Calgary Minute: Issue 388

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

📅 This Week In Calgary: 📅

• Council will meet tomorrow at 9:30 am, and on its agenda is a motion from Ward 13 Councillor Dan McLean to pause new on-street bike lanes that would take away traffic lanes or parking. The motion would halt the design, procurement, and construction of any new on-street bike lane or cycle track that removes vehicle travel lanes or measurably reduces on-street parking until the provincial government introduces legislation on municipal cycling infrastructure and Council reviews it. Work would continue on pathway missing links, multi-use pathways, school connections, sidewalks, off-street cycling facilities, and other projects that do not reduce road capacity or parking. Administration would report back to the Infrastructure and Planning Committee by the first quarter of 2027 with an inventory of planned or funded cycling projects that affect traffic lanes or parking, their estimated costs, and options to redirect that money to other active transportation priorities.
  
  
• Ward 14 Councillor Landon Johnston wants the City to discourage drivers from stopping under bridges and overpasses during hailstorms. His notice of motion, on the agenda when City Council meets tomorrow, argues that vehicles sheltering under these structures cause sudden backups, raise the risk of collisions, and can block emergency services, tow trucks, and transit. The motion would direct Administration to develop a strategy that assesses the safety risks, considers public awareness campaigns, and uses existing City channels such as electronic message signs, social media, and 311 to warn drivers during severe weather. It also calls for a review of traffic regulations and bylaws, with recommendations on any amendments or enforcement approaches that could reduce the practice.
  
  
• Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams has told Ward 14 Councillor Landon Johnston that his leak of confidential budget documents was "unacceptable", but has not suggested any sanctions, and also noted that closed meetings should only be used where the Municipal Government Act allows. Johnston admitted in September to disclosing preliminary budget details that Council had discussed in a closed meeting on July 28th, including a possible 20.2% property tax increase that Council had not approved, saying Calgarians should know how their property tax dollars could be spent. After Council voted 12-2 to ask Williams to address the leak, City Solicitor Jill Floen told councillors that without a code of conduct in place, they had no mechanism to discipline Johnston. Mayor Jeromy Farkas said municipalities are still without a formal framework for council conduct, and urged Williams to restore the accountability measures as quickly as possible.
  
  
• Sport Calgary has launched a campaign called Keep Calgary Playing to press for more City investment in sport and recreation facilities ahead of the 2027-2030 budget. President Candice Goudie said more than 70% of public recreation facilities are over 35 years old, according to the City's own recreation strategy, and the group's surveys found 80% of sport groups are at or near capacity, with more than 57,000 people on waitlists. In February 2025, the previous Council approved a plan that would require $200 million - $250 million in recreation facility investment, though the figures will not be finalized until the next four-year budget is approved. Goudie said that amount is only about 2.5%-3% of the City's 2026 budget. The City said in a statement that overall recreation funding has not been consistent or sufficient to keep pace with population growth and aging facilities. Mayor Jeromy Farkas called recreation investment "an absolute must-have" and said he strongly supports the push for more funding, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments.
  
  
• Premier Danielle Smith says she met with Mayor Jeromy Farkas to begin mapping out issues the Province and the City could work on together as both governments go through their budget cycles. Smith said she will hold a similar meeting with Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack. Smith said the two big cities' concerns differ from rural Alberta's, and named affordability, health care, and kids in class as the issues Calgarians and Edmontonians want the Province to focus on. She declined to say what might be in the provincial budget or in the City's budget deliberations, but said it begins with a conversation with each city's leadership about how they want to partner with the Province.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Wednesday's Pints & Politics with Mayor Jeromy Farkas is officially sold out, but you can still join the waitlist in case a seat opens up!

And if you’ve already RSVP’d but can no longer make it, please cancel your RSVP so someone on the waitlist has a chance to attend.

See you on Wednesday!

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