The Calgary TransitCamp Vision: The North Crosstown Route

Editor’s Note:  Here is the latest posting from Calgary TransitCamp contributor Peter Schryvers on the Calgary TransitCamp vision for better public transportation in Calgary.  Your comments are welcome!

The North Crosstown route is perhaps one of the most important transit routes in Calgary’s primary transit network. It creates a strong east-west access corridor across the north side of the city, providing essential links between the Northwest, North Central and Northeast LRT lines across the city, along with connecting important activity areas such as Peter Lougheed Hospital, SAIT, McMahon Stadium, and most importantly the currently under-serviced Foothills Hospital.

Implementing this route will come with its challenges. Along the route, the character of the roads being used changes dramatically from residential arterial roads (52 Street and 32 Avenue NE), to an commercial arterial road shared with the C-Train (36 Street NE), to a free-flowing expressway (16 Avenue N east of Deerfoot), to an urban boulevard intersected by numerous cross streets (16 Avenue N from west of Deerfoot Trail to approximately Crowchild Trail), and finally to a loop comprised of several different roads between the Foothills Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and the University of Calgary. Each of these portions has different challenges and opportunities, but it is the most urban section that we are going to discuss in this blog: the section of 16 Avenue N between Crowchild Trail and Deerfoot Trail.

Between 2006 and 2010, 16 Avenue N between Deerfoor Trail and 19 Street NW underwent a considerable upgrade, widening the existing two lanes in each direction (plus left land turning lanes) to three lanes in each direction.  The upgrades also included many additional elements, such as median planters, new lighting fixtures, landscaping, and better sound barriers. But what was missing from the upgrade was something we at Calgary TransitCamp consider to be the most important: a dedicated bus lane.

However, we believe that not all is lost, and with some creative thinking and prudent design we can turn this section of 16 Avenue N into a BRT route with little capital expense. One of our pillars at Calgary TransitCamp is to build it right, don’t build it twice. So instead of reworking the entire streetscape, we need to find creative ways to work with what we have. To do this we need to consider four things: how do we create the lanes, where do the lanes go, how do we integrate stations, and how do we deal with intersections?

So how do we integrate the bus lanes into the existing road without any significant capital expenditure?  The answer is pretty simple: paint and plastic barriers. Simply put, we just need to paint existing traffic lanes a different colour (I like red, but any colour would probably do), add some “BUS ONLY” markings, and install some plastic jersey barriers (usually filled with water, but with our winters sand will have to do).

The other three questions can be answered all at once: use the centre lane for the bus lane, use left hand turn lanes to incorporate the stations, and design intersections to give buses priority. We’ve created some images to show how it can all work.

First, let’s see how the current situation works along the avenue:

As you can see, this is how the current situation works on 16 Avenue N. Three lanes travel in either direction (2), with buses mixed in regular traffic (1). For the buses, this arrangement is not optimal as they are subjected to traffic delays (1), which increase both travel times for passengers and operational costs for transit. As well, as stations are located on the right hand lane and the buses sometimes must make a left hand turn, they must cross several lanes of traffic to do so, which is not only difficult for the buses (especially the extra-long articulated buses), but also disruptive to the flow of traffic, as other vehicles have to accommodate the buses switching lanes. 

Now, let’s see how adding a bus lane changes this situation:

The dedicated bus lane allows buses to travel freely (1), considerably reducing travel times, especially during times of congestion. An added benefit of the bus lanes is that emergency vehicles (2), such as ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles, can use the lanes to bypass traffic, decreasing response times. The lanes are easily implemented using paint and plastic barriers (3), thus reducing the construction costs of implementing the lanes. A downside of the bus lanes is that regular vehicle traffic is reduced to two lanes (3).

Next, let’s see how intersections currently operate, as shown below:

The current operation of intersections can cause considerable delays for buses, as they have to wait with regular traffic at each signal (1). The current intersection design isn’t optimal for pedestrians either, who have to cross a considerable distance (7 lanes typically) to get from one side of the street to the other without a break (2). Bus stops are located on the side of the street (3), which can cause traffic delays as buses back up traffic with each stop. Furthermore, the traffic signals do not give buses priority, adding to further delays (4). However, the intersection configuration does allow for three full lanes of traffic, plus a left turning lane (5), which improves traffic flow for vehicles.

When adding bus lanes to an intersection, there are two different configurations to consider: intersections with a station and without a station. First, let’s look at an intersection without a station:

The new intersection configuration has several advantages for bus operations. First, because a dedicated lane is provided (1), the buses are not delayed by traffic and queue at the front of the intersection, rather than waiting behind backed up traffic. As well, a special signal can be controlled by the buses so that the light is green when they approach (2). Left turning vehicles still have a dedicated turning lane (3), controlled by a turning signal (4), which can be activated by approaching buses to turn red on their approach (or some other signal to indicate to left turning vehicles that a bus is approaching from behind so they are not to make a turn). This still allows for vehicles to turn left, and even maintains an advanced green for turning, while also allowing buses to reduce times at intersections.

Intersections with stations function slightly differently than those without stations. The bus still has a dedicated lane (1), and a specialized signal (4), but now, where the left turning vehicle lane was before, there is now a transit station (3). The station can include shelters and other infrastructure to shelter waiting passengers (even barriers to separate them from adjacent traffic), greatly enhancing rider comfort. The station also serves as a pedestrian refuge for crossing the intersection (2), which can help elderly pedestrians who may not be able to cross a regular intersection in time (and also serves as a waiting area for departed passengers to cross the intersection). The station is created by jogging the bus lane (5), and using the left turning vehicle lane for the station itself. This jog does cause buses to slow down at intersections, but seeing as they will slow down to stop at the station anyway, this isn’t a big problem. The biggest downside to intersections with stations is that it considerably reduces opportunities for vehicles turning left, as the turning lane is eliminated. As such, stations should be located at intersections where left turns can either be eliminated, or where they are less of a priority (6 Street NW, for example). However, at intersections such as Centre Street, where the station must be located at the intersection in order to facilitate transfers to other transit lines (such as the North Central LRT), the left turning vehicles have to be accommodated by other means.

With a little creative design, some paint, some plastic barriers, specialized traffic signals, and what amounts to a raised curb with some shelters and barriers for stations, we can create an effective Bus Rapid Transit route on 16 Avenue N. The amount of disruption to the existing road is minimal, as the only significant new infrastructure are the stations themselves (and they won’t be that expensive), so the overall capital costs are low. The loss or reduction of left hand turns at station intersections is a downside, but the benefits are enormous. The route connects to major employment and educational centres (SAIT, U of C, Foothills Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Peter Lougheed Hospital) as well as important commercial areas (North Hill Centre, Sunridge Mall, Motel Village, 16 Avenue N itself), and it not only makes these areas accessible to people living along the route, but because of the integration with three LRT lines, it connects any Calgarian with access to the primary transit system to these areas. Finally, although not something we’ve discussed as of yet, because of the design of the lanes and stations, the route is upgradable. That is to say, it can be converted in the future into rail. While this may not happen tomorrow, it is something to think about.

We’ll leave you with the last image below to help you visualize what this might look like. Enjoy.