[InfrastructureEnthusiast]

For low floor, I posit another theory why they're preferred: they're more expensive, and require more specialized replacement parts still covered by patents instead of manufacturable in a capable machine shop.

That's definitely an interesting caveat to the low floor trains. Was that disclosed in any of the reports to council, or is it something you discovered from your own research?

 

[InfrastructureEnthusiast]

I wonder if there's a reluctance to move trains to 8th Avenue because 7th Avenue is closer to the central heart of DT Calgary and the ground-level stations makes it more convenient to hop-on and off a train.

I think that argument held true when the LRT was first built, but now that beltline is much more densely developed I think 8av has greater balance for the core, if not DT specifically.

Splitting hairs though, the extra block one way or another doesn't add much to the overall commute time.

 

[badc0ffee]

i generally agree that the solution comes with some re-organization of station stops on 7th for all lines, perhaps making dual stations at the same location

They rebuilt 7 Ave (except Centre St, which is from 2000), eliminating stops, twinning one station* (City Hall), and integrating platforms into the sidewalk, only like 10-15 years ago. I can't imagine there would be any appetite to redo it again so soon.

*Well, two if you count removing 10 St SW and building Downtown West/Kirby, but that was part of the west line project.

I think what prevented them from twinning the other stations was operational concerns, but I don't remember the details.

 

[InfrastructureEnthusiast]

Is it actually feasible to interline all 3 lines on 7th Ave.?

If they are taking about running green line elevated in beltline, maybe they meant intersecting with 7av and not running down it? In other words, eau clair would be out of scope for now.

 

[badc0ffee]

Is it actually feasible to interline all 3 lines on 7th Ave.?

In my opinion, yes, in the short/medium term, as long as we use 4-car trains, and have a credible plan to separate one or more lines onto 8 Ave in the long term.

There are light rail systems like Muni in San Francisco and MAX in Portland that run more than two lines on the same pair of tracks. It's not ideal, but I think it could be a decent compromise.

 

[lemongrab]

I think what prevented them from twinning the other stations was operational concerns, but I don't remember the details.

Did the non-twinning facilitate running busses down 7th? When did they stop doing that?

 

[Tothewest]

They rebuilt 7 Ave (except Centre St, which is from 2000), eliminating stops, twinning one station* (City Hall), and integrating platforms into the sidewalk, only like 10-15 years ago. I can't imagine there would be any appetite to redo it again so soon.

*Well, two if you count removing 10 St SW and building Downtown West/Kirby, but that was part of the west line project.

I think what prevented them from twinning the other stations was operational concerns, but I don't remember the details.

I dont know that it would involve redo-ing much, perhaps twinning one more station closer to the east end, and removing one stop from the red/blue lines, giving to the green. Keeping in mind, the green line will stretch no further west than 3rd st.

Q's...
1) Could the 7th transit corridor be extended a block east of city hall station for a green line EV stop?
2) Is tunneling with stations the issue, or would tunneling to get from EV to the event centre be do-able with no stations underground in between?

 

[darwink]

1) Could the 7th transit corridor be extended a block east of city hall station for a green line EV stop?

Yes.

Would it slow down the service? Also yes.

from:

https://www.calgarytransit.com/content/dam/transit/about-calgary-transit/reports/lrt/downtown_final_report.pdf

 

[Joborule]

I feel we're overthinking if we're trying to figure out how to integrate or reimagine 7 Ave Transit Mall with SE LRT; whereas a cost effective simple solution may simply be just going with the elevated option through the Beltline and downtown. The transit mall is already at capacity as it is, and has a major drawback of vehicle/pedestrian collisions causing disruptions to service. It's also common for trains to break down on the transit mall, which also causes delays to both lines. So adding a third line to the mix that not only reduces service for the other two lines, but now incidents that occur will effect three lines with lower frequency caps doesn't improve transit for Calgarians overall. Mulit-line service on 7 Ave needs to be subtracted, not added.

Sure, the idea to accelerate the 8 Ave Subway to reallocate the Red Line onto that, and either have the SE LRT us that as well, or replace the Red Line on 7 Ave so there's now two lines for the West LRT into downtown is an alternative. But you still have the drawbacks of multiple lines on the Transit Mall, and the big issue here is the costs of going underground. By my estimation, the July 2024 city proposed Green Line was going to be underground for roughly 2km. The 8 Ave Subway would be 2.5km. The Green Line would've had to be deeper at some point, but will 8 Ave really be that much cheaper, if at all? And even if this concept was to be done, you will have to figure out how the NC LRT gets integrated into all this, which honestly should've had the LRT yesterday.

There's a reason why after two decades of studying this, the preferred option was to have the Green Line function to serve both the NC and SE, and not share tracks with 7 Ave. Do the best option for the long term today. The problem that I will largely place blame on the city councils over the past terms was having tunnel vision for the subway option when the costs for that exploded. It may have made sense back in 2015, 2017, and even 2021. But if the same result, but elevated can allow with the current allocated money to have the LRT actually reach areas where people in the SE live (and shit, maybe even get across the Bow River for the first phase), then it seems like a no brainer to go with elevated. 2 ST SW corridor really won't have much of a detrimental effect from it. In fact, if designed right, it may help improve it, lol.

 

[ahuch]

Little snippet in here: https://globalnews.ca/news/10747038/green-line-housing-development/

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek confirmed she and members of city administration met virtually with Premier Danielle Smith and the provincial government on Monday evening to discuss the Green Line.

It comes after a letter was sent by Transportation minister Devin Dreeshen last week announcing the province’s intention to pull its funding, and seek a new alignment that reached more south Calgary neighbourhoods within the $6.2 billion budget.

“The premier reiterated that their desire is to get from Seton up to the event centre and then figure out how to tie in the blue and red lines,” Gondek told reporters Tuesday. “It was reiterated that they are not interested in tunnels downtown, so we’re in the same place.”

Gondek meets with province over Green Line, concerns of harm to Calgary’s market reputation
In a statement, Smith’s office said the premier “reaffirmed that she remains committed to the project and a new above-ground alignment that will benefit more Calgarians” during her meeting with Gondek.