Infrastructure – Bike Calgary

14Jul 2021 by WheelsofFortune No Comments

26 Avenue Southwest Engagement

26 Ave SW Bridge over Crowchild Trail Check out the engagement page for more information and to provide your feedback on the proposed 26 Ave SW improvements between 14 Street and Sarcee Trail. 26 Avenue is an important east-west link in Calgary's on-street bikeway network. It connects multiple schools and communities, the Rotary Mattamy Greenway, and the Max Teal BRT on 37 Street SW. https://engage.calgary.ca/buckmaster26?fbclid=IwAR3TX7zQKE588l4M3FZX3L3BBbP9TcW34vgRxjyVtKo07wIoDFcMVip6tZM 26 Avenue SW ranked highly in Bike Calgary's recent analysis of gaps in the 5A Network. It has also seen multiple collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles in the past two years: https://twitter.com/yyctransport/status/1410253972657500164?s=20 https://twitter.com/yyctransport/status/1300953767588720641?s=20 https://twitter.com/yyctransport/status/1267801367122284546?s=20 https://twitter.com/yyctransport/status/1266361978043240450?s=20 The existing conditions on this street are "shared lanes" between 14 St and Richmond Road, painted bike lanes between Richmond Road and 37 St SW, and "shared lanes" between…

08Jun 2021 by WheelsofFortune No Comments

14 Ave NW Plans – Feedback Wanted

Advocacy, Infrastructure

Image: City of Calgary Engage Portal Check out the City of Calgary's concepts for the 14 Ave NW corridor. 14 Avenue NW is an important east-west connection for active modes of transportation. It connects major destinations like Foothills Medical Centre, Lions Park LRT station, SAIT, and the Alberta University of the Arts. It is also an important neighbourhood street for the communities of St. Andrew's Heights and Hounsfield Heights / Briar Hill. 14 Avenue is also identified as an on-street connection on the City's 5A mobility network. With the roadway planned for asphalt re-surfacing, Bike Calgary was pleased to see improved cycling and walking connections included in the project. Check out the proposed changes at https://engage.calgary.ca/14ave and be sure to fill out the survey with your feedback, especially if you…

14May 2021 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Detour alert – Ogden Road SE / Bow River Pathway

Infrastructure

As part of the ongoing construction at the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant, the City's project team will be temporarily closing a section of the Bow River pathway near Ogden Rd SE and setting up a pathway detour from May 25th until September 3rd. Details of the closure and detour are outlined below and the detour is also reflected on the interactive pathway map. The detour will be an asphalt transition and an adaptive roadway with solid barriers will be added to Ogden Road to provide a safe route for users, with a safe ramp back onto the pathway system. Thanks to the City of Calgary Project Engineer for reaching out and for thinking about the detour for all rollers and riders! See the projects website here for an insight into the…

13Apr 2021 by Pete Spearing 1 Comment

Chinatown detour designs released

Infrastructure

As mentioned in the CBC article https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/city-of-calgary-construction-pathway-walkability-stakeholders-avenue-1.5983559, the City of Calgary has released the plans for the upgrades to 3rd Ave, which incorporates the Chinatown area. The City notes that the upgrades (being made for people who walk and wheel in the area) include: Improvements at intersections that enhance safety and make it easier to cross the streetThe possible installation of signals (where appropriate) to enhance pedestrian safety and accessibilityWheelchair ramp reconstruction and accessibility improvementsTraffic calming measuresChanges to on-street parking, including curb extensions or concrete islands that will improve the visibility of people at intersectionsCreating angle parking stalls where appropriate on side streets to increase parking capacityCreating dedicated facilities for cycling and other mobility devices such as scooters, in-line skates, and skateboards Why 3 Avenue South? Well according to the…

12Apr 2021 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Future of 16 Avenue NW – Project Update and Invitation for Virtual Open House

Infrastructure

A RECAP - CURRENT STATUS: Currently the project is in Phase 3: Reveal. During this phase, the City will be presenting the short-, medium- and long-term recommended concepts to Calgarians and asking for input. They will use this input, along with technical expertise to refine the plans. The City has been in contact with stakeholders whose access and properties may be impacted by the medium and long-term concepts. They have collated the feedback received from the initial survey, conducted technical analysis and developed concept options that best met the project’s goals and what they heard from Calgarians. UPCOMING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: Starting this April, the City invites you and all Calgarians to review the short-, medium- and long-term recommended plans and give input. You are also invited to attend the virtual open house on…

