Do you have to be stupid to design roads ???

[fast95pony]

Calgary's road system is really silly. The Deerfoot has different interchanges at every intersection. The merge lanes are way too short. The Memorial/Deerfoot/C-train mess is really dangerous.
Why does the Trans-Canada go right through the city ??
There are many dangerous intersections with street signs, trees and building blocking sight lines.Many 4 lane roads merge into 2 without warning.
And the roads themselves are in horrible condition.

The Engineers must be smokin crack !!


:banghead: :guns:

[theken]

i believe that you have to be the stupidest person in the world to design calgarys road system.

[ExtremeSi]

I totally agree with you. Being an engineer student myself, me and my friends always question some intersections. And whats the point of uncontrolled intersections?? They are not worth the time they save drivers. A few yield signs would fix the problem and my friend wouldn't have gotten side swiped...

[Ben]

95, you are right on the money that is for sure! That was one thing I sure noticed when I bought my new car. Merge lanes ARE way too short. I have to just floor it so I can match the speed of the cars and fit in. everyone in slow cars ends up stopping in the merge lane.

That Memorial deerfoot xchange is brutal as well, although I do like taking the memorial W onto deerfoot south one, because I get in the right lane and haul ass down the right side parallel with the bow and skip all the slow pokes who dont know how to merge into 110km/h traffic anyways.

[kenny]

The worse is that yield onto deerfoot off of Peigan? onto Deerfoot South. Who the hell thought of that? hahah.

[jdmakkord]

or the ramp from 16ave to barlow south....shoot you into traffic going 90ish

[method]

yes... you also have to have a burning hatred for humanity.

[___2PaC___]

Originally posted by Ben
95, you are right on the money that is for sure! That was one thing I sure noticed when I bought my new car. Merge lanes ARE way too short. I have to just floor it so I can match the speed of the cars and fit in. everyone in slow cars ends up stopping in the merge lane.

That Memorial deerfoot xchange is brutal as well, although I do like taking the memorial W onto deerfoot south one, because I get in the right lane and haul ass down the right side parallel with the bow and skip all the slow pokes who dont know how to merge into 110km/h traffic anyways.


I Agree, some roads are design like they didn't even care if its safe, easy, hard...shit like that.

[three.eighteen.]

heres a better question: do you think you could do a better job?

Roads are designed by engineers, roads are built given the consideration of time, money and personnel restraints. Thats why those overpasses are slowly making their way over mcleod south. Engineers are sent with a certain budget and a goal, they have to make a road FIT the situation that theyre given, not a set of instructions on exactly how to do it, on top of that you have the general issue city worker, some of which are bound to fuck up on your project...edmonton's roads have some of the most fucked up yield lanes and merge lanes ive ever seen, calgary has a bunch too...but i dont think the people that designed them were idiots...not to mention everyone drives above speed limit, alberta is notorious for people speeding...if everyone drove exact speed limit all the time, im sure the traffic system would flow at its most possible optimum

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by three.eighteen.
heres a better question: do you think you could do a better job?

Roads are designed by engineers, roads are built given the consideration of time, money and personnel restraints.

Well said, three.eighteen. If given an unlimited budget and absolute power to expropriate land, the planners could build awesome roads.

However, I agree that the designs of many ramps and interchanges appear to have been put together without much thought.

The shortest merge ramp in the NW has got to be leaving 16th Ave merging onto 14th St southbound. Shit, that ramp is so short, it should be a yield sign instead.

[RiceCake]

Originally posted by three.eighteen.
heres a better question: do you think you could do a better job?

Roads are designed by engineers, roads are built given the consideration of time, money and personnel restraints. Thats why those overpasses are slowly making their way over mcleod south. Engineers are sent with a certain budget and a goal, they have to make a road FIT the situation that theyre given, not a set of instructions on exactly how to do it, on top of that you have the general issue city worker, some of which are bound to fuck up on your project...edmonton's roads have some of the most fucked up yield lanes and merge lanes ive ever seen, calgary has a bunch too...but i dont think the people that designed them were idiots...not to mention everyone drives above speed limit, alberta is notorious for people speeding...if everyone drove exact speed limit all the time, im sure the traffic system would flow at its most possible optimum

Yeah I guess you bring up a very valid point there. :) Some intersections don't really make sense, but hey I guess we just have to learn to adapt.

