University District welcomes new residents, eyes transit and road expansions to deal with traffic

With construction in full swing, the first handful of new residents have moved into University District a new residential and commercial development tucked between the University of Calgary and Alberta Children's Hospital and work to address potential traffic congestion is underway.

Six hundred of the expected 6,000 units are currently being built, with another 120 condos and townhouses expected to be ready for their homeowners by the end of August.

The neighbourhood is designed to be pedestrian-oriented which was a big draw for some home-buyers.

"Typically it would have been a 10 to 15 minute drive to work," said Jennifer Lathrop, who works as a nurse at Alberta Children's Hospital and was the first resident to move into University District.

"Now I only have an eightminute walk."

Lathrop is looking forward to the the completion of the retail development, including restaurants, shops and a grocery store which is currently under construction.

"Everything will be walking distance so that really easy lifestyle, not having to use a car as much," she said.

Population will balloon

According to West Campus Development Trust, once development is complete, there will be between 11,000 and 15,000 people, like Lathrop, living and working in University District.

"This area between the university and all the hospitals has the largest employment centre outside of downtown," said Travis Oberg, senior development manager with West Campus Development Trust.

"Any good urban village has the amenitiesthat encourages pedestrians [and] bicycling."

Future traffic expected to grow

While the communityis designed to bepedestrian and bike-friendly, there is no doubt vehicle traffic will increase over time.

A 2014 transportationimpact assessment projected daily volumes along Shaganappi Trail could increase by up to 40 per cent by 2039, even with a newly constructed intersection allowing access to the community from Shaganappi Trail.

The study took into account traffic related to a number of developments in the northwest, including University District, Stadium Shopping Centre and the new Calgary Cancer Centre.

Access to public transit will soon be beefed up, according to Oberg.Thecity's new north crosstown Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line,slated to openby the end of 2018, will run through University District.

"That's going to be a huge support to us in regards to providing regular and comfortable transit," said Oberg. The new BRT line will have heated shelters, saidOberg, and it will offer more frequent pickups than regular transit.

"It does snake through our site but it makes sure it hits those key employment areas and it hits our main street," he said.

Long-term road expansion

The City of Calgary says in addition to new road networks in the community and a new intersection providing access from ShaganappiTrail, Shaganappi could be expanded in the future.

"There will be an increase in traffic," said Feisal Lakha, manager of transportation development services with the City of Calgary.

City councilrecently approved a long-term plan that could see Shaganappi expanded to three lanes in either direction from Bowness Road to Crowchild Trail.

"It's an unfunded plan at this point. But it allows both development in the area to proceed as well as add[ing] capacity in the future to the road network when required and when funding is available," said Lakha.

The plan includes improvements to the pathway network through the University District and along ShaganappiTrail.

With no funding allocated for the project it is unclear when the expansion might proceed.If and when it does proceed, the developer has committed to helping pay for construction.

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