It would help if there was more concerted efforts made by the city and advocates to acknowledge and distinguish between the two roles the pathway system plays;
recreation and
transportation. IMO, Calgary has almost only ever cared about the former (recreation), while stumbling into the latter (transportation) inadvertently due to the extensiveness of the pathway system and a lack of on-street alternatives. These are not always incompatible functions, but have to be considered throughout the planning, design and operations, which they historically have not been at the same level.
For example, a crowded pathway full of slow walkers, strollers and bicycles usually indicates a successful and popular vibrant space, but obviously is not optimal for transportation which is more concerned about travel time, efficiency and capacity. Had it been a roadway, transportation engineers would be redesigning connections, proposing interchanges or added lanes (especially if they were being typically car-centric in their thinking).
Ignoring or undervaluing the importance of the pathway network for transportation affects all levels of decision-making, data collection and prioritization of which pathways need a higher standard of design/mode separation. Here's some examples:
- Pathway congestion (recreation = high tolerance for congestion; transportation = low tolerance for congestion)
- Bumpy rooted pathways (recreation = not a big deal; transportation = reduces travel efficiency and safety)
- Curvy, not direct routes (recreation = good / neutral thing; transportation = increases trip length, decreases safety & reduces speed)
- Connections with/across roadways (recreation = neutral / it's okay to detour on sidewalks to nearest crossing because travel time is unimportant; transportation = unacceptable travel delay and loss of accessibility)
- Access to destinations (recreation = a good thing but indirect is ok; transportation = very important, direct is better)
Our pathway system would be so much better if the transportation qualities of pathways were elevated to equal footing as recreation qualities. It doesn't mean we lose are park space for commuter routes, but would encourage a serious look at things that don't ever seem to be a priority: high quality connections to the road network, reduced trip times and safer/higher quality design choices (e.g. pavement quality, reduced blind corners etc.)