After the city released its updated redevelopment plans for Crowchild Trail, Calgarians were to review the recommendations and provide feedback at public open houses, the first of which was held Saturday afternoon.
The City of Calgary revealed the fifth phase of its Crowchild Trail transportation study on Wednesday.
READ MORE: City of Calgary plans to expand bridges over Bow River in Crowchild Trail redevelopment
Some proposed changes include widening the bridges over the Bow River by two lanes and changing how commuters come on and off the bridge from downtown.
Commuter Kevin Langman is happy with the plan and says it’s long overdue.
“I’ve been saying this needs to happen for probably 10 years so it’s great to see that they’re finally getting serious about doing it,” Langman said. “I just think it will really reduce the congestion along Crowchild Trail and make a lot of people’s commute times that much shorter.
“The long-term plan is great ideally, but that’s going to take some time. I think in the shorter-term, what they’re looking at doing with the bridge widening and making more free-flow lanes through, is going to make a pretty big difference.”
The aim of the six-phase study, which began in 2015, is to identify short-, medium- and long-term plans for Crowchild Trail to accommodate the continued growth and development of Calgary.
However, Terry Hammell – who lives in Knob Hill – is concerned more infrastructure will just lead to more traffic.
- Alberta families asked to weigh in on cellphone usage in schools
- Calgary Fire District launches expanded team of wildland firefighters for 2024 season
- Judicial review filed in response to Calgary city council’s decision to forego rezoning plebiscite
- Calgary issues water reduction advisory ahead of possible restrictions
“It’s the dog chasing its tail. You have more cars – you build more infrastructure, then you get more cars,” Hammell said. “Our deck sometimes sounds like a jet engine. The speed limit is 80 (kilometres per hour) but you drive Crowchild at 80(km/h) and you get driven over.”
In July, the city revealed initial design concepts for the proposed redesign of the roadway and recommended council look at advancing some short-term improvements to Crowchild Trail. Those suggested improvements included widening the bridges across the river.
Council, approved the administration to move forward with planning and design. Funding and sources were also made available.
Feisal Lakha, project manager for the Crowchild Trail study, said one of the themes they heard from the get-go was “fix the bridge”.
“What we tried to do is advance that thinking,” Lakha said. “Last July, we took a plan to a committee and counsel to see if we could advance that work and we go back in November to request funding for that work and if council approves that, we can be in the ground and doing that work by the spring of 2017. The positive thing of this is if we can do some of the short-term work and get to a point where we see improvements right away, I think that’s the benefit Calgarians are looking for.”
“What we’re looking at is removing the signals from Crowchild Trail, so that would be at 24 Avenue, 23 Avenue, 5 Avenue and Kensington Road,” Lakha added. “One of the biggest constraints or fixes that we have is the LRT crossing at that point. So we are looking at shifting Crowchild Trail to the west.”
READ MORE: How would you change Crowchild Trail? City of Calgary wants to know
“As part of the short-term proposal we put to council we’ve put forward some optimization ideas. So things like restricting left turns at Kensington Road during the peak hours, to help improve flow.”
The next open house for Calgarians to voice their opinions on the changes will be held on Monday.
Open house #2: Monday, Oct. 3
Time: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Location: Red and White Club, McMahon Stadium – 1833 Crowchild Tr. N.W.
With files from Carolyn Kury de Castillo
Comments