Calgary Public Transit Discussion Thread

[SmAcKpOo]

Originally posted by Aaaaaron
Does anyone happen to know how early you'd have to get to Rundle or Chinook to snag a free spot? I'm new to Calgary and just moved to Strathmore.

You'll never get a spot at Chinook so don't even try.

If you live in Strathmore I suggest parking at the Marlborough station as there is always spots available before 9AM (even after 10AM some days). It is just off 16th ave and 36 st NE. Parking on both sides of mall.

[flipstah]

Rundle around 8ish is free.

[codetrap]

Franklin is also pretty good for parking, just a bit of a pain to get out of unless you're going East. I've been parking at Max Bell, and with the snow it's been a gong show.. fully half the spots there are under deep snow right now. If you're going out on 16 after work, then you're probably better off parking at Marlborough.. then you're not lining up with the 1000's of other people trying to turn left across 36st at the bridge.

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by frinkprof
News and Notes

North Central LRT Video

This is a video that has come out of the recent North Central LRT corridor engagement process. It's interesting, but a little bit vague and high-level. Not sure if it's just one of the options being presented or if, through engagement, this is the preferred one. Either way, lots left in the dialog and decision-making process.

I would be so stoked if they built an at ground LRT system down centre st.
These at ground LRTs in Europe are great, rode a few when I was there in the fall. The stations are small and don't require massive platforms, stairs, escalators, etc. Too bad calgary transit can't figure these out.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Canmorite


I would be so stoked if they built an at ground LRT system down centre st.
These at ground LRTs in Europe are great, rode a few when I was there in the fall. The stations are small and don't require massive platforms, stairs, escalators, etc. Too bad calgary transit can't figure these out.

I can just see it now.

Asshats in lifted trucks smoking on those beating a red light.

We have issues with our current system now and they have barriers.

[firebane]

They successfully did a ground train in Vancouver along the cambie street corridor and it has been very successful.

People were first considered as Cambie street is well know for its median of trees and grass and such and nobody wanted it disturbed so they essentially tunneled underneath and built stations like Westbrook at different points.

[frinkprof]

Winter Service Revisions

These take effect December 23rd.

Frequency improvements for routes 4, 8, 72, 94, 100, 199, 300

Route 302 extended to South Health Campus

Route 445 Skyview Ranch is having its service ramped up. Now has weekday evening service. Look for weekend service, big buses and frequency improvements to be added in subsequent seasonal changes.

Route 404 has added weekend service.

Minor changes to other routes.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/w...ions_2013.html

[frinkprof]

Free wifi coming to City Hall, Chinook, University stations.

Free Wifi coming to nine locations including city parks, LRT stations


By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald December 19, 2013

[...]

Calgary-based Shaw Communications will provide Wi-Fi at city sites in exchange for getting rights to advertise its own services, likely on the Wi-Fi welcome page, a city technology manager said.

[...]

The exact launch date isn’t decided yet, but the first city Wi-Fi sites should launch in the first three months of 2014, said Heather Reed-Fenske innovation manager for the city’s information technology unit.

The city may also expand services yet in the future to LRTs themselves, she added.

[...]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/story.html?id=9305696

[frinkprof]

As posted by TallisRH on SSP. One of the newest LRVs (SD160 "Calgary 8s") has had bench-style seating installed as a trial.

[flipstah]

OMG YES. No contour seating. That was the Achilles' heel on the current fleet.

[schocker]

Noticed i kept getting shaw wifi at 7th st sw station. Great time to update apps
Where am I suppose to sit though, I need the outline of a seat!
On the bench trains I always stick to the middle of the car in the bendy part as I don't want to get stuck

[JordanAndrew]

Originally posted by firebane
They successfully did a ground train in Vancouver along the cambie street corridor and it has been very successful.

People were first considered as Cambie street is well know for its median of trees and grass and such and nobody wanted it disturbed so they essentially tunneled underneath and built stations like Westbrook at different points.

What happens to these trains when there's a significant snow fall during our winter times? They're so low that they essentially become snow plows. It's great with all the warmer cities, not so much a good idea in a city that gets enough snow to shit disturb things like this.

[overjoyed]

Yesterday thieves broke into 25 to 35 cars at Fish Creek Lacombe park and ride. Smashed the windows, and stole valuables. Cars in rows, one after the other.

[JVR1]

Originally posted by overjoyed
Yesterday thieves broke into 25 to 35 cars at Fish Creek Lacombe park and ride. Smashed the windows, and stole valuables. Cars in rows, one after the other.

that sucks.! i park there regularly. didn't see anyone complaining of damaged vehicles in the west lot.

