Speed limit reductions: they're just one small part of The City's traffic safety strategy

This week, Calgary City Council voted in favour of several new traffic safety initiatives, including consideration of speed-reductions in residential areas, specifically on un-marked side-streets.

As a result, over the next year, we’ll be researching the benefits and costs of reducing speeds on these roads to either 30 km/h or 40 km/h, and providing opportunities for you to give us feedback.

While this will be an important conversation, our Safer Mobility Plan is not just about reducing speeds. We’ve implemented safety programs and pilots that aim to keep pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and vehicle occupants all safer on Calgary streets.

Here’s a look at some of the work we’re doing:

Adaptive Sidewalks

An adaptive sidewalk
along 73 Street SW

In 2017 and 2018, we built four adaptive sidewalks as a way to provide a safe, dedicated space for pedestrians by altering streets.

Adaptive sidewalks are used where there’s no existing sidewalk, or we can’t build a traditional one. They’re intended for pedestrians, including people who use mobility scooters, wheelchairs, strollers or children under the age of 14 on bicycles.

As part of the Pedestrian Strategy, we are also looking for ways to build missing connections within the sidewalk network. Adaptive sidewalks will help eliminate some of the sidewalk gaps or missing links that exist in our sidewalk network. Providing these connections will help people walking to safely connect to the destinations they are travelling to.

Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI)

The STEP FORWARD action framework

We are currently doing a trial on Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI), which is another of the actions of Calgary’s pedestrian strategy.

The Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) is a technique of timing traffic signals to give pedestrians an advanced walk signal. These give pedestrians a 3-7 second head start over turning vehicles, allowing them to clear the crosswalk earlier and keeping them safer when navigating intersections.  

LPIs also enhance the visibility of pedestrians in the intersection and reinforce pedestrian right-of-way over turning vehicles, especially in locations with a history of conflicts. LPIs have been shown to reduce pedestrian-vehicle collisions as much as 60% at treated intersections.

LPIs are being implemented at several locations across Calgary so that we can study their performance locally.

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs)

An RRFB at a crosswalk

Since 2012, The City has installed 131 pedestrian RRFBs (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons) at crosswalks across Calgary. These flashing light crossings are expected to improve vehicle-yielding compliance to pedestrians and pedestrian safety. 

Calgary is the national leader in implementation of RRFBs and we received the Transportation Association of Canada Road Safety Engineering Award for the RRFB Pilot. In the next several years, we’ll evaluate the RRFBs to see what safety benefits they provide in terms of collisions and injury reduction.

Traffic calming curbs

Installing traffic calming curbs

Over the past three years, we’ve installed temporary traffic calming curbs (yellow, oval concrete blocks) at more than 60 locations, including intersections and corridors.  Traffic calming curbs have been shown to reduce speeds, reduce pedestrian crossing distance, improve pedestrian visibility (resulting in improved vehicle yielding to pedestrians), improve stop sign compliance, and reduce collisions.

We’ll continue to monitor the effectiveness of these curbs and make recommendations on more permanent solutions moving forward.

Automated/video-based conflict analysis (VBCA)

We are trialing the new automated video-based conflict analysis technology which is capable of analyzing video recordings of an roadway to examine collision data between road users. This new source of data is particularly useful in studying interactions involving vulnerable road users, which are often less frequent, but of high severity. In addition, details of events leading up to a conflict help us understand site conditions and choose the most appropriate solution to resolve the issue.

VBCA can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of trials of new and emerging countermeasures and enables automated data collection techniques, such as volume counts, speed measurements, and violations.

School Zone/Playground zone harmonization

Between 2014 and 2016, we changed 197 school zones into playground zones to make the rules clearer for Calgarians. A study by the University of Calgary found that the harmonization resulted in a reduction in speeds and an increase in speed compliance is linked to improved safety for all road users.

After these areas were turned into playground zones, we found:

• The mean speed decreased from 36 km/h to 30 km/h.
• Overall, the number of collisions involving pedestrians within school and playground zones decreased by 33%, with a 70% decrease between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Additional work

Other improvements made to improve traffic, pedestrian and cyclist safety include:

• Continuing to review high pedestrian-collision locations and implementing improvements, which include signal improvements, ladder crosswalks, lighting improvements, among others.
• Installing supplementary side-mounter flashers at pedestrian corridor (overhead flasher) crosswalks to improve safety and visibility.
• Piloting fluorescent yellow-green pedestrian crosswalk signs as part of a national TAC study.
• Implementing and investigating reflective sleeves at pedestrian crosswalks.  So far, findings indicated a positive impact to yielding compliance.
• Expanding the SLOWS program – these are the speed trailers on the side of the road that shows motorists how fast they are going.

