Dear City of Calgary...

[clem24]

... If you're going to reduce 7th St. to one lane at 4th Ave SW, PLEASE HIRE SOMEONE TO WORK THROUGH THE FUCKING NIGHT TO GET THIS DONE ASAP!!!

It took me 45 minutes yesterday.. Just to get out of the freakin' McDougall parking lot! Is Calgary the only city in the world too cheap/stupid to hire people to work 24/7 or nights only to do road work? (maybe noise bylaw?). I don't know, but get more workers on it!!

This is supposed to go on for a month... Not sure how much of this I can take. It also doesn't help that NW park & ride fills up so quickly in the morning that you're basically left to go to McMahon so transit is hardly an attractive option right now.

[friedn00dles]

edmonton is the same way

fuck alberta :banghead:

[Thomas Gabriel]

I don't even see people working there during the day.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Guillermo]

I've always wondered this, too. road crews should work at night, like they do in any other major city in north america.

it's crazy to me that this city of 1.1 million is (in some ways) being run like a city of 100,000. snow removal and ring road are other things to add to this list. and just recently, we got recycling service. :nut:

[ercchry]

we need to work like this


Project contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West faced a $6,000 fine in each direction for every 10 minutes of delay in getting the freeway reopened, according to the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That's a total of $72,000 an hour.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/17/national/main20080157.shtml

[clem24]

I have a feeling it might be noise bylaw since there are a few residences in that area (but on the Deerfoot - no excuses). But still.. Noise bylaw doesn't kick in till what, 10?.

Not saying I know how to run a city or the full story behind it, but really, the smart thing to do would've been to hire a ton of people to work on 8th St. to get it done in a hurry, THEN close down that entire section 7th St. to get the work done in a few days instead of a whole month with only 1 lane. A whole fucking month!!!

Of course, the BEST way to go about it is to either:

1.) work 24/7 or
2.) suspend work during PM rush (as it's not vital in the AM), remove construction equipment, forbid cars from parking on 7th and along 4th in front of that Sausage Haus place, and have 2 or 3 lanes in place or
3.) suspend work during PM rush and put metal plates over the holes so cars can drive through, like any smart city would do.

Grrrrrrrrr....!!!!

[Xtrema]

1. We don't have enough labor force.

2. We have too tight labor law on overtime and related charges

3. We don't have illegals to hire for cheap work.

[SilverGS]

I especially liked how they completely closed off Bow Trail West bound after 26st last Friday at 7pm.

Sure it wasn't rush hour but when the left turn light only lets around 6 cars through at a time and then doesn't turn green again for 5 minutes you are going to get a freakin mess. Should of had a traffic cop directing traffic since during those 5 minutes there was very little traffic going through the other directions.

People were stuck for an hour to get past a couple hundred meters. :banghead:

[austic]

Originally posted by SilverGS
I especially liked how they completely closed off Bow Trail West bound after 26st last Friday at 7pm.

Sure it wasn't rush hour but when the left turn light only lets around 6 cars through at a time and then doesn't turn green again for 5 minutes you are going to get a freakin mess. Should of had a traffic cop directing traffic since during those 5 minutes there was very little traffic going through the other directions.

People were stuck for an hour to get past a couple hundred meters. :banghead:
Of course a traffic cop would be the best idea, but they were too busy pulling over people for the suspicion of texting...:banghead:

[kvg]

My big beef with Calgary road repairs is the cram the work into a small portion of the year so why don't the do the 24hr thing? It would make so much sense here.

[kaput]

.

[Isaiah]

Dear clem24,

Your letter was redirected to this internet forum in error. Try resending it to your local alderman, city infrastructure department, or other municipal official for a more appropriate response.

Good day.

[benyl]

so happy that I walk to work.

[clem24]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Your letter was redirected to this internet forum in error. Try resending it to your local alderman, city infrastructure department, or other municipal official for a more appropriate response.

Thanks. I already did that mr. SMRT.

[dandia89]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Dear clem24,

Your letter was redirected to this internet forum in error. Try resending it to your local alderman, city infrastructure department, or other municipal official for a more appropriate response.

Good day.

"we will take a look at it"
email goes into trash bin

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by dandia89


"we will take a look at it"
email goes into trash bin
You would be surprised. I am willing to bet that if you send the city a well-drafted, courteous letter with a legitimate complaint, it would be forwarded to the appropriate department which is likely to send a non-automated response.

