Transportation in Calgary
The city of Calgary, Alberta, has a large transportation network that encompasses a variety of road, rail, air, public transit, and pedestrian infrastructure. Calgary is also a major Canadian transportation centre and a central cargo hub for freight in and out of north-western North America. The city sits at the junction between the "Canamex" highway system and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1 in Alberta).
As a prairie city, Calgary has never had any major impediments to growth. As such, it has developed into a city with an area of about 745 km2 (288 sq mi) (of which only half is built up) and a metropolitan area of nearly 5,100 km2 (2,000 sq mi). This outward growth has encouraged the development of an extensive personal vehicle-oriented road network complete with a freeway system.
Since 1981, when the city officially opened the first leg of its CTrain rapid transit system, emphasis on public transportation as an alternative to cars has become important. The CTrain now has a higher ridership than any other light rail system in any other North American city with 309 900 boardings per weekday. Cycling is also seen as a major alternative to driving in Calgary. In recent years, increases in the population and density of inner city neighbourhoods such as the Beltline have favoured greater pedestrianism as well.
Calgary's primary public transportation system is operated by Calgary Transit. The service operates only within Calgary city limits and does not provide transportation to and from other communities within the Calgary Region. Some communities within Calgary's metropolitan area provide their own transit services (for example, Airdrie Transit). Calgary Transit is owned and managed by the City of Calgary.
The light rail transit (LRT) system, known as the C-Train, consists of 58.5 km (36.4 mi) of track connecting 45 stations and was one of the first such systems in North America. Until very recently, Calgary and Edmonton were the only two North American cities with populations under one million to operate rapid mass transit systems.
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