BKha
Active Member
Looking more closely at that pic, it's definitely a construction drilling unit. I thought maybe soil sampling at first, but now thinking construction. You're probably right Spring2000, it's the start of one of the phases.
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
Sorry for the bump without technically new info, but I just realized that the residential tower in this one is proposed at 14 storeys tall, with the taller office at 11 storeys. Pretty cool we'll be getting a couple new high rises added to the city inventory. Hoping that the added density, along with the Cancer Centre, will spur the city to finally make a decision on the type of transit they want to use for the Northwest Hub region (I'm personally hoping for a Detroit People Mover type system).
And the two towers will be not far from the 28 storey Hub.
maestro
Senior Member
Detroit's People Mover is the same capacity as the Scarborough RT and the original Skytrain. It's not needed here.
darwink
Senior Member
No, but the goal can be to reduce infrastructure costs. A low cost system would be something like VAL, with even shorter trains than the Copenhagen Metro or the Chicago Airport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_Transit_System You'd want it automated recognizing the 24 hour nature of hospitals. http://www.mobility.siemens.com/mob...over/cityval-airval/pages/cityval-airval.aspx
The savings would be in the tiny stations - 20 metres long, and maybe even being able to put them on the ground due to the 12% allowed gradient.
Not really needed though. Normal buses switching to automated buses when we are comfortable will be fine.
The savings would be in the tiny stations - 20 metres long, and maybe even being able to put them on the ground due to the 12% allowed gradient.
Not really needed though. Normal buses switching to automated buses when we are comfortable will be fine.
Beltline_B
Senior Member
A Small rail system that went from the hospital through the stadium shopping centre over to Banff Trail LRT station would be really nice, but I agree it would be probably too expensive, especially when you could do the same thing with shuttle busses.
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
Even a streetcar looping the area would be more preferable to buses. If buses are so easily the best option, why has the city been investigating what transit technology to use in the NW hub for years?
jdixon
Active Member
It hasn't seemed to be as much of a case in Calgary, but I've read some articles that street level light rail/streetcars get political buy-in easier because they're "fancier" modes of transportation.
That being said, the streetcars in Toronto which have shared right of ways with cars tend to perform quite badly compared to even just busses (even ignoring cost).
maestro
Senior Member
I just can't think of any dedicated rail transit to hospitals. Staff wouldn't provide enough capacity. I would think visitors and patients would choose other modes over transit when visiting a hospital too.
darwink
Senior Member
Portland has a dedicated aerial tram for a hospital. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Aerial_Tram Morgan Town Rapid Transit is a system at West Virginia University which has a hospital stop, which was a PRT prototype from the 70s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantown_Personal_Rapid_Transit
If the Stadium shopping centre had two or three good sized residential towers as well as plenty of shopping, combined with Banff Trail TOD development (with a few towers built up), I could see the possibility of a transit loop of some kind
University LRT <-> University <-> Hospital < -> Stadium shopping centre <-> Banff Trail LRT
Whether the loop is a bus, street car or elevated train, etc... depends, but between the University and the hospital there is a pretty substantial workforce.
University LRT <-> University <-> Hospital < -> Stadium shopping centre <-> Banff Trail LRT
Whether the loop is a bus, street car or elevated train, etc... depends, but between the University and the hospital there is a pretty substantial workforce.
maestro
Senior Member
Thanks. I didn't know about the Portland line. Both have unique circumstances for their construction.
maestro
Senior Member
A bus route only needs sign posts and some buses. Calgary Transit already has those. The mode is being debated. Elevation is expensive. The line would cost hundreds of millions. Each station would be tens of millions more. It doesn't make sense to build a station for the proposal at Stadium shopping centre. A streetcar would be less but, still very expensive over a community bus service. Both a streetcar line or a people mover would also be introducing new technology to Calgary Transit requiring maintenance facilities and specialized training.
darwink
Senior Member
Meikkhaell
Active Member
It's nice they're adding density and it's miles ahead of what's there now ...
I'm also happy they don't all have exactly the same - or even that similar - designs. Makes it feel less "master planned."
I'm not a huge fan of the (lack of) colours ...
I guess the black & white could look quite nice if surrounded by greenery, as the render seems to suggest.
Solid addition, major improvement.
I'm also happy they don't all have exactly the same - or even that similar - designs. Makes it feel less "master planned."
I'm not a huge fan of the (lack of) colours ...
I guess the black & white could look quite nice if surrounded by greenery, as the render seems to suggest.
Solid addition, major improvement.