[benyl]

What about that mess that they created at Westhills?!?!?!?!?

That is an engineering marvel! It actually prevents the flow of traffic... what were they thinking there?:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Ripper]

The shaganappi/crowchild overpass is the most retarded one ever. If you want to make a left turn you get 3 sets of lights.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by benyl
What about that mess that they created at Westhills?!?!?!?!?

That is an engineering marvel! It actually prevents the flow of traffic... what were they thinking there?:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

it's one of the downfalls of having that type of strip mall. it's great because there's a lot of stores in one place, but because all stores are exterior, it requires a lot of parking lot space. as a result, more intersections are needed to connected the malls/stores

[rage2]

Originally posted by kenny
The worse is that yield onto deerfoot off of Peigan? onto Deerfoot South. Who the hell thought of that? hahah.

Some guy with a Diablo? You need at least 400hp to merge safely there!


Originally posted by Ripper
The shaganappi/crowchild overpass is the most retarded one ever. If you want to make a left turn you get 3 sets of lights.

I don't mind the Shaganappi/Crowchild overpass. It works great, sure you have get a few set of lights for making a left turn (2 sets, not 3), but the wait is pretty short, and it's MUCH quicker than what shaganappi/crowchild used to be.

[GTS Jeff]

wow u guys dont get out too much hey? who here has been to edmonton? there's no such thing as an overpass in edmonton! and have u been to vancouver before? u would be lucky to find a road that has a speed limit higher than 60! cmon ppl, calgarys road system is among the best in the nation.

[fast95pony]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
wow u guys dont get out too much hey? who here has been to edmonton? there's no such thing as an overpass in edmonton! and have u been to vancouver before? u would be lucky to find a road that has a speed limit higher than 60! cmon ppl, calgarys road system is among the best in the nation.


Have you ever driven in the UK , or Europe ?? Generally the roads are much better laid out, have better,clearer road markings
and are built better.

Have you driven along Crowchild recently ? they just finnished building overpasses and widening it. It's a mess !! The lanes start and finnish all over the place , and near Market Mall the road has some nasty holes and bumps.The whole thing needs to be re-paved .

[rage2]

Originally posted by fast95pony
Have you driven along Crowchild recently ? they just finnished building overpasses and widening it. It's a mess !! The lanes start and finnish all over the place , and near Market Mall the road has some nasty holes and bumps.The whole thing needs to be re-paved .

I think you just have to get used to where the lanes are. A lot of ppl are still confused (well southbound before 53rd where they zapped the left lane is confusing for dumb ppl), but overall the lanes are pretty well done. I get home so much quicker now.

As for the bumps, they will be repaving when the station is done. Too much heavy equipment over those roads, making it messed up.

It pisses me off that ppl still think it's a 60 zone northbound right after McMahon stadium (it used to be 60 there when the c-train ended at university). Takes forever to find gaps and zip thru traffic to get to the head of the line and do the speed limit (it's 80 folks!)

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by fast95pony



Have you ever driven in the UK , or Europe ?? Generally the roads are much better laid out, have better,clearer road markings
and are built better. actually i havent. :(

[szw]

Originally posted by fast95pony



Have you ever driven in the UK , or Europe ?? Generally the roads are much better laid out, have better,clearer road markings
and are built better.


Yeah but they also have 10 hour traffic jams or so! haha

[RiCE-DaDDy]

its a lot harder to drive in europe, given how old the cities are, the road system is more like a maze, the lanes a really narrow and yea major congestion!!!

maybe they got better instruction, but has anyone seen there huge traffic circles?? no signs, no lane markers and there like five lanes and no lights crazy...

[girlRACER]

Originally posted by RiCE-DaDDy


maybe they got better instruction, but has anyone seen there huge traffic circles?? no signs, no lane markers and there like five lanes and no lights crazy...

Speaking of which...I still can't figure out that damn traffic circle in Mackenzie Towne!!

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by girlRACER


Speaking of which...I still can't figure out that damn traffic circle in Mackenzie Towne!!

i haven't and probably never will

[three.eighteen.]

Originally posted by girlRACER


Speaking of which...I still can't figure out that damn traffic circle in Mackenzie Towne!!

theres never anyone there...i like to consider it my own personal skidpad :confused:

j/k

[lilboykorea]

i think the whole crowfoot area is very poorly desgined...

