The Herald's 'Project Calgary'

[Bigtime]

We are on the eastern edge of Sunnyside, and it is definitely a longer walk to the amenities than the western side and not even a competition against Hillhurst proper.

We enjoy walking/biking, and compared to the distances we had to cover from arriVa to most amenities we are finding Sunnyside much more walkable.

[Bigtime]

How your community commutes

Communities with highest percentage of auto commuters

EAGLE RIDGE 88.89

BEL-AIRE 87.23

CRANSTON 84.98

DIAMOND COVE 84.48

PARKLAND 81.20

MCKENZIE TOWNE 81.14

BRITANNIA 80.85

COPPERFIELD 80.56

OAKRIDGE 80.13

CHRISTIE PARK 79.89

BONAVISTA DOWNS 79.81

EVANSTON 79.52

COVENTRY HILLS 78.91

COUNTRY HILLS 78.86

PUMP HILL 78.74

BAYVIEW 78.72

MCKENZIE LAKE 78.71

SPRINGBANK HILL 78.71

DOUGLASDALE/GLEN 78.64

HIDDEN VALLEY 78.58

DISCOVERY RIDGE 78.48

KELVIN GROVE 78.13

SHAWNEE SLOPES 78.00

VALLEY RIDGE 77.92

ROCKY RIDGE 76.98

LAKE BONAVISTA 76.79

NORTH HAVEN 76.71

DEER RUN 76.49

QUEENSLAND 76.35

WOODBINE 76.23

CFB - LINCOLN PARK PMQ 76.09

LAKEVIEW 76.08

TUSCANY 75.99

NEW BRIGHTON 75.93

CHAPARRAL 75.13

RIVERBEND 75.00

ROYAL OAK 74.71

APPLEWOOD PARK 74.66

MONTEREY PARK 74.65

ERIN WOODS 74.50

CRESTMONT 74.31

STRATHCONA PARK 74.25

MACEWAN GLEN 74.23

CEDARBRAE 74.15

SCENIC ACRES 74.13

ELBOW PARK 73.96

HARVEST HILLS 73.93

COUGAR RIDGE 73.92

MAPLE RIDGE 73.87

EDGEMONT 73.68

HAMPTONS 73.64

NORTH HAVEN UPPER 73.33

CITADEL 73.27

WEST SPRINGS 73.19

ARBOUR LAKE 73.18

PANORAMA HILLS 72.90

WOODLANDS 72.61

ABBEYDALE 72.53

BRAESIDE 72.47

SIGNAL HILL 72.23

SUNDANCE 72.19

RED CARPET/MOUNTVIEW 72.02

PALLISER 71.72

MARTINDALE 71.71

WILLOW PARK 71.69

DOVER 71.52

CORAL SPRINGS 71.47

EVERGREEN 71.36

GLENDALE 71.32

TARADALE 71.21

HAWKWOOD 71.17

SADDLE RIDGE 71.08

NORTH GLENMORE PARK 71.01

PINERIDGE 70.99

MIDNAPORE 70.96

COACH HILL 70.68

MAYLAND HEIGHTS 70.54

PATTERSON 70.38

FAIRVIEW 70.33

RIDEAU PARK 70.31

CAMBRIAN HEIGHTS 70.28

WILDWOOD 70.28

BEDDINGTON HEIGHTS 69.78

OGDEN 69.76

THORNCLIFFE 69.69

MAYFAIR 69.23

ALTADORE 69.12

CASTLERIDGE 69.05

COUNTRY HILLS VILLAGE 69.03

MARLBOROUGH PARK 68.99

TEMPLE 68.80

RANCHLANDS 68.66

DEER RIDGE 68.55

SILVER SPRINGS 68.51

HIGHWOOD 68.51

FALCONRIDGE 68.34

PENBROOKE MEADOWS 68.31

HUNTINGTON HILLS 68.22

UPPER MOUNT ROYAL 68.09

MONTGOMERY 67.95

Communities with highest percentage of transit commuters

ROXBORO 46.88

CHINATOWN 46.75

DOWNTOWN CORE 40.77

DOWNTOWN WEST END 28.88

MANCHESTER 28.85

HNSFIELD HGHTS/BR HILL 26.48

ROSSCARROCK 25.56

SHAGANAPPI 25.13

BANFF TRAIL 24.64

DALHOUSIE 24.39

HIGHLAND PARK 24.35

SOMERSET 24.03

BRIDLEWOOD 23.70

BANKVIEW 23.40

SUNALTA 22.73

HAYSBORO 22.70

MARLBOROUGH 22.70

VARSITY 22.59

FOREST LAWN 22.54

BRENTWOOD 22.33

KINGSLAND 22.22

MEADOWLARK PARK 22.06

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS 21.85

