Calgary Minute: Council Recess, Inclusive Playgrounds, and City Hall Fires

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

This Week In Calgary:

• Council is still in recess and the only meetings scheduled for the month of August are bi-weekly meetings of the Calgary Planning Commission.
  
  
• The City is seeking public engagement about vendors in public parks. The Vendors in Parks (V.I.P.) Pop-Up Program has been in place since 2017 and the City is considering expanding the program to allow for more types of vendors for a variety of durations at designated tent locations in South Glenmore Park, Valleyview Park, Shouldice Park, and Prairie Winds Park. Feedback can be provided on the City’s website.
  
  
• Tuesday is the deadline to have your say on a Memorial Drive extension project. The extension will include a new crossing of the CN Rail line and an east-west overpass across Stoney Trail. While the project was previously approved, the exact location and configuration of the roadways and crossings still has yet to be determined. The survey can be accessed on the City’s website.

Last Week In Calgary:

• City Hall was closed to the public after a man broke in and set four small fires around the building. The fires triggered the sprinkler system, causing significant water damage inside City Hall. Several services were impacted, including Fair Entry, cashiers, planning and development, and taxation services. The suspect was arrested and none of the staff in the building were harmed.
  
  
• A partnership with the City of Calgary, the Parks Foundation of Calgary, and the Government of Alberta led to 10 new inclusive and accessible playgrounds throughout the city. The playgrounds are intended to cater to children of all needs and abilities and include directional braille indicator signs as well as enclosed or semi-private areas for overstimulated kids to take a break. The Province contributed just over $4.6 million for the creation of the spaces.​​
  
  
• The South Calgary Health Centre announced the early closure of its urgent care centre due to staffing issues. Instead of closing at 10:00 pm, the centre will not take patients after 8:00 pm. Mayor Jyoti Gondek expressed concern that the reduced hours would put strain on other urgent care facilities in the city. Data was also released about ambulance service in Calgary. It showed that red alerts (time without an ambulance available) doubled in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period in 2021.

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