City of Calgary looks for input as 3 new BRT lines launch this fall

Three new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes are set to open this fall in Calgary that will help get transit users across the city without traveling through downtown.  Around 40 bus routes will also need to be changed to accommodate the BRT lines. A city spokesman says the BRT routes will allow people to move east-west across Calgary with fewer stops and transfers.

“We know that is a really big driver for people when they take transit,” said Michael Cox with City of Calgary Transportation.  “The fewer transfers you have to make, the higher likelihood you are to take transit. What we have now is an opportunity to remove some transfers by making these changes to the routes.”

The three new BRT lines set to open this fall are the North Crosstown which connects Saddletown Station along 16 Avenue with the University of Calgary, the South Crosstown which will provide direct service from Westbrook Station to Quarry Park along Glenmore Trail, and the 17 Avenue southeast project that crosses over Deerfoot Trail and the Bow River into Inglewood.   The 17 Avenue project includes dedicated bus lanes and three bridges.

The SW BRT project, which is slated to open in the fall of 2019, also has bus-only lanes. Cox says no driving lanes will be removed for any of the projects but the travel lanes on the SW BRT will be reduced in width.

“We did start construction on the SW BRT this year,” Cox said. “We are not taking away any travel lanes.  There will be transit only lanes on the west side of 14th St. from 75th Ave. to Southland Drive.  However, the lanes are going to be reduced in size by about 30 cm roughly. No lanes are being removed on that project and we are adding the two bus-only lanes.”

The city is now looking for public input on the bus route changes that are planned for this fall.

• Saturday, April 21 at the Genesis Centre lobby from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
  7555 Falconridge Blvd N.E.
• Tuesday, April 24 at Marlborough Park Community Association from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  6021 Madigan Dr N.E.
• Wednesday, April 25 at Remington YMCA from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
  108 Quarry Park Rd. S.E.
• Thursday, April 26 at the Dover Community Association from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  3133 30 Ave S.E.
• Saturday, April 28 at Village Square Leisure Centre from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
  2623 56 St. N.E.
• Tuesday, May 1 at St. Andrews Heights Community Association from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  2504 13 Ave N.W.

$78 million in funding for the project was approved in the capital budget in 2014. In the fall of 2015, the province approved the City of Calgary’s application for $130 million in GreenTRIP funding for the BRT program.