SOUTHVIEW 21.84

SANDSTONE VALLEY 21.79

GLENBROOK 21.61

KILLARNEY/GLENGARRY 21.49

ROSEMONT 21.31

MILLRISE 21.15

WHITEHORN 21.09

CANYON MEADOWS 21.05

RICHMOND 21.01

ST. ANDREWS HEIGHTS 20.95

SUNNYSIDE 20.94

BRIDGELAND/RIVERSIDE 20.90

BEDDINGTON HEIGHTS 20.87

GREENVIEW 20.75

WINDSOR PARK 20.73

CAPITOL HILL 20.70

RUNDLE 20.65

ALBERT PARK/RADISSON

HEIGHTS 20.47

LOWER MOUNT ROYAL 20.45

SHAWNESSY 20.10

RUTLAND PARK 20.00

ELBOYA 20.00

VISTA HEIGHTS 19.92

TUXEDO PARK 19.89

HUNTINGTON HILLS 19.85

WESTGATE 19.82

SOUTHWOOD 19.80

GLAMORGAN 19.76

DOWNTOWN EAST VILLAGE 19.39

BOWNESS 19.09

EVERGREEN 19.04

COUNTRY HILLS VILLAGE 18.58

CHARLESWOOD 18.34

NORTH HAVEN UPPER 18.33

RANCHLANDS 18.32

CITADEL 18.25

CRESCENT HEIGHTS 18.15

BELTLINE 18.14

HILLHURST 18.08

ACADIA 17.88

SOUTH CALGARY 17.83

MARTINDALE 17.74

SPRUCE CLIFF 17.71

CEDARBRAE 17.51

FOREST HEIGHTS 17.51

ABBEYDALE 17.45

WOODLANDS 17.43

FALCONRIDGE 17.41

MOUNT PLEASANT 17.41

CORAL SPRINGS 17.24

MISSION 17.17

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/your+community+commutes/5560311/story.html#ixzz1b2qYvXMB

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Calgarians seeing value in trading car for nicer neighbourhood
October 15, 2011

When Andrew Bizon, a Calgary engineer, was looking to buy a home, he did some interesting math.

If his busy family of four could live with one car rather than two, they would have an extra $400 to $500 a month for the mortgage, he figured. To make that happen, he would have to commute in other ways, a problem solved with his bicycle.

So with the money saved by functioning as a one-car family, Bizon was able to buy a nice house in South Calgary, an older neighbourhood he loves. It has great amenities, he says, and is close enough to his downtown office that he can walk or take public transit if need be.

“The fact that we are not a two-car family allowed us to put more money into a house,” Bizon says. “Suddenly you’re not paying that extra $400 to $500 a month — that’s almost a second mortgage.”

Bizon’s arithmetic is the kind that drives the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, a formula developed in the United States as a way of offering homeowners a different way of assessing the costs of living in their neighbourhood. At its heart, the index brings another factor into the usual income vs. housing-cost equation. That factor is transportation.

It may seem like a no-brainer — that cars cost money is a surprise to nobody — but in the U.S., the index has challenged the old mantra of “drive until you qualify,” which reflected homebuyers who would drive away from cities and stop when they reached a suburb they could afford. By taking the cost of transportation into account, that cheap suburban housing might not be as attractive as more expensive communities better suited for walking or transit...


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Ca...ourhood/5553279/story.html#ixzz1atSuFUOH

I found myself agreeing with a lot of the people in this article. I had made the following spreadsheet a few years ago just looking at all these other transportation cost factors:

http://www.mediafire.com/?dtciaspuu0g

I think at the time we had taken all these costs and done a net present value calculation to compare against the price of a potential house purchase. For our situation, the cost of a long commute was about an additional $290,000.

I am really impressed by the Calgary Herald for their "Project Calgary" series.

[DizzyEdge]

Crazy that Mt Pleasant is in the top 3, but I find that with multiple bus routes going down Centre, 4th St, 10th st, 16th ave, it's pretty easy to get anywhere (ok, well downtown anyway).

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Crazy that Mt Pleasant is in the top 3, but I find that with multiple bus routes going down Centre, 4th St, 10th st, 16th ave, it's pretty easy to get anywhere (ok, well downtown anyway).

I think the higher the number, the higher the percentage of transit commuters... Almost looks like the took the top 50 of however many communities are in Calgary. I had thought the same when I first looked at it too.

[floobie]

I'd be curious to know if commuting by car includes driving to a train station, or if it means the entire commute is done by car.

[Bigtime]

It's too bad they didn't include the "biking/walking to work crowd", although obviously it would be skewed heavily to the very inner-city communities I would have liked to have seen some of the closer suburbs that have lots of bike commuters.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Radley77

I think the higher the number, the higher the percentage of transit commuters... Almost looks like the took the top 50 of however many communities are in Calgary. I had thought the same when I first looked at it too.

I thought the #'s were the percentage of car commuters throughout the list

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

It's too bad they didn't include the "biking/walking to work crowd", although obviously it would be skewed heavily to the very inner-city communities I would have liked to have seen some of the closer suburbs that have lots of bike commuters.

The other active mode communities that were non-inner city I found were Brentwood\Varsity\Banff Trail (University crowd), Point McKay\Parkdale\St. Andrew's Heights (Foothills hospital) and somewhat suprisingly Acadia (Chinook mall regional hub).

The one thing these active mode hubs have in common with each other is proximity to a major activity node or major employment centre.

I have this list in an excel spreadsheet so here is what I had from the last civic census for communities with population >1000:

