Calgary Transit needs to think about greenhouse gases

A more efficient transit system could help to reduce the amount of cars on the road

Calgary is a city that had seen rapid growth since the 1970’s. The ensuing oil boom caused Calgary’s population to nearly double between 1971 (403,000) and 1989 (675,000). This trend continued throughout the next decade resulting in a total population of 1,079,310 in 2006. This is a remarkable number considering that only in 2001 Calgary’s population was 951,494; a 13.4 per cent increase.

With all this growth, one would think Calgary Transit would have planned to start building an appropriate transit system to accommodate the large amount of people years ago. Yes, there is a transit system in our city, but Calgarians have long been complaining about it. Although they did add train stations in recent years in the Southeast, Northwest, and Northeast, it hasn’t expanded enough to service all Calgarians. Calgary has massive urban sprawl, and according to a 2006 Statistics Canada community profile on Canadian cities, 57.8 per cent of the population lives in low-density neighborhoods (single, semi-detached dwellings) in the outer lying suburbs. The inner city, which is populated with high-density neighborhoods (consisting of apartment and condo buildings) has 15.8 per cent of the population residing there.

With the majority of the population living in Calgary's outer suburbs, this results in many choosing to commute by car instead of transit. Calgarians use their cars to commute much morethan citizens of other large metropolitan areas such as Vancouver and Montreal. While 75 per cent of us drive everywhere in Calgary, only 65 per cent in Montreal use their cars, and 29 per cent of Montrealers who live five kilometers from the city center get around by car. Compare that with 66 per cent of Calgarians who live within five km of the city center.

What is the reason for this? People would rather drive than use a system of transit that doesn’t work for them because it’s not timely or near their homes. The plan for the current West LRT line began in the 1980s, being approved in 1988. However, this useful plan is only finally being realized. The West LRT line will be completed up to the 69th Street Station in December 2012. A new bus line is being set up to improve efficiency along the new LRT line.

Dale Boland is a regular customer of Calgary Transit, and says consistency isn’t one of their better attributes. She lives in Coventry Hills in the northwest and takes two buses to get to work, the #301 express downtown and then the #17 Spruce Cliff connector bus. The #17 is often late, or doesn’t come at all. When this occurs a short trip turns into more than an hour.
“If I can catch the connecting bus I can get to work in 40 minutes. If I miss it I’m waiting.”

It might help if there was a train station near her house. If that were the case, she would simply get on the train and then get off at the upcoming West LRT Sunalta station, which is literally right across the street from her office. According to the Calgary Transit website, further extension of the Northwest line is set to be completed in 2014. The same goes for the Southeast line which is “dependent on future growth and available funding.” Calgary Transit’s media contact Ron Collins was contacted for this article but did not respond at press time.

Keith Wilford, who lives in Okotoks, prefers to drive to work, but believes a better transit system would reduce traffic congestion and his traffic headaches.

“Yes, it would make life easier for me,” he says.

Not only would fewer vehicles on the road reduce commuter headaches, it would also make for a healthier environment.
Transportation activities, including the use of motor vehicles, contributed to one-fourth of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in 2004. These activities are responsible for pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and other volatile organic compounds that result in poor air quality. Moreover, a United Nations report surveying 50 cities worldwide ranked Calgary as being number five in GHGs, even though our C-Train system is 100 per cent wind powered. Again, it goes back to the number of cars on the roads. Would GHGs be diminished at all by a reduction of vehicles on Calgary’s roads?

The answer is yes.

Mark Johnson is the spokesman for Environment Canada and articulates how a decreased number of cars would affect the greenhouse gas levels.

“Reducing emissions from vehicles would certainly have a positive impact on improving Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and air quality, which is why the Government of Canada has taken actions to reduce vehicle emissions across the country. Emissions from the transportation sector (including passenger, freight, and off-road emissions) are the largest contributor to Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, representing 22 per cent of overall greenhouse gases in 2005.”
Johnson says that Canada is working hand-in-hand with the United States to establish common North American standards for regulating GHGs from vehicles - an approach that will benefit the environment, industry, and consumers.
“For example, in October 2010, we implemented tough new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the automotive sector through Environment Canada's Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations. At that time, we also highlighted our commitment to continue working closely with the U.S. towards the development of more stringent standards for model years 2017 and beyond.

We are also moving forward to develop regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions from Heavy Duty Vehicles. We announced our intent to do so in May 2010, and in August 2011 we released a consultation document to seek stakeholder views and comments on the development of the proposed regulations.”

It’s clear from all this that there is a lot we can all do to be responsible and work toward improving environmental stability. If Calgary Transit could build a more efficient transit system, it would contribute to the reduction of GHGs in Calgary and would make Calgary’s roads a better. The world is doing its part and Calgary Transit has helped this effort already with its wind-powered C-Train. It can help Calgary even more if they seriously think about adding additions to the C-Train and buses in the near future!