Investing in Ward 11

Ward 11 as a whole is amenity rich. Pathways, recreation centres and pools, athletic facilities and arenas, libraries, and transit. Ward 11 also has great access to major roads and shopping centres. We have a hospital and a good number of schools

Like much of the city built between the 60s and 90s, Ward 11 communities are experiencing a shift in their makeup. As councillor, my goal is to support neighbourhoods through shifts in neighbourhood populations, development changes, business cycles, and our civic infrastructure requirements.

Calgary has large opportunities and challenges in our next 20-30 years. Revitalizing the downtown core, bringing needed economic diversification, and working towards climate mitigation measures. I want to ensure that while we tackle these issues we continue to focus as well on the need of protecting community infrastructure and devising ways to bring more investment back into established neighbourhoods.

I've written previous blog posts about making Calgary a city that supports neighbourhoods across seasons, ages, and explores how we can encourage small businesses in our parks.

• Calgary as a winter city
• Designing a city for girls
• Civic Tourism
• 40 Wishes for Calgary

I want Ward 11 to be full of neighbourhoods where families see a future. This means playgrounds and green spaces to play, neighbourhood schools remaining open, and recreation programming which supports a sense of community. I also want communities to be multi-generational and accessible, meaning neighbourhoods need to be designed for seniors to age in place and those with physical impairments can navigate our communities. At both ends of the age spectrum and for those with disabilities, neighbourhood design looks similar - curb cuts at road crossings, well marked crosswalks, snow clearing at transit stations and bus stops, clean transit stations, and well lit roads and sidewalks to name a few. A spectrum of civic services hosted in buildings kept in good repair is critical to serving residents. ​

We can support neighbourhoods in the following ways:

• Budget prioritization in both capital and operating to support facility upkeep, upgrades, and replacement. I believe we need to prioritize spending for usable aspects of our amenities. An example would be pathway repaving over large annual flower pot planting. 
• Community Associations need guidance and oversight to manage and upgrade their facilities. Volunteers are fatigued and inexperienced to tackle large projects. I believe we need to support this work through the Calgary Neighbourhoods department as well as work closely with the Federation of Calgary Communities to get community associations the knowledge they need. 
• Low-income and unhoused Calgarians, and Calgarians with disabilities need resources through agencies and organizations which are supported and partner with the City of Calgary. We need stable and predictable funding through Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) so organizations can spend more time servicing residents than applying for grants. We must continue to prioritize and fund new off-market housing projects across the city as well as ensure existing housing is kept in good repair. We must also continue to retrofit buildings and our public realm to accessible design standards.
• Ward 11 has undeveloped and underdeveloped sites which could support a higher use. This could be housing, additional retail opportunities for local businesses, or a combination of both. We know that empty and underused sites attract crime. It is important as councillor that I work towards attracting development projects which support neighborhoods. Note: I will discuss neighbourhood development and land use in the next blog post.

Major planned or recent upgrades in Ward 11 Initiated by the City:

• Rose Kohn and Jimmie Condon Arenas
• Twinning of Stu Peppard Arena
• Glenmore Athletic Park Plans
• Anderson Station Upgrades
• Inclusive Playgrounds in North Glenmore, South Glenmore, and Sandy Beach
• Adaptive Lane on 50th

A few major upgrades I would like to champion:
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• A multi-use pathway (MUP) along 50th Ave, 19th St, 58th Ave, and 20th Streets as part of Glenmore Athletic Park upgrades. This will connect the MUP fully around the North section of the reservoir route. Currently walkers and cyclists are either forced to use the road or the grass boulevard adjacent to the road along these roads.
• A twinned pathway in South Glenmore Park from the spray park/parking lot to the junction just past the pump track.
• Public washrooms at North Glenmore Park (east end) and at Sue Higgins Dog Park.
• Better way finding signage for public washrooms in all our regional parks. Perhaps not an upgrade, but an ask: washrooms open year round.​
• The intersection at 90th Ave and 16th St SW (entrance to Glenmore Landing) is in poor condition and the pedestrian experience is dangerous with bumps, potholes, and poor placement of posts and poles. Just East the pedestrian experience crossing the slip lanes into Glenmore landing needs to be improved with wider curb cuts and better signage and road painting to draw attention to active users.

• Southland and Heritage LRT Stations need at the very least, to be deep cleaned, for the parking lot hazards to be removed or fixed, and for accessible design to be improved. I would add that bus loops need better shelter for the winter months and shade (trees) for the summer months. Long term plans need to include station upgrades to make them fully accessible (similar to Chinook station).

Within neighborhoods the following upgrades need to be prioritized:

• More emphasis on crosswalk safety on wide and double lane roads especially within neighbourhoods in particular key walking routes to and from schools or any city buildings (pools, libraries, etc). We need to spend the money doing the work, not studying the intersections.
• Adding curb cuts in side walks or expanding where necessary to better accommodate use.
• Improving the rate of playground upgrades. Too many neighborhoods are spending an extraordinary amount of volunteer time fundraising for City infrastructure. If we want our established neighborhoods to attract young families to help us meet our density targets, the infrastructure must meet the lifestyle needs of residents.
• We need more seating in our parks and greenspaces. This has been the number one request from seniors.

You are of course going to ask, how are we going to pay for this?
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• First, budget priorities in both operating and capital expenditures. Focus on usable aspects.
• Two, Ward 11 needs an advocate for projects to administration. This means having a mutually respectful working relationship with staff.
• Third, we must examine if we can move some operating expenditures to capital expenditures where we can leverage debt to build our infrastructure needs. When we improve our City owned assets we build our overall fiscal capacity.
• Fourth, we need to continue to explore levies on redevelopment and upgrades to support public realm improvements. This is ongoing work the City is undertaking.
• Fifth, generate additional revenue for the city by bringing development to Ward 11 communities and the city as a whole. We must continue to strive for revenue growth in Calgary.

Ward 11 needs an advocate at city hall. I am invested in bringing improvements to our neighbourhoods.

Kourtney