Community Name: Active Mode Share, Population
Eau Claire: 67.6%, 1711
Chinatown: 54.0%, 1269
Beltline: 42.5%, 19556
Downtown East Village: 40.6%, 2747
Downtown Commercial Core: 38.9%, 8071
Cliff Bungalow: 36.9%, 1912
Lower Mount Royal: 31.1%, 2981
Downtown West End: 31.0%, 2483
Mission: 30.6%, 4363
Rosedale: 29.7%, 1592
Hillhurst: 29.0%, 5914
Sunnyside: 28.4%, 3751
Crescent Heights: 27.4%, 5895
University Of Calgary: 27.0%, 2355
University Heights: 24.2%, 2890
Erlton: 23.4%, 1231
St. Andrews Heights: 22.0%, 1470
Parkdale: 19.6%, 2317
Residual Ward 2: 18.2%, 1140
Sunalta: 18.2%, 3116
Banff Trail: 18.1%, 3582
Ramsay: 17.6%, 2006
West Hillhurst: 16.6%, 5757
Upper Mount Royal: 15.6%, 2536
Point Mckay: 15.1%, 1318
Bridgeland/Riverside: 15.0%, 5254
Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill: 14.5%, 2927
Mount Pleasant: 13.9%, 4718
Renfrew: 11.3%, 5669
Inglewood: 11.2%, 3473
Brentwood: 10.3%, 6049
Lincoln Park: 10.3%, 2501
Capitol Hill: 9.9%, 4003
Windsor Park: 9.4%, 3858
Varsity: 9.3%, 12021
Bankview: 8.6%, 4754
Charleswood: 8.3%, 3357
Elbow Park: 8.3%, 3408
Kingsland: 7.9%, 4418
Tuxedo Park: 7.4%, 4430
Acadia: 6.9%, 10615
Parkhill: 6.8%, 1623
Winston Heights/Mountview: 6.8%, 3760
Rosscarrock: 6.6%, 3175
Wildwood: 6.6%, 2582
Rutland Park: 6.3%, 2309
Montgomery: 6.3%, 3686
Collingwood: 5.9%, 2231
Elboya: 5.8%, 1747
Chinook Park: 5.6%, 1703
Altadore: 5.6%, 8907
South Calgary: 5.5%, 3642
Albert Park/Radisson Heights: 5.4%, 6217
Forest Lawn: 5.2%, 7313
Glenbrook: 5.2%, 6893
Willow Park: 5.2%, 5308
Highwood: 5.2%, 2098
Richmond: 5.1%, 4113
Kelvin Grove: 5.1%, 2334
Shaganappi: 5.1%, 1459
Haysboro: 4.8%, 6724
Cambrian Heights: 4.7%, 2039
Spruce Cliff: 4.5%, 3992
Glamorgan: 4.5%, 6242
Bowness: 4.4%, 10700
Greenview: 4.2%, 1956
Palliser: 3.9%, 3301
Lakeview: 3.8%, 5501
Rosemont: 3.6%, 1208
Rundle: 3.5%, 11029
Westgate: 3.4%, 3101
Killarney/Glengarry: 3.4%, 6543
Oakridge: 3.3%, 5719
North Glenmore Park: 3.3%, 2388
Thorncliffe: 3.1%, 8640
Forest Heights: 3.1%, 6185
Cfb - Lincoln Park Pmq: 3.0%, 1984
Silver Springs: 3.0%, 8910
North Haven: 3.0%, 2282
Christie Park: 2.9%, 2180
Southwood: 2.9%, 5965
Mayland Heights: 2.9%, 5835
Strathcona Park: 2.9%, 7039
Midnapore: 2.8%, 6888
Country Hills Village: 2.8%, 2342
Highland Park: 2.7%, 3539
Fairview: 2.6%, 3552
Ogden: 2.6%, 8432
Arbour Lake: 2.5%, 10762
Glendale: 2.5%, 2730
Dover: 2.5%, 10302
Whitehorn: 2.4%, 11541
Deer Ridge: 2.4%, 3991
Valley Ridge: 2.3%, 5042
Ranchlands: 2.3%, 7529
Dalhousie: 2.3%, 8917
Queensland: 2.3%, 4877
West Springs: 2.2%, 7849
Scenic Acres: 2.2%, 8710
Huntington Hills: 2.2%, 13279
Coach Hill: 2.2%, 3194
Sundance: 2.2%, 10623
Signal Hill: 2.1%, 13795
Vista Heights: 2.1%, 2274
Patterson: 2.1%, 4162
Marlborough: 2.1%, 8310
Castleridge: 2.1%, 6098
Penbrooke Meadows: 2.1%, 8188
Marlborough Park: 2.0%, 8278
Lake Bonavista: 2.0%, 10610
Cedarbrae: 2.0%, 6264
Somerset: 1.9%, 8401
Pineridge: 1.9%, 9626
Riverbend: 1.9%, 9749
Shawnessy: 1.9%, 9315
Southview: 1.8%, 2063
Country Hills: 1.7%, 3720
Harvest Hills: 1.7%, 7485
Pump Hill: 1.7%, 1655
Mckenzie Towne: 1.7%, 15395
Millrise: 1.6%, 6717
Deer Run: 1.6%, 5390
Beddington Heights: 1.6%, 11457
Cougar Ridge: 1.6%, 5813
Canyon Meadows: 1.6%, 7895
Red Carpet: 1.6%, 1630
Douglasdale/Glen: 1.5%, 11768
Woodbine: 1.5%, 9086
Springbank Hill: 1.4%, 8388
Crestmont: 1.4%, 1430
Hawkwood: 1.4%, 9898
Parkland: 1.4%, 3772
Erin Woods: 1.4%, 6794
Woodlands: 1.3%, 6201
Braeside: 1.3%, 5978
Tuscany: 1.3%, 18838
Edgemont: 1.3%, 16082
Royal Oak: 1.2%, 10979
Sandstone Valley: 1.2%, 6142
Skyview Ranch: 1.1%, 1805
Aspen Woods: 1.1%, 4469
New Brighton: 1.1%, 7314
Martindale: 1.0%, 12987
Applewood Park: 1.0%, 6404
Shawnee Slopes: 1.0%, 1529
Citadel: 1.0%, 10171
Falconridge: 1.0%, 10043
Mckenzie Lake: 0.9%, 14062
Sherwood: 0.9%, 2109
Macewan Glen: 0.9%, 5138
Bridlewood: 0.8%, 11641
Rocky Ridge: 0.8%, 7266
Auburn Bay: 0.8%, 5769
Maple Ridge: 0.7%, 1978
Copperfield: 0.7%, 7162
Discovery Ridge: 0.7%, 4321
Cranston: 0.7%, 10831
Hidden Valley: 0.7%, 11657
Monterey Park: 0.7%, 10460
Temple: 0.7%, 10580
Evanston: 0.7%, 5889
Evergreen: 0.6%, 19487
Hamptons: 0.6%, 7843
Coventry Hills: 0.5%, 15722
Taradale: 0.5%, 16110
Panorama Hills: 0.5%, 19851
Chaparral: 0.3%, 11151
Coral Springs: 0.3%, 5838
Silverado: 0.3%, 4337
Abbeydale: 0.3%, 5700
Kincora: 0.2%, 4625
Saddle Ridge: 0.1%, 13388
Sage Hill: 0.0%, 1425

