The City of Calgary is making improvements at the Calgary Soccer Centre (CSC) located at 7000 48 Street SE 

Construction is underway and is expected to be completed by early 2025.Once complete, citizens will have access to a high-quality, year-round practice and play space. It will be bookable by anyone. Learn more at Calgary.ca/CSCDome.

One of the best days of the year is just around the corner!  Neighbour Day is Calgary’s celebration of community connection. Held each year on the third Saturday in June, Neighbour Day is a step toward creating welcoming and inclusive communities where neighbours connect and belong every day of the year.

Neighbour Day 2024 will include two kick-off events on May 4 to help raise awareness of Neighbour Day and invite Calgarians to start planning their own Neighbour Day block party or community event for June 15.  

Jane’s Walk 2024 is back and taking place May 3rd through 5th. Calgarians of all ages are invited to participate in free walking tours throughout a variety of communities and areas of interest in the city!

A global event inspired by and in honour of Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. Jane believed that in order to properly observe how people, through their actions and interactions, create communities with a strong sense of belonging, we need to get out and walk the city.

The City of Calgary takes a proactive approach to protecting and replacing aging assets. The water main replacement program reduces emergency water main breaks and service interruptions by replacing corroded mains with new PVC pipe and adding protection to reduce the rate of future corrosion.

Since 1980, this program has contributed to a 73 per cent decrease in the number of emergency water main repairs. As part of this years water main replacement program contract, water mains will be replaced along with some public and private water services in the following Ward 9 areas:

There is an exciting opportunity for a local Manchester artist to paint some of the windows in the Manchester Tower Community Space. They are currently looking for a creative person who is available in April to paint. If that's you, see more details above on how to submit a draft proposal before March 31.

Calgary is in a housing crisis. We need more homes. The citywide rezoning proposed in Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy will help.

How will rezoning help?

This change will help increase the supply of housing to better meet demand by reducing the costs and timelines for permit approvals. This means more housing is able to be built faster. It also allows for greater housing variety, options, and price points to suit more Calgarians needs.

 If you’re renting or buying, rezoning increases the number and types of homes available in all communities, making homes more affordable. If you own property, you’ll have more options to meet your future needs.

As the GreenLine LRT begins to shift from planning to implementation, we are at a place where key challenges and opportunities associated with the current GreenLine station designs in Ward 9 need to be addressed. These challenges and opportunities are grounded in the perspective I have as a 10+ year advocate and champion of the GreenLine in my role as the area’s City Councillor, as well as my 20+ year role as an urban design professional working with East Calgary Communities towards the transit-oriented future we are now on the brink of achieving.

The City of Calgary is currently in the second phase of the Chinook Community Local Area Planning project, which includes the communities of Manchester and Manchester Industrial. Some great conversations and engagements have already taken place with the working group and local community associations.

Opportunities for the public to get involved are open from November 14 to December 11, 2023.

From November 30th - December 10th, we will be collecting donations for the Calgary Food Bank as part of the Mayor’s Annual Food Drive.

Like Food Banks across the country, the Calgary Food Bank has seen an unprecedented increase in demand this past year. In 2022, Council raised just over $80,000 in food and funds for Calgarians in need. We hope to surpass that number this year.

The City of Calgary is updating plans that will shape the Calgary of the future and make sure our city keeps on being a great place to live. We want to hear from you.

Calgary is a city of opportunity and choice. As our city’s population approaches two million, The City of Calgary must prepare to support this growth. The City Building program will align and strengthen The City’s plans and tools to create a place where everyone can thrive.

Beginning October 12, Green Line’s Development Partner, Bow Transit Connectors, will be undertaking a series of borehole tests in the area surrounding the future 26 Avenue SE LRT station (around Ramsay and Highfield). Impacts are limited to City-owned and private property and are not expected to impact general traffic in the area. Each investigation is expected to take one-to-two days. Where there are potential impacts to businesses, Green Line will coordinate directly with those who may be affected.

After three hard and emotional days, City Council voted 12-3 to pass the Housing Strategy in its entirety. The actions outlined in this strategy make up a comprehensive and critically needed framework to address housing affordability, ensuring more Calgarians have a safe place to call home.

Over 1,322 pages of written submissions were sent in, 162 members of the public came out to speak, and our office received hundreds of emails. Overwhelmingly, the stories of those desperate to find or keep a roof over their head are the ones that dominated the conversation.

You can read the full Housing Strategy report and all 66 of the recommendations HERE.

For September, the Connectors are organizing a two-part cookie event. They are looking for volunteers to help prep the cookie dough on Friday, Sept 15 and to help bake on Saturday morning, Sept 16. If munching on yummy cookies is more your thing, join the community as we gather in the afternoon on Saturday September 16 to eat cookies together.

Calgary is experiencing a housing crisis.

Our city has grown significantly over the past several years and, at this moment, one in five Calgary households are unable to afford where they currently live. This equates to more than 80,000 households who are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. As we anticipate welcoming another 110,000 new residents over the next four years, the scale of the challenge we face is significant.

