Two of Calgary’s most well-known adaptive lanes are up and running again this weekend after being shut down in the fall.
Two eastbound lanes of Memorial Drive are now closed between 9 Street N.W. and just east of the Centre Street Bridge. There is a full closure of Centre Street Bridge lower deck between Riverfront Avenue S.E. and Memorial Drive N.W.
“I was out on the pathway system last weekend and it was a crush of people,” said Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell. “It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the weather but a bit worrisome because it was so crowded.”
Farrell said the plan was to reopen the adaptive lanes this year. Most of the lanes were shut down in the fall. Several roads in Calgary were turned into adaptive roadways when the pandemic started last year to give people more space to be physically distant.
“We have learned to be nimble. We have learned to try things out, and if they don’t work, we adjust and try something different. We learned to share space,” Farrell said.
“We are seeing a lot of this work in the inner city but there may be other parts of the city that would benefit from these shared streets and so I think if community residents see an opportunity, they should contact their councillor or the city of Calgary.”
A section of Crescent Road N.W. overlooking the city was entirely shut down to traffic for the summer to allow people to have more space. It has since reopened to traffic but has been replaced by an adaptive lane with barriers.
In the southeast, residents and the area councillor fought to keep an adaptive lane on 11 and 12 streets through Inglewood and Ramsay open during the winter because it’s the only link between the two communities. One lane of vehicle traffic has been shut down to make way for a semi-permanent adaptive lane with concrete barriers.
“It seems to be going very well,” said Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra. “Every time I drive or ride my bike past it, it’s well-cleared and it’s well-used so I’m pleased about that.”
Carra said the until the adaptive roadway was created, there was only a narrow sidewalk connecting the communities of Inglewood and Ramsay.
“The river pathway is shut down and 8 Street is shut down, so it was on the strength of the fact that it was the only one that I was able to advocate alongside some very powerful community voices to get a year-round pilot project and it seems to be going very well,” Carra said.
The city plans to open more adaptive lanes as the weather warms up. The plan at this point is to keep them around as long as Calgary’s state of emergency is in effect.
Additional locations will be added to the city’s website as new adaptive roads and lane closures are implemented over the spring and summer of 2021.
The parking lane in the westbound direction on Riverfront Avenue is also closed between 4 Street S.E. and 1 Street S.E.
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