[frinkprof]

Originally posted by JordanAndrew


What happens to these trains when there's a significant snow fall during our winter times? They're so low that they essentially become snow plows. It's great with all the warmer cities, not so much a good idea in a city that gets enough snow to shit disturb things like this.

I'm not really sure what you're getting at or what you're referring to. Which trains?

[JordanAndrew]

Originally posted by frinkprof
I'm not really sure what you're getting at or what you're referring to. Which trains?

the ground trains that they are proposing to do here.

[frinkprof]

News and Notes

Engineers Determine Cause of Fallen Overhead Wire Near Crowfoot Station
January 23, 2014 11:43 AM Categories: Transportation, Calgary Transit & commuting

Calgary Transit has determined what caused the overhead catenary wire to fall last week near Crowfoot Station.

The root cause was a breakdown in the carbon contact strip on top of the pantograph of the middle car of the CTrain involved in the incident. (A pantograph is the jointed framework on top of the train that conveys an electrical current to the train from overhead contact wires.)

With the train’s carbon contact strip partially missing, the overhead wire was rubbing on the bare metal strip of the pantograph, causing electrical arcing which cut through the strip as the train headed northwest to Crowfoot Station.

This weakening of the pantograph head, along with the pressure from pantograph springs pushing constantly up, eventually caused the pantograph head to buckle upwards and protrude slightly above the contact wire.

This buckled portion of the pantograph head struck overhead wire support arms just before Crowfoot station, pulling on the wire and misaligning the wire with the track. This caused the other two train pantographs on the same CTrain to get tangled with the wire and ultimately pulled the wiring down in the area of the Crowfoot Station track switches.

Calgary Transit has removed seven CTrain cars that have the same carbon contact strip technology from service for further inspection. This does not affect normal CTrain service.

Calgary Transit is also reviewing and ramping up its pantograph inspection process, including the investigation of a system to perform automated visual inspections of each pantograph while CTrains are in service.

Following the damage last Tuesday, Calgary Transit continued to provide service between Crowfoot and Dalhousie Stations using shuttle buses and some trains while repairs were made. Crowfoot Station resumed normal service on Sunday.

Calgary Transit thanks customers for their patience.

http://newsroom.calgary.ca/news/engineers-determine-cause-of-fallen-overhead-wire-near-crowfoot-station

Also a Global news story with video on this:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1102676/of...in-passengers/

----------------------

There has been a vendor chosen that will be handling the revamp of the Calgary Transit website. FCV Technologies was the successful proponent. Not sure on when we will see the result.

-------------

On the topic of New Years Eve and late night service in general, I received this tidbit from a CT contact.

So I learned that we will be hiring a consultant to evaluate late night service options and write a report by the end of the year (in conjunction with our business plans). We will be looking at various options including core service (similar to the party bus loop) 7 days/week, Fridays and Saturdays or just special events like NYE. We will also consider providing service on the full network including outlying communities. Interestingly, we will likely also look at a bus-only approach. We need time to maintain the LRT network and know that weekend maintenance is a nuisance - more time at night would help a lot. So... stay tuned. It's in the RFP stage right now.

[frinkprof]

Originally posted by JordanAndrew


the ground trains that they are proposing to do here.

Meant to reply to this way back when but forgot about it.

What do you mean by "ground trains" and where do you mean by "here?"

[01RedDX]

.

[frinkprof]

Late-night trains pondered as transit numbers grow


By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald January 24, 2014


Calgary Transit may run later into the night as ridership continues to soar.

More than 107 million customers crammed into buses and trains last year — a record for the city’s transportation network and an increase of five per cent over 2012.

Transit officials suggest a few reasons for the spike. Council bolstered service hours by 2.5 per cent in 2013, adding a new bus route in southeast Calgary and making changes to existing routes.

A growing number of jobs in the city also translated into additional passengers, as did an extension of the Blue Line to the city’s northeast.

And the city saw a healthy uptick in ridership — 11 per cent — from the $1.4 billion west LRT, which transports commuters from as far away as 69th St. SW.

[...]

Late-night transit service is being considered. “We’re going to do some studies to see what kind of market there is. Should ridership continue to increase, that provides us with funding to look at it on a priority basis,” Morgan said.

The issue is whether it’s the right place to spend money. “Are there other acute areas where we have overloads or ridership gains? We’ll look at all the options to see what the biggest bang is for our buck.”

[...]

Calgary Transit plans to hire additional peace officers to improve security and keep a better eye on drunk and rowdy passengers this year.

[...]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Late+night+trains+pondered+transit+numbers+grow/9428081/story.html