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I thought the #'s were the percentage of car commuters throughout the list

It had looked like there was two lists. One for highest auto commuters, the other for highest transit commuters. Both lists sorted highest to lowest by percentage.

[Wooster]

Project Calgary: Half of downtown commuters take bus, C-Train
By Tony Seskus, Calgary Herald October 17, 2011

For decades, the most common morning routine for workers in downtown Calgary went something like this: shower, coffee and drive.

But new data suggests that’s changed dramatically.

Half of downtown commuters now arrive by bus or C-Train during morning rush hour, up from just 33 per cent in 1996, according to the city.

And that’s 13 years sooner than targeted under the GoPlan, the transportation blueprint the city penned back in the mid-1990s.

Increasing transit use is seen as key to mitigating traffic congestion in the downtown and surrounding communities without the expense and physical upheaval of adding major roadways into the core.

“It’s far better for people to spread the peak a little bit or use the other modes than for us to have to build new roads and bridges and interchanges, which costs tens of millions of dollars — if not more,” said Don Mulligan, the city’s director of transportation planning.

While 50 per cent of rush-hour commuters now take transit into downtown, 33 per cent are behind the wheel. That’s essentially a complete reversal from 1996, when 49 per cent of downtown commuters drove and one-third took transit.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Project+Cal...e+Train/5559360/story.html#ixzz1b4fJcgNn

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Project Calgary: Half of downtown commuters take bus, C-Train
By Tony Seskus, Calgary Herald October 17, 2011

For decades, the most common morning routine for workers in downtown Calgary went something like this: shower, coffee and drive.

But new data suggests that’s changed dramatically.

Half of downtown commuters now arrive by bus or C-Train during morning rush hour, up from just 33 per cent in 1996, according to the city.

And that’s 13 years sooner than targeted under the GoPlan, the transportation blueprint the city penned back in the mid-1990s.

Increasing transit use is seen as key to mitigating traffic congestion in the downtown and surrounding communities without the expense and physical upheaval of adding major roadways into the core.

“It’s far better for people to spread the peak a little bit or use the other modes than for us to have to build new roads and bridges and interchanges, which costs tens of millions of dollars — if not more,” said Don Mulligan, the city’s director of transportation planning.

While 50 per cent of rush-hour commuters now take transit into downtown, 33 per cent are behind the wheel. That’s essentially a complete reversal from 1996, when 49 per cent of downtown commuters drove and one-third took transit.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Project+Cal...e+Train/5559360/story.html#ixzz1b4fJcgNn

Just wait until the west line is open!! Good for Calgary, the sky will have less smog in the future! The other day I went shopping to soundsaround in Crowfoot and did not need a car at all......it's nice that our LRT transit connects to major shopping centres and theatres and the ride scenic as well!