Cynicism can be one's single strongest adversary.

[nitram]

there are a bunch of apartments down there, i'm sure they'll get more complaints for noise if they worked at night than people complaining about the traffic because of road work.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by nitram
there are a bunch of apartments down there, i'm sure they'll get more complaints for noise if they worked at night than people complaining about the traffic because of road work.

imo if you choose to live downtown... you should be expected to deal with noise. want peace and quiet? move away from he core of a city!

[Sugarphreak]

....

[nitram]

Originally posted by ercchry


imo if you choose to live downtown... you should be expected to deal with noise. want peace and quiet? move away from he core of a city!

great argument :rolleyes:

'if you choose to work downtown, expect traffic.'

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by clem24


It took me 45 minutes yesterday..

I just like to think of how short sighted it is for them to cause these delays, probably resulting in MILLIONS of dollars of lost economic activity, which then reduces their own revenue from taxes :nut:

[Mar]

Originally posted by ercchry
Project contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West faced a $6,000 fine in each direction for every 10 minutes of delay in getting the freeway reopened.....That's a total of $72,000 an hour.

Math fail.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Mar
Math fail.
$6,000 x 2 lanes
= $12,000 / 10 mins
$12,000 x (60mins/10mins)
=$72,000
Mar fail. :nut:

[BananaFob]

Originally posted by Mar


Math fail.

Uh. 6000 x 2 directions x 6 = $72,000

[Mar]

2 directions, didn't think of that.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Mar
2 directions, didn't think of that.
From now on I shall call you Marth :rofl:

On the op complaining about transit parking though....lol
crowfoot fills up by like 6:45 that is why I pay for reserved parking. Brentwood is usually good up until almost 8. Dalhousie is always full, never try there, not worth the time to turn off crowchild.

[eblend]

Calgary blows for construction. I was in Japan and the first night I arrived I went out late at night and when I was coming back I saw that they closed off the street and were prepping for road work. The hotel I stayed at was right on the street they were repaving, and I didn't hear a single thing all night, but in the morning, the street was repaved and there was not a peice of equipment left behind. It was amazing, and I always wonder why we can't do that shit here, and shit is left all over the place for months on end.

[Power_Of_Rotary]

Originally posted by Thomas Gabriel
I don't even see people working there during the day.

story of most calgary 'contruction zones'

i really dont mind driving contruction zone limits, but I hate to do so when i realized half the road is blocked and all the workers are gone for beers already

[max_boost]

Originally posted by eblend
Calgary blows for construction. I was in Japan and the first night I arrived I went out late at night and when I was coming back I saw that they closed off the street and were prepping for road work. The hotel I stayed at was right on the street they were repaving, and I didn't hear a single thing all night, but in the morning, the street was repaved and there was not a peice of equipment left behind. It was amazing, and I always wonder why we can't do that shit here, and shit is left all over the place for months on end. It's amazing how fast and efficient they are.

More construction so Police can hide behind and ticket you or put a van behind the barrier and nab you as you speed by. Yea, don't rip by construction zones! lol

[bart]

Originally posted by benyl
so happy that I walk to work.

so happy i don't have to walk to work

[ercchry]

Originally posted by nitram


great argument :rolleyes:

'if you choose to work downtown, expect traffic.'

no, it is... downtown cores are the hub of cities, they are always busy and should be productive. production should come first. major business has decided to make calgary their hub. those giant towers? yeah, built for business

[nitram]

See i agree that being efficient with city contruction is important, but to say 'because you live downtown, you'll have to deal with the construction noise all thru the night' is ignorant.

Why should the city only cater to people who live outside downtown and have to commute? Why is saving their 30min+ (which may be avoided if they left earlier or took a different route or public transit) more important than someone elses sleep?

Cities weren't build to have one central area for businesses and everyone are expected to live in the suburbs. It just ends up that way because the demand to live downtown exceeds the supply for it. eg. look at house prices as they get closer downtown.

[ercchry]

and look at the amount of noise you have to deal with the closer you get. for me i have lived on the outskirts, on major roadways and the inner city. you get use to the noise and after a while can learn to sleep through it. living on mcleod SUCKED for the first few months with the bikes, ricers, emergency services blaring by at all ours of the night. but after a while it no longer bothered me. i see construction downtown being no different.

