Much Ado About Our Streets

DID YOU KNOW:

The City of Calgary is responsible for the planning, design, construction, maintenance and programming of Calgary's multi-use pathway system. Calgary's pathways connect along the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Fish Creek Provincial Park, Nose Creek, West Nose Creek, the Western Irrigation District Canal and the perimeter of Glenmore Reservoir. There’s another 290 km of on-street bikeways and cycle tracks. The Rotary/Mattamy Greenway is a 138 km pathway that loops around the city with many special amenities along the way.

Glossary: Calgary Pathways and Bikeways

Some of the amenities that can brighten up these trips include Calgary’s Public Art Collection, exploring Calgary’s cycling and walking route maps, or coming up with creative ways to enjoy enclosed private spaces like your own backyard while we figure out the best way to balance getting outside with current public health measures.

When the City first trialed temporary road closures to provide additional bike and pedestrian pathways, Calgarians were supportive. Since then, maintaining proper physical distancing has become difficult as these spaces become more crowded with patrons enjoying the return of spring.

Council is currently assessing all available options to make sure we can continue to enjoy being outside without increasing the risk for transmission. We’ve heard many suggestions from Ward 9 constituents about how we can make our streets more accessible. Some of these ideas are summarized below:

The Growth of Bicycle Networks in Canadian Communities in Response to COVID-19

Warmer weather means more and more people are looking to get outside for fresh air and exercise. On top of that, COVID-19 cabin fever is setting in. With more people out walking and cycling, physical distancing is increasingly a challenge.

In response, cities across Canada are re-balancing their streets. A decrease in car traffic and the increase in active transportation has opened up a great opportunity to dedicate more space for people, rather than cars.

The response so far has been disabling beg buttons (crosswalk request buttons), closing some driving and parking lanes, and in some cases, full street closures. This will continue to be adjusted as the spring progresses.

20 Avenue NW cycle track work inspired by southeast Calgary multi-use pathway

An official community-led request for a 20 Avenue NW connector hasn’t yet been made, said Natalie Coombs with the City of Calgary. They are aware of it as a potential connector route. It was identified as an on-street bikeway in the original city pathways plan and is included in the city’s new 5A network.

Coombs said recent work done on the North Hill Local Area Growth Plan identified future needs for these transportation corridors. There are pathway and bike lane improvements planned in on 24 Avenue NW for the Banff Trail Area Improvements.

Mapping How Cities Are Reclaiming Street Space

A few large cities, with established communities of pedestrian and cyclist advocates, have taken more drastic actions. At least seven U.S. and Canadian cities, including Portland, Minneapolis, and Calgary,* have temporarily stopped or limited access to vehicles on certain corridors in order to help walking, biking, and outdoor respite-taking happen in accordance with social distancing guidelines. Bogotá, Mexico City, and Berlin have all expanded cycling networks to make way for bikes, which have emerged as the non-car mode of choice in a time of social distance. Around the world, calls to increase urban sidewalk space to allow for safer pedestrian use are getting louder.

Canadian cities trail international peers on plans to remake city streets after the pandemic

“While [this pandemic is] challenging in this moment, it also offers us really this once-in-a-century chance to change course and undo some of the damage of a century of car-focused street design,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the chair of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, which counts several Canadian cities as members.

Could this market design be the future of social-distance food shopping?

“Many households depend on the open-air market for their basic food needs. Closing the markets forces them to switch to the more expensive supermarkets, putting further financial pressure on these more vulnerable groups.” Shift proposes that these micromarkets be open five days a week, to further reduce crowds and reach more people.

Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-19 could do the same

In the 20th century, tuberculosis, typhoid, polio and Spanish flu breakouts prompted urban planning, slum clearance, tenement reform, waste management and, on a larger level, Modernism itself, with its airy spaces, single-use zoning (separating residential and industrial areas, for instance), cleaner surfaces (think glass and steel) and emphasis on sterility.

Four reasons to bridge the urban-suburban divide

Suburbs that fail to provide walkable commercial real estate locations will likely find that businesses locate elsewhere. Providing “office parks” is not enough. Here are four important aspects of suburban office markets in the summer of 2017, according to CBRE Group, the largest commercial restate services and investment firm in the world.

A Tactical Urbanist Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has emptied our public spaces and canceled our normal social interactions. In its wake, some communities have turned to tactical urbanism to adapt our infrastructure, accommodate safe physical distancing, and support a new kind of public life. Here’s how…

Which of these suggestions inspires you? What would you improve? Are there examples we’ve missed?

Let us know!

- Team Ward 9