How to build a crosswalk (a GREAT one!)

Thanks for watching!!

[MathieuTechMoto]

Thank you for the video, Raised crosswalks should be a mandatory standard everywhere !

[CanCobb]

First off, love the Calgary bicycling video! Sorry, just throwing some SEO in there for you.

Have you considered breaking out the channels and having one specific to our city? I think humane cities is a great chanel and you will go far with this. I also think Calgary is a rapidly growing city and you have a perspective that is useful for people who live here, will move here, or visit here. Maybe you've looked into already. If you ever want some B roll I would do my best to shoot some although I have no training in camera work.

Lastly, I was hoping to see the crane dropping down the bicycling overpass of Anderson road. I happened to drive near that when they were putting it in, and it was pretty incredible. These overpasses may be vehicle infrastructure, but as a cyclist I love them! I live South of Glenmore and so biking over to the North Glenmore Park or the one by Rockyview is incredibly useful for us cyclists down here. I don't know a comprehensive list of this infrastructure type, but I would DEFINITELY classify it for bikes too. I'm sure you've used them yourself given the other content I've seen here. I think pedestrians normally completely avoid this type of crossing for commuting purposes; plenty use them for recreational running or walking. If I ever needed to be on foot and had to go North of Glenmore, I would 100% take the train or bus.

I do think we have to consider fundamental differences between Alberta and the East Coast or Europe: water. our water only exists in very limited places here. Calgary and Edmonton are lush because of public water infrastructure. They would be quite grassy otherwise except for the riverbanks.

They certainly could have designed Calgary differently 100 years ago. But the reason it's like this is because of the young age of our city: almost ALL of Calgary developed after the automobile existed. The only parts of Calgary that existed 100 years ago was the immediate 4km North and South of the core: McKnight to Glenmore and Crowchild to the Bow River/Nose Creek (definitely before Deerfoot existed!). And then Ogden. The European and East Coast cities predate the automobile by hundreds of years.

There's a book you would enjoy by Robert Gordon called The Rise and Fall of American Growth. There is extensive information of the population shift that happened after the automobile was invented. It took place continent wide in older cities; for newer ones, it brought their populations to them.

Long term, I expect you're going to see Calgary "fill in, " with MUCH greater density than it currently has. People are surprised at this, but the City of Calgary has greater density than the Greater Toronto Area by about 30%; granted, that's comparing a metropolitan region to a single city. People are often surprised at the land area of Calgary, though: Greater Calgary is as much land as the entire Lower Mainland. The zoning changes will eventually have a big impact here with housing possibilities that didn't exist before.

I think eventually you'll see a C-Train running in the Stoney Median. The limiting factor will be water: the Alberta government is confronting that in real time this year.

[Shifter_Cycling]

I love those continuous sidewalks, and I hope they become the default method for building streets. They just make so much sense. And a big shout-out for mentioning those historic concrete stamps on the sidewalks here in Calgary. I love how they capture a moment in time. Great video!

[juliansmith]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels this way about walking in a city. It sure feels that way sometimes.
I'll watch more of your videos.

[Aidan_Au]

Good news Alex! Not Just Bikes 's podcast mentioned your channel and your car cost of ownership video!
Jason from NJB and RMTransit were on this episode. They talked about it at 31:49.
So much Canadian love! That video was also the first video I found yours

[nicthedoor]

The only thing I like better than raised crass walks is this guy telling me about them.

I noticed in Japan just how few sidewalks they have on many many streets. Streets are for people and it shows with the amount of pedestrians and people in cars driving cautiously.

[AustinSersen]

You did it. You found a sidewalk older than my find. Kudos!

[jacqu]

Submitting a request on the 311 app also helps! Not sure if you’ve tried that as well!

[spikethea]

I've never seen Birmingham England look that nice before 😂

[Paint_The_Future]

One of the things I don't like about the crosswalks in Calgary that are different from the crossings in the UK is that, in the UK, there is no time when cars are overlapping with pedestrians. In Canada, cars are constantly going over the crosswalk when pedestrians are trying to cross. It leads to short delays, and having to be constantly diligent about what cars are about to run me over. They're also way too long in-between crossing opportunities. Although one thing I do like about Calgary's crossings that the UK doesn't have is the countdown. That's neat.

[mikko.g]

Driveway curb cutouts are a nightmare for wheelchairs, those are 100% for cars. The ONLY type of crosswalk we should be doing is raised crosswalks.. including over driveways.

[Aidan_Au]

I'm a human and like Alex's videos!

[josiahmangum]

I feel so much more comfortable spending time out in an area without cars, aside from the noise and smell I just feel safer. Patio dining is great but when cars are speeding by just half a meter from you it’s kind of terrifying

[sanderjansen]

It took around 3.13 min before the Netherlands is used in a great example how roads infrastructure is mean to be 😂😂😂

[blondeenosauce]

Hey are you aware of More Neighbors Calgary? Love your channel!

[eugenetswong]

I'm disappointed that the crosswalk in the thumbnail wasn't ideal. 😀 Great video, though.

[Aidan_Au]

Yeah imagine outdoor dinning while inhaling car
That def takes my breath away

[seanrobbins]

The thing is. Cars need to beavle to get and park at or near the human centric areas. If places are to far or takes too long to get to people wont go there.

[AardvarkDK]

As a non-human I found this video completely useless.