I was at the Chinook C-Train station last Friday night on my way to a Halloween party and it felt like I was in a war zone or in an American inner city ghetto. Standing on the C-Train platform all I could see was concrete. Though there was no graffiti, it was as drab as drab could be. Stalin and Ric McIver would be proud.

Of note there were no windows on the C-Train platform. At one time there were windows that were often shattered. It looks like the City is choosing not to replace them.

There were a few Chinook station highlights. In the waiting area there was no garbage on the ground and the floors were fairly clean. It felt like I was in a sterile hospital though. The chemical cleaner smell was nauseating. Far and away the best part of the C-Train station experience was a busker singer who had a beautiful voice that echoed throughout the station. Loved it.

This C-Train station is a heavy traffic area with the giant mall a few blocks down the street. The station was filled with mostly teenagers going to the mall to hang out and shop their lives away buying goods made in sweatshops, that will probably be used or worn once and then thrown out (just an uninformed guess).

The funniest instance I saw while waiting was a man asking a bus driver if the bus is going to Chinook Mall, which was just 2 blocks away. Thankfully the bus driver was not, which meant the middle aged man had to actually walk all the way there.

I would say out of all the C-Train stations, Chinook, Anderson, and Marlborough are the worst. It makes you wonder what Calgary Transit is thinking. Are they actively trying to discourage transit riders? Have they been to other cities in the world where the transit stations and subways are beautiful? Check out these pics to see for yourself.

C-Train stations need to be vastly improved. The concrete walls could easily transformed into colourful murals that express the fears, realities, and dreams of Calgarians. In addition, there could be news boards that provide information on what is happening in the community and at City Hall. Perhaps City news could be interspersed with local music over the intercom in the C-Train Station and on the C-Train. With a captive audience, it would be nice to tell people if there is an election or an important vote at City Hall. Heck you could even broadcast Flames and Stampeder games.

When you just miss the C-Train you only have to wait 15 minutes, whereas if you miss the bus you could be waiting up to an hour. With this in mind I left 15 minutes earlier from the Sunnyside C-Train station than the Calgary Transit website told me I needed to.

From Chinook station I had to catch a bus to Lakeview. Riding the bus at night can be really frustrating because it is difficult to see the street signs. Thankfully the mini-bus was pretty much empty and the driver was able to tell us when we needed to get off.

In Los Angeles, buses announce electronically the address of each bus stop and also have an electronic screen that shows the address too. It would be great if Calgary Transit could implement this.

What would have taken 15 minutes by car took over an hour by Calgary Transit, getting you there real slow.

Calgary Transit needs to start trying to attract riders rather just providing a barebone half ass service. Instead we use our tax dollars to build ring roads....