[rage2]

Originally posted by lilboykorea
i think the whole crowfoot area is very poorly desgined...
yea, but once you figure out which lights takes longest, secret roads, you can get anywhere in there really quick.

There's some really cool "drift" corners too... but it seems there's a cop hiding there at nights now :rofl:

[lilboykorea]

lol...
i hate how on left turning lanes, u can never see the oncoming trafic because they put the opposing left turning lane straight ahead instead a of giving the 2 a lil more space
did that make sense?
god its gettin late and im tired

[5.9 R/T]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
wow u guys dont get out too much hey? who here has been to edmonton? there's no such thing as an overpass in edmonton! and have u been to vancouver before? u would be lucky to find a road that has a speed limit higher than 60! cmon ppl, calgarys road system is among the best in the nation.

I've lived in edmonton, its miles ahead of calgary. Why? because edmonton was designed using the grid system (streets and avenues), as opposed to calgary's throw everything down and hope it works system (communites like hawkwood, signal hill etc.). In edmonton if you want to get to some ones house they give you something like this: 1040 105st SW. Now not knowing anything about the city or how to get there any bone head that can count up and down can find that place eventually. In Calgary though you get something like this: 123 hawkglen circle NW. Now if you've never been to calgary the only information you have is that it's in the NW. You will never find that place without 1) a map or 2) directions. Edmonton's freeways actually take you from one end of the city to the other, traffic is lighter, and for the most part is layed out in a very logical way. Calgary's biggest problem is that it is too spread out. For the amount of people living here Calgary takes up a hell of a lot of space and that's why it takes so long to get from one end of town to the other. Add that with poor road planning and design and a booming population and your going to get the problems that we have today.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T


I've lived in edmonton, its miles ahead of calgary. Why? because edmonton was designed using the grid system (streets and avenues), as opposed to calgary's throw everything down and hope it works system (communites like hawkwood, signal hill etc.). In edmonton if you want to get to some ones house they give you something like this: 1040 105st SW. Now not knowing anything about the city or how to get there any bone head that can count up and down can find that place eventually. In Calgary though you get something like this: 123 hawkglen circle NW. Now if you've never been to calgary the only information you have is that it's in the NW. You will never find that place without 1) a map or 2) directions. Edmonton's freeways actually take you from one end of the city to the other, traffic is lighter, and for the most part is layed out in a very logical way. Calgary's biggest problem is that it is too spread out. For the amount of people living here Calgary takes up a hell of a lot of space and that's why it takes so long to get from one end of town to the other. Add that with poor road planning and design and a booming population and your going to get the problems that we have today. ure the first person to say that edmonton has a better road system. it is not miles ahead by any means. its a simple fact that edmontons road system and design are older than calgarys and were never designed with more people in mind. all the roads here are small and inefficient. there are traffic light intersections everywhere as opposed to faster overpasses. there are still a few outdated traffic circles that they havent found the money to get of yet. i know that traffic circles are supposed to be really efficient when used properly, but for most ppl they are more of a headache than anything else. another shitty thing about edmonton is the lack of highways. the only real highways here are whitemud and yellowhead. all the other "major" roads are 50-60km/h with traffic lights everywhere such as jasper ave, whyte ave, 118 ave, calgary trail which is far from efficient... another failing of the edmonton road system is limited number of ways to cross the river. u can only cross the river at a few places, and during rush hour if u need to cross the river u are waiting for at least an hour just to drive a distance that normally takes 3 minutes. all this along with the having the nations worst drivers in the city make the edmonton road system quite poor. and have i mentioned the potholes? even on all hte main roads the potholes are scary. the roads are like a minefield of potholes here. its true that once u get into a smaller neighborhood in calgary that finding things can be hard because of the named streets, but this problem is just as bad in edmonton...like: 123 millglen close.

the only thing good about edmontons layout is the fact that street numbers dont repeat like in calgary. otherwise, the roads here are hell compared to calgary. i think u just find calgary roads hard because you are used to edmonton roads.

