Calgary Stoney Trail [Ring Road]

[5seconds]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I am wondering how the SWRR is going to accommodate this interchange. I thought I saw a system interchange at this location on some Functional Planning Study Maps.

This is the 2008 map showing the basics of the ring road leading into the SW Portion.



It probably doesn't help, but there you go!

Does anyone know if there are there any more updated maps of this area?

[tmjr]

Chief says Calgary’s S.W. ring road ‘on the back burner’(Calgary Herald)

Tsuu T’ina Chief Sandford Big Plume says southwest ring road discussions are on the tribe’s “back burner” as he’s prepared to let Alberta’s premier and other ministers settle into their new roles before resuming negotiations.

“There are a lot of other issues that we’re dealing with right now. So it’s just on the back burner. You’ve just got a new premier in there. Let them get settled, let them get ready and we’ll meet them when the time’s right.”

“We’re very happy that there’s been discussions they brought up pertaining to access, but mostly it’s us asking access to our nation to guarantee that access will always be there,” the chief said. “Things are moving along very well. I’m pretty sure we’re close to inking some long term arrangements.”

A city official confirmed the two sides are close to a solution.

Brings to mind some of the skepticism people have expressed that negotiations with the Tsuu T'ina will only drag on and on. I'm also a little surprised that negotiations with the nation over road access to the city seem to be separated from negotiations for the ring road ROW.

It seems to me that, with Premier Redford already expressing disapproval to the alternate proposals, the perceived urgency of getting a deal done, and something significant that the nation wants already being largely agreed to separately, the nation's negotiating position is far stronger than it was a couple of months ago...

[5seconds]

Originally Posted by tmjr

I'm also a little surprised that negotiations with the nation over road access to the city seem to be separated from negotiations for the ring road ROW.

The ROW and access are (strangely) 2 somewhat separate issues. The Province has already agreed to several interchanges to access Nation land, but I believe that the corridor will be within of the City of Calgary, so while the interchanges would certainly be built, the 2009 agreement did not state that they had to remain open. Once built, the City of Calgary could barricade the interchanges (on City land), and restrict access to the Nation if they wanted.

I think that the Province could not make the promise that access would be uninterrupted indefinitely, but they didn't pursue the City to make a legal agreement before the last deal. This time there is separate negotiations with the City that will have to be hashed out before the next deal can be re-presented, so that it can form a legally binding part of the next deal (or it will be a separate deal that the Nation can rely on even if it's not technically part of the new deal). I'm not sure if that agreement would have to go to Council, but if it does, it would be a milestone to watch out for before the next deal gets presented.

The Nation wants to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is; they don't want access to be at the whim of the current Mayor. Given the level of discourse on this very topic in Calgary ("Let's block all access to their Casino, the greedy jerks!") it seems a wise decision on their part.

[5seconds]

Another new article about the SWRR. Nothing really new in there.

“The change in leadership did not stop the process. But we need to look at whether we take different steps to advance that. Whether that means I sit down with anyone or not, I don’t think we’re that far along yet,” Redford said Saturday.

Danyluk has said it’s his “priority” as Alberta’s new transportation minister to finalize a long-elusive deal, and that a meeting between the province and the band could happen within a couple of weeks.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Re...824/story.html

[Seadood]

Took a drive down Glenmore yesterday and could see the new lanes for Stoney. Glenmore detours onto the off ramp then curves into the on ramp to avoid the interchange construction. As you do that, you get a view of the Stoney lanes just north on the approach to the interchange. What I saw was they paved the Stoney lanes. I assume that it was done to prevent erosion of the road bed. Comments?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by Seadood

Took a drive down Glenmore yesterday and could see the new lanes for Stoney. Glenmore detours onto the off ramp then curves into the on ramp to avoid the interchange construction. As you do that, you get a view of the Stoney lanes just north on the approach to the interchange. What I saw was they paved the Stoney lanes. I assume that it was done to prevent erosion of the road bed. Comments?

Well that and to just have it done. A project this large can't be all paved in one single run, so they might as well start paving the parts that are ready when they are ready.

[tmjr]

Driving through the Stoney - Crowchild interchange, everything SEEMS to be done. However, the speed limit is left at 60 kph through the area.

Do they leave the speed limit low for a period after finishing an interchange just to let people get used to the new traffic flow patterns? Or is there more to be done at Crow/Stoney that requires the low speed limit?

[mersar]

Still doing some cleanup work. I did notice they've got the guides in place for pouring most of the barriers east of the Stoney bridge now, so on Crowchild there is definately still some work going on.

[Mazrim]

I'm pretty sure the speed limit will be 60 on Crowchild until the LRT station is finished.

[patm]

Anyone know what they plan on doing for the 22x bridge over Macleod? Something tells me that it will be total chaos... They've got that, then they need to build an over/under pass for the Silverado access road and then the James Mckevitt access...

I gotta move.

[tmjr]

Originally Posted by mersar

Still doing some cleanup work. I did notice they've got the guides in place for pouring most of the barriers east of the Stoney bridge now, so on Crowchild there is definately still some work going on.

Didn't notice those until today; they were pouring/forming the barriers on the EB Crow side when I drove by.

I guess I was more thinking about Stoney trail itself - its still 60 kph under the bridge...

[Barnes]

Question regarding the southeast leg. According to the schedule here, all of the work is scheduled to be completed except 22x and Deerfoot (2013) is scheduled to be complete by Nov 2012. Will they open the stretch between 17 ave se and 22x once it's done?

