[potatopizzafan]

So if I want to park on the right side of a one way, or turn do I move into the bike lane, or just cross it?

you should never be driving in the bike lane, just cross it to park or turn after triple checking that there isn't a bike approaching, there are a ton of people out on bikes right now, and plenty of inexperienced cyclists, so be careful.

 

[Mountain Man]

Welcome, the area you are in is pretty great, some sketchy people but enough good people to balance it. Just be wary of the Alpha House and the area around it, some super sketchy people hang out in that area.

As a cyclist I can tell you that drivers from here can't figure out bike lanes, drives me nuts. They should be treated like a traffic lane like most people have said, when driving check your mirrors and do a quick shoulder turn before crossing over them. I can hit 50km/h on my bike in the lanes, so cyclists come up quick, hence the shoulder check. As a pedestrian, treat them like a traffic lane as well, I've almost hit so many people that just step into the lane like it's part of the sidewalk. Just being aware of what's around you is most important.

 

[Sky of Blue]

It’s a weird mix. Addicts openly smoking crack and shooting up right on the sidewalks. Doing the zombie dance. Then a bunch of 20-30’s living the hip city life.

 

[Mountain Man]

Best bet is to ignore the sketchy ones and they will leave you alone. Once there is a bit of nitelife allowed again it balances it out more.

 

[Surrealplaces]

It’s a weird mix. Addicts openly smoking crack and shooting up right on the sidewalks. Doing the zombie dance. Then a bunch of 20-30’s living the hip city life.

The area around Sheldon Chumir and 15th ave in front of the Alpha House are two of the sketchiest areas in the city. The good news if you can handle those areas you can handle any part of Calgary. Like @Mountain Man said if you avoid those areas, particularly the one block area in front of the Alpha House, you'll be good to go. You'll see some homeless/addicts around the Chumir centre (sometimes shooting up), but generally they don't bother people.