Planners study McKnight ‘agony’
For three years Gerry Neeson wasted countless hours sitting in his car, stuck in traffic on McKnight Boulevard.
Th edaily commute from his Huntington Hills house to his job, located just off Barlow Trail, was so aggravating that he finally decided to move to a new home, located minutes from his workplace.
Neeson has a long list of reasons as to why driving down McKnight Boulevard was “agony.”
“Traffic congestion, the smell of the gas, the stop and go, not getting anywhere, getting frustrated. You can only take it so long,” he said. “And the lights, it would take forever to get through a light and then you wait to get through the next light.”
City officials are conducting a transportation planning study for McKnight Boulevard from Deerfoot Trail to Stoney Trail and Neeson shared his experience and opinions regarding the critical corridor this month at an open house hosted by the City of Calgary.
There is currently no funding available to construct or implement the study recommendations but Zeeshan Abdy, a transportation engineer with the City of Calgary, said gathering citizen feedback now will allow officials to prioritize and plan future infrastructure.
“We’re looking to target what citizens want for this corridor,” he said.
The road is a critical expressway for nearby residents and people who work in the area. Daily traffic volumes on McKnight Blvd. range from 20,000 vehicles per day near Stoney Trail to 65,000 vehicles per day near Deerfoot Trail.
Abdy said common complaints about the road include heavy congestion and difficulty merging.
Potential changes to the corridor include the use of a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane, or carpool lane — a concept that is relatively new to the city, said Abdy.
“One of the eminent benefits of HOV lanes is it will improve the traffic operations, increase the travel speed, reduce traffic delays,” he said.
Citizens have until the end of the month to go online and offer their input.