Designs for Crowchild Trail changes and upgrades unveiled

It’s been a source of frustration for Calgary drivers for years.

Now it appears there are solutions on the way to alleviate the congestion on Crowchild Trail between 24th Avenue northwest and 17th Avenue southwest.

The plan includes short and long term ideas, including the widening of the bridge over the Bow River.

After loads of feedback from the public, the city has come up with a plan to widen the bridge by two lanes and change the ramps so less lane changes are necessary.

Project Manager for the Crowchild Trail study Feisal Lakha says they have received a lot of feedback from the public.

“One of the things that we see and have heard throughout this study is the bottle neck point, which is the Bow River bridges and what we are able to do by adding lanes helping alleviate the lane drops and adding the continuous lanes all the way through,” said Lakha.

Lakha says along with adding two lanes over the bridges there will be changes made to the ramps in the area.

“The ramps from downtown currently enter northbound on the inside in the median lane. We can now confirm that because of the work we have done we can flip those ramps to the outside.”

They hope to leverage the proposed changes with the rehabilitation currently being done on the bridge.

Lakha says the recommendations also include short terms plans to reduce congestion

“Restricting left-turns during peak hours, Kensington Road and Crowchild Trail is a good example of that where we see a lot of traffic during the peak hours.”

There is still time for the public to comment on the designs before they go to City Council for approval in November.

You can comment online by clicking here or attending one of the open houses.

Open House #1 – Saturday, October 1
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Sunalta School, Main Gym – 536 Sonora Ave. S.W.

Open House #2 – Monday, October 3
Time: 5 to 8 p.m.
Location: Red and White Club, McMahon Stadium – 1833 Crowchild Tr. N.W.

Phase 5: Drop-in session #1
When:Tue, 4 October, 11:00 – 14:00
Where:Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, 1820 Richmond Rd S.W.
Phase 5: Drop-in session #2
When: Wed, 5 October, 11:00 – 14:00
Where: University of Calgary, MacEwan Hall – Food Court

Phase 5: Drop-in session #3
When:Wed, 5 October, 15:30 – 18:30
Where:Brentwood Village Shopping Centre, 4122 Brentwood Rd N.W.

Phase 5: Drop-in session #4
When: Thu, 6 October, 11:00 – 14:00
Where:Foothills Medical Centre, 1403 29 St N.W.