Calgary Minute: Packed CTrains, Acoustic Monitoring, and Ongoing Water Issues
Calgary Minute: Packed CTrains, Acoustic Monitoring, and Ongoing Water Issues
Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics
This Week In Calgary:
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Tuesday morning, at 9:30 am, there will be a Public Hearing Meeting of Council. There are several land use amendments on the agenda. On Thursday, at 9:30 am, the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee will meet. There are two confidential items on the agenda - Regional Utility Servicing Rates Setting and a Government Relations Update. Also on Thursday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Calgary Planning Commission to address several land use amendments.
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Calgarians are becoming increasingly frustrated with prolonged outdoor water restrictions amidst rising summer temperatures. City officials have provided no clear timeline for lifting the remaining restrictions, citing recent discoveries in the northwest of failures in pipe reinforcing wires - the type that snapped during the initial feedermain break. Businesses reliant on outdoor water usage, such as landscaping companies, are being significantly impacted, leading to financial strains and job losses. The City expressed concern with the amount of water being used, but Calgarians were allowed to fill their pools on account of the heat wave.
- Calgary is deploying 40 acoustic monitoring devices to identify hotspots for excessive vehicle noise before enforcing new regulations next year. These small, microphone-equipped boxes measure noise levels and transmit data to a central database without recording any audio. The devices should help officials pinpoint problem areas and guide targeted enforcement. The gathered data will support the work of new traffic safety teams, who will begin focusing on road safety around schools this fall and expand to address vehicle noise in spring 2025.
Last Week In Calgary:
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The City of Calgary and CUPE Local 38 reached an agreement, ending months of stalled negotiations that nearly led to labour action. The union, representing over 5,000 City workers, ratified a settlement for 2024 to 2026, including a 9.5% pay raise over three years. The contract also allows members to request to work from home up to five days per week and improves maternity leave top-up pay.
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CTrains have been more packed than usual this Stampede due to ongoing construction at the Haysboro Storage Facility, limiting service to three-car trains instead of four-car trains. Despite increased train frequency, the reduced capacity has led to crowded conditions. Each three-car train can hold around 600 passengers, though this number varies with strollers and wheelchairs on board. The Calgary Stampede set a new daily attendance record with over 200,000 visitors, further straining the transit system.
- A partnership between Telus, The Alex Community Health Centre, and the University of Calgary has launched to provide mobile diabetes screening to Calgary's marginalized communities. Funded by Telus, the pilot program operates from The Alex Mobile Care Clinic van, addressing the needs of the city's most vulnerable. One in five people experiencing homelessness is estimated to have diabetes, and the van is equipped to measure HbA1c levels and diagnose diabetic retinopathy.
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