Provide your input at our Traffic Safety Meetings

In 2019, The City will engage Calgarians on recommendations to change the speed on some residential roads to either 30 km/h or 40 km/h.

Prior to that, we will continue to hold Ward Traffic Safety Meetings at which you will have an opportunity to provide us with your thoughts on speed, traffic calming, playground zones and trouble spots.

And you do not need to live in the Ward to attend these meetings – they are open to everyone. For more information about these meetings including dates, times and locations, visit the Ward Traffic Safety Meetings page on Calgary.ca

During Road Safety Week, Calgary motorists reminded that speeding can be fatal

The City is reminding drivers to slow down during Road Safety Week this year.

Tony Churchill, Leader of Traffic Safety at Roads, says speeding, even a little, can greatly reduce safety for you, your passengers, and others outside your vehicle.

“Some drivers believe it’s okay to speed a little – that as long as they aren’t speeding more than 5-10 km/h over the limit, they will be safe,” says Churchill. “But the data shows this is not true. Driving just 10 km/h over the limit can impact your reaction time and increase the risk of collision as much as driving impaired by alcohol at the legal limit.”

 

The City takes collisions very seriously and uses data like this to make adjustments where we can to improve safety on Calgary’s roads, he adds.

According to Road Safety Vision 2010, 17% of all road users killed annually were traveling at excessive speeds. Calgary-specific data shows that excessive speeding was a factor in an average of 13% of casualty collisions over a 5-years span.

“Speeding reduces the time available to perceive and react to hazards, and increases the distance required for a vehicle to stop.” Churchill says.

On average, 94 collisions occur in Calgary each day. While this may seem high, it is an improvement over past decades. The fatality collision rate has declined by 45% in the past 20 years which is believed to be due to better road design and traffic calming, safety education, increased enforcement and because more people are taking transit.

Despite a relatively good traffic safety record, The City’s traffic safety team is continuing to work hard to make Calgary roads safer by implementing the Safer Mobility Plan.

“We have done a lot in the last few years to improve safety as described in the Calgary Safer Mobility Plan. We are already busy planning out our actions for the next five years and we’re looking forward to strengthening our Vision Zero approach while maintaining realistically aggressive targets for improvement.”

The actions The City has taken to implement the five-year Safer Mobility Plan include: Road Safety Audits, In-Service Road Safety Reviews, development of the Pedestrian Strategy and implementation of measures to mitigate identified collision issues.

To learn more, visit Calgary.ca/trafficsafety.

Labour Day weekend construction - what commuters need to know.

Long weekends are an opportune time to get construction done without impacting the 9-5 weekday commuters. While motorists may notice several projects around Calgary, these closures can happen for a variety of reasons.

Paving

This weekend, paving continues on Silver Ridge Drive N.W., 14 Street N.W. and Edmonton Trail N.W. Keep in mind this work is weather dependent and rain could cause delays. For more information on paving, visit Calgary.ca/paving.

• Edmonton Trail N.E. will be reduced to a single lane in each direction between 4 Avenue N.E. and 16 Avenue N.E. from 5 am to 10 pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday this weekend.
• 14 Street N.W. has moved into phase 3 of 4 of paving work – traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Kensington Road to 5 Avenue N.W.
• Silver Ridge Drive N.W. will be closed to through-traffic between Silvercrest Drive N.W.  and Silvercrest Crescent N.W. beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday. This closure remains in place until 7 p.m. on Monday and accommodates paving work.

LRT Maintenance Work

LRT maintenance work will occur on 14 Avenue N.W. This will affect certain bus/train routes, for more information visit calgarytransit.com.

• 14 Avenue N.W. is closed between 14 Street N.W. and 19 Street N.W. beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday. This closure continues until 11:59 p.m. on Monday and accommodates LRT maintenance work.

Water Services utility work

48 Avenue N.W. is reduced to a single lane in each direction at 23 Avenue N.W. and there will be no access to westbound 23 Avenue N.W. via 48 Avenue N.W. This closure remains in place until 8 p.m. on Sunday. Local access will be maintained in the area. This closure accommodates water services utility work.

• Elbow Drive is closed at 75 Avenue S.W. beginning at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 2). This closure remains in place until 5 a.m. on Monday and accommodates water services utility replacement. Motorists will be detoured around the closure via signage, and are advised to expect delays and use alternate routes when available.

Deep underground utility work

• 5 Avenue S.W. is closed between Centre Street and 1 Street S.W. beginning at 7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 2.) This closure remains in place until 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
• There will be a two-way setup on 4 Avenue S.E. between 1 Street S.W. and 1 Street S.E. beginning at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 2). This setup accommodates a detour around construction at Centre Street S, which will be closed between 4 Avenue S.E. and 6 Avenue S.E. during this time. This closure remains in place until 5 a.m. on Tuesday and accommodates deep utility work. Motorists are advised to expect delays and use alternate routes when possible.

Road paving is heating up - long weekend construction blog

Heading into the long-weekend, paving is heating up across the city.

“Paving is essential for maintaining our roadways. It helps restore a smooth surface and keeps the base layers intact to prevent costly and large impact roadwork from happening down the line,” says Chris McGeachy, Communication Advisor, Roads.

The long weekend is always an excellent opportunity for crews to get work done without the large volume of 9-5 traffic during the week. Here are some areas where motorists can expect delays this weekend:

NE

• Edmonton Trail is being paved from 16 Avenue N.E. to 42 Avenue N.E. on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Motorists can expect a single lane of traffic in each direction during the work.

NW

• Crowchild Trail N.W. will have lane reductions in both directions at the University LRT Station beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 30. Motorists can expect reduced speeds and delays in the area. This closure remains in place until 4 a.m. on Monday, August 1.
• Banff Trail N.W. will be closed to all northbound traffic at 16 Avenue N.W. beginning at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29. This closure continues through 4 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2 and accommodates work on the Banff Trail C-Train station.
• The exit ramp from northbound Crowchild Trail N.W. to Northland Drive N.W. is closed beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 28. This closure continues until 10 p.m. on Monday, August 1 and accommodates paving.
• Centre Street N will be reduced to a single lane in each direction at 31 and 32 Avenue N.W. beginning on Saturday, July 30 at 6 a.m. This closure continues until Sunday, July 31 at 8 p.m. and accommodates utility work.

SE

• Centre Street S is closed between 6 Avenue and 8 Avenue S.E. beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 29. This closure continues until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2 and accommodates construction.

SW

• Anderson Road S.W. will be paved between 14 Street S.W. and Macleod Trail. There will be various lane closures along this stretch daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. beginning on Saturday, July 30. These closures also occur daily during these hours on Sunday, July 31 and Monday, August 1. Motorists should expect delays in the area and use alternate routes when possible.
• 17 Avenue S.W. between 8 Street and 9 Street S.W. will be closed beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 29. This closure continues until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2 and accommodates deep utility installation. Eastbound traffic will be detoured to north and southbound 9 Street S.W. to 14 Avenue S.W. Westbound traffic will be detoured north of 8 Street to 14 Avenue S.W. and south on 9 Street to 17 Avenue S.W.

Intersection Approach Paving

From 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 there will be a various lane closures in certain intersections as part of the intersection approach paving program. Motorists should expect delays in the area.

• 16 Avenue at 6 Street N.E.
• 16 Avenue at Deerfoot Trail
• Memorial Drive at Deerfoot Trail

For more information on all these projects and more, visit Calgary.ca/paving.

Long weekend construction closures: July 1 - July 3

Long weekends give us the opportunity to get extra work in and minimize the disruption to commuters.
In addition to some ongoing large infrastructure projects such as the Trans-Canada Highway/ Bowfort Road N.W. Interchange, the Glenmore Trail / Ogden Road S.E. Interchange, the Crowchild Trail/Flanders Avenue S.W. and the Macleod Trail 162 Avenue S projects, there are a number of other projects happening which Calgarians should be aware of. Keep in mind, weather can play a factor in construction, and schedules can change due to inclement weather.

Northeast

Edmonton Trail is scheduled for paving this weekend, weather permitting. Motorists will be impacted on Saturday and Sunday.

• Edmonton Trail N.E. is reduced to a single lane in each direction from 16 Avenue N.E. to 14 Avenue N.E. from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 2.
• Edmonton Trail N.E. is reduced to a single lane in each direction between 14 Avenue N.E. and 4 Avenue N.E. from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 2.
• Edmonton Trail N.E. is reduced to a single lane in each direction between 5 Avenue N.E. and Memorial Drive from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 3.

For more information visit Calgary.ca/paving.


Southeast

• Barlow Trail between 50 Avenue S.E. and 61 Avenue S.E. will be closed from 6 a.m. Friday, July 1 until 9:00 p.m. Saturday, July 2 for C.P Rail replacement, paving repairs and concrete work. Local traffic will be detoured to 52 Street S.E. via 50 Avenue S.E. and 61 Avenue S.E. to bypass the construction. Alternate routes are recommended as delays are expected.
• Northbound Bonaventure Drive S.E. is reduced to a single lane north of Lake Bonavista Drive S.E. beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, July 1. This closure continues until 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 2 and accommodates road work.

Southwest

• 2 Street S.W. is closed between 15 Avenue and 18 Avenue S.W. beginning at 7 a.m. on Friday, July 1. This closure remains in place until 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 3 and accommodates construction.
• 14 Street S.W. is reduced to a single lane in each direction between 17 Avenue S.W. and 19 Avenue S.W. beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 2. This closure continues until 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 3 and accommodates construction.

We would like to thank motorists for their patience during road construction, and remind them to slow down in construction zones. For more information on road closures, visit Calgary.ca/trafficinfo, or for up to the minute closure information, follow @yyctransport on Twitter.

Scary near-miss a reminder to all Calgarians to slow down in construction zones



Imagine walking down the hallway to the office photocopier and having to check both directions for speeding vehicles. Picture yourself sitting at your desk and feeling the tailwind of cars speeding by. For many of our construction crews, this is a day-to-day reality. 

Michael Dejewski and Raiden Marshall experienced a near miss recently

Sometimes the feeling is too close for comfort. In early May, Traffic employees Raiden Marshall and Michael Dejewski were marking lanes by 68 Street and 16 Avenue N.E. While Raiden was setting up the equipment, Michael was setting down the last of the cones placed behind their trailer and light board to alert traffic work was happening. It was at this moment when a speeding vehicle encroached the pair’s workspace.

“As soon as I heard the screech I yelled at Raiden,” recounts Michael. “The car swerved around the trailer, I don’t know if it skimmed it or clipped the trailer, it all happened so fast, but the vehicle hit the curb, went airborne, came to a brief stop and then sped off.”

Remarkably, the vehicle landed between Raiden and the Roads truck, yet it was still too close for comfort he says. “It’s scary — all you can do is react. The adrenaline was going at that point, when I heard Michael yell, and the screech of the vehicle, you know something bad is coming your way.”

While this might be an extreme case, the notion among those who work on the road is the same no matter who you ask. The road is a dangerous place to begin with, and those who ignore construction zone signage are making the problem worse.

What would Michael and Raiden like to see from motorists? “A little more sensitivity,” says Raiden. Michael adds, “when you see signs, understand that crews might be working in and around those areas.”

"My Dad Works Here" returns in 2016

Following Stampede, the "My Dad Works Here" campaign will kick off again in Calgary. The campaign features the children and grandchildren of Water Services and Roads employees and is aimed at reminding Calgarians that the people working out in the construction zones have families that they want to get home safely to at the end of the day.

Please remember, when you are out and about on the roads, pay attention and slow down when driving through construction zones or near a City or emergency vehicle. Our fellow employees work there.

For more information, visit calgary.ca/constructionzonesafety

Long weekend construction closures: May 20-23, 2016

Construction in full swing this long-weekend

Roads Construction work is an essential part in keeping Calgary’s roadways safe and in good condition. As construction zones are work spaces that often require lower speeds and narrowed lanes to maintain safety, motorists are reminded to slow down in construction zones or avoid these areas if possible.

While construction has been happening in our city for few months already, thanks to this year’s mild winter, the May long-weekend is officially the beginning of construction season.

In addition to some ongoing large infrastructure projects such as the Trans Canada Highway/ Bowfort Road N.W. Interchange, the Glenmore Trail and Ogden Road S.E. Interchange, Crowchild/Flanders Avenue Interchange , Macleod Trail / 162 Avenue S Interchange and the Government of Alberta’s Ivor Strong Bridge Rehabilitation on Deerfoot Trail S.E., there will be a number of smaller projects happening throughout Calgary this weekend that could have an impact on your commute.

Northeast

• The ramps from southbound 36 Street N.E. and Sunridge Way N.E. to westbound 16 Avenue N.E. will be closed for four hours starting at 10 p.m. this Saturday, May 21 for road construction.
• The ramps from eastbound 16 Avenue N.E. to northbound and southbound 36 Street N.E. will be closed from 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 to 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 22 for road construction.
• The left lane of both northbound and southbound Edmonton Trail N.E. are closed from 4 Avenue N.E. to 8 Avenue N.E. from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. A similar closure occurs from 8 Avenue to 16 Avenue N.E. from 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. These closures accommodates construction.

Northwest

• 13 Avenue N.W. will be closed at Centre Street N beginning at 8 p.m. tonight (May 20). During this closure, the southbound lanes of Centre Street N will be closed at 13 Avenue N.W. and a two-way setup will be in place in the northbound lanes. This closure remains in place until 5 a.m. on Monday, May 23 and accommodates construction.
• 5 Avenue N.W. will be closed between Crowchild Trail N.W. and 23 Street N.W. beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, May 21. This closure remains in place until 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 22 and accommodates utility work.

Southeast

• 84 Street S.E. will be closed at 50 Avenue S.E. beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, May 21. This closure continues until 6 p.m. on Monday, May 23 and accommodates railway crossing work.
• 3 Street S.E. will be closed between 6 Avenue and 9 Avenue S.E. beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 21. This closure continues until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24 and accommodates Transit work.
• 6 Avenue S.E. will be closed between 4 and 5 Streets S.E. beginning at 7 p.m. tonight (May 20). During this closure the right lane and adjacent sidewalk of northbound 4 Street S.E. will be closed at 6 Avenue S.E. This closure continues until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24 and accommodates Transit work.
• The right lane of eastbound 26 Avenue S.E. will be closed east of 11 Street S.E. beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 21. This closure continues to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 22 and accommodates construction.

Southwest

• Eastbound 10 Avenue S.W. will be closed with a two-way setup in the westbound lanes between 7 Street and 8 Street S.W. beginning at 9 a.m. tonight (May 20). This closure accommodates Water Services work and remains in place until 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 22.
• 10 Avenue S.W. will be closed between 5 Street S.W. and 6 Street S.W. from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 for utility work.
• Northbound 11 Street S.W. will be closed and the southbound lanes reduced to a single lane between 8 Avenue and 9 Avenue S.W. starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 21. During this closure, the two left lanes of 9 Avenue S.W. will be closed at 11 Street S.W. This closure remains in place until 7 p.m. on Monday, May 23 and accommodates utility work.

For more information or to see all the road/lane closures happening this weekend, visit calgary.ca/trafficinfo

New traffic calming device invented right here at The City of Calgary

Creating safe streets for Calgarians to walk, bike and drive on is a top priority at The City of Calgary. The traffic calming program is meant to address existing and measurable traffic problems in a community. Community traffic studies are conducted to determine what traffic management measures can be taken to encourage safe driving by slowing down the speed of motorists.

Senior Traffic Safety Engineer
 Tony Churchill

All too often though, Senior Traffic Safety Engineer, Tony Churchill was getting requests for traffic calming in communities across the city that he was unable to fulfill for a variety of reasons including cost.

“There are a lot of traffic calming measures such as curb extensions, small roundabouts and median islands that become quite cost-prohibitive due to pavement work, drainage issues and underground utilities,” Churchill said.

So, Tony decided to come up with a solution. He looked at the geometry of many common traffic calming measures and developed an oval shaped, low profile concrete unit that could be placed in a variety of ways to create the same results of other, more expensive, traffic calming measures.

These new traffic calming curbs are a cost-effective method that can be used to quickly address traffic calming issues.

“The goal of the traffic calming curbs is to change the geometry of the road in a way that feels safer and also results in fewer collisions resulting in injury or fatality for all of Calgary’s road users,” Churchill said.

Traffic Calming Curbs being installed on
Child Avenue N.E. in Bridgeland.

The curbs will be used to provide temporary traffic calming measures in communities where permanent solutions have not been budgeted for. They have been designed to withstand exposure to the elements and snow and ice control materials like salt and gravel and weigh over 1,700 pounds to prevent them from moving. They are also made out of yellow cement to make them easier to see and more visually appealing.

The traffic calming curbs are currently being piloted for effectiveness. For now, The City will begin using them on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit where issues have already been identified and traffic calming is required but cannot be immediately installed due to budget or other construction constraints. Once the pilot for the curbs has been completed and standards for their use have been determined there may be more opportunity for citizens to request them in their communities.

For more information on The City’s traffic calming program visit Calgary.ca.