Calgary’s connections to the formerly sovereign town of Bowness date back almost a century to 1911, when developer John Hextall donated the current Bowness Park lands and built a bridge over the Bow River in exchange for a tram line to Calgary (City of Calgary, 1995a:7). Bowness would join the towns of Montgomery and Forest Lawn in amalgamating with the City of Calgary in the 1960s, but their distinct identities, their responsiveness to public transportation, and their at times vexing proximity to major roadways leading to the east and west from the boundaries of the unified city give them common ground nearly fifty years onward. In the interest of enhancing the special relationship Calgarians share with these formerly independent communities, and with the aim of strengthening the efficiency and the vitality of their transit connections, Line 206 will strike most observers as a particularly useful addition to Calgary’s light rail transit network.
The initial phase of Line 206 would commence at Bowness Station, a surface level platform at the intersection of Bowness Road and 77 Street NW. From there, the line would proceed in a dedicated surface right of way along Bowness Road NW, travelling 3,600 metres to Montgomery Station, at the junction with 46 Street NW, and then 1,600 metres to Point McKay Station, at the intersection with Point Drive NW, and a further 1,400 metres to a grade-separated interchange with Line 204 at Parkdale Station. At that point, the line would follow Parkdale Avenue and Kensington Road NW for 1,200 metres to West Hillhurst Station, where Kensington Road meets 22 Street NW, and for another 1,100 metres to Westmount Station, at the intersection with 16 Street NW. Line 206 would then enter an underground portal to tunnel underneath 14 Street NW and the Bow River, travelling south and east for 1,100 metres to arrive at Armoury Station, a metro interchange with 11 Street Station on Line 202 located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues SW just east of 11 Street SW. Proceeding from that location underneath Ninth Avenue SW, Line 206 would continue underground for 500 metres to Eighth Street Station; for 400 metres to Fifth Street Station, interchanging with Line 201; for 300 metres to Third Street Station, forming the southern pole of an interchange complex with Lines 201, 202, and 203; for 400 metres to Palliser Station, interchanging at that location with future commuter rail services; and for 800 metres to Edmonton Station, interchanging with Olympic Way Station on Line 203 and with future high-speed rail services. Line 206 would then cross underneath the Elbow River to emerge in a dedicated surface right of way in Ninth Avenue SE and travel for 1,600 metres in total to New Street Station, at the intersection with 13 Street SE, before continuing for 2,600 metres along the southern flank of Blackfoot Trail and then across it to Riverside Quays Station, at the junction of 17 Avenue and 17A Street SE. From that location, Line 206 would bridge the Bow River and Deerfoot Trail SE, travelling through a short underground portal to surface in a dedicated right of way in the median of 17 Avenue SE, proceeding for 2,000 metres to Radisson Heights Station, at the intersection with 31 Street SE, and then for 1,400 metres to 44 Street Station before ending 800 metres east of 44 Street SE at an underground interchange with Forest Lawn Station on Line 204.
The total capital investment required for the initial phase of Line 206 comes to $2,074-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $104-million from 2038 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2033 to 2037 in five instalments of $415-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Bowness/Forest Lawn Metro Track and Way of 4.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $620-million
plus eight metro stations (Parkdale, Armoury, Eighth Street, Fifth Street, Third Street, Palliser, Edmonton, Forest Lawn)
@ $92-million each: $736-million
The total capital investment required for the initial phase of Line 206 comes to $2,074-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $104-million from 2038 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2033 to 2037 in five instalments of $415-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Bowness/Forest Lawn Metro Track and Way of 4.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $620-million
plus eight metro stations (Parkdale, Armoury, Eighth Street, Fifth Street, Third Street, Palliser, Edmonton, Forest Lawn)
@ $92-million each: $736-million
Bowness/Forest Lawn Surface Track and Way of 12.00 km
@ $25-million per km: $300-million
plus nine surface stations (Bowness, Montgomery, Point McKay, 29 Street, West Hillhurst, Westmount, New Street, Riverside Quays, Radisson Heights, 44 Street)
@ $10-million each: $ 90-million
Hubalta Yard: $200-million
Rolling Stock of 32 LRVs (Avanto)
@ $4-million each: $128-million
In addition to enhancing the connectivity of the C-Train network within the downtown core and to restoring and improving historical transit linkages to Montgomery, Bowness, and Forest Lawn, the initial stage of Line 206 will generate additional redevelopment benefits within these communities. As a case in point, the “Montgomery Area Redevelopment Plan” highlights the “strategic importance” of the intersection of Bowness Road and 46 Street NW, the intended location of Montgomery Station, to “the objective of encouraging a transition to a pedestrian friendly mixed use (commercial/residential) area” (City of Calgary, 2005b:4). In a similar vein, the construction of Bowness Station at Bowness Road and 77 Street NW would be useful in the context of mitigating the “negative influence on the surrounding area” resulting from current land uses on the Bow Centre site (City of Calgary, 1995a:49) and improving the quality and the density of residential and commercial uses on the site. Perhaps the most profound improvement opportunity arising from the building of Line 206, though, would be the restoration of 17 Avenue SE as a retail and residential corridor, based on activities dating to 2004 engaging local residents and business owners with the aim of transforming the thoroughfare as far east as Rainbow Road “into high density, mixed use environments that utilize existing infrastructure” (T-Six Urbanists Inc., 2008:11).
Works Cited
City of Calgary (1995a). “Bowness Area Redevelopment Plan”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/planning/pdf/bowness_arp/bowness_arp_one.pdf
City of Calgary (2005b). “Montgomery Area Redevelopment Plan”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/montgomery_arp/montgomery_arp_one.pdf
T-Six Urbanists Inc. (2008). “Profile: January 2008”. URL as of 24 Jul 2008 http://www.tsix.ca/images/TSixProfile-Jan08lr.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment