ACCESS MODE PLANNING FOR THE CALGARY LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM

This paper describes access mode planning for the Calgary Light Rail Transit (LRT) System. On a system-wide basis, the A.m. boarding access of the approximately 114,000 weekday customers is approximately 50 percent by feeder bus, 20 percent park and ride and auto passenger drop-off (kiss and ride), 20 percent walk and 10 percent by other modes such as bicycle or special needs transport. The paper describes the important linkage between LRT access mode planning and the metropolitan transportation strategy and outlines the relative importance of each acess mode by station location. In the downtown area, the main access/egress mode is the pedestrian system, and the paper describes the linkage of surface and skywalk (Plus 15) pedestrian systems to the LRT Stations. At suburban stations, feeder bus access and park and ride facilities are an integral part of the Calgary LRT System and policies have been developed to ensure an appropriate balance of access modes to optimize the development of the transit market.