[rage2]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T
I've lived in edmonton, its miles ahead of calgary. Why? because edmonton was designed using the grid system (streets and avenues), as opposed to calgary's throw everything down and hope it works system (communites like hawkwood, signal hill etc.). In edmonton if you want to get to some ones house they give you something like this: 1040 105st SW. Now not knowing anything about the city or how to get there any bone head that can count up and down can find that place eventually. In Calgary though you get something like this: 123 hawkglen circle NW. Now if you've never been to calgary the only information you have is that it's in the NW. You will never find that place without 1) a map or 2) directions.

And thus navigation systems were born :D. Edmonton roads are easier to find thats for sure, I didn't have to use my Nav up in edmonton at all! Well, that and the maps don't even include Edmonton! :)


Originally posted by 5.9 R/T
Edmonton's freeways actually take you from one end of the city to the other, traffic is lighter, and for the most part is layed out in a very logical way. Calgary's biggest problem is that it is too spread out. For the amount of people living here Calgary takes up a hell of a lot of space and that's why it takes so long to get from one end of town to the other. Add that with poor road planning and design and a booming population and your going to get the problems that we have today.

I dunno man, I've been stuck in some hella insane traffic problems (like Jeff says getting over the river during rish hour) and it's much worse than Calgary's rush hour problems (if you could call it that).

[01sohccivic]

I think our parking lots have piss poor designs. I remember when I visited the USA and there parking lots were huge and the space for your car was huge. No more da.mn door dings. I hate Calgary parking lots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well most =D

I think I speak for everyone here when I say TnT supermarket has the worst parking lot design ( in the back) Its all cramped and cars don't know how to park:banghead:

[DSM Power]

Originally posted by girlRACER

Speaking of which...I still can't figure out that damn traffic circle in Mackenzie Towne!!
LOL, it's sooooooo easy! Time to break out your learner's manual again? :D



Originally posted by kenny
The worse is that yield onto deerfoot off of Peigan? onto Deerfoot South. Who the hell thought of that? hahah.
No doubt. Probably the same toolbox who "designed" that corner in Hell called the Calf-rope Bridge! :guns: :guns:

[James]

Originally posted by DSM Power

LOL, it's sooooooo easy! Time to break out your learner's manual again? :D


no kidding!


Originally posted by DSM Power

No doubt. Probably the same toolbox who "designed" that corner in Hell called the Calf-rope Bridge! :guns: :guns:

Its only hell when its snowing/raining etc.... rest of the time its just fun!:thumbsup:

[VWhooligan]

anyone else hate the turn off from university drive south onto 16th avenue east?? its a sharp turn to the right uphill, and then you dont get a merge lane.. ugh! ive come close too many times there

[ExtremeSi]

Originally posted by VWhooligan
anyone else hate the turn off from university drive south onto 16th avenue east?? its a sharp turn to the right uphill, and then you dont get a merge lane.. ugh! ive come close too many times there

Ya for sure! The cars are usually doing 80-90km/h on 16th too. It's hard to see them coming from behind/beside you with only a yield sign for you

[Prolifique]

All I have to say IS DOWN TOWN. Maybe if i was on crack i could figure out the roads better.. just possibly. I been into a one way more than once there, no wonder terrorists wouldn't attack us look at our roads we'd end up killing ourselves more.

And to the dumb engineers who made the traffic circle in westhills I wish you never get laid again.

[habsfan]

Originally posted by Prolifique
All I have to say IS DOWN TOWN. Maybe if i was on crack i could figure out the roads better.. just possibly. I been into a one way more than once there, no wonder terrorists wouldn't attack us look at our roads we'd end up killing ourselves more.

And to the dumb engineers who made the traffic circle in westhills I wish you never get laid again.

maybe if you weren't on crack you'd have noticed the fact that you just bumped a thread that's over 3 years old.

[Prolifique]

Well our roads aren't any better now are they infact i'm presuming they are worse than 3 years ago. So this thread still is valid.

[Nissanaddict]

Well I was in Edmonton today. I suddenly hate Calgary's roads a lot less. They are AWFUL up there. And the drivers are worse.

[M_K_3]

edmonton roads are fucked lol thats why i dont really care how bad calgary is edmonton is way worse

[boi-alien]

Originally posted by Prolifique
All I have to say IS DOWN TOWN. Maybe if i was on crack i could figure out the roads better.. just possibly. I been into a one way more than once there, no wonder terrorists wouldn't attack us look at our roads we'd end up killing ourselves more.

