Does Crowchild Trail drive you crazy? Weigh in now on the city's options

This story was originally published Sept. 28.

A city study looking at short-, medium- and long-term upgrades to make a stretch of Crowchild Trail less stressful for Calgarycommuters reached another milestone Wednesday.

The study is looking at how to improve the section running over the Bow River from 24th Avenue in the northwest to 17th Avenue in the southwest.

Short-term options were presented in July and medium and long-term options are now completed, with the city seeking input from Calgarians.Project manager Feisal Lakha saidfinal recommendations areexpected to be ready by the end of the year.

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Until then, Calgarians are encouraged to give input, with two open houses for aface-to-face opportunity:

• Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sunalta School (536 Sonora Ave. S.W.)
• Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Red and White Club at McMahon Stadium (1833 Crowchild Tr. N.W.).

Online submissions can also be made onthe projectwebsite.

One of the first short-term recommendations will be adding a lane to the bridge decks to get traffic flowing better during the busy morning and afternoon rushes, said Feisal.

"Where there is one continuous lane from Glenmore Trail north past 16th Avenue, we can accommodate two, through-lanes to University Drive and all the way through to Stoney, and three lanes from Glenmore Trail through to University Drive."

Calgarians like Jeff Germaine have been giving their input at every phase of the study, which is used to make decisions and influence the technical work involved.

"I'm happy that it's moving forward," he said.

"It's been a long slow process and it will probably be a slow process going forward but I'm supportive of the direction they're going."

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