Infrastructure – Bike Calgary

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…

11Jan 2021 by Pete Spearing No Comments

The Future of 16 Avenue N.W.

Infrastructure

PROJECT UPDATE - JANUARY 2021 The City of Calgary wants to hear from you again on the Main Street options for Montgomery section. In fall 2020, you learned about the benefits and concepts, and evaluated them against the project’s goals. The shared ideas from the last survey have been turned into concept options for this important main street and transportation corridor. Now, they are looking for further feedback on the Main Streets options in the Montgomery section. After the fall engagement concluded, they discovered there were technical errors in the engage portal page that interfered with the ability to collect comprehensive feedback on all of the options. 16th Ave is one of the major crossing intersections for the Bow River pathway To ensure that project decisions and plans are based…

29Dec 2020 by WheelsofFortune No Comments

14 and 15 Ave SW Mobility Improvements – Upcoming Project

Advocacy, Infrastructure

The City of Calgary is looking into options to improve mobility connections in the Beltline on 14 and 15 Ave SW. These streets were converted to one-way traffic and painted bike lines were added as part of the 17 Avenue SW street reconstruction between 2017 and 2019. Spot the bike infrastructure! Check out the project website here: https://engage.calgary.ca/1415Ave This project was also listed as a possible recipient for Provincial Government infrastructure stimulus funding (see page 13). The results from Phase 1 of public engagement were just released. The results show strong support and many comments in favour of a protected cycling connection. This is a very positive development, but there is more work to be done to make sure this project meets the City's 5A Network Principles. Here's what you…

08Dec 2020 by laurashutiak No Comments

Playbook aims to help Calgary become a leading Active City

Advocacy, Education, Infrastructure

The front page of the Active City Playbook By Laura Shutiak This week, Calgarians got a first look at a 208-page document written to push Calgary to become an Active City by 2030. Written by a diverse group of volunteers from across many sectors, including sports, recreation, active transportation, tourism and economic development, the plan envisions a city where the “active” economy drives “economic, human, social and environmental prosperity.” The group, called the Active City Collective, was born from the ashes of the failed Olympic Bid plebiscite, and was led by a pair of professors at Mount Royal University – David Legg and David Finch. The document is loaded with data and puts a strong business case forward for the economic impact of the active economy. I’d encourage you to…