Memorial drive speed being reduced to 50kph

[mazdavirgin]

Big changes are coming to Memorial Drive, near the Edmonton Trail and 4th Street N.E. intersections, including a lowered speed limit and a new reversible left turn lane.

“We believe this is an enhancement for all users: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists,” said Pat Grisak, a leader with the city’s traffic division.

The busy road, which often backs up with people driving into downtown during the morning rush hour, will soon have a new reversible left turn lane that will allow for dual left turns from Memorial Drive N.E. onto Edmonton Trail N.E.

The city expects the new lane will result in a 70 per cent reduction to delays for motorists driving into the downtown core.

The changes also include a reduction in the speed limit on Memorial Drive from east of Edmonton Trail to the Centre Street Bridge from 70 km/h to 50 km/h, a move Coun. Sean Chu, who is serving as deputy mayor, questioned.

“There’s no point of dropping to 50. That’s irritating to commuters,” he said.


Changes for pedestrians and cyclists include pathway improvements, a countdown timer and audible signal at the crosswalk and a dedicated signal for cyclists to cross Memorial Drive to and from the new Edmonton Trail cycle track.

Grisak said the area is heavily used and it’s expected that together the changes will address “longstanding issues.”

“This intersection carries large volumes of traffic with lengthy queues, long delays. We saw an opportunity to enhance it and improve it for all modes,” he said.

Construction on the project began this week and is expected to continue for eight to 10 weeks.

Clearly we need to decrease the speed limit on this dangerous stretch of road! Think of the cyclists! The children! The pedestrians!

[Disoblige]

New speed trap money maker.

[hurrdurr]

This is fucking stupid

[Minimalist]

I'd like to spend a day driving in Calgary with the village idiot Pat Grisak to see what he is experiencing. No doubt I'd need a helmet, sunblock and a bell.

[schocker]

That stretch makes no sense at 50. It is not like the people are walking on the road.

[msommers]

At the end of the work day, does Center to Edmonton Trail on Memorial get really bogged down in the two lanes? I can see that if there was a reversal going on that 70 might be too fast for the average driver but otherwise, there are no lights, no pedestrians, no houses for noise, no crosswalks...

Looking at that section it seems they have their photo radar spots available already

https://goo.gl/maps/maTg3hpMAGx

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by hurrdurr
This is fucking stupid

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by schocker
That stretch makes no sense at 50. It is not like the people are walking on the road.

It makes perfect sense, revenue is down and you have to create lawbreakers if there aren't enough to meet demand.

[revelations]

Dumb idea but also thats a very tough place to do any kind of stationary traffic enforcement.

No place for photo radar to park on the road and no place to setup a lidar trap to herd offenders into.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[speedog]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I bet if city council knew this, they wouldn't be trying to drop the speed. Really it shouldn't be up to city council to decide the speed limit, it should be based on a 3rd party study that takes the 85th percentile and risk margins into account.

I don't get it, are they not flush with cash right now... I thought they had a half billion dollars in fun money

One little problem with your scenario - who will make the decision? You've said that a third party will do a study but you haven't mentioned who should make the decisions.

[2000TL]

To me the main point of the intersection upgrades is to improve traffic flow. Those who drive in and out of downtown during those peak periods will know that memorial is backed up (sometimes up to the zoo). I think the dual turn lanes going into downtown will help the congestion and lane reversal will help getting out of downtown.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[msommers]

Most excellent

[Sugarphreak]

...

[kertejud2]

"Also note that we built Deerfoot from Glenmore to Memorial as a 70km/h road so we are changing the speed limit there as well."

[phil98z24]

Originally posted by msommers
At the end of the work day, does Center to Edmonton Trail on Memorial get really bogged down in the two lanes? I can see that if there was a reversal going on that 70 might be too fast for the average driver but otherwise, there are no lights, no pedestrians, no houses for noise, no crosswalks...

Looking at that section it seems they have their photo radar spots available already

https://goo.gl/maps/maTg3hpMAGx

It's for the morning when the westbound lanes from Deerfoot come into the core, and they are incredibly bogged down. I don't think they are doing this with a view to easing evening rush hour traffic. At least not that I can tell.

As far as the stretch of 50 between Edmonton Trail and Center, I can't think of a good reason for that. In my opinion, it's silly and unwarranted.

[revelations]

Originally posted by phil98z24
As far as the stretch of 50 between Edmonton Trail and Center, I can't think of a good reason for that. In my opinion, it's silly and unwarranted.

Phil is there any chance of stationary traffic enforcement done at that location?

[phil98z24]

Originally posted by revelations


Phil is there any chance of stationary traffic enforcement done at that location?

If it's new and they want people to adhere to it, there could be. But then again they just may put in cameras at that location full time as it's pretty high volume and seems like a good location to get people transitioning from 70-50... I have very little idea how they make those decisions so I'm totally guessing at it, haha.

[J-hop]

That is pretty dumb... I've found 50 to be way too slow anywhere on memorial. Would be nice to see them invest in pedestrian overpasses along the whole route, further minimizing the pedestrian/cyclist and vehicle interactions would do much more to improve the flow IMO.

Too bad they blew so much money on that peace bridge. I mean I use it almost every work day in the summer but I'd give it up in a second if they could have instead invested in a pedestrian solution(s) for memorial...