The Calgary Transportation Plan - CTP (approved by the Calgary City Council in 1995) is based on making efficient use of Calgary's existing transportation infrastructure before adding new roadways. To address this principle, the CTP policies include providing bus/carpool lanes on major routes to the downtown, implementing increased transit service and giving priority to transit vehicles to make transit a more attractive mode of travel. Centre Street is a major roadway providing access from north Calgary to the downtown. The Centre Street HOV lane/Transit Priority commenced operation in September 2000. The HOV lane is one of the first, and perhaps most visible examples of CTP policy implementation. The Centre Street HOV lane reserves one of three peak period/peak direction lanes for commuters in Calgary Transit buses, vehicles with two or more occupants and on bicycles travelling to and from the downtown. In addition to the benefits of a restricted use lane, Calgary Transit express buses also use 3M's OPTICOM to obtain traffic signal priority for buses. The Centre Street HOV lane/Transit Priority provided a number of design, implementation and operational challenges. The implementation of the lane required considerable ingenuity and collaboration on the part of its planners and builders. The entire project, from the idea stage to ribbon cutting was accomplished in less than nine months. To our knowledge, it is the only known HOV lane that operates in conjunction with a peak period lane reversal in North America. Community consultation, public and transit employee information and media relations were key components of the HOV lane introduction. The initial evaluation of the HOV lane indicates that it is well accepted by Calgarians and early operational experience suggests that it will be a success. (Author/publisher)
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