Calgary Minute: Underpass Closed, Safety Hub, and Electricity Access Fees

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

This Week In Calgary:

• Despite Council’s summer vacation, the Calgary Planning Commission will meet on Thursday at 1:00 pm. The agenda includes multiple land use amendments.
  
  
• The 4 Street SE underpass is now closed for the rest of the year due to underground utility work in preparation for the Green Line. The intersection of 11 Avenue and 4 Street SE will also close, but cyclist and pedestrian access to the underpass will continue. The City recommends leaving extra time to get to events in the area.
  
  
• Due to Canadian government legislation, much of the news content we share and comment on is being blocked on Facebook. We’ll have more information about our future plans in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, where we’re still posting regularly.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she plans to have City Administration look into access fees on electricity bills. The City has been profiting from the fees, which are tied to the much-increased Regulated Rate Option (RRO) price. Calgary is the only city in Alberta to calculate the access fees based on the RRO (even those on a fixed rate pay access fees based on the RRO) and, as a result, Calgarians are paying higher fees than anywhere else in the province. No official directive has been given yet, but Council will likely discuss the matter in early September.
  
  
• The East Village Safety Hub wrapped up its first year, and the pilot project is heading into its second of three years. Located in the basement of the St. Louis Hotel building, the Hub is aimed at providing support for vulnerable people, while also bolstering safety and security. The Hub gets about 200 visits per month from police, bylaw, and transit officers, as well as outreach teams. It is used as a place to rest, and to coordinate responses to community concerns. While residents in the area are noticing an increased policing presence, many did not report a decrease in social disorder as a result of the Hub.
  
  
• The City has launched its #ExploreDowntownYYC campaign to support local businesses and showcase events happening downtown. There are sample itineraries and downtown neighbourhood guides online, and the goal is to help create jobs, drive economic recovery, and transform downtown. The City is encouraging people to use their hashtag on social media to raise awareness about downtown. We’d venture a guess that taking a scroll through the local news gives people a pretty good idea about what’s going on downtown - and a lot of it isn’t good. How about we use #MakeDowntownYYCSafe instead? Ensuring people actually want to go downtown by dealing with some of the social disorder might be the more prudent strategy here.

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