CALGARY — The city and the province are asking Calgarians to help steer them in the right direction when it comes to future improvements on Deerfoot Trail.

Partnering with Alberta Transportation, the City of Calgary is asking for feedback on a set of preliminary concept designs showing possible traffic pattern changes over the next 30 years.

“We understand the important role Deerfoot Trail plays in the daily commutes, long-haul travel and business operations of Calgarians and Albertans,” said City of Calgary project manager Jeffrey Xu.

“Parts of Deerfoot Trail see up to 180,000 vehicles per day. We want to keep those vehicles moving and streamline their travel long-term with these proposals.”

The first phase of the study, done in 2016, received around 10,000 responses, said Xu and a number of challenges were identified, including:

  • Capacity
  • Weaving
  • Merging
  • Diverging
  • Intersection operations and safety

Using info gathered in the first phase of the study, the second of four phases saw officials develop preliminary concepts in 2017 aimed at increasing capacity, reducing travel time and improving safety over the next five to 10 years.

The third, and current, phase will look at longer-term solutions, aimed at the same improvements 30-plus years into the future.

The concepts look at various sections of the roadway, at Beddington Trail and McKnight Blvd. in the north, at 16th Avenue, 17th Avenue and 50th Avenue/Peigan Trail in the central section, and at Glenmore Trail, Anderson/Bow Bottom Trail and Southland Drive in the south.

Phase four will see recommendations presented to the city and province in the winter of 2020.

Public input on the concepts is being gathered until Nov. 25. Information on providing feedback is available online. 

Built during the 1970s and completed in 1982, Deerfoot Trail is controlled by the province and is considered an urban section of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, better known as the QEII.

Average daily traffic numbers range from 83,000 vehicles south of Memorial Drive and 170,000 north of Memorial Drive.