The City of Calgary and Alberta Transportation are working together to develop a plan to manage traffic and improve safety on Deerfoot Trail. Help us develop short and long-term solutions.
Online public input for Phase 1 is now closed. The report of what we heard is now available below.
Please sign up for email updates to receive notifications of future opportunities for input.
The City of Calgary (The City) and Alberta Transportation (AT) are working together to study Deerfoot Trail, between the Stoney Trail interchanges* in the north and south.
The study will consider a range of possible freeway management strategies, including some new to Calgary, and recommend ways to improve safety and mobility in the short- and long-term. The focus will be on making the most of the existing infrastructure, planning for future growth and aligning with the Calgary Transportation Plan.
Identifying the existing and future travel needs on the corridor, and any associated impacts on the surrounding communities.
Engaging the public, community groups and stakeholders to identify users and demands for the corridor, and build a range of potential solutions.
Recommending safety and mobility improvements for people who drive and take transit.
Improving air quality and reducing vehicular emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the time needed to travel to and within the corridor.
*Please note the Stoney Trail interchanges are included only as the limits of the study.The study recommendations are not anticipated to include significant changes to these interchanges.
When will the study recommendations be available?
How big is the study area?
Deerfoot Trail is Calgary’s oldest freeway, and the busiest in Alberta. The majority of Deerfoot Trail was built between 1971 and 1982. The city’s population has doubled since 1981 and the road is no longer meeting current traffic demand, resulting in traffic congestion, unreliability and safety concerns.
The study will make recommendations for both short- and long-term improvements. Recommendations for short-term improvements to address the existing problems are anticipated in 2017. A long-term improvement plan to manage traffic, growth and safety over the next 30 years will be available in 2018.
The study area is 37.5 km long, and includes 20 interchanges. Approximately 44 communities border the study area. The Stoney Trail interchanges are included only as the limits of the study. The study recommendations are not anticipated to include significant changes to these interchanges.
Deerfoot Trail is a core route in the National Highway System, managed by Alberta Transportation since 2001.
In Calgary, Deerfoot Trail is part of the Primary Goods Movement Network, and is classified as a skeletal road in the Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP). Skeletal roads are often high-speed roads aimed at moving cars and trucks for long distances.
The average daily traffic ranges from 83,000 vehicles per day at the south end to 170,000 vehicles per day north of Memorial Drive.
Deerfoot Trail is the only road, other than Stoney Trail, providing continuous north-south connection across the city, and the only north-south skeletal road serving central and east Calgary.
Alberta Transportation assumed responsibility for Deerfoot Trail in 2001 because of its role in the National Highway Network. There is a possibility The City of Calgary will resume responsibility for Deerfoot Trail once the Calgary ring road is complete. This study needs to be completed regardless of who owns the road.
We heard from the public in a variety of ways, including in-person at open houses, a pop-up event and stakeholder meetings, and our online survey and mapping tool. In total, we received 3364 comments on the map and heard from 8140 people through our questionnaire. Our project team has thoroughly reviewed and evaluated all of the feedback from the questionnaire and developed a detailed What We Heard Report. Included in the What We Heard Report are comments received from the public on an online map. The online map comments have been included in an Online Mapping Tool Report which includes all the verbatim comments and a review by intersection. The review by intersection is also available in a condensed report.
Most respondents travel Deerfoot Trail daily, in a vehicle by themselves, between 3 and 7 p.m. to commute to and from work.
Most drivers experience delays along the study area most of the time.
Those who don’t use Deerfoot Trail said it was because they don’t feel safe on the road.
The route most travelled by respondents is from Stoney Trail South to Glenmore Trail, while the most congested segment was reported as McKenzie Lake Boulevard to Glenmore Trail.
Respondents were most satisfied with signage and traveler information while they are least satisfied with duration of travel times and reliability.
Efforts to clear collisions and stalls is the most important factor for most respondents while the least important factor is visual appeal / appearance.
Most respondents indicated they would prefer between 17 Avenue S.E. and Anderson Road to be improved first.
Lane reduction issues, poorly designed on and off ramps, poorly designed interchanges and congestion were the top issues noted by respondents corridor-wide.
Please sign up for email updates on the Deerfoot Trail Study and to stay informed about future engagement events.
Open Houses were conducted across Calgary for Phase 1.