Sidewalks of Calgary

[Jimby]

I had a friend here from Vancouver and we were wandering around Eau Claire, PIP, Riverwalk, and the EV and I have to say that the pedestrian realm is terrible in Calgary except for the pathway system.
We talk about huge transportation infrastructure improvements that we need to build a city with things like subways, LRT extensions, ring roads to nowhere, but the pedestrian is last on the entitlement list. Improvements to the pedestrian realm are the cheapest and easiest ways to improve our quality of life and make our city truly liveable like other walkable world cities.

The City of Calgary regards a sidewalk (especially downtown) as their right of way for motor vehicle traffic signs, motor vehicle parking signs, street lights, traffic lights, benches, Enmax boxes, ParkPlus boxes, fire hydrants, newspaper boxes, and anything else except humans walking!

If one works in an industrial or office park there are no sidewalks. Better off driving to a drive-thru at lunch than trying to walk across parking lots and lawns and then trying to cross a busy road without a pedestrian crossing.

The sidewalk on the 4th St SW hill for example is so narrow that 2 normal sized humans have to turn aside or step out onto the roadway to pass which is one of many ways the pedestrian is ignored and whose life is put at risk by the interaction with the poor driving skills of Calgary motorists.

Riverwalk is great and has become very popular. We need to "Riverwalk" much more of the core.


Ok who believes that anyone gave any thought to the pedestrian when they did this?
Calgary sidewalks aren't meant for pedestrians by LUMIN8, on Flickr

This is a big improvement and it is cool to see so many bike racks near the DIC but with the Enmax box in the way, trees and bikes there may not be much room to walk. Notice Enmax never has to place their boxes in a roadway but plopped down in the middle of the sidewalk is always the only choice they had.

proper sidewalk by LUMIN8, on Flickr

[lineman]

That's a telecom box. There is not much electrical above ground downtown. Any "boxes" are below those grates with the footprints (network vaults).

Network explained.

[GTING]

Thank you! I have been thinking this for some time now...

Who in the city decides where to put the traffic light controlling boxes? These drive me nuts as they are often in the worst position for pedestrians.

Here is just a few examples:
Nowhere to walk here
This one drove me nuts when I worked in the Bow

We need more like this

There are dozens of others just like this in the downtown core.

[Spring2008]

Given how EV has gotten the Cadillac treatment in terms of pedestrian infrastructure, I think more focus needs to happen in the Beltline. The 13th ave greenway is prob fine up to 5th st, time to get the 8st redevelopment project going and the city should also place 10th av and the eastern portion of 17th av as high priority.

[Wooster]

Exactly why we're doing a new pedestrian strategy. Also working on a funding proposal for centre city public realm improvements.

Use this thread to feed me thoughts and experiences, I am on the steering committee for both initiatives. For the pedestrian strategy, there should be some very interesting public engagement opportunities coming up.

[Jimby]

Originally Posted by lineman

That's a telecom box. There is not much electrical above ground downtown. Any "boxes" are below those grates with the footprints (network vaults).

Network explained.

Sorry I should have called it a utility box or something to make it more generic, thanks for the clarification.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Given how EV has gotten the Cadillac treatment in terms of pedestrian infrastructure, I think more focus needs to happen in the Beltline. The 13th ave greenway is prob fine up to 5th st, time to get the 8st redevelopment project going and the city should also place 10th av and the eastern portion of 17th av as high priority.

Yes. East end of 17th will be getting a good streetscape upgrade as part of the major road reconstruction in the next few years. For 10th, a public realm plan is being worked on - largely because there is so much development planned, we want to ensure a cohesive design emerges.

[Jimby]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Exactly why we're doing a new pedestrian strategy. Also working on a funding proposal for centre city public realm improvements.

Use this thread to feed me thoughts and experiences, I am on the steering committee for both initiatives. For the pedestrian strategy, there should be some very interesting public engagement opportunities coming up.

Yay!
Wider sidewalks with fewer obstacles and safe from vehicle traffic.
I know I make it sound easy.

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by Jimby

Ok who believes that anyone gave any thought to the pedestrian when they did this?
Calgary sidewalks aren't meant for pedestrians by LUMIN8, on Flickr

In the US this would guarantee a City a lawsuit from the American Association for People with Disabilities.

[Jimby]

Originally Posted by Wooster

In the US this would guarantee a City a lawsuit from the American Association for People with Disabilities.

I laughed, but really there is no way a wheelchair or scooter could navigate here.

