This station is now being renovated. But the Chinook, Marlborough, Zoo and many other CTrain platforms have a similar design problem. It’s one of several physical elements that make passengers feel less safe on the train, according to text messages to CBC Calgary. Hall works at a law firm downtown and recently met with CBC Calgary at the construction site. “There were definitely times where you hear yelling or arguments, and that’s when I started thinking in a worst-case scenario: What are my options? Where am I? What can I do?” Hall said. “I travel alone a lot and I’m not an athlete by any means, so if I need to, where are my exits?” Hall believes in transit. She “lost” her car a few years ago and still takes the train or bus everywhere she needs to go. But she’s much happier now that local renovations are moving forward. Transit rider Jen Hall says she feels safer on the Victoria Park/Stampede Station platform now that it’s more integrated with the surrounding street and accessible from multiple points. (Lucie Edwardson/CBC)
Mirrors, groceries, toilets
In the hundreds of text messages sent to CBC Calgary’s transit safety project, the most common solution proposed by CTrain riders is for Calgary to close the platforms with turnstiles or gates — an option that city council has asked Calgary Transit to consider. study this fall. But that’s not the only physical design choice that makes stations feel safer, other passengers and experts say. Some suggestions from Calgarians include more mirrors and better lighting to improve attractions. others said they want the city to make sure there are multiple places to get in and out, like at the new Stampede Station. Still others want Calgary to bring back convenience stores, public restrooms, buses, or even community gardens and other features to liven up the area. All of these latest examples are part of a different approach to public safety, says Francisco Alaniz Uribe, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary’s school of architecture. “Stations that are really successful, they have multiple uses next to them and there’s a lot of traffic. All of that creates more of a community environment, a safer environment,” he said.
“Integrated with the rest of the road”
For example, go to Sunnyside Station, a downtown CTrain stop just north of the Bow River. He says a kind of public openness and vibrancy is already happening on a small scale. U of C assistant professor of architecture Francisco Alaniz Uribe says activating CTrain platforms with services and attractions is one way to make people feel safer. (University of Calgary) “We’ve got the grocery store right next door, maybe not the best planning alignment, but there’s a grocery store, there’s two coffee shops within 100 meters, there’s an empty lot with community gardens and an alternative event space nearby,” he said. “This could be continued in a future plan.” The professor says the new design for Stampede Park Station also begins to do some of those things with its redesign. “It’s very integrated with the rest of the road, and that’s better when it comes to perception [of safety] and maybe also crime prevention,” he said. “Even if no one else is on the platform, you don’t feel alone.” Calgary Transit has a wide variety of stations built throughout the city. Some are integrated into neighborhoods while others are surrounded by parking lots. Calgarians texting CBC Calgary said that, in many cases, instead of having service connected to the station, riders have to hike through large stores to get to the entrance, such as for those headed to the Superstore on McKnight /Westwinds. And even relatively new stations like Sunalta, and recently renovated stations like Chinook, only have one entrance/exit to the platform. Calgary Transit had no one available to talk about the station’s architecture and safety. A spokesman said safety teams review points of interest and safety features daily, and planners review these principles whenever they renovate or design new stations.
Complete design
Stampede Park is being redesigned by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation because it is integrated into the expanded BMO Convention Center and downtown East Village. It is scheduled to be completed by next year with a price tag of $60 million. Kate Thompson, chief executive of CMLC, said the aim is to open up the station so it really feels part of the environment and all the activity in the new development. “So if there’s a busker or there’s a new gate for the Stampede at that location or a pop-up concert—whatever’s going on there can be happening over a much larger area than what would traditionally be implemented on a platform.” The Stampede/Victoria Park redevelopment introduces new pedestrian access at street level. (CMLC) So far, they have demolished the Plus-15, the spiral ramp and staircase on the west side of the Macleod Trail and the double staircase on the east side of the tracks that was sandwiched between barbed wire. And in October, two new footpaths opened, allowing pedestrian traffic in the area for the first time in 40 years and train access from both ends of the platform and both sides of the road.
“Open, easy to access and safer”
Taking CBC Calgary on a tour of Stampede Station, Hall says she’s already starting to feel like the space is more vibrant and safe since the new pedestrian access points were added to the platform in October. She pointed to the clear line of sight she now has when approaching the platform as something that relaxes her. “There’s another chance to get somewhere safe if something happens on the platform,” he said. “I feel like it can extend the times I’m comfortable on the platform. Before, I’d look at the clock and say, ‘OK, I think I might take a taxi home instead of the train’… now I feel open, accessible and safer.”
Transit security
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