EDIT: another approach... how about those that work night shifts and sleep during the day? should they have to deal with the noise for months on end when they could work 24/7 and have it done in a week?

[CMW403]

Originally posted by Xtrema
1. We don't have enough labor force.

2. We have too tight labor law on overtime and related charges

3. We don't have illegals to hire for cheap work.

How the fuck does BC do it then?

First time I ever saw construction workers at night was coming down the hill into Golden this summer. It was 3am and fucking POURING rain and they were out there working.

Then I come home to Calgary and go 60 over stoney on crowchild at 2:00pm on a wednesday and see NOBODY.

Blows. My. Mind.

[phreezee]

That is my normal route to work also and it's a pain in the butt, and I'm on a bicycle. First 2 days I just walked my bike down the sidewalk because it was too narrow to safely ride with cars.

[nitram]

The problem isn't if the workers are working at night or not. It's more if they work at all. I see tons on contruction site with no workers at all times of the day.

As a side note, there has been work done in the downtown area thruout the night. However, it doesn't mean they get it done any quicker. There's a section that they did that on 2 months ago and it's STILL fenced up and closed in one direction.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by CMW403


How the fuck does BC do it then?


They're spending money they don't have to pay a bunch of workers OT to complete the job in a short timeframe. Since it takes the exact same amount of man hours to complete the job, alberta/calgary is opting not to double/triple the price in order to shorten the timeframe of construction.

Can't have it all ways. Good/Fast/Cheap.. pick two.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[clem24]

Originally posted by codetrap


They're spending money they don't have to pay a bunch of workers OT to complete the job in a short timeframe. Since it takes the exact same amount of man hours to complete the job, alberta/calgary is opting not to double/triple the price in order to shorten the timeframe of construction.

Can't have it all ways. Good/Fast/Cheap.. pick two.

Right. Some requires deserve Good/Fast and this is one of them. Others, no one cares about, Good/Cheap. They'll never do Fast/Cheap cause then we'll just end up like Montreal 20 years down the road.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by codetrap
Can't have it all ways. Good/Fast/Cheap.. pick two.

On Country Hill Blvd, I think they only picked one. And anyone drive on that stretch between Shag and Beddington trail know which one it is.

:rofl:

Originally posted by CMW403


How the fuck does BC do it then?

Blows. My. Mind.

1. They pay them

2. BC unemployment rate 7.3%. Alberta: 5.7%

[kaput]

.

[effingidiot]

They should just install tollbooths on deerfoot, 4th ave, 9th ave/st, macleod, central st, etc. That will solve two problems at once: generate enough revenue to hire additional crews and get rid of people who shouldn't be driving to downtown anyway. Plus, it will make Calgary seem like a real city for once.

[whiskas]

I actually like the construction in downtown, and I think they should be given all the time in the world to do the job right, even if it means closing more lanes and taking longer.

Besides, it makes jaywalking so much easier, it cuts at least 1 minute off the time it takes for me to walk to work.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by effingidiot
They should just install tollbooths on deerfoot, 4th ave, 9th ave/st, macleod, central st, etc. That will solve two problems at once: generate enough revenue to hire additional crews and get rid of people who shouldn't be driving to downtown anyway. Plus, it will make Calgary seem like a real city for once.

You're reflecting your name. No politician would approve this any more than they would approve CPS just executing everyone on sight for traffic infractions.

[clem24]

Originally posted by kaput
Someone must have read your letter. There is a flagman just outside McDougall on 4th with a stop sign now, presumably to help with the rush hour. No lineup yet.

Sweeeeeeet! I am sure enough people complained since that parking lot is friggin' huge. About to leave soon, so let's hope it's been resolved.

[effingidiot]

Originally posted by codetrap


You're reflecting your name. No politician would approve this any more than they would approve CPS just executing everyone on sight for traffic infractions.

I don't really see the connection between revenue generation and random executions. In fact, I think they're mutually exclusive :rofl: But, you know, enjoy your 2 hour commute :dunno:

[max_boost]

Originally posted by bart


so happy i don't have to walk to work

Doesn't apply to you. You don't even work. lol

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by schocker

From now on I shall call you Marth :rofl:

:rofl:


Fuck construction in this province! :whipped:

[kaput]

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