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Radley77

I found myself agreeing with a lot of the people in this article. I had made the following spreadsheet a few years ago just looking at all these other transportation cost factors:

http://www.mediafire.com/?dtciaspuu0g

I think at the time we had taken all these costs and done a net present value calculation to compare against the price of a potential house purchase. For our situation, the cost of a long commute was about an additional $290,000.

I am really impressed by the Calgary Herald for their "Project Calgary" series.

A large part of my Master's Thesis was on the Housing/Transportation Affordability index.

[Radley77]

Originally Posted by fusili

A large part of my Master's Thesis was on the Housing/Transportation Affordability index.

Why did you choose this subject? Is this something you are passionate about?

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Radley77

Why did you choose this subject? Is this something you are passionate about?

Yeah, transportation has always been a passion of mine. I did my thesis on household travel behavior and housing choice (how households make decisions about where to live and how to travel). I am especially interested in how households make choices regarding travelling. A lot of the behavior I studied would seem completely counter-intuitive, and especially counter to the models transportation engineers use (I have quite a beef with transportation engineers over methodology). But, if you understand travel from a household-activity pattern perspective, things start to make a lot of sense.

Without going into a rant, I think the models transportation engineers use are entirely flawed and lead to distorted transportation investment priorities.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by kw5150

Just wait until the west line is open!! Good for Calgary, the sky will have less smog in the future! The other day I went shopping to soundsaround in Crowfoot and did not need a car at all......it's nice that our LRT transit connects to major shopping centres and theatres and the ride scenic as well!

My prediction for the West Line is that the majority of users will be from the bus service and not brand new users to public transit. The west line will not be pulling people out of their cars within the first year. This was the experience in Edmonton when the LRT line expanded to Century Park.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Cage

My prediction for the West Line is that the majority of users will be from the bus service and not brand new users to public transit. The west line will not be pulling people out of their cars within the first year. This was the experience in Edmonton when the LRT line expanded to Century Park.

The LRT will pull a huge number of new riders. I predict at least a doubling from the bus ridership, if not a tripling. Calgary and Edmonton's LRT systems and employment distribution are completely different. Keep in mind that Calgary gets 280K (approx) riders per day from 3 lines. Plus, tons of people would love to avoid the nightmare that is Bow Trail west. In a bus, you are just as much stuck in traffic as everyone else. In the train, you fly by as others sit stuck in traffic.

[kw5150]

Plus, the new west line is scenic so that will attract a few users as well. This is a very interesting time for the LRT and I wish it the best.

Over time, areas surrounding the west LRT will fill in and the area will undergo massive change similar to that of Commercial Drive in Vancouver....well, one would only hope.....

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by fusili

Plus, tons of people would love to avoid the nightmare that is Bow Trail west. In a bus, you are just as much stuck in traffic as everyone else. In the train, you fly by as others sit stuck in traffic.

Additionally, there still is a huge stigma among some people about riding the bus. The train they have no problem with, but the bus is just ... lame. And this goes beyond the practical traffic issues (which are huge, admittedly).

I saw this with the expansion to Crowfoot. Plenty of people who refused to take the express bus out of Royal Oak, but instantly hopped on the train. Trains have a certain cachet about them.

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by Cage

My prediction for the West Line is that the majority of users will be from the bus service and not brand new users to public transit. The west line will not be pulling people out of their cars within the first year. This was the experience in Edmonton when the LRT line expanded to Century Park.

Ya right, the west LRT line will be way faster and less annoying than driving and will attract users right away for the obvious benefits. In a big snow storm, the train will just whizz by everyone stuck on bow trail. And dont forget all of the people going to games that dont want to have to worry about driving home or worrying about a car (or as I call them "a big chunk of metal").

Sometimes it gets a little crazy on the trains after a game.....but I have accepted it! lol. It actually smells like a brewery when you get on the train.