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Opinion on closing Crescent Road to vehicle traffic.

  • Close it for another 6 months

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • Close it permanently

    Votes: 14 82.4%
  • Open it up to vehicle traffic

    Votes: 2 11.8%

  • Total voters
    17

Surrealplaces

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It's quite likely it'll be extended another 6 months, and possibly permanently. Thoughts? Personally, I'd be fine with it closed permanently, but I'm sure there are other thoughts and opinions on this.

 
It's quite likely it'll be extended another 6 months, and possibly permanently. Thoughts? Personally, I'd be fine with it closed permanently, but I'm sure there are other thoughts and opinions on this.


I’m good with closing it permanently if it is closed permanently to all motor vehicles. If it becomes a semi-private road for residents and their contractors and gardeners, no thank you.
 
I’m good with closing it permanently if it is closed permanently to all motor vehicles. If it becomes a semi-private road for residents and their contractors and gardeners, no thank you.
My concerns exactly. It's okay to close areas to vehicles - we should be doing this far more IMO to soften the unnecessary cut-through traffic in Beltline and other places - but we should never close public space for people.

Here's an example from Ontario Street in Vancouver. No fences or barriers, just a bicycle route and perfect sidewalk continuity while filter out the cut-through traffic. Something similar could work in Crescent Heights (and elsewhere) - we just got to be very careful we don't create what in effect is a publicly-financed gated community. Success would look like the same or more people at Crescent Heights, just with far more space available for them to spread out.

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These COVID closures have been a great thing, but it's always a good reminder the same forces are at work with money, equity and influence at play as they always have been to take advantage of the crisis for personal benefit. It will be interesting in 5 years looking back at which closures get enhanced and made permanent and which quietly are returned to normal.
 
I'd like it if they closed it down, and spruced the area up with some planters, etc.. At some point maybe they can take the metal guardrail fence down as well.

It sounds like residents are happy to sacrifice their own road access in order to have it closed permanently.
 
I'd like it if they closed it down, and spruced the area up with some planters, etc.. At some point maybe they can take the metal guardrail fence down as well.

It sounds like residents are happy to sacrifice their own road access in order to have it closed permanently.
If traffic and parking are no longer factors - at least half the Crescent Heights roadway is available for eventual conversion to promenade. The block near Crescent Heights Park could likely be closed entirely if we take this to an ultimate solution.

This has gotten me thinking of the other COVID closures and what we could do with them if they become permanent. My top three candidates are below:
  • Memorial Drive N: the pathway here is woefully undersized for summer traffic in normal years, let alone a year when every person was outside. Completely happy to see those two lanes go and be converted permanental. Practically it's a bit tricky due to the Memorial rebuild leaning so heavily into the Calgary "boulevard style" where we keep the row of trees in the middle because the important thing is to have it be nice to drive on. If that nice median wasn't there shove the whole road to the north by 10m, reduce it from 5 lanes + median (2 in each direction + parking) to 3 lanes (1 each way + parking or 2 and 1)
  • Elbow Drive SW: similar to Memorial, its badly needed at peak afternoon times for some more space, especially the missing path connection just north of the Elbow River bridge and the single pathway section north of 30 Avenue. Also a fancy area - instead of an endless playground zone to stop us normals from speeding by rich people, I wish the money/influence of the community used a couple decades ago to lower speed limits was used instead to road diet the hell our of Elbow. North of Sifton Blvd SW, traffic rarely requires 4 lanes in both directions (2 lanes + turning bays would be more than sufficient). A few "boulevard" sections can go as well as the on-street parking - amazing given the area is effectively the burbs with off-street garages and no density so there is no need for street parking other than give another freebee for rich residents. With that we can shove the road over to give the pathway at least 2x the amount of space it normally has pre-COVID.
  • 8 Street SW: a really janky approach (not for lack of effort by the city, but just random cones were constantly moved by delivery drivers and run over by buses) underscored just how insufficient 8th Street SW is for pedestrians. The corridor is the most developed backbone of Calgary's truly urban high-density population (and their services such as grocery stores, hotels, pharmacies, restaurants, transit). Always busy and always inferior with terrible inaccessibly sloped/broken sidewalks littered with street debris (sandwich boards, permanent signs). I don't know what the delay is in implementing the master plan but this road should have 1/3 to 1/2 of it's current car space allocated to people. COVID closure gave a brief taste of what this would be like and it was amazing, despite the challenges of cones all over.
 
One of my longtime wishes has been for the Crescent Road pathway to be widened and have a section (or two) of Crescent Road developed similar to the promenade on 26th ave SW but with a nicer ornate fence. I never thought it would happen, but now it might.
If traffic and parking are no longer factors - at least half the Crescent Heights roadway is available for eventual conversion to promenade. The block near Crescent Heights Park could likely be closed entirely if we take this to an ultimate solution.

