Project summary
City Council approved the Rocky Ridge Road closure on June 1, 2009. The road is scheduled to close in spring 2010. The exact date will be determined by the requirements of the Stoney Trail/Crowchild Trail interchange construction.
The City has taken steps to mitigate the impacts of the closure, including constructing a temporary emergency access at 107 Street N.W., and commits to implementing several intersection improvements prior to the road closure.
Both the Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak communities were planned with the knowledge Rocky Ridge Road would close, as identified in the Rocky Ridge Area Structure Plan (1992, 2002). The road network within the community is designed to handle the redirected traffic from Rocky Ridge Road. Access to the communities of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak will be via Country Hills Boulevard and Twelve Mile Coulee Road.
Intersection improvements
A traffic analysis was conducted in 2008 to determine the impacts of the proposed closure of Rocky Ridge Road on surrounding roads and intersections.
The analysis was based on three time horizons: 2009—the initial proposed date for the closure, 2011—after the proposed original opening date of the LRT station, and 2025 when the community is “built out” to its maximum population.
The traffic analysis 
included five "major" intersections, and an additional eleven "minor" intersections as identified by the community through public consultation.
The analysis indicated improvements are needed at all five major intersections and two minor intersections.
The following intersections will be improved based on the results of the analysis:
Major intersections:
Minor intersections:
Parking restrictions
Parking will be restricted around some of the intersections being improved to increase capacity and reduce traffic impacts associated with the closure. Specifically, there will be no parking allowed on:
- The north side of Rockyvalley Drive approaching 12 Mile Coulee Road
- The east and west side of Royal Oak Way, approaching Royal Birch Boulevard
- Royal Birch Boulevard between Royal Birch Way/Royal Oak Drive and Country Hills Boulevard
The locations and extent of parking restrictions can be accessed through the download documents.
Country Hills Boulevard Link to 12 Mile Coulee Road
Feedback indicates some residents feel connecting Country Hills Boulevard between Rocky Ridge Road and 12 Mile Coulee Road is necessary to accommodate the traffic created by the closure. The traffic analysis indicates the projected 600 vehicle trips per day can be accommodated on the existing roads.
In the future, Country Hills Boulevard will be four lanes in this area, but currently the required land is not available. Transportation Infrastructure will continue to work with Roads and the developer responsible for this section of roadway to expedite construction. A two-lane connection (a single lane in each direction) is expected to be constructed in 2009/2010 on the north half of the road right-of-way. The road will be upgraded to four lanes when there is further development north of Country Hills Boulevard.
Public consultation
A public open house was held in June 2008 to introduce the LRT project and identify community traffic issues associated with the proposed closure of Rocky Ridge Road.
Since November 2008, a Rocky Ridge Road committee, made up of representatives from the communities of Royal Oak and Rocky Ridge, Transportation Infrastructure, and the Ward Alderman, has been meeting regularly to discuss the closure and potential traffic issues. The committee has acted as a conduit for information, providing The City with feedback on proposed intersection improvements, bringing forward issues and concerns, and facilitating two-way communication between community members and The City.
Another open house was held in January 2009 to present the proposed intersection improvements in the communities of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak, as part of the efforts to mitigate community traffic issues resulting from the road closure.
In April 2009, The City of Calgary and Alberta Transportation met with representatives from the community-based Rocky Ridge Road Closure Community Committee (R3C3), to discuss the technical challenges associated with maintaining access at Rocky Ridge Road, and the proposed alternatives put forward by R3C3.
The objective of the meeting was to develop a common understanding among all participants about the impacts of all possible outcomes. A viable solution to maintain access was not identified in the meeting. The City and the Province agreed to review additional proposals and address questions as they were received.
In early May, Alberta Transportation engaged McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. to perform an independent assessment of the alternatives proposed by R3C3. Another meeting between R3C3, The City of Calgary Transportation, and Alberta Transportation was arranged to review the results of McElhanney's independent assessment, and was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Alberta Transportation.
The assessment concluded that although maintaining access is desirable from the community's point of view, a safe access from a collector standard road (Rocky Ridge Road) to a systems interchange (expressway to expressway) does not present itself.
Emergency vehicle access
A temporary emergency access road has been constructed at 107 Street N.W. as an alternative access for police, fire and EMS. All primary emergency response will arrive from the EMS and fire facilities in Royal Oak. This one-way, gated entrance off westbound Crowchild Trail will be used to provide secondary response from outside the community.
This road will not be in service until Rocky Ridge Road closes, and only authorized emergency vehicles will have access.
Background
The Area Structure Plan for Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak indicates "Access to and from Crowchild Trail (Highway 1A) at Rocky Ridge Road N.W. will be closed when a grade-separated interchange is constructed at the intersection of Crowchild Trail and Stoney Trail. Notwithstanding [the] above, at such time as a suitably complete road network has been established in and around Rocky Ridge (including 4 lanes of Country Hills Boulevard, east of Rocky Ridge Road), the intersection at Crowchild Trail and Rocky Ridge Road N.W. may be closed in order to establish permanent community traffic patterns."
The Transportation Association of Canada's (TAC) design guidelines for expressways (both Stoney Trail and Crowchild Trail are classified as expressways) recommend 800 metres between intersections and 150 metres between the end of an interchange ramp and an intersection.
Since the Province approved the Crowchild Trail/Stoney Trail interchange for construction, numerous alternatives to closing Rocky Ridge Road have been considered based on the following criteria: technical design requirements for safety, economic feasibility, and the ability to address goals of the community.
A functional study was conducted and an alternative was identified, but due to the considerable cost (an estimated $40-60 million more than the current design) and significant impact to the future LRT, the option was not pursued further.
The City of Calgary initiated a road closure application for consideration by City Council in 2005. The application was approved at the Calgary Planning Commission (CPC) on January 22, 2009, and presented to Council on March 9, 2009. After being tabled twice more, the road closure application was approved in June 2009.
Project information
Transportation Infrastructure is committed to keeping citizens informed about this project and details will be updated on this site on an ongoing basis. For more information, please fill out the online form or call 3-1-1 or 403-268-CITY.
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