[freeweed]

Say what we will about the Ring Road, but they sure designed it well. The huge shoulders saved my car (and possibly my body) today. The Beamer (surprise, surprise) behind me just didn't want to let me lane change after a merge and ended up almost wiping me off the road at nearly 80km/h. Only the very wide shoulder gave him enough room to move around me.

Of course, this was all predicated by the idiot in front of us doing 60 as he merged onto a 100 route. I REALLY wish we had signs on ramps saying something like "you're about to merge into traffic doing 100, you may want to consider actually approaching that speed before merging".

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by tmjr

Driving through the Stoney - Crowchild interchange, everything SEEMS to be done. However, the speed limit is left at 60 kph through the area.

Do they leave the speed limit low for a period after finishing an interchange just to let people get used to the new traffic flow patterns? Or is there more to be done at Crow/Stoney that requires the low speed limit?

Still lot's of clean up type work to be done (landscaping in the medians etc.) so I suspect the speed limit will stay until that is done. In addition the pedestrian bridge just south of the interchange is still under construction so the speed limit will probably stay at 60 at least in that vicinity for awhile.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by patm

Anyone know what they plan on doing for the 22x bridge over Macleod? Something tells me that it will be total chaos... They've got that, then they need to build an over/under pass for the Silverado access road and then the James Mckevitt access...

I gotta move.

Hey, if they can build the Glenmore/5th/Elbow interchange area without massively disrupting traffic (in some areas it was actually improved) then they can definitely build that interchange without any major problems.

Originally Posted by freeweed

I REALLY wish we had signs on ramps saying something like "you're about to merge into traffic doing 100, you may want to consider actually approaching that speed before merging".

Anthony Henday SW used "100 Ahead" (you know, the same ones to warn when the speed limit slows down) on the ramp entrances to the mainline and people didn't change their habits at all, unfortunately. That's why you don't see them anywhere else.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Say what we will about the Ring Road, but they sure designed it well. The huge shoulders saved my car (and possibly my body) today. The Beamer (surprise, surprise) behind me just didn't want to let me lane change after a merge and ended up almost wiping me off the road at nearly 80km/h. Only the very wide shoulder gave him enough room to move around me.

Of course, this was all predicated by the idiot in front of us doing 60 as he merged onto a 100 route. I REALLY wish we had signs on ramps saying something like "you're about to merge into traffic doing 100, you may want to consider actually approaching that speed before merging".

I feel you pain. Although never having to use the median, I have made a few surprise moves in that area.

I think the permanent fix to add a third lane on WB Stoney between CHB and Crowchild such that RO RR traffic would stay in this third lane when commuting over to Crowchild. Finally this third lane would not be a extension of the right hand lane going up the hill from the bottom of Nose Hill Creek to Citadel, this traffic should continue to be merged into the center lane.

[freeweed]

It's an interesting idea, certainly something I've thought about before. There's plenty of room to prevent it from becoming a "weave" lane too.

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by Cage

I think the permanent fix to add a third lane on WB Stoney between CHB and Crowchild such that RO RR traffic would stay in this third lane when commuting over to Crowchild. Finally this third lane would not be a extension of the right hand lane going up the hill from the bottom of Nose Hill Creek to Citadel, this traffic should continue to be merged into the center lane.

This is exactly what they have done south of the Crowchild interchange and it works great. Exiting off Crowchild onto SB Stoney you do not have to merge at all. You get you own lane that continues all the way to the Tuscany exit. Anyone going to Tuscany never has to merge or change lanes, and if you are heading further south you have about 1.5km to make your lane change. The only merge there is comes from EB Crowchild>SB Stoney traffic which merges into the 3rd lane.

[suburb]

This interview with Tsuu T'ina chief speaks to the ring road quite a bit. It also speaks to the relation with the City of Calgary. Looks like this is another place where Mayor Nenshi is going a fantastic job!

http://tinyurl.com/c5cty7u

[eggbert]

Time to push ahead on S.W. ring road deal, Redford says
‘This will not be a never-ending process,’ premier vows
By Clara Ho, Calgary Herald November 13, 2011 8:16 AM

CALGARY — Premier Alison Redford made it clear she wants to see a resolution to the drawn-out southwest ring road debate, a project that politicians and Tsuu T’ina leaders have been working for decades to complete.

A new expressway loop around the city would put an end to traffic snarls that have long plagued commuters — and after more than 40 years of discussions on both sides to hammer out a deal, Redford said it’s time to push ahead.

“We need to move on,” Redford told the Calgary Herald editorial board earlier this week. “This will not be a never-ending process,” she said.

An agreement was tantalizingly close in 2009 but collapsed after it was rejected by band members in a referendum.

Negotiations resumed this summer, reigniting hopes the project would finally be completed. But an end of September deadline for a Tsuu T’ina vote slipped by with no resolution.

Redford said she hopes a deal can be reached to satisfy the provincial government, the City of Calgary and the Tsuu T’ina Nation.

“The former premier was very optimistic he could get it done before (he stepped down Oct. 1). I just don’t know quite where Tsuu T’ina is right now,” she said.

During the Tory leadership race, Redford suggested the best option for the southwest portion of the ring road around Calgary was through Tsuu T’ina land.

But she noted that the second best option was expanding Highways 22 and 22X to Highway 1, along with Highway 8, to move traffic around the city.

She also indicated she did not support the five alternative routes put forth by Alberta Transportation, which would have the southwest portion of the road run through the city.

Redford did not divulge whether she had a time frame in mind before strongly considering her second-best option, adding that she plans to sit with Transportation Minister Ray Danyluk and get his assessment first.

The cost to undertake her top two ring road options “are not that dissimilar,” she said.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Time+pu...#ixzz1dbOfFmbw