The City of Calgary announced on Tuesday it would be discontinuing a trial lane reversal system on 5 Avenue S.W. between 5 Street and 11 Street S.W. on June 10.
Testing of the pilot project began in May 2015 and saw two of the five eastbound lanes on 5 Avenue S.W. sectioned off to be used by westbound traffic.
At the time, city officials said they hoped the lane reversal would improve westbound traffic flow out of downtown during the afternoon commute.
City of Calgary spokesperson Pat Grisak told Global News that although the lane reversal has been successful, the cost to sustain it in its current form or to make it permanent is not viable at this time.
“It costs about $150,000 a year for the crews to go out and set it up every day,” Grisak said. “At a time when we are looking to cut and minimize our operating budget as much as we can, it’s simply not viable for us to continue with the expense of operating this.”
The lane reversal will end starting at 6 a.m. on Monday, June 10, and traffic will revert to a one-way eastbound traffic pattern.
As a result, the City of Calgary said parking will not be permitted along 5 Avenue S.W. between 5 Street and 11 Street S.W. on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to accommodate peak traffic.
Although the lane reversal is being discontinued, it may not be the last Calgarians have seen of the project; the City of Calgary said it may consider reinstating a permanent lane reversal in the future, should funding become available.
For more information, you can visit Calgary.ca/5ave.
– With files from Lauren Pullen
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