The City of Calgary’s existing long-range plans for mass transit expansion include a light rail corridor integrated with a segment of the southern arc of the Transportation and Utility Corridor, the land reservation in which provincial Highway 22X runs, although the “Chaparral Area Structure Plan” takes pains to note that conceding that these long-range plans exist “[does] not imply a commitment to construct the LRT to serve Chaparral or any other community south of Midnapore” (City of Calgary, 1988a:5). While a four-lane motorway with plans for its widening would not be the first choice of location for most observers looking for places to put light rail stations, the existence of the Transportation and Utility Corridor does at least provide a direct route which, with judicious use, would ease the implementation of a light rail connection between the C-Train’s south and southeast legs. Where the challenge lies is in bringing enough of this connection to within a reasonable distance of its users to make it convenient to use in the broader context of future extensions bringing a wider variety of passengers and key destinations into the line’s range.
The initial phase of Line 207 would start from a metro interchange with Auburn Bay Station on Line 203, and proceed generally to the northwest for 500 metres underground before emerging onto a surface right of way within the Transportation and Utility Corridor and continuing for 3,300 metres to Cranston Station, at the Highway 22X interchange with Cranston Boulevard SE, and for a further 2,500 metres to Chaparral Station, slightly east of the interchange with Chaparral Boulevard SE. The line would then cross Highway 22X and enter a dedicated surface right of way in the median of Sun Valley Boulevard SE, travelling 3,600 metres to Midnapore Station, at the junction with Midlake Boulevard SE, and a further 1,200 metres to an underground portal crossing beneath Macleod Trail South and arriving after a 500-metre run at a metro interchange with Somerset/Bridlewood Station on Line 201.
The total capital investment required for the first phase of Line 207 comes to $830-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $42-million from 2039 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2036 to 2038 in three instalments of $277-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Marquis of Lorne Metro Track and Way of 1.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $155-million
plus two metro stations (Auburn Bay, Somerset/Bridlewood)
@ $92-million each: $184-million
The initial phase of Line 207 would start from a metro interchange with Auburn Bay Station on Line 203, and proceed generally to the northwest for 500 metres underground before emerging onto a surface right of way within the Transportation and Utility Corridor and continuing for 3,300 metres to Cranston Station, at the Highway 22X interchange with Cranston Boulevard SE, and for a further 2,500 metres to Chaparral Station, slightly east of the interchange with Chaparral Boulevard SE. The line would then cross Highway 22X and enter a dedicated surface right of way in the median of Sun Valley Boulevard SE, travelling 3,600 metres to Midnapore Station, at the junction with Midlake Boulevard SE, and a further 1,200 metres to an underground portal crossing beneath Macleod Trail South and arriving after a 500-metre run at a metro interchange with Somerset/Bridlewood Station on Line 201.
The total capital investment required for the first phase of Line 207 comes to $830-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $42-million from 2039 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2036 to 2038 in three instalments of $277-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:
Marquis of Lorne Metro Track and Way of 1.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $155-million
plus two metro stations (Auburn Bay, Somerset/Bridlewood)
@ $92-million each: $184-million
Marquis of Lorne Surface Track and Way of 9.00 km
@ $25-million per km: $225-million
plus three surface stations (Cranston, Chaparral, Midnapore)
@ $10-million each: $ 30-million
Corridor Yard: $200-million
Rolling Stock of 32 LRVs (Avanto)
@ $4-million each: $128-million
Although accommodations for connecting transit routes, passenger parking, and pedestrian access to light rail stations are to varying degrees limited in the design of this initial phase of Line 207, it nevertheless offers some critical advantages to the communities it is intended to serve. Phase I provides additional connectivity to the C-Train network as a whole by providing a direct link in the southern reaches of Calgary between Lines 201 and 203, and brings the formerly isolated communities of Chaparral and Cranston into an at least tangential connection to the city’s mass transit network. Also, by utilising a reasonable mix of in-median service through Midnapore and Shawnessy in conjunction with a surface right of way “in an easterly direction along the south side of Marquis of Lorne Trail” (City of Calgary, 1988a:5), this initial phase splits the proverbial difference between serving passengers with readily available access and taking advantage of readily available rights of way adjacent to Highway 22X. The primary benefit of the first phase of Line 207, however, is that it provides a central arterial starting location from which it becomes possible to build more effective connectivity and more robust ridership in the implementation of Line 207’s second phase.
Works Cited
City of Calgary (1988a). “Chaparral Area Structure Plan”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/planning/pdf/chaparral_asp.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment