Close the stations? Some CTrain riders argue Victoria Park/Stampede reno shows better path forward

With only one way on or off the platform at the Stampede/Victoria Park CTrain station, transit rider Jen Hall used to worry she'd be trapped if a fight or worse broke out.

This station is now being renovated. But Chinook, Marlborough, the Zoo and many other CTrain platforms have a similar design issue. It's one of several physical elements that's making passengers feel less safe on the train, according to text messages to CBC Calgary.

Hall works at a downtown law firm and met up with CBC Calgary at the construction site recently.

"There were definitely occasions where you hear yelling or arguments, and that's where I started thinking about in a worst case scenario: What are my options? Where am I? What can I do?" said Hall.

"I am often travelling alone and I'm not an athlete by any means so, if need be, where are my exits?"

Hall believes in transit. She "ditched" her car a couple of years ago and is still taking the train or bus everywhere she needs to go. But she's much happier now that local renovations are progressing.

In the hundreds of text messages sent in for CBC Calgary's transit safety project, the most common solution CTrain riders put forward is for Calgary to close off the platforms with turnstiles or gates — an option city council asked Calgary Transit to study this fall. 

But that's not the only physical design option to make stations feel safer, say other passengers and experts.

Some suggestions from Calgary residents include more mirrors and better lighting to make the sightlines better; others said they want the city to ensure there are multiple places to enter and exit, like at the new Stampede station. Still others want Calgary to bring back convenience stores, public washrooms, buskers or even community gardens and other features to enliven the space. 

Those last examples are all part of a different approach to public safety, says Francisco Alaniz Uribe, 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 lots of people traffic. All of that creates more of a community environment, a safer environment," he said.

For example, jump over to Sunnyside station, a CTrain stop in the inner city just north of the Bow River. He says that kind of public openness and vibrancy is already happening on a small scale.

"We have the grocery store right next door, there are two coffee shops within 100 metres, there's an empty lot with community gardens and an alternative event space nearby," he said.

"That could continue into a future design."