Where's the Choo-Choo ?

I don't actually live in Calgary, but in a little town to the south called Okotoks (which is native for "Where did all these bloody English people come from??").

As I come from a country with an extensive public transport infrastructure (rail and bus), one of my biggest culture shocks was Alberta's lack of anything resembling public transport. For example, if you live in Okotoks and work in Calgary and don't want to drive to work, you have two options; carpool or get the commuter bus of which there are only two, running ten minutes apart, very early in the morning, and for only $240 per month.

So, if you have a job that entails working unusual or flexible hours, you have to drive.

Therefore, I'm interested to read about the Calgary Regional Land Use Plan which is beginning not only to address the lack of commuter services in southern Alberta, but also, how we remain sustainable in the the face of a potential 1.7 million new southern Albertans over the next 50 years. One of the effects of this plan is likely to be much tighter restrictions on development which may mean more concentrated residential development in order to maintain and protect green areas. While this concentration may have the knock-on effect of an easier transit implementation, I'm sure some people might wonder why, in a province as sparsely populated as AB, do we have to be packed together like the Stampede on family day?

The Calgary Regional Partnership has a website with all sorts of interesting info (including nice colourful pictures). You can see it at http://www.calgaryregion.ca/crp/projects/projects/regionalgrowth/presentations.aspx