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Originally Posted by mwalker_mw
Interesting discussion, but I'm still curious about the supporting numbers. I should also add that the interchanges that brought about this question for me are all in the North where there is a consistent 3 lanes + merge lanes and no strange configurations or surprises. It just seems that somehow the merge lanes at 16th, 32nd, Mcknight etc. all seem to ripple across all 3 lanes of traffic resulting in all 3 lanes at 30km/h or less. To me it really stinks of poor driver planning (when exiting) and timidness (when entering) rather than a specific undercapacity of the road.
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I suspect that this contributes to it as well, but it's not something that is unique to Calgary, increased driver testing and education would help this a lot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwalker_mw
Now, if the numbers support the general sentiment, my next question would then be: Why has such a critical artery been left to get to this state? Especially in a city that generally is not shy about spending on roads upgrades. It seems this kind of situation generally stirs up quite a bit of public discussion yet, in general, I hear very little about this. I do agree that the complete ring road will likley provide some relief but I just don't see it reducing volume to the point where another entire lane is not needed (or, better yet, 401 style dedicated merge lanes with barrier separations). So why not start building now?
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Provincial road means that they set the priorities and as eggbert mentioned, their priority has been ring roads and transit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eggbert
Money seems like the obvious answer to me. The province has been building the ring roads in Calgary and Edmonton for what 10 years now? Once they are complete I'm sure they'll start looking at roads like Deerfoot but I'm sure they're hoping the ring road helps enough that they don't have to touch Deerfoot too much.
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This is probably true, and I suspect while it might have an effect it's not going to be as significant as they hope, much of the traffic on Deerfoot is either traveling within the city or into/out of the city, the thru traffic is a fairly small percentage of the overal traffic load. I suspect the LRT will have a much larger impact than the ring road will (purely speculation on my part, I have no numbers to back this up with).