11Apr 2021 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Bike fatalities still high despite less vehicle traffic

Infrastructure

In 2020, Calgary police responded to 199 collisions where cyclists were hit, which is down slightly from 227 in 2019. Now this might look like its an improving statistic, but bearing in mind there is a significant increase in cyclists and less drivers, this remains alarmingly high. Calgary cyclist Kevin Dalton described an incident involving a vehicle in November 2018 where fortunately the outcome wasn't as severe as it potentially could have been: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/calgary-cyclists-speaking-out-after-spike-in-fatal-collisions-1.5382531 According to Statistics Canada, a collision with a motor vehicle made up 73% of fatal cycling events from analysis across the country between 2006 and 2017, with more than half of these being in urban settings. So how do we move the dial on this? Providing infrastructure that's designed with safety in mind and physically segregated…

08Mar 2021 by Nigel Swytink-Binnema No Comments

The Deerfoot Trail Study: what does it mean?

Advocacy, Infrastructure

The City of Calgary and Alberta Transportation recently released the Deerfoot Trail Study, which looked at upgrading the safety and accessibility of Deerfoot Trail. While the 5-year study focused on motor vehicles, some recommendations were made to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and wheelers. These recommendations focused on crossings of Deerfoot Trail. Here is our analysis. On the one hand, walking and wheeling infrastructure made up a very small part of this report. On the other hand, there is a lot to unpack. The study goals were twofold: “Improve freeway operations and safety on Deerfoot Trail”“Improve air quality and reducing vehicular emissions as part of the City’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the time needed to travel to and within the corridor” The City of Calgary…

24Jan 2021 by Pete Spearing 1 Comment

E-Scooters to stay in Calgary

#sharedstreets, Infrastructure

Following an unanimous vote at the City council meeting last week, we will again see the ride sharing scheme back on our pathways this year, but with a few new rules attached. https://globalnews.ca/news/7585209/calgary-e-scooters-approved-2021/ Each scooter will have a highly visible identification numberA cap of 1,500 e-scootersOperate on low speed / low volume roads that don't have traffic linesPay a per-scooter permit fee (that will cover parking)A 15 cent fee per trip will be applied There were three operators in the City in 2020, Lime, Bird and Roll. Calgary was the first Canadian city to reach 1 million shared e-scooter rides and according to one operator, Calgary uses their scooters more than anywhere else in the world. Hopefully, with this new permanent user addition to the city's pathway systems, it will…

22Jan 2021 by Pete Spearing 1 Comment

New bike lane installed on Crescent Road in northwest Calgary

Infrastructure

A new bike lane was recently installed on Crescent Road in northwest Calgary. Crescent road has gone from complete closure in April, to reopening in October with a narrow temporary active transport lane, to a widened permanent lane in December. We appreciate the City's quick response in this beautiful area, and look forward to seeing the same in other locations. https://globalnews.ca/news/7505028/new-bike-lane-installed-on-crescent-road-in-northwest-calgary/ Crescent Road has gone through several phases since March. Near the beginning of the pandemic, the whole road (from Centre St to 6A St NW) was closed to motor vehicle traffic and many Calgarians took advantage of the wide space to walk, run, skateboard, ride their bikes, watch physically-distanced fireworks, take in views of the river and the downtown skyline, and generally have a great time. In late October,…

14Jan 2021 by Pete Spearing No Comments

14 & 15 Avenue S.W. Mobility Improvements

Infrastructure

The City of Calgary is looking to improve the 14 Avenue S. and 15 Avenue S. corridors. Impacting our communities in Beltline, Connaught and Victoria Park (Wards 8 and 11) from 12 Street SW to 1 Street SE. The survey ends on Sunday, January 31, 2021. https://engage.calgary.ca/1415ave As part of the 17 Avenue S.W. Construction Project, 14 Avenue S. and 15 Avenue S. were converted to one-way roads, with street parking preserved on both sides of the road, to provide detours during construction. This also provided an opportunity to improve the pedestrian experience and add wheeling facilities by reducing the widths of travel lanes to encourage a reduction in traffic speeds. Currently, 14 Avenue S. accommodates one westbound traffic lane with parking on both sides of the street, and 15 Avenue…