Ward 1 - Sonya Sharp

October 2023 newsletter

Hello Ward 1! 

Welcome, October! The autumn season has flown by, and I know it is only a matter of time until winter joins us.

Thank you to everyone who hosted or attended events in our community this month. A highlight for me was attending a very powerful feather making ceremony in Bowness for Truth & Reconciliation Day. My team also attended the opening of Haskayne Legacy Park, and the Tuscany Harvest Festival. It was a very busy and full month of fall family fun in our communities.

This month’s newsletter will be a big one, full of important updates. Please take the time to read my updates below on community safety, upcoming Service Plans & Budget deliberations, and as always, ways for you to engaged and be involved. Reach out to my office if you have any questions or concerns, we will be happy to hear from you!

—Sonya Sharp

Photo of the Ward 1 team.
The Ward 1 team. Left to right: Connor Molineaux, Jessica Donnelly, Councillor Sonya Sharp, Marley Gillies, and Nadia Friesen.

News from City Council

2023-2026 Service Plans & Budgets: open house

Last year, Council approved a budget for The City of Calgary to provide services to Calgarians as presented in the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets. To ensure that the budget continues to meet the needs of Calgarians, Council makes adjustments to the service plans and budgets each November.

The budget that Council already approved for the coming year anticipates an increase in property taxes for Calgarians. As part of this year’s adjustments, Council is considering additional investments in a number of programs, like Transit safety and the housing strategy.

It will simply not be possible to fund all of these investments while keeping taxes reasonable. Because of this, it is so important that we hear from Ward 1 residents about what they want to see prioritized.

Councillor Sharp and the Ward 1 Office will be hosting an open house on Wednesday October 25th from 5:30 – 7:30 PM at the Varsity Community Association to hear your feedback. This is a drop-in style event and all are welcome to discuss this upcoming budget adjustments with the councillor.

Visit the Ward 1 website to learn more about the proposed investments, to submit your feedback, and to learn more about the open house event.

Calgary Transit Public Transit Safety Strategy

This month, the Community Development Committee unanimously approved the Public Transit Safety Strategy. Councillor Sharp hears ongoing concerns about Transit safety from Ward 1 residents, and the approved strategy will aim to improve rider confidence and security.

Specific measures in the strategy include: increased visibility of response teams, more transit ambassadors, enhanced cleaning, adding safety hubs and the regional deployment of Transit peace officers, improved infrastructure design, and new programming.

The strategy will be given final consideration by all of Council later this month. 

A Calgary peace officer, police officer and Transit peace officer walking side-by-side.

Change of use

Earlier this month, Council unanimously approved changes to the Change of Use process which include removing red tape by reducing businesses’ time to open, streamlining food and liquor service licencing, expanding opportunities for the Commercial Office District, and eliminating associated fees.

Streamlining change of use process: approved. Streamlined food and liquor service licencing, seating expansion for take-out restaurants, expanded business opportunities for CO, removed permit requirements.

Event Centre

The City has completed final agreements for the Event Centre with its partners, marking a significant milestone toward breaking ground on the Event Centre Block in the Culture & Entertainment District.

This is an important investment in community infrastructure for the future of our city. The district includes things that will benefit every Calgarian including upgraded transit and transportation infrastructure and space for the community to gather.

The Government of Alberta has also confirmed its investment in and contribution to this project. The Province's support will bring significant new mobility and street access improvements that will be essential to supporting the new businesses, residents, and visitors that this project will attract.

Learn more about the project at calgary.ca/eventcentre.

Community updates

Haskayne Legacy Park

This past month, we celebrated a very exciting addition to Ward 1 – the Haskayne Legacy Park!

This brand new park is located along the banks of the Bearspaw Reservoir in the northwest of Calgary. Haskayne Legacy Park is a beautiful place of natural preservation. The park spans 126- hectares of land and is the perfect place for nature enthusiasts, families, and those who love to explore! 

To visit the park:

  • Drive west on Crowchild Trail N.W. (Highway 1A) past Tuscany and Rocky Ridge
  • Continue towards Rocky View County/Cochrane
  • Turn south onto Woodland Road (Range Road 31). Woodland Road is your first left after you pass through the Bearspaw Road lights on Highway 1A.
  • Follow Woodland Road until you get to the end of the paved road and then travel along the gravel road where you will reach the parking lots.
Photo from Haskayne Legacy Park opening

Update in brief

  • For the past 31 years Calgary Transit has partnered with Calgary Co-op and Stingray Radio in support of the Calgary Food Bank. Calgarians are invited to stop by any Co-op on Saturday, November 18th to donate non-perishable food items and/or money to the Calgary Food Bank. Learn more about Stuff a Bus

Updates on City services

Mobility Safety Education Toolkit

The Ward 1 Office’s number 1 priority is community safety. If you have been subscribed to these newsletters for some time, you will know that!

Our schools and our communities play a supportive role in building healthy travel attitudes in young people. Travel experiences in the early elementary years help prepare our kids to become confident, independent travelers themselves. The Mobility Safety Education Toolkit was created to provide parents, educators and other community members resources they can use when talking to children about traffic safety. These resources are so valuable and encourage conversations in your family about how to stay safe while moving on city streets.

Our kids need help learning and practicing how to walk or wheel safely, and this is one step in making our communities safer. Learn more by visiting calgary.ca/StreetSafeKids.

Noise Barrier Retrofit Program

The City of Calgary is working to reduce the impact of transportation noise heard in residential areas through the Noise Barrier Retrofit Program (NBRP). The program is a citizen-led initiative where individuals may request the assessment of noise levels at their property. The City then completes a noise study and where required, will add the location to a priority list.

As a result of ongoing resident concerns, our office has identified Crowchild Trail NW (south side), east of 53 Street NW and Crowchild Trail NW (north side), West of Stoney Trail NW as a location of priority for increased volume. As such, the Noise Barrier Retrofit Program will be connecting with impacted residents to confirm their continued interest in the construction of a noise barrier. In order to move to the design and construction phase of the noise barrier, a 2/3 majority approval is required from all identified impacted residents. If there is a 2/3 approval from the survey respondents, they will proceed with the design process and follow-up to residents and the ward office about potential impacts and construction information.

For more information on the program, visit calgary.ca/noisebarriers

Updates in brief

  • The City of Calgary invites commercial property owners to participate in the Pre-Roll Consultation Period: an opportunity to review your preliminary 2024 assessment values. From October 2 to November 3, non-residential and multi-residential property owners can assess their values based on market conditions as of July 1, 2023. Finalized property values and assessment notices will be mailed in January. During this period, commercial property owners have access to market data and trend information. The Pre-Roll Symposium scheduled for October 5. Learn more at calgary.ca/assessment.

  • The