[MasterG]

By far, this is my biggest issue with inner city life in the city. Pedestrians are treated completely second class. The Ped Strategy is long overdue, but it is really exciting to see the pieces moving to fix the everyday danger that exists in the city centre.

Good idea Jimby to bring this up

5th Street South and North of 17th Ave is first on my list of terrible, unsafe designs. So many examples to choose from. I'll post some pics this week.

[bt04ku]

While this isn't really a big pedestrian cooridor due to the rail tracks, the principle of this really infuriated me last night when we did walk by it.

[geotag277]

We have some pretty embarrassing sidewalks in our downtown. I've been on high elevation remote mountain trails better maintained than the crumbling slabs that line 10th ave.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by bt04ku

While this isn't really a big pedestrian cooridor due to the rail tracks, the principle of this really infuriated me last night when we did walk by it.

This makes me laugh every time I walk by it. Parked cars get precedence over pedestrians here. That lay-by should be closed and the sidewalk increased to a proper width.

One stretch of sidewalk I hate but walk every day is 11 Street between 10 Ave and the West Kerby LRT. On either side of the tracks that sidewalk is 4' wide, and north of 8th it's 6' but there are trees in the middle. Just horribly thought out.

[Spring2008]

This excites me more than any single tower project. I think Kensington BRZ has a new strategy to use part of the parking revenues in the area to fund public ream projects going forward. I hope the other BRZ's surrounding the core follow suit.

Originally Posted by Wooster

Exactly why we're doing a new pedestrian strategy. Also working on a funding proposal for centre city public realm improvements.

Use this thread to feed me thoughts and experiences, I am on the steering committee for both initiatives. For the pedestrian strategy, there should be some very interesting public engagement opportunities coming up.

[bt04ku]

I imagine most of 5th Street will be getting a pretty big change with the cycle track coming in but something needs to be done between 17th and the river as well. For a residential street it is absolutely horrible to walk, bike (or even drive, really).

It really sucks that the cycle track could just be taken all the way to the river, would have solved so many problems (I guess street side parking is just too valuable to give up).

[RyLucky]

Great thread idea. There are sooo many examples were improvements are needed.

Originally Posted by Wooster

Exactly why we're doing a new pedestrian strategy. Also working on a funding proposal for centre city public realm improvements.

Use this thread to feed me thoughts and experiences, I am on the steering committee for both initiatives. For the pedestrian strategy, there should be some very interesting public engagement opportunities coming up.

One thing the city continues to make progress with is adding bike racks. However, I still have to lock to a sign or a tree or fence about 75% of the time. I do my best to keep my bike out of pedestrian ROW, but sometimes I see bikes that obstruct passage. The best place for more racks is right by the curb:

[RyLucky]

Jimby, I hope you don't mind I re-post your photo, but this exactly illustrates my point:
Where does the pedestrian go?
Where are bikes supposed to lock?


of course, overall this is a great street. There are far worse examples in the Beltline and Downtown.

[Jimby]

^ no I don't mind. Also line of sight is important so people can keep an eye on their rides since they can be stolen in a moment even when locked.

[Rusty van Reddick]

I walk like a motherfucker and I don't find sidewalks in Calgary that bad. Jimby doesn't your friend in Vancouver know Denman? Horribly narrow sidewalks for blocks there and don't get me started on the signed one way, lights the other intersections that abound there, which is why in one week I was nearly struck by cars 5 times. In Vancouver, where pedestrians are treated like excrement. Yes, I counted. Edmonton has these as well. And while you're not getting me started, I'm in Munich now where almost every sidewalk is shared with bikes- strip of asphalt for bike, stones for pedestrians but this isn't clearly signed almost anywhere and THE FUCKING BIKES RIDE ON THE PEDESTRIAN SIDE ANYWAY and some of the morons ride the wrong way- on a "bike lane" about a metre wide. There as so many cities that fuck the pedestrians over... including, I say again, Vancouver. Try being a pedestrian in Kuala Lumpur or the Chicago suburb where my mom lives. I could go and on, and on, and on. It sucks pretty much everywhere, including here in Olde Europe. Pedestrian zones abound but sidewalks prioritize these goddamned motherfucking bikes just as they did in Copenhagen.

BUT what grinds my gears was alluded to above: we have nothing close to the Americans with Disabilities Act and huge swaths of city, including my very block in Bankview, that have corners with ZERO curb cuts. How are people in wheelchairs supposed to be from 21st Ave to 17th Ave SW along 14 St? No curb cuts. You might as well lock those people in cages.