale of the metro system there.

The metro was a huge disappointment for me when I was there last August just because the stations were like blast furnaces that funneled you into trains with no AC. They have those in Buenos Aires but there at least the windows open. I thought I'd pass out- no joke. When a train got stuck briefly near the McGill station I thought I'd have a panic attack- it must have been 40 degrees in that thing. Ugly trains too.

I much prefer Toronto's subways.

But frankly, our LRT isn't a joke. At all.

[J-D]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

The metro was a huge disappointment for me when I was there last August just because the stations were like blast furnaces that funneled you into trains with no AC. They have those in Buenos Aires but there at least the windows open. I thought I'd pass out- no joke. When a train got stuck briefly near the McGill station I thought I'd have a panic attack- it must have been 40 degrees in that thing. Ugly trains too.

I much prefer Toronto's subways.

But frankly, our LRT isn't a joke. At all.

I think our LRT is a bit of a joke, but four car trains should help. Rush hour is a nightmare - the train is constantly stopping (not at stations), there are lots of non-air conditioned trains with doors that fold inwards, and (seemingly increasingly?) limited parking at stations.

If the train had a more proper ROW without at-level crossings I'd take it a lot more seriously.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

The metro was a huge disappointment for me when I was there last August just because the stations were like blast furnaces that funneled you into trains with no AC. They have those in Buenos Aires but there at least the windows open. I thought I'd pass out- no joke. When a train got stuck briefly near the McGill station I thought I'd have a panic attack- it must have been 40 degrees in that thing. Ugly trains too.

I much prefer Toronto's subways.

But frankly, our LRT isn't a joke. At all.

I was wondering about cooling... It was 15°C when we were there, and it felt kinda warm at that point. Sounds unpleasant in summer... Besides that though, you have to admit the shear cost and scale of what they have is far beyond what Calgary has, and as far as efficient transport through the core goes, it works well. If you can stand the heat...

[RyLucky]

LRT is something we ought to be proud of and continue to promote/improve.

[mersar]

Originally Posted by J-D

Shouldn't they adjust the number of reserved spaces? That's like 40% of the lot that's unusable.

Yep. Its a bit high, but its also a huge lot. I wouldn't mind if they opened up about 100 of those stalls for general use but the lot quite often has free spaces past 8am the times I've parked there.

[SquattingBear]

I understand the merit of the reserved parking system.
But when I still lived by Fish Creek-Lacombe, the only places that aren't reserved is the mud lot on a hill and the farthest parking lot, and the reserved lot (practically the entire lot) was empty until 9:15-9:30. If bus service in the area I lived in wasn't so shit I possibly would have considered busing there, but it was terrible.

Originally Posted by mersar

Yep. Its a bit high, but its also a huge lot. I wouldn't mind if they opened up about 100 of those stalls for general use but the lot quite often has free spaces past 8am the times I've parked there.

[MalcolmTucker]

Hence why the old pay parking system was better, but alas, promises need to be kept.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Hence why the old pay parking system was better, but alas, promises need to be kept.

Hence. There is no need for the "why". Hence means "for this reason" or "therefore". "Hence, the old parking system was better."





It's a pet peeve of mine. Sorry.


I feel like Rusty.

[Riise]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Whichever politicians decided to cancel the underground plans should be ashamed. Taking on the debt then would have been well worth the future savings.

Who said the politicians even had the ability to take on this debt at that point in time? You only have to look at Edmonton to see the extent of the options available.

[Wooster]

A good thing about the current parking system is that it has the effect of spreading out rush hour. Rather than all trying to access parking at the same time, as it was when it was free. Free parkers come a bit earlier, reserved spaces get filled a bit later. Despite some lost parking revenue, it's more efficient for train capacity.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Wooster

A good thing about the current parking system is that it has the effect of spreading out rush hour. Rather than all trying to access parking at the same time, as it was when it was free. Free parkers come a bit earlier, reserved spaces get filled a bit later. Despite some lost parking revenue, it's more efficient for train capacity.

As does the fact that the reserved spots "open up" after 10:00am. It makes some parking available for "daytime" users of the train.

[MasterG]

So Calgary Transit is biting the bullet:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Calgary+Transit+spend+200M+train+cars/8898525/story.html

So they are going from purchasing 50 to purchasing 60? That seems like the right thing to do given all the breakdowns that are a daily issue.

[Colin]

Calgary Trainsit also released potential designs of the new C-Trains. The designs were inspired by the Bow River, a goalie mask, and a buffalo. I think I prefer the buffalo design out of the 3.



The Bow






The Buffalo






The Mask






Interior Design









Source: http://globalnews.ca/news/833869/calgary-transit-unveils-n-sleeker-ctrain-cars/