North Hill Development

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

I have wondered why the North LRT can't be run on /over /under 4th St, since it is the only major street in the area that doesn't directly connect to downtown.

Leave Centre St and Edmonton Trail as downtown connectors for vehicles, but alter 4th St to be the 'transit corridor' with LRT on it.

Since 4th St eventually connects with Centre St at 72nd Ave, the new LRT will still be able to continue north to Panorama and Coventry Hills.

To get to 4th St & 16th Ave from downtown, you would extend the South LRT line northwards over Prince's Island and Memorial Dr, run east of the Curling Club, and into a tunnel portal. The LRT tunnel would run north under Crescent Rd and Crescent Heights Park, north-westward to 4 St & 12 Ave, then north under 4th St until the tunnel is past 16th Ave. The tunnel would also have sufficient length to allow for a gentle rise in elevation from the southern Sunnyside portal to the northern portal.

North of 16th Ave, the LRT could be run along 4th St in a new median (or elevated / trenched where necessary) for the rest of the way to Huntington Hills and Coventry / Panorama.

4th St has poor redevelopment potential compared to Centre. Its also not as wide, so impact on the road would be more major if run at grade. It would also be a no-go over Prince's Island. Not gonna happen. Bypassing Centre basically makes it a commuter line for the far north. At that point, may as well run it along the Nose Creek alignment for a huge savings in $$$.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

There is a blog at calgaryringroad.wordpress.com that has a few pages on the history of the Trans Canada Hwy and how it ended up on 16th Ave instead of further south of downtown.

Just read some of that - fascinating, and a shame that a few hotel owners and businesses in Strathmore and on 16th were given preferential treatment and had such a large effect on the mess we have now.

http://calgaryringroad.files.wordpre...-08-herald.jpg

Re routing the TCH still wouldn't solve the problem of no east-west route in the area though. Getting onto Deerfoot from anywhere south of John Laurie is hugely frustrating.

It's a very difficult problem to solve and without a big plan to do something that stretch will never perform any role adequately. We need to decide what we want from the road, and implement measures to achieve that.

[RyLucky]

Originally Posted by speedog

Does 16th Ave even have a nice section? A place you'd consider spending time as a pedestrian?

Not really, but there are several areas with REALLY high pedestrian and cyclist crossings: All through Montgomery, 29th St W (near Foothills), 19th St W (Near Lion's Park), 12th St W (Near SAIT), 10th St W, and Centre Street are probably the busiest areas for pedestrians. The reality is that 16th Ave is increasingly becoming part of the "inner city", and is capable of accommodating many new residents and businesses that won't necessarily need to rely on car transportation. With so much under-utilized economic potential from the land on 16th Avenue, it's a no-brainer to densify and improve pedestrian corridors.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by speedog

Does 16th Ave even have a nice section? A place you'd consider spending time as a pedestrian?

The only section of 16th I enjoy walking to is Peter's Drive-in (and only because I've already driven to the area to visit with family).

Don't make me decide what I like better - the burgers or the cousins.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

4th St has poor redevelopment potential compared to Centre. Its also not as wide, so impact on the road would be more major if run at grade. It would also be a no-go over Prince's Island. Not gonna happen. Bypassing Centre basically makes it a commuter line for the far north. At that point, may as well run it along the Nose Creek alignment for a huge savings in $$$.

Since the South LRT will likely be tunneled under 1st or 2nd St, you can extend the tunnels under the river & Prince's Island, skirt the eastern edge of Sunnyside, and keep tunneling until you're north of 16th.

[DizzyEdge]

Anyone know if a tunnel went under the river how far north it would need to travel to reach grade at max incline the lrt can handle?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Anyone know if a tunnel went under the river how far north it would need to travel to reach grade at max incline the lrt can handle?

I believe someone calculated it once on here and its somewhere between 12th and 16th Avenue. Depends on where it runs in terms of east/west though.

[lineman]

Three words for 16th between 10th St NW and 5th St NE: On street parking.

Without that, 16th will never reach it's potential of being a true urban corridor.