[Surrealplaces]

As a local to this area I would love to see the city convert 11th and 12th to two way - but I feel like decisions are car based before pedestrian, and people who don't live in the area but come down twice a year will scream bloody murder about "losing roads", so I won't be holding my breath.

That is 100% the case unfortunately. The hope I'm clinging to is that, as the DT/ inner city grows and the CBD transforms from being an office park to a more of a mixed use neighborhood, people will push more for these changes and with less suburban commuters, there will be less push back, and we can get this done.

 

[A_Beltliner]

Yes I agree that at some point the more mixed use inner city neighborhoods will hopefully become "self sustaining" in that there's enough population base to just exist as a bustling area regardless of who does or doesn't come from elsewhere.

I've lived in the beltline for a while now and it's remarkable the difference the last decade has made even despite covid

 

[Golfing guy]

That is 100% the case unfortunately. The hope I'm clinging to is that, as the DT/ inner city grows and the CBD transforms from being an office park to a more of a mixed use neighborhood, people will push more for these changes and with less suburban commuters, there will be less push back, and we can get this done.

I can’t see it happening. The main reason is cost. They would have to add traffic signals on the opposite side of every intersection (would probably redo all the signals then. That on top of all the signage/re doing road marking and other engineering would cost millions. Both 11/12 ave must have no less than 40 intersections from one end to the other.

 

[MichaelS]

Plus, would making them 2-way really change much for the pedestrian realm? They should instead spend that investment on making consistent curb lines, traffic calming, street trees, etc.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I think they should do both. The worst streets pedestrian-wise in the core are all one way roads, whereas with all of our best pedestrian streets in the city, every single one of them is two way, with one lane each way and parking on both sides. It's a tried and true formula that works.
If you can put in traffic calming and accomplish taking away two of the 4 lanes, maybe it'll work, but would it be any less expensive?

 

[Surrealplaces]

I can’t see it happening. The main reason is cost. They would have to add traffic signals on the opposite side of every intersection (would probably redo all the signals then. That on top of all the signage/re doing road marking and other engineering would cost millions. Both 11/12 ave must have no less than 40 intersections from one end to the other.

Wouldn't putting in concrete for traffic calming at every intersection would be a similar expense though? Whatever we do, it'll cost money to make 11th and 12th into nice pedestrian streets.

 

[haltcatchfire]

Let’s just get rid of the traffic, then we don’t need to worry about lane directions.

 

[Nimbus]

Let’s just get rid of the traffic, then we don’t need to worry about lane directions.

War on Cars baby, let's go.

 

[haltcatchfire]

War on Cars baby, let's go.

Everyone else but me though.

 

[BKha]

We can improve our one-way streets, but one-way streets have the inherent problem of being like a freeway or a racetrack. Drivers sit at the red light waiting for it to turn green and with no oncoming vehicles, they gun it as soon as it turns green.

 

[Beltline_B]

I’m not a fan of one way streets and prefer two-way, but I’d accept one way cut down to 2 lanes.

 

[CBBarnett]

There’s always exceptions but generally I think a model where any street with more than 2 travel lanes and moderate traffic is better as a two-way, narrow streets with lower volumes actually work pretty great as one-ways.

Essentially use a series of alternating one-ways on locals to really make them impermeable to anything but local traffic with low speeds.

I’d Rather take 1 or 2 lanes of street parking plus a 1-way, instead of what Calgary typically does which is somewhere random between 0.7 and 1.7 unmarked lanes per direction, in 2 directions, and parking on both sides

 

[Chinook Arch]

Put me down for 2-way for 11th or 12th. Downtown is becoming less and less a place where a crush of people leave at 4:00pm and then empty after that.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

There's also the fact that 11th and 12th are in the Beltline, the area of our inner-city that has the most significant population density. If the trade-off is to keep 9th, 6th, 5th and 4th Aves as one-ways and turn 11th and 12th I think that's a win. As for the downtown one ways... You can't park along those avenues at rush hour anyways so at rush hour just use a curb lane on each for a bus lane, another fair compromise from an all-day bus lane (blocks with numerous stops already act as a permanent bus lane, 5th Ave at Bow Valley Square and 6th Ave across from the Intact building).

I wonder what closing the Chumir's safe consumption will do for the area around here. It should move some people out of the area but again, like with closing the DIC, there needs to be a plan for where services will go that serve those people.

 

[DiscoStu]

Drivers sit at the red light waiting for it to turn green and with no oncoming vehicles, they gun it as soon as it turns green.

Hell yeah!