Do you want to spend additional time commuting?
Do you want to spend more money on gas?
Do you want increased safety risk to your family and streets?
Do you know there are OPTIONS?!
There is strong opposition to the proposed closure of Rocky Ridge Road in June, 2009 by the residents of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak Community. The awareness is still low that this closure can be stopped with your support.
The Rocky Ridge Road Closure Community Committee (R3C3) has identified viable, financially responsible alternatives to the closure that will alleviate the tremendous increase in traffic flow, not to mention the vehicle and noise pollution and inherent safety risks to our children.
The current City of Calgary traffic volume statistics have not taken into consideration people from outside of the community directly traveling our five (5) primary access roads. Specifically, the Church-of-Latter-Day Saints temple, servicing 18,000 members weekly and the 500 seat expansion of the Royal Oak Victory Church or a percentage of the approximate 9,000 Cochrane commuters and North West commuters whose access who’s access to the new LRT station will be through Rocky Ridge. All three (3) Rocky Ridge Royal Oak churches are in firm opposition to this road closure.
The Province and City are striving for “easier access in and out of our NW communities” however, the road closure will not accomplish this. We need political help, please work with us to keep this access road open!
How you can help? Contact your City and Provincial politicians! Volunteer to canvas!
Thanks in advance for your time and passionate support – we can and must be heard!!!
-- Mary Ann Anderson - R3C3: Communications Subcommittee
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While I am curious to see what you propose, I must admit I suspect that the numbers you toss out are distorting the truth somewhat. First off, there are roughly 18,000 members of the LDS church in Calgary, however the temple is traditionally used for special services only and not weekly church service, so there will not be 18,000 people using it each week. Nor will there be 9,000 people from Cochrane trying to access the LRT station if you consider the 2008 traffic counts for Highway 1A west of 12 Mile, which showed an average of 16500 vehicles per day. Drop commercial traffic, and the several hundred residents of the NW communities that drive to Cochrane for work each day and split into 2 trips per person, that leaves only probably 7,500 vehicles and most of which do not, and are not likely to use the LRT at all, or will simply use Crowfoot as its much more convenient. I timed the route to get to the station site coming in from Cochrane soon after the station funding was announced, in the extra 5 minutes or so it took (with no virtually no traffic), I could have driven to Crowfoot, gotten on the train and been on my way.
ReplyDeleteFrom what i can see the City could not get approval to complete Conuntry Hills Boulevard and now is tryign to "patchwork" the project. I think a request to the City of Calgary under the Freedom of Information Act regarding documents pertaining to the extension of Country Holls Boulevard to Highway 1 a is in order.
ReplyDeleteSend a letter to the Office of the Premier
Room 307, Legislature Building
10800 - 97th Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427 225 Fax: (780) 427 1349
(here is a link to the contact webpage of the Premiers office – provide your opinions on this issues
http://premier.alberta.ca/contact/
Although on paper it would make sense to reroute traffic along 12 Mile Coulee Road to access Rocky Ridge Boulevard and Country Hills Boulevard, this is NOT what will occur. Indeed traffic routed from Crowchild Trail up 12 Mile Coulee Road will simply take a “short cut” up Rocky Valley Drive (the path of least resistance) to connect with Rocky Ridge Boulevard . There will be no motivation for vehicles attempting to access Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak to travel further up 12 Mile Coulee to Rocky Ridge Boulevard and Country Hills Boulevard. Any increase in traffic on Rocky Valley Drive will dramatically amplify the safety, noise, and quality of life issues, as Rocky Valley Drive was NOT at all designed for such traffic.
ReplyDeletePresently there are very significant safety and quality of life issues related to escalating traffic volumes along Rocky Valley Drive which include:
Private driveways accessing right onto Rocky Valley Drive posing a very serious safety issue for residents and commuting traffic. Children play on such driveways a few meters away from heavy traffic.
Rocky Valley Drive was not correctly designed as a primary feeder for present 4,000 cars and trucks that access it daily, let alone any further increases in traffic; homes were built right up against the road with no noise or safety buffer zones. In some instances resident’s backyards are less than two meters from the rumbling traffic.
The noise levels along Rocky Valley Drive are presently unbearable and most certainly higher than the City of Calgary policy design level of 60 bd (A).
There are significant speeding problems on a 24 hour basis along Rocky Valley Drive.
There are no identified cross-walks on Rocky Valley Drive, forcing senior citizens and children to seek the only safe crossings at the junctions of 12 Mile Coulee and Rocky Ridge Boulevard.
Rocky Valley Ridge is absolutely not correctly planned and designed to handle the “acceptable daily volumes” of 5,000 – 10,000 listed by the City of Calgary. Developers were never requested by the City to provide suitable “set-backs.”
The fact is the City’s published 10,000-30,000 “acceptable daily volumes” for Rocky Ridge Road has to go somewhere if it is closed – and it will NOT go up 12 Mile Coulee if vehicles are trying to access Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak. The present 15,110 cars and trucks that use Rocky Ridge Road daily will “short cut” up Rocky Valley Drive completely destroying the neighborhood of Rocky Valley Drive.
It appears the City is in toruble here on this project decision and should look at some of the proposals brought forward to keep Rocky Ridge Road open
I strongly recommend that Rocky Valley Drive be modified with a cul-de-sac at the junction of Rocky Ridge Boulevard, or cul-de-sac at other appropriate point, to calm traffic through this quiet community. Otherwise there could be some terrible collisions along here. I mean you cant even walk across it now, with theat type of traffic something is going to happen.
ReplyDeleteWith a cul-de-sac vehicles would not really be inconvenienced as they just have to go up 500 meters further up 12 Mile Coulee to access Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak communities off Country Hills Boulevard and
Rocky Ridge Boulevard.
A cul-de-sac on Rocky Valley Drive at Rocky Ridge Boulevard would cut off most of us in the community from easily accessing CO-OP! I think that's a terrible idea! The only way you could possibly think that's a good idea is if you live ON Rocky Valley Drive Drive!
ReplyDeleteI think all the intersections involved should definitely be upgraded and or calmed BEFORE the closure, but simply choking off some of the alternative routes will NOT solve any of the problems!
We want to find a solution that keeps our roads SAFE, not one that simply keeps traffic off YOUR road!
RR-man
Dear 'curious to see what we propose',
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response. We received the facts of "directly servicing" the 18,000 members from their announcement of the LDS temple of October 2009 (http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/calgary). Servicing in this context means that there are 18,000 members of the Church of Latter Day Saints throughout Calgary that at some point in time will travel to this temple - daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly or even annually. We have been in contact with representatives of the church that have told us that this temple will be used mostly throughout the week and actually will not be used Sundays at all because members of the temple will be going to their own churches within their own areas. So this statement does not mean that 18,000 members will be decending into Royal Oak on any given Sunday. Cochrane statistics have told us that approximately 60% of Cochrane commutes to Calgary every day. We are not stating that 9,000 Cochrane commuters will be descending into Rocky Ridge to use our "community" LRT each day. There will be a percentage of these commuters (a percentage that no one knows yet until the LRT is built) that will either be dropped off or will want to be the first to "get a seat." in the morning. With Dalhousie station being full by at the latest 7:30 in the morning, the City of Calgary believe that the approximately 1,000 parking spots at Crowfoot will be enough. Hopefully that is true, so that the Cochrane commuters will be directly accessing Crowfoot rather than the "Community" LRT station for Tuscany and Rocky Ridge/Royal Oak residents.
Thank you for your input,
Lauree Phillips representing R3C3