Calgary Minute: Wednesday Event, CTrain Closure, and a Transit Safety Strategy

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

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be an Organizational Meeting of Council. On the agenda are the 2023-2024 Council Chamber Seating Plan and the creation of a Council Compensation Review Committee. Council will also receive a briefing on the 2023 Grey Cup and 2024 Quebec Carnival Council Representatives - the selection of Council Representatives to attend these events is conducted by the City Clerk’s Office by random draw from among Councillors who express interest in attending them. Councillor McLean has been selected to attend the 2023 Grey Cup, and Councillors Walcott and Chabot were selected to attend the 2024 Quebec Carnival.
  
  
• The Community Development Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at 9:30 am, but the meeting notice indicates that it will be held following the recess of the Organizational Meeting of Council as they are scheduled for the same time. Currently, the agenda has nothing on it, though. The Infrastructure and Planning Committee meeting is also scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 am, but the meeting notice indicates that it will be held following the recess of the Community Development Committee. The agenda also has nothing on it. There is a meeting of the Green Line Board scheduled for Thursday at 2:00 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.
  
  
• The Can’t Stop Alberta Tour is coming to Calgary on Wednesday. The Common Sense Calgary team will be joining the Alberta Institute for a fun evening at Brickwell Tap House. We’ll be discussing some important, topical issues in provincial and municipal politics. You can RSVP by clicking here. Hope to see you there!

Last Week In Calgary:

• The City announced a nine-day closure along the south leg of the Red Line LRT between Chinook and City Hall/Bow Valley College stations. The closure, which will take place from November 24th to December 4th, is necessary to complete the Victoria Park/Stampede station project and will impact thousands of commuters. Replacement shuttles will be available at specific stations, and express bus routes will operate. To mitigate the inconvenience, the City is offering a 25% discount on December's Calgary Transit monthly pass. Construction will operate around the clock to complete the project on schedule, with some lane closures in effect to facilitate the work.
  
  
• The City of Calgary has temporarily halted new applications for the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program due to high demand surpassing available funds. The program approved 13 projects and has four more in the pipeline, encompassing conversions of office spaces into residential, hotel, school, and performing arts facilities. These projects are expected to create around 2,300 homes and repurpose 2.3 million square feet of vacant office space in the downtown area. The City has spent $153 million on the program and are now seeking more funding avenues to support more projects.
  
  
• Council approved a public transit safety strategy aimed at reducing crime on transit and enhancing public confidence. The plan emphasizes collaboration between transit peace officers, the Calgary Police Service, and other service providers. Safety hubs will be established along the CTrain line to respond to emergency calls within 10 minutes. The strategy also involves increased patrolling by transit peace officers, coordinated emergency responses, and improved station cleanliness. The strategy is set to be fully implemented by the end of 2025, pending approval of its $15 million budget.

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