As part of The City of Calgary’s Bridge Banner program, the 2010 banners are being unveiled on bridges entering Calgary’s downtown core. This year’s theme is a new take on an old idea.
The new banners are hand woven from previous 2008 and earlier banners, providing a fresh look for the bridge banners and as well as an environmentally responsible.
The 2009 banners, featuring eight different birds are being sold to the public to raise money for the United Way of Calgary.
The bridge banner program engages local artists to provide unique artworks specifically for exhibition as banners. The seven bridges leading into the downtown core are adorned with new banners, with a new theme each year, dedicated to creating a liveable, thriving and caring Centre City.
The banners were created by local artists Marci Simkulet and Stefanie Wong.
For more information on the bridge banner program and please visit www.calgary.ca
Images: New bridge banner made from recycled old banners and one of last year's bird bridge banner which is currently on sale with proceeds going to The United Way.
After months of public and private sector scrutiny, the City of Calgary's long-term growth and development plan, Plan It Calgary, was passed in council.
The City's 60-year plan that advocates "smart growth" received several new amendments, the most contentious change being lowering the density target for green-field communities to a minimum threshold of 60 people or jobs per hectare from the initially proposed 70 people and jobs per hectare.
Some advocates of Plan It Calgary claim that adjusting these density targets water down and alter the central tenet of the document, while those that voted for the lower density target said that the new target keeps all stakeholders happy, including both the public and private sectors.
While the density target goals of Plan It Calgary received the most attention, the 60-year plan also contains commitments to greening the city, improved affordable housing options, an improved and more efficient transit system and the goal of building more complete communities.
City council voted 8-7 today to enter into negotiations to extend Race City Motorsport Park's lease until 2015.
The city own the parcel of land at 114 Ave and 68 St. S.E., leased it to Race City in 1985 and now need the land for a storm water management system for the Shepard Landfill site.
If the city voted to close the track, the land would have been returned on April 1, 2010. The motion was amended and will require Race City to restore the land to its original state at the end of the lease and cover traffic control during busy events.
Opponents of the deal say that the renewed lease could cost taxpayers $3 million, while supports argue that the streets are safer because racers have a place to burn rubber, which is also a cost-saver for police.
The vote occured days after about 250 people participated in a car rally, which saw 175 cars with signs travel from Macleod Trail and 65th Avenue S.W. to downtown Calgary.
Here is an interview with Race City Motorsport Park volunteer, Darrin Heichert, who, not surprisingly, is very pleased with council's decision.
Mr. Parker interviewed Cindy Munn, a business partner of recruitment and staffing with human resources. She said the majority of The City's 14,000 employees are dedicated to their tasks, enjoy their jobs and work with pride in being in public service.
Mr. Parker touts the benefits of working for The City when he says: "The city has proven to be a good employer that has been at the forefront in employee satisfaction trends, such as flexible work arrangements, respecting the needs for work-life balance, recognition and rewards programs, continuing education and training, and encouraging employee health and wellness."
Here is an old City of Calgary recruitment video which takes a friendly poke at The City of Calgary employee 'leaning on the shovel.' Do you recognize the 'star' of the video?
To try to get a better understanding of the recommendations and amendments that were made to Plan It Calgary report that go to Council for review on Monday, September 28, I sat down with Glen Radway, Acting Manager for the Plan It Calgary Project in the City’s Land Use, Planning & Policy group.
He provided me with a little more insight into the most significant changes to the proposed Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and proposed Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) which make up Plan It Calgary.
Radway says that the Plan It Calgary team does not believe that these changes water down Plan It Calgary, but rather remain true to the intent of the Plan It documents that were taken to Council in late June and these changes simply clarify the implementation of Plan It Calgary’s 60-year goals.
This Monday, Sept. 28, a Snow and Ice Report will go to council. Here is a video of Dean Bell, Manager of Roads Maintenence whos team created the report from a Notice of Motion request by Aldermen Brian Pincott and Andre Chabot in January.
Please feel free to ask a question or voice your opinion. We'll try our best to facilitate conversation. Find the Snow and Ice Report here, and then click on the Sept. 16, 2009 link (shown below).
There is a great interview with Staff Sgt. Nina Vaughan of District 1 who says the Centre City Safety Impact Team (CCSIT), which includes representatives from police, fire, EMS, bylaw, Centre City Implementation, transit, corporate security and local businesses, is making progress to reduce crime levels downtown.
Have you noticed a difference in Calgary's Centre City crime rate?
Plan It Calgary will be heading back to City Council on Monday, September 28.
This will be the second time that Plan It has gone to Council – it first went in late June of this year when City Council had three days of discussion on the blue print for Calgary’s future.
By the end of the three days, City Council gave Plan It its first reading (proposed bylaws need three readings to be passed) and asked City Administration to make approximately 100 amendments to the plan before bringing it back to Council for further review.
- Clarifying how the 60-year targets will be applied and implemented (The Plan It Calgary team is recommending that these numerical targets remain in the plan)
- The revision of the density target for green field communities (new communities in Calgary) from 70 residents per hectare to 70 residents or employees at local businesses per hectare.
- Clarifying the policies on greening the city and green infrastructure
- The removal of specific river crossings at 50th Ave SW and Shaganappi Trail
- A proposed start date of February 1, 2010 for implementation
The full reports going to Council are available from the Plan It Calgary website. If approved the amended Plan It Calgary plans will guide the city’s growth for the next 50 to 60 years.
According to the Calgary Municipal Land Council (CMLC), project submissions were received at the projects management firm, STANTEC Consulting, by Sept. 14 and recently posted online. There are a total of 14 submissions (two were omitted of the original 16 due to neglecting to meet CMLC requirements).
St. Patrick's Island is connected to St. George Island, home of the Calgary Zoo. Designers had to work withinthe project's $25-million budget. The bridge had to accommodate cyclists, pedestrians and connect to the pathways at each end of the bridge and on St. Patrick's Island.
The submissions range from those showcasing white, tall harp-like towers, to others that boast tubular designs. Some feature soft curves and others harder edges. take a few minutes to peruse the submissions and dream about what the future of Calgary’s skyline may look like down the road.
There is a public open house on October 12-23, visit the website for more details.
What are your thoughts? Image* Map shows the site of the proposed bridge (CMLC)
Calgary Police Service celebrated the acquisition of a site for a new police operations centre today in the city’s northeast.
“This site will meet our needs for the next 50 years, and I have no doubt it will make police work and investigations more efficient, while enhancing communication within the Service,” said Chief Rick Hanson. Hanson was joined at a flag-raising ceremony by Premier Ed Stelmach, Mayor Dave Bronconnier, and Calgary Police Commission Chair Denis Painchaud at the former Nortel Campus east of Barlow Trail of McKnight Blvd.
The new CPS Westwinds Campus is currently comprised of two buildings on 60 acres of land, with room to develop additional facilities. There is currently 650,000 square feet of existing building space, with the ability to expand to one million square feet.
“We know the Calgary Police Service has outgrown its current space, and it is important that police services are consolidated as much as possible. Together with the funds we have provided for much-needed additional police officers, our support for the Westwinds Campus will further enable the Calgary Police Service to maintain Calgary as a safe place to live, work, and raise families,” said Premier Ed Stelmach.
The Calgary Police Services officially took possession of the site this past June. Renovation work on one of the buildings has since begun.
The cost of the CPS Westwinds Campus is approximately $125 million, including the initial $100 million property purchase, and $25 million in post-project costs and renovations. The project is funded in partnership by the province and city, with $106.5 million from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative, and an additional $18.5 million from The City of Calgary directly.
This facility will allow the CPS to bring together areas of the Service that are currently spread among 14 buildings across the city. The Homicide Unit, the Robbery Unit, the Gang Unit and other specialized departments will be located in one building. The other building will be open to the public and will house the office of the Chief and administrative services.
Certain areas of the Service will continue to operate in their current facilities. This includes the district offices and community police stations, as well as the Traffic and Support Sections. The Arrest Processing Section will remain in the downtown Administration Building. A new Identification Section (crime scenes) facility is currently being built next to the District 1 Ramsay Station. The targeted move completion dates are June 2010 for the West Building and June 2011 for the East Building.
A day after a new Peace Pole was unveiled in Calgary's inner city, a new mural was made public today in Forest lawn to also showcase diversity and peace.
"An Allegory of Peace in Our Time" is situated along International Avenue (4015 17 Ave. S.E.) and is the fifth in a series of murals in the area. The 2.5 metre by 5 metre mural was created by Alberta born and Florence-based artist Martinho Correia.
The City of Calgary now has one of as many as 250,000 peace poles found worldwide to commemorate the International Peace Day.The Pole resides in the new Peace Plaza on the Bow River Pathway, new the site of the planned Peace Bridge.
“May Peace Prevail on Earth” is inscribed in English, French, Blackfoot and Cree. In addition to the main Peace Pole, there are three smaller ones surrounding it and a panel describing the project.
The word "Peace" is also etched in the eighty languages spoken in Calgary.According to CalgaryPeacePole.org, the peace pole movement was started in Japan by the World Peace Prayer Society in 1955, with the objective of dedicating humankind towards peace rather than conflict.
Since then the number of peace poles has multiplied greatly. The Magnetic North Pole in the Canadian Arctic boasts a peace pole as do various other cities, towns and villages in 180 different countries.The common primary functional purpose of all peace poles is the promotion of the goal of lasting world peace.
Calgary’s Peace Pole was designed by architect Marc Boutin from Marc Boutin Architecture Collaborative, a local award-winning architect firm.Check out this video from CalgaryPeacePole.org's website.
Calgary transit celebrated it’s 100 birthday in part by sprucing up its monthly passes from Sept. 2009 to December 2010 with art by 16 students.
The young artists who were chosen to design the passes as well as all who submitted entries were congratulated today by Deputy Mayor Joe Ceci at Chinook Mall.
“The future of Calgary lies with its youth and we are fortunate to have some extremely talented young people in our city,” says Ceci. “Calgary Transit has come a long way over the past 100 years and the fact that it is looking to our youth – our future – to actively participate in something bigger, something that touches thousands of Calgarians every day, is important.”
Any child or youth in grades one through 12 was eligible to submit a design based on one of the following themes: Transit into the Future; Going Green with Calgary Transit; Calgary Transit and Me; and Transit Connects Communities. Over 260 designs were submitted. A selection committee composed of transit drivers, youth and a graphic arts professional selected 16 of the submitted designs.
All submissions, including the 16 selected pieces, will be on display at Chinook Centre Mall from September 17 to October 1.
The plans include residential space, a RiverWalk along the Bow, The “EVE” or East Village Experience Block which is designed to offer a cinema, fitness centre and retail shops around a glass covered plaza as well as other commercial space.
The East Village is a 120-acre area east of downtown that is bounded by the Bow River in the north, 9th Avenue S.E. in the south, 3rd Street S.E. in the west and the Elbow River in the east. It currently has a reputation as one of the City’s seedier neighbourhoods rife with homelessness, prostitution and drug abuse.
The City of Calgary has been improving infrastructure and installing new power, water and sewage lines so develops and builders can begin work on Caglary’s Centre City’s east side. The goal is to complete East Village by 2020.
The expanded arena will service over fifty communities in Calgary with a forecasted 750,000 annual users accessing the new and improved Centennial Arenas.
“We are so excited to get this project off the ground. For close to a decade, a dedicated team of volunteers and professionals has been dreaming, planning, designing and lobbying to make Calgary Centennial Arenas even better. And now, thanks to the Province and the City for their generosity, we can make the Building Goals, Building Community campaign project a reality. We are certain that this arena will be a great draw for the City for years to come,” said Fleming.
The arena is funded in part by the Government of Alberta and the City of Calgary which are contributing a combined $10.17 million towards the expansion. The $5 million from the province is being provided as part of the Major Community Facilities Program. The city of Calgary is contributing $5.17 million to the project. South West Arena Society’s contribution of $1.1 million and that of others helped to ensure the campaign’s success. Additional funds are to be generated through fundraising efforts.
The four-season recreational facility will host a variety of activities including minor, adult and collegiate hockey, ringette, figure skating, lacrosse and roller sports. The expansion will help the facility compete for major tournaments and sporting events. Further details can be viewed at CentennialExpansion.com.
A report on The City's snow and ice control policy was presented to City Council's Standing Policy Committee on Land Use, Planning and Transportation this morning at City Hall.
The report, entitled Snow and Ice Control Policy Service Levels, was created in response to a notice of motion earlier this year from Aldermen Andre Chabot and Brian Pincott. The motion, made during Council discussions on the snow and ice control policy and service levels, directed Administration to report back on potential cost-saving ideas before November's discussions on 2010 budget adjustments.
The report, which is available on calgary.ca outlines major cost areas for snow and ice control in Calgary, areas for potential cost savings, cost and policy comparisons to other major Canadian cities (attachment 1- see below) and the costs associated with potential changes in the policy (attachment 4). It also includes information from the Transportation Association of Canada winter severity analysis (attachment 2) and results of a recent survey of Calgarians on The City's snow clearing policy and practices (attachment 3).
Alderman have reviewed and accepted the report that will now go to Council for discussion and a final decision. Questions? Comment? Tell us your thoughts and we’ll try our best to facilitate conversation.
The City of Calgary has partnered with several other community agencies to support children who show risk factors of future criminal behavior or victimization.
The City’s Community & Neighbourhood Services has partnered with the Calgary Police Service, the Calgary Catholic School District and the Calgary Board of Education on the Multi-Agency School Support Team (MASST) in meeting the needs of vulnerable children aged five to 15.