And to the dumb engineers who made the traffic circle in westhills I wish you never get laid again.

maybe if you read road signs you wouldn't go the wrong way into a one way :rolleyes:

[Hakkola]

Hahaha, I don't mind that this thread was bumped, Rage was talking about drift corners on public roads. :rofl:

That takes me back.


As for the roads being better in the U.K, I think the biggest reason is that there's less snow.

The roads in the southern states are really damn nice, no partitions, bumps instead of painted lines as lane dividers, it's great.

However they don't have all the snow to contend with, less money on streetsweeping, and I'm not sure if this is rumour or not but I heard part of a business' taxes go towards maintaining roadways in the vacinity of the building, not sure if that's true or not though.

[rusich]

I must say, that the most notisable differnce about Edmonton vs. Calgary is the amount of normal vehicles. There's very few people with small dicks and wide vaginas that have to drive SUV's to compensate for their insecurity. So yeah, that alone helps the driving atmosphere in Edmonton.

[avow]

and then there is stony trail and crowchild.... oh man... they got all the lines messed up going north and people keep turning into each other.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by girlRACER


Speaking of which...I still can't figure out that damn traffic circle in Mackenzie Towne!!

Here are the rules...

1. You have the right of way to enter the outside lane. However you MUST exit at the NEXT exit.

2. You must yield to traffic to enter the inside lane but you have the right of way to exit at any of the following exits.

Thats it.

[nonsane]

Drivers handbook for traffic circles:

http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/INFTRA_Content/docType45/Production/dhpage72.htm

IMO if people learned to use them it would be alot better than having 4 way stops at most places in the city. UK roads are amazing to drive on, most everyone has manners, it is truely a satisfying relaxing drive(once you learn to drive on the left side)


I find it really annoying when they put traffic lights up in small neighbourhoods or roads that don't need it.

[habsfan]

Originally posted by Prolifique
Well our roads aren't any better now are they infact i'm presuming they are worse than 3 years ago. So this thread still is valid.

i suppose you're right there, carry on then ;)

[iceburns288]

We have an intersection here that's the intersection of Providence and Providence and Queens and Queens.:banghead:

[Dooms_Bane]

calgarys road system is pretty damn good...

you go to montreal.. sweet god GOOD GAME... if you complain about these roads.. i guess they aren't "PERFECT" but man.. wait till you go to toronto or montreal it's freaking horrid... like you take 2 ramps to go on the road you should be on then you have to cut 4 lanes to your right to get off on the ramp you want to.. and you have about 100 M's to do it in or else your screwed cuz the other 2 left lanes you will be in are ramps OFF in the wrong direction... and the third lane has people going 90... they have signs that say wrong way and one way... beside each other. dude... they named their roads all messed up... signs that make abosolutly no sense? NO left turn... but thats the only turn you can make? maybe they forgot to take it down after they finished construction.. like 30 years ago LOL....
your looking for your turn off on a high way.. you pass it.. 25m's later you see the sign that tells you when to turn off...
lol....

[DeeK]

Heres what I know,

The road system is designed by a man that is 89 years old!

Hes still designing stuff for horse and carriages, not for cars!

The worst is the traffic circles... The concept of a traffic circle is just fine and dandy, but the way they are implemented in calgary is COMPLETELY fucked up. they arent spread out enough. The mackenzie one isnt too bad. The one in discovery ridge is a shitshow, the whole circle is a blind corner! And whats worse they are now building a traffic circle in Valley ridge despite like 10,000 people signing a anti-traffic circle development when plans were first introduced.. wtf?!?

The road system in calgary is fucking horrible, not nearly as bad as edmonton tho.

[Aleks]

Traffic Circles WORK. it's just that driver here are not used to them. I would love to see CND drivers in Europe LOL. That would be funny.

When I was in Vegas last month I noticed the locals drove way different than here. Everyone was more aggressive, drove faster, but everything worked smoother. Most People here are slow, asleep at the wheel, don't pay attention and generally dumb when it comes to driving.

I would love to see the driving age go to 18 and courses becoming mandatory.

[/////AMG]

Originally posted by RiCE-DaDDy
its a lot harder to drive in europe, given how old the cities are, the road system is more like a maze, the lanes a really narrow and yea major congestion!!!

maybe they got better instruction, but has anyone seen there huge traffic circles?? no signs, no lane markers and there like five lanes and no lights crazy...

