Calgary Minute: Lynx Air, Transitional Housing, and Bus Traps Removed

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

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a City Council meeting. There is a lengthy consent agenda (the stuff they don’t debate unless a Councillor specifically requests to), which includes the City Auditor’s Office 2023 Annual Report and an Alberta Municipalities Update. Then, Council will receive a quarterly update on the City’s Anti-Racism Strategic Plan before debating some of the items that recently passed at Committees, including remote participation in meetings and driveway RV parking.
  
  
• The Green Line Board will meet on Thursday at 12:00 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.
  
  
• Lynx Air is ceasing operations, effective today. The Calgary-based airline filed for creditor protection on Thursday, two years into their operations. By the end of 2023, Lynx Air's assets were estimated at around $429 million, but the airline had liabilities reaching nearly $600 million. The company defaulted on debts, including those owed to the de-icing service provider at the Calgary airport, and airport authorities in Montreal and Toronto. Passengers with cancelled flights are being directed to call their credit card companies to obtain a refund.

Last Week In Calgary:

• The City of Calgary has selected the HomeSpace Society to develop transitional housing projects, focusing on families with children at risk of or experiencing homelessness. HomeSpace will construct the housing projects on two City-owned sites in the communities of Horizon and Shawnee Slopes. Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the City has learned that one of the best ways to get housing built for families in need is to offer City-owned land to the experts in building supportive housing. HomeSpace already has 892 housing units in 34 properties and have said they are committed to completing this new project within 18 months.
  
  
• Calgary has bid farewell to its longstanding bus traps, which were eliminated after City crews paved over the final one. The traps, in use for almost 50 years, were designed as traffic control devices to prevent non-transit vehicles from using bus-only lanes. Despite being popularized in the late 1970s, these barriers faced criticism for causing cars to get stuck, disrupting public transit flow. The City spent $25,000 to decommission the last seven traps. The decision to eliminate the bus traps came after a 2022 Administrative Inquiry by Ward 10 Councillor Andre Chabot, who recommended exploring more advanced traffic control technologies.
  
  
• The City of Calgary celebrated the graduation of 12 community peace officers and 10 transit peace safety officers, marking the first graduation ceremony for new Peace Officers in 2024. The graduation follows a recent recruitment blitz in Calgary aimed at addressing public safety, particularly on transit. The ongoing investments in law enforcement have positively impacted safety perceptions in public transit, according to recent surveys. It’s a start…

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