Four MASST teams consisting of a police officer and a City of Calgary registered social worker will work closely with Calgary’s school boards in identifying students for the pilot project. MASST will focus on risk factors that can make children vulnerable to criminal activity, both as perpetrators and victims. Risk factors include a lack of adult supervision, negative peer influences, alcohol and drug abuse and lack of attachment to the community.
“The City realizes that in order for a program to be successful, we have to work with youth where they live and learn – in their communities and in their schools,” says Doug Borch, issue strategist with The City’s Community & Neighbourhood Services. “The City strongly believes that the best way to keep at risk youth out of the justice system is to prevent them from getting in. This program will give us the tools to try to accomplish this."
While the primary focus will be on children, the project also includes educating parents and inviting the family to participate in the process.
“This is a community approach that allows us to increase collaboration among police, the City of Calgary, schools and social agencies to identify and address these issues early, helping students get needed support” said Alberta Education Minister Dave Hancock. "Parent and family engagement is critical to a student's success and schools can play a key role in this program.”
While the primary focus will be on children, the project also includes educating parents and inviting the family to participate in the process.
The 3-year pilot project is funded by the Alberta Government’s Safe Communities Innovation Fund and the MASST partners.
The City of Calgary has won a prestigious international award recognizing “the highest standards of excellence in website design and development” under the category of ‘Government’ for CalgaryInfrastructure.ca.
The website was evaluated based on five criteria: design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance. According to an IMA Judges Notification, CalgaryInfrastructure.ca “excelled in all areas … and represents a very high standard of planning, execution and overall professionalism” and scored a total of 466 points out of 500.
Launched in June, the website features an interactive map that identifies more than 250 capital projects currently funded by The City’s approved 2009 – 2013 capital budget. The projects’ details, construction schedule and progress status, sources of funding and project costs can all be tracked online via the map. In some instances photos and videos of construction progress are also available.
"Calgary is the first major municipality in Canada to provide a detailed and comprehensive,interactive and innovative, report to its citizens and partners on how we are spending capital dollars," said Mayor Dave Bronconnier at the awards presentation. "From public transit to roads, fire halls to parks, state of the art water treatment plants to recycling facilities, you’ll see changes in all walks of life. These capital projects also provide a boost to our local economy."
The website was developed and built entirely in-house at a cost of $25,000, now shares lofty company with past winners like New York Economic Development Corporation, NASA and the British Home Office.
According to their website, the Interactive Media Council, Inc. (IMC), “is a non-profit organization of leading web designers, developers, programmers, advertisers and other web-related professionals, the competition is designed to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet.
In addition to winning the award, the City announced that the website has increased the number of infrastructure projects listed to 250.
“This update continues our commitment to transparency and accountability to citizens for the capital budget,” said Bronconnier. “Our capital program is an investment of more than $6 billion in Calgary’s infrastructure over the next five years that will benefit our community and stimulate the local economy.”
As a way of tooting our own horn, feel free to visit The City of Calgary Awards page to learn more about The City’s achievement in the areas of City Planning, Community Services, Corporate Stewardship and the Environment.
The closures are nothing really out of the ordinary as both centres will receive a thorough cleaning and any necessary repairs will be made to the pools, weight rooms and dry land fitness facilities.
One of the most notable aspects of the closures is that for the second year water from the pools at the leisure centres will be reused by other City departments.
“As part of our annual maintenance program, we need to drain our pools, so instead of it ending up in the sewer system, we can reuse it,” says Randy Spark building operations supervisor with the Southland Leisure Centre.
This water recycling program is a step towards fulfilling The City’s goal of making environmentally sustainable choices, one of The City’s top priorities.
The water is first drained out of the pool basin into the water filtration system where it is stripped of chlorine. The water is then pumped into City trucks and reused by Parks to water trees and boulevards in the area, and Roads to wash down bridges.
“It’s really a win, win situation,” says Spark. “Instead of introducing it into our sanitary sewer system, we can reuse close to 19,000 liters of water for jobs that need to be done by the City.”
The Calgary City News Blog is written by a team of City of Calgary employees and will focus on City of Calgary related stories. We will provide Calgarians with the facts about City of Calgary programs and initiatives. Please ask questions or post comments about The City and we will respond promptly and try our best to facilitate conversation.
As part of The City of Calgary’s Bridge Banner program, the 2010 banners are being unveiled on bridges entering Calgary’s downtown core. This year’s theme is a new take on an old idea.
banners, with a new theme each year, dedicated to creating a liveable, thriving and caring Centre City.
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