All of the roundabout have line marking, except for the small ones and the mini roundabout (god I hate them).

Here show they work:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

Oh and try this for confusing - Most people not used to even normal roundabouts would panic here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/images/vine/gallery/roundabout3.jpg
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

[nonsane]

And whats worse they are now building a traffic circle in Valley ridge despite like 10,000 people signing a anti-traffic circle development when plans were first introduced.. wtf?!?

The road system in calgary is fucking horrible, not nearly as bad as edmonton tho.


The only complaint i hear about traffic circles is that people don't know how to use them. Why not make a PSA about traffic circles to help reduce accidents instead of that("The motor cycles are back" every chinook we get)

Why would they protest a traffic circle?

[Cherrypicker]

Originally posted by Dooms_Bane
calgarys road system is pretty damn good...

you go to montreal.. sweet god GOOD GAME... if you complain about these roads.. i guess they aren't "PERFECT" but man.. wait till you go to toronto or montreal it's freaking horrid... like you take 2 ramps to go on the road you should be on then you have to cut 4 lanes to your right to get off on the ramp you want to.. and you have about 100 M's to do it in or else your screwed cuz the other 2 left lanes you will be in are ramps OFF in the wrong direction... and the third lane has people going 90... they have signs that say wrong way and one way... beside each other. dude... they named their roads all messed up... signs that make abosolutly no sense? NO left turn... but thats the only turn you can make? maybe they forgot to take it down after they finished construction.. like 30 years ago LOL....
your looking for your turn off on a high way.. you pass it.. 25m's later you see the sign that tells you when to turn off...
lol....


having been lost there ... this is too funny

[mucat]

Agree with Dooms_Bane, just came back from Toronto. While the drivers in Toronto are better (suprisingly), less aggressive, the roads are worse than Calgary. Random and sometimes missing road sign placement, tiny road signs and tiny fonts, highway split into multiple smaller highways, but they are all the same highway!! A cop has no clue, there was a cop standing in the middle of the intersection, directing traffic with hand signals, then I found out he's wasn't actually directing, he was just doing what the traffic did, except his signals was about 2 second slower than the light, then when I was following his signals, the light changed and he stopped me and tell me to look at the light, WTF.

[FivE.SeveN]

3 years bump and the roads are worse than ever. ;)

[rusich]

Originally posted by sputnik


Here are the rules...

1. You have the right of way to enter the outside lane. However you MUST exit at the NEXT exit.

Thats it.

Those two positions are not correct. Check the link below, provided by /////AMG.

[arian_ma]

Those traffic circles in West Hills were made because everyone always gunned it down that road at like 100 km/h and all the people were constantly complaining.

[Kobe]

Originally posted by Prolifique
All I have to say IS DOWN TOWN. Maybe if i was on crack i could figure out the roads better.. just possibly. I been into a one way more than once there, no wonder terrorists wouldn't attack us look at our roads we'd end up killing ourselves more.

And to the dumb engineers who made the traffic circle in westhills I wish you never get laid again.
Those traffic circles work wonders, Before the cops would always wait while there was a 150car pile up at the stop signs, then give tickets, now they can't :D It goes pretty quickly, I like the new Traffic circles...

[cman]

Originally posted by Kobe

Those traffic circles work wonders, Before the cops would always wait while there was a 150car pile up at the stop signs, then give tickets, now they can't :D It goes pretty quickly, I like the new Traffic circles...
I use them everyday, I just hate how nobody signals/knows when they have the right of way.
Oh well, s with any driving patience is the key.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T


Edmonton's freeways actually take you from one end of the city to the other, traffic is lighter, and for the most part is layed out in a very logical way.

What?!!? :dunno:

We don't have a freeway. We have the Whitemud, which joins Henday which goes... nowhere! There's no clean way through Edmonton like the Deerfoot in Calgary.

That being said, Calgary Trail to Whyte to Groat Rd to 137th ave to 97th street to Namao is a nice drive.

[mo_money2supe]

You guys that have only driven in Calgary and Edmonton should not be complaining about our road system. As mentioned, Toronto and Montreal have much WORSE designed roads, mind you, with better behaved drivers (ironically).