As part of The City’s Local Drainage Improvements (LDI) Program, we will be working in your area to improve the stormwater system to alleviate excessive pooling and flooding that can happen. This work includes installing storm pipes, storm drains (or catch basins), and upgrading existing catch basins and connecting pipes to increase the flow of stormwater into the system.

With Stampede just around the corner, we’re sharing a roundup of pancake breakfasts happening throughout Ward 9.

If you have an event you’d like us to include, please email us at caward9@calgary.ca

The Manchester Neighbourhood Connector Initiative started last year, with the goal to help build community connections and reduce isolation while using the skills and assets of those living in the neighbourhood.

 The Neighbour Connector Initiative is expanding, and looking to hire a few new members.

Jane’s Walk 2023 is taking place May 5, 6 + 7. Calgarians of all ages are invited to participate in free walking tours throughout the city!

A global event inspired by and in honour of Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. Jane believed that in order to properly observe how people, through their actions and interactions, create communities with a strong sense of belonging, we need to get out and walk the city.

Below is a roundup of the Jane’s Walks scheduled throughout Ward 9. Register today for walks in your neighbourhood.

Communities change and evolve over time. Conversations about where, why and how revitalization and redevelopment should happen are essential to ensure our communities change in the right ways.

Working together, we'll create a local area plan to guide the evolution of the Chinook Communities over the next 30 years. The Chinook Communities include the Ward 9 neighbourhood of Manchester and the south portion of Manchester Industrial, as well as other ward communities of Bel-Aire, Britannia, Elboya, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Parkhill, Windsor Park, and a small eastern portion of Glenmore Park.

Neighbour Day started in June 2014 to celebrate the incredible outpouring of support and generosity of neighbours following the 2013 floods. Each year on the third Saturday in June, we continue to celebrate one of the things that makes Calgary such a great city — our strong and caring communities.

Now is the time to start planning! The 10th annual Neighbour Day will be held on Saturday, June 17 and provides the opportunity for Calgarians to celebrate our community spirit and kindness by helping to facilitate enjoyable activities for everyone!

The Manchester Community Garden is looking for any neighbours interested in gardening this season, as a group or solo. Register for one of the two meetings, to help organize the community garden this year. - Thursday, May 11th at either 2pm or 6pm.

Ward 9 is working on a new map, sharing the story of the unique and diverse voices that make our great Ward 9 neighbourhoods thrive.

So - we want to know: who in your life embodies true community spirit? Who is working tirelessly to help their neighbours? Who shows up whenever they’re needed? Who is laying the groundwork to make life better for themselves and the people in their community? Maybe that person is YOU!

We are looking to showcase a diverse group of people that live, work, and volunteer in Ward 9, including people with different cultures, abilities, backgrounds, and life experiences.

If you or someone you know feels a passionate connection to your Ward 9 community and is willing to share a little bit about yourself for an opportunity to be highlighted through our various Ward 9 communication channels, we want to hear from you!

For Manchester community members with children between 6-11 years old, there are some great children’s programs happening in the neighbourhood. Pop by the Open House event on January 30 from 5-6:30 to learn more about these FREE programs! 

As previously communicated, remaining construction was substantially completed in fall 2021, including Ongoing work has been happening along 42 Avenue SE between 1A Street SW and 12 Street SE to improve the walking. biking, and transit experience and provide better access and connections in the area. The bulk of the work has been completed, including the build-out of missing sidewalk links along 42 Avenue SE. and the multi-use pathway along 12 Street SE.

Get ready! From December 1st - 11th, we will be collecting donations for the Calgary Food Bank as part of the Mayor’s Annual Food Drive.

Drop off non-perishable food donations at Bridgeland Market - 1104 1st Ave NE

Or, beginning December 1st, use the link above to donate monetary funds to the Ward 9 Food Bank Fundraising page.

Manchester residents are invited to attend Holiday Jingle & Mingle on December 8th, 2022 from 5:30 - 8:30pm.

Dinner, music, prizes, activities, and hot cocoa will be served. You also have the option to sign up for the community Secret Santa gift exchange.

Accessible, affordable, healthy food options have returned to Manchester!

The Mustard Seed Manchester Neighbour Centre is hosting its Fall Pop-Up Clothing store and is looking for a few volunteers to help during the day. Volunteers may be asked to help guests find items, sort and tidy areas, and other tasks throughout the event.

A family-friendly fundraiser and harvest celebration featuring locally inspired soups, live music, games and an artisan market.

Presented by Plant, Grow, Share a Row and Highfield Farm, Soupalicious Calgary returns this October 1st to Highfield Regenerative Farm. This harvest event, soup-sampling fundraiser supports the development of a community urban farm hub. Proceeds from this year's Soupalicious will aid in the build-out of the new year-round greenhouse where Highfield will grow food and meet with the community through the winter.