This has gotten me thinking of the other COVID closures and what we could do with them if they become permanent. My top three candidates are below:
  • Memorial Drive N: the pathway here is woefully undersized for summer traffic in normal years, let alone a year when every person was outside. Completely happy to see those two lanes go and be converted permanental. Practically it's a bit tricky due to the Memorial rebuild leaning so heavily into the Calgary "boulevard style" where we keep the row of trees in the middle because the important thing is to have it be nice to drive on. If that nice median wasn't there shove the whole road to the north by 10m, reduce it from 5 lanes + median (2 in each direction + parking) to 3 lanes (1 each way + parking or 2 and 1)
  • Elbow Drive SW: similar to Memorial, its badly needed at peak afternoon times for some more space, especially the missing path connection just north of the Elbow River bridge and the single pathway section north of 30 Avenue. Also a fancy area - instead of an endless playground zone to stop us normals from speeding by rich people, I wish the money/influence of the community used a couple decades ago to lower speed limits was used instead to road diet the hell our of Elbow. North of Sifton Blvd SW, traffic rarely requires 4 lanes in both directions (2 lanes + turning bays would be more than sufficient). A few "boulevard" sections can go as well as the on-street parking - amazing given the area is effectively the burbs with off-street garages and no density so there is no need for street parking other than give another freebee for rich residents. With that we can shove the road over to give the pathway at least 2x the amount of space it normally has pre-COVID.
  • 8 Street SW: a really janky approach (not for lack of effort by the city, but just random cones were constantly moved by delivery drivers and run over by buses) underscored just how insufficient 8th Street SW is for pedestrians. The corridor is the most developed backbone of Calgary's truly urban high-density population (and their services such as grocery stores, hotels, pharmacies, restaurants, transit). Always busy and always inferior with terrible inaccessibly sloped/broken sidewalks littered with street debris (sandwich boards, permanent signs). I don't know what the delay is in implementing the master plan but this road should have 1/3 to 1/2 of it's current car space allocated to people. COVID closure gave a brief taste of what this would be like and it was amazing, despite the challenges of cones all over.
 
If traffic and parking are no longer factors - at least half the Crescent Heights roadway is available for eventual conversion to promenade. The block near Crescent Heights Park could likely be closed entirely if we take this to an ultimate solution.

This has gotten me thinking of the other COVID closures and what we could do with them if they become permanent. My top three candidates are below:
  • Memorial Drive N: the pathway here is woefully undersized for summer traffic in normal years, let alone a year when every person was outside. Completely happy to see those two lanes go and be converted permanental. Practically it's a bit tricky due to the Memorial rebuild leaning so heavily into the Calgary "boulevard style" where we keep the row of trees in the middle because the important thing is to have it be nice to drive on. If that nice median wasn't there shove the whole road to the north by 10m, reduce it from 5 lanes + median (2 in each direction + parking) to 3 lanes (1 each way + parking or 2 and 1)
  • Elbow Drive SW: similar to Memorial, its badly needed at peak afternoon times for some more space, especially the missing path connection just north of the Elbow River bridge and the single pathway section north of 30 Avenue. Also a fancy area - instead of an endless playground zone to stop us normals from speeding by rich people, I wish the money/influence of the community used a couple decades ago to lower speed limits was used instead to road diet the hell our of Elbow. North of Sifton Blvd SW, traffic rarely requires 4 lanes in both directions (2 lanes + turning bays would be more than sufficient). A few "boulevard" sections can go as well as the on-street parking - amazing given the area is effectively the burbs with off-street garages and no density so there is no need for street parking other than give another freebee for rich residents. With that we can shove the road over to give the pathway at least 2x the amount of space it normally has pre-COVID.
  • 8 Street SW: a really janky approach (not for lack of effort by the city, but just random cones were constantly moved by delivery drivers and run over by buses) underscored just how insufficient 8th Street SW is for pedestrians. The corridor is the most developed backbone of Calgary's truly urban high-density population (and their services such as grocery stores, hotels, pharmacies, restaurants, transit). Always busy and always inferior with terrible inaccessibly sloped/broken sidewalks littered with street debris (sandwich boards, permanent signs). I don't know what the delay is in implementing the master plan but this road should have 1/3 to 1/2 of it's current car space allocated to people. COVID closure gave a brief taste of what this would be like and it was amazing, despite the challenges of cones all over.

A less capital-intensive version of these changes would be to have the temporary road closures retained on summer weekends. That’s when you have the most bike/ped/scooter use and the least motor vehicle traffic on these corridors.
 
A less capital-intensive version of these changes would be to have the temporary road closures retained on summer weekends. That’s when you have the most bike/ped/scooter use and the least motor vehicle traffic on these corridors.
For Crescent Road's case, I'd even be happy with it closed from beginning of May to end of September, and open during the winter. I agree with summer weekends (or even every day all summer) for some of the other streets mentioned.
 
Another option is to close 3 of the four lanes spaces and have a one way road with a couple of short term parking (10 minute) pull in areas areas . Something for tour vans and limos when people are taking grad pics etc.. The road space open to cars can be a short two or three block stretch. A couple of spots in the pull in can be reserved for food trucks. Thoughts?

cg35.jpg
 
I like the idea of a promenade with some viewpoint areas. Viewpoint areas like the one in Parc Mt Royal with nice patio stones and a nice fence.

View attachment 267719
High quality viewpoints are an absolute magnet for tourists and locals alike (even more so than Crescent Heights is now). Give the high quality treatment to the public space up there and it'll flourish.

From a design perspective, it's one location that could work well with a traditionalist approach (i.e. as Mont Royal in Montreal is with proper stone pathways, expansive space, stone railing etc.) Our pathway system is amazing, but few sections move beyond the keep-it-simple approach to become truly great public realm spots - essentially the city centre river pathway only. That's not a bad thing in most cases (as effective, but not fancy is a pretty good pathway network plan), but the stairs, pathways and viewpoint infrastructure to Crescent Heights are good example of a spot that is undersized in quality and capacity that it's popularity and evolving role in a major city demands of it.

Not that there anything wrong with it now - apart from a wild amount of car capacity that can be repurposed - but the area is an increasingly obvious opportunity that the area could be something even better than it is.
 
I see this summer they have left the road open to traffic, but took away the parking lane on the south side of the road, and made it into a dedicated path for pedestrians and bikes. Not a bad compromise, but I would go further and make Crescent Road one way and widen the new pedestrian/cycle lane.
 

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