Now, if you can believe there's such a place that has the worst of ALL of the aforementioned cities, may I present to you, Saskatoon. I was there this past year for University, and boy, can I tell you, I have never had my noggin knocked around that much by potholes anywhere!!! It's like they've never filled the potholes in since they were paved decades ago! And numerous times, I was nearly run over (both as a pedestrian and as a driver) by sleeping seniors behind the wheel. Add on top of that, all the farm equipment driving in the city that is constantly slowing down traffic on almost every single street at any given time of the day. Oh, and did I mention how they don't shovel the snow off the streets until the end of the week, DURING FRIDAY RUSH HOUR?!?!?!?! Then, of all places to put the snow, they leave them in the middle of un-median-ed roads, which takes away an entire lane! Yeah, let's just say, I can't wait 'till I graduate just so that I can drive in Calgary again...as sad of an idea that is.

[Kennyredline]

Originally posted by rage2


Some guy with a Diablo? You need at least 400hp to merge safely there!



I don't mind the Shaganappi/Crowchild overpass. It works great, sure you have get a few set of lights for making a left turn (2 sets, not 3), but the wait is pretty short, and it's MUCH quicker than what shaganappi/crowchild used to be.

ya but the problem with all those interchanges alone crow,from dalhousie up to 53 st is as you're heading west and looking to go south on crow, the signs say 2 lanes turn at the lights...if you're in the right lane, you go around the corner, and RIGHT THERE is a sign saying your lane ends in 100m....WTF?

[andres_mt]

The roads are not bad here in Calgary. But I remember a study being done saying Calgary had one of the world's worst drivers. Anybody know a link to this study or a study similar?

[lbrowne]

Calgary's traffic/roadway infrastructure is at least 20 years behind what it should be for its population. Or so I'm told.

I believe it!

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


Well said, three.eighteen. If given an unlimited budget and absolute power to expropriate land, the planners could build awesome roads.

However, I agree that the designs of many ramps and interchanges appear to have been put together without much thought.

The shortest merge ramp in the NW has got to be leaving 16th Ave merging onto 14th St southbound. Shit, that ramp is so short, it should be a yield sign instead.

I agree that there could be a little more thought into some roads, who the hell thought up the over pass of crowchild and shaganappi??? what the hell is with all the lights, there is tones of room there to make a 4 leaf clover design or something... and thats the area of the city mose of the planners and alderman live in, so why wouldnt they have a huge budget approved

[dezinr]

The best examples of road infrstrucutre I've seen were in Barcelona. All the new major interchange design going on there is amazing. They have sunk the major volume traffic and tranisit below the surface to allow it to flow nonstop and have placed parks above this infrastrucutre. Unlike our overpassess that eat up so much area and porvide nothing in return and they still remain congested.

And roundabouts do work....if they didn't then the rest of the world wouldn't use them....what's going on at the city transportation department. They need a little innovation and to do a little more research outside of the region.

[kaput]

.

[dezinr]

Here's a picture from google of a Barcelona traffic circle.

Sorry bad crop....but you get the idea....they do work well....for a city that could fit in SW calgary and has a pop of 4mil I think they are doing pretty good. When I lived there in 2004 the traffic moved quite well even in rush hour.

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by dezinr
Here's a picture from google of a Barcelona traffic circle.

Sorry bad crop....but you get the idea....they do work well....for a city that could fit in SW calgary and has a pop of 4mil I think they are doing pretty good. When I lived there in 2004 the traffic moved quite well even in rush hour.

That looks really cool!

[cloud7]

Originally posted by brendankharris


I agree that there could be a little more thought into some roads, who the hell thought up the over pass of crowchild and shaganappi??? what the hell is with all the lights, there is tones of room there to make a 4 leaf clover design or something... and thats the area of the city mose of the planners and alderman live in, so why wouldnt they have a huge budget approved

I think they (city engineers) thought this one through before they made the decision.... Full Cloverleaf Interchanges are well klnown for their undesireable weaving characteristics and only work if the left-turn volumes are low... so it clearly won't work in this case. Land requirement was probably a concern as well.

Everybody is a traffic engineer on this board. Fortunatlely, not everybody could be one in real life.

[ZMan2k2]

Originally posted by lbrowne
Calgary's traffic/roadway infrastructure is at least 20 years behind what it should be for its population. Or so I'm told.

I believe it!

And that, I believe, is the main cause of traffic problems here in Calgary. We've grown as a city so much, so quickly, that the roads have never been able to catch up with the volumes. That's why there are so many problems on roads here.

