RyLucky
Active Member
Airdrie needs a better bike path connection to Calgary. In fact, [not kidding] we should make a well-labelled bike route from Calgary to Edmonton.
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- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
maestro
Senior Member
It's already planned. The TransCanada trail should connect Edmonton to Calgary.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Attachments
maestro
Senior Member
That's just laziness needed to have the most direct route.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Yeah I wish we applied the same logic to highway development. Burning extra fuel is good for the economy!
I am excited about the Mattany Greenway project that connects the regional pathways all around the city. It's not fast nor direct to anything, but when finished will be a near continuous pathway of ~150km connecting the far out parks and utility corridors. Should be a pretty nice feature.
maestro
Senior Member
I was being facetious.
However, since you responded, I would think biking the 300 kms to Edmonton over driving is more about the journey than getting from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. They could pave a bike path inexpensively next to HWY 2 but, it would be a miserable experience.
However, since you responded, I would think biking the 300 kms to Edmonton over driving is more about the journey than getting from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. They could pave a bike path inexpensively next to HWY 2 but, it would be a miserable experience.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Agreed. But that weird 50km+ detour to the east from Airdrie seems excessive to be anything more than a pretty line on the map that no reasonable cycle route would ever sustain.
RyLucky
Active Member
All they need is a little path beside centre st, 8th st, or even highway 2. There are partial paths along all of these routes, but none connect all the way.
Sorry, just got back from Germany where the entire country is connected with separated bike paths and this time of your you see many people long distance touring. I saw families of 4 with panniers for week+ hauls. Not only are there excellent routes, but sign posts with kms to adjacent communities, maps, and public washrooms. It would be cheap and easy to do that anywhere. Now that Calgary and Edmonton's network is getting pretty good, add a bit more signage (including labelling public washrooms) and extend throughout Alberta. One route i would especially like to see completed is Calgary to Banff along the Bow. Currently, it is some of the most scenic trail in the world (even the part along the Bow in Calgary) but there are a few small gaps. I'm convinced that this century we ought to build bike paths next to every highway. In Germany, they usually use a curb and the bike path itself is on red asphalt, but in Alberta a separating ditch could do the trick.
Here is Germany's network: http://www.wegedetektiv.de/radnetz/#9/48.3069/8.9552
Sorry, just got back from Germany where the entire country is connected with separated bike paths and this time of your you see many people long distance touring. I saw families of 4 with panniers for week+ hauls. Not only are there excellent routes, but sign posts with kms to adjacent communities, maps, and public washrooms. It would be cheap and easy to do that anywhere. Now that Calgary and Edmonton's network is getting pretty good, add a bit more signage (including labelling public washrooms) and extend throughout Alberta. One route i would especially like to see completed is Calgary to Banff along the Bow. Currently, it is some of the most scenic trail in the world (even the part along the Bow in Calgary) but there are a few small gaps. I'm convinced that this century we ought to build bike paths next to every highway. In Germany, they usually use a curb and the bike path itself is on red asphalt, but in Alberta a separating ditch could do the trick.
Here is Germany's network: http://www.wegedetektiv.de/radnetz/#9/48.3069/8.9552
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RyLucky
Active Member
As for the TCC and other long-distance trails, it's great to have a well-signed coast to coast connector with regular rest stops, but cycling is not like taking a train or driving. Cyclists need to take the most direct route, and they need a network that connects every home in the country, not just 1 corridor through major cities. Even when complete, the TCC will only be a minor element in bicycle transportation, though a major pipedream challenge to complete and a national symbol.
maestro
Senior Member
Yeah, Germany is also 2/3rds the size of Alberta with 80 million people.
darwink
Senior Member
O
Orange is Gap in Trail apparently to the legend. Really, both 2A and 2 are great for cycling. Not great for not being near traffic.
RyLucky
Active Member
Alberta has 3x as many highways as Germany (~31000 k , of which 25000k is paved vs ~13000k). It's not just density and context; it's priorities. Naturally, Alberta prospered first because of the rail way, then because of roads, and in the future it will prosper because of the high quality of life it can offer. In my opinion, active transportation for commuting and recreation is a low hanging fruit.
Also, did you know Quebec has 5000km of bike routes?
More on this topic: https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.2717129
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maestro
Senior Member
There's plenty of uninhabited space to cross in Alberta to get from point A to point B. It actually makes sense there would be more roads with highway speeds in Alberta. Biking those long distances doesn't make sense. Germans tend to live in small connected villages and towns no more than a few kilometres apart from one another. There isn't one square inch that hasn't been touch there. A tree falls deep in the woods and someone will hear it. The next day, crews will be cleaning up the debris and assessing the damage to other trees. They would positively freak out if you abandoned them with a bike somewhere in the vast open spaces between Calgary and Red Deer.
So Quebec has 5000km of bike routes. It has twice the population. Calgary alone must have around 1000 kilometres. Edmonton probably has close to what Calgary has. 5000 really isn't that much either
So Quebec has 5000km of bike routes. It has twice the population. Calgary alone must have around 1000 kilometres. Edmonton probably has close to what Calgary has. 5000 really isn't that much either
RyLucky
Active Member
I'm not saying Alberta ought to have better lanes than Germany or the Netherlands, but to me it seems (perhaps naively) easy and relatively in expensive to create a few well-signed rural cycling corridors. Start with a loop through Calgary-Banff-Jasper-Edmonton-Calgary. 1100km, much of which already has something of a path, all of which is well-serviced. Canmore-Jasper could be country skiing in winter. There are many people in the world looking for somewhere they can spend $10000 for 5-7 days of cycling. We may not have vineyards, but the mountain parks are unsurpassed. If parts of the route are successful, extend the network. I just think it would be great to have some basic spine safely connecting the many existing trails.
Always_Biking
Senior Member
Earlier this year I rode the Friendship Trail bike path between Black Diamond and Turner Valley, and enjoyed it. too bad it's only 3km, I hope they can extend it down the Sheep River to Okotoks some day.