Quote:
Originally Posted by Radley77
I'd be curious what traffic patterns would be like with the Shaganappi to Sarcee Tr SW bridge over the Bow.
There is still a need so that welders, interior designers, Coke delivery truck and such to get across the city and to it's destination. This is a bit different problem than everyday commuters who are technologists, accountants, lawyers, students who work\study near a business\academic node and commute via light rail.
Calgary needs to fund roads adequately and make sure the dollars are being spent on compelling opportunities that improve mobility.
One can spend a shitload of money without a large improvement when there are some sort of geographic, development, or environmental constraints.
|
I imagine that a bridge between Shaganappi and Sarcee (or connecting the two portions of Sarcee) would immediately cause bottlenecks at Sarcee@Bow and Sarcee@Glenmore and worsen the traffic on the Glenmore Causeway as more people find it easier to reach the SE industrial parks from the NW. By making it easier to reach the SE it would promote more job growth there. In the longer term, with interchanges at Bow Trail and Glenmore, the Causeway would get worse as more jobs move to the SE.
There really isn't a problem with goods movement in this city. Most of the road network has spare capacity 95% of the time. The majority of routes are only congested during either the AM or PM rush. A slim minority of areas see congestion during both peaks and
only have spare capacity 90% of the time. These areas include the inner portion of Deerfoot (perhaps between Peigan and McKnight), segments of the Crowchild-Glenmore corridor, and Macleod near Chinook (particularly before Christmas). There are very few areas that see any real congestion more than 10% of the time (Crowchild between Bow Trail and 24 Ave N might barely qualify). Goods should be, and generally are, moved during the 90% of the day when spare capacity abounds. Trying to make the AM and PM peaks congestion free is a great way to spend billions on a goal that will never be realized and will not affect the transportation of goods in a significant way.
I'm not really opposed to fixing Crowchild between Bow Trail and 24 Ave N. It really should be on a, pretty small, to do list of roads projects. The thing is, it would be very expensive. The kind of expensive which puts it in the same realm as the 8 Ave Subway, replacing our fleet of U2s, getting a good start on funding for the SE LRT, and a number of other projects that really ought to be a higher priority. Until we reach the end of the current infrastructure's lifecycle, Crowchild can wait.
I know that no one here has expressed this idea but now seems as good a time as any to comment on the Sun comment board's bizarre concept that there had been a war on cars under Bronconnier that has continued under Nenshi (except when they're complaining about making Airport Trail an expressway). We have thrown tons of money at our road network over the past decade. It has been getting its fair share of attention.