[frostyda9]

I drove through the Crestbrook underpass off 16th today, what a piece of work that intersection is :rofl: Superb planning on the part of the city

[JordanEG6]

too lazy to read the whole thread, but in case someone forgot to mention...the calgary trasit road system is pretty friggin retarded too. 36th St. NE is the worst road because of the c-train. and frquent bus stops in heavy traffic instead of road loops or side margins can also be dangerous.

[alpha_gangsta]

I'm from Edmonton but I used to be in Calgary a fair amount of time. I actually prefered driving around in Calgary better then Edmonton. The rushhours are worse in calgary and the addresses are a bit harder to find(I'm thankful for google map/mapquest) but overall I found it easier to get around calgary during optimal conditions.
also I hear from other edmontonians living in clagary, the transit system(C-train) in calgary is much more effective then edmonton's.

[Supa Dexta]

wheres the most narrow parking spots?

I'm gonna say the impark behind the spaghetti factory in eauclaire. I drive a smaller car and its a squease..

[Alpine Autowerks]

I don't think it is the designers, I have talked to some and I get the impression it's the aldermen/mayor. they are given several options on any intersection and the only one the officials pick is the cheapest...not the safe option or the best flow option ...just the cheap one.

[adam c]

they need another way out of the south rather then macleod.. thats the biggest issue.. and to take 22x all the way out to deerfoot is crazy..

plus the fuck heads who drive 70 on deerfoot and can't merge worth crap..

it takes me an hour to get home after work.. i work up by the airport and live in somerset.. its take almost 40 minutes to go from 64th street to blackfoot.. just retarded, why cause nobody can fucking merge

[whiskas]

Whats with the "construction" on Glenmore trail between 14th St. and Crowchild? They've been playing in the sand for over a year and all I see are a bunch of rocks piled up on the bank of the resevoir. You have all the smart people going 80km/h while the mouth breathing retards go 50km/h and hold up traffic.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

That's because the limit is still 50km/h... Everytime i go down glenmore... I always see at least one person pulled over... Also, merging is horrible... people yield at merges... or cut other off... and merge at yields... I've had to slam on the brakes several times because some nut didn't want to wait at the yield sign.

[Supa Dexta]

one things thats been bugging me is the merging, say deerfoot south, after the 16th ave onramp and the memorial off ramp.. people try and cut into that lane before it even becomes a dotted line.. and theres a km of lane before memorial.. no need to stop and try to get in, keep cruising and merge in half way up.. fuck.. people are trying to come down the ramp doing 100, then people are slowing from 100 to 40 trying to get in a spot between the on ramp traffic.. causes a cluster fuck when theres a ton of free road ahead.. some people even fly on from the far left lane all the way across easier then the morons who try and squease in at the start..

http://img450.imageshack.us/my.php?image=deer16es.jpg

also on my hate list, people who slow to near a stop when they realize they've missed their turn.. circle around dickweek.. most other places you'd catch major shit for pulling that, you snooze you loose, thats the rule..

that and not doing the speed limit in the left lane.. get the fack over..

[Grip172]

Originally posted by theken
i believe that you have to be the stupidest person in the world to design calgarys road system.

hahahah i can't wait til i'm working on this stuff lol:D

(it's only gonna get worse)

[Lex350]

Originally posted by Ripper
The shaganappi/crowchild overpass is the most retarded one ever. If you want to make a left turn you get 3 sets of lights.

This is because the City of Calgary likes to take the cheap route when it comes to interchanges. The clover-leaf design is more expensive design. They always cheap out and then we have all these intersections with lights. Granted there are some cases that there isn’t enough room for a clover-leaf design but its most often not the case.

[eblend]

Yah whoever said europe driving is hard is a fool (j/k)

This was taken over my December 2005 trip to london :D

http://www.dmitribobko.com/Europe%20Pictures/London/IMG_2958small.jpg

[nonsane]

London always sucks for traffic.

IT's all busses and cabs in the city.

My biggest pet peeve about the design of roads, is when I am trying to turn left.and the light never gives a solid green to yeild to opposing traffic.

So even though it is 100% clear for me to go, i have to wait because the light is red.

Is there a way to contact the traffic designers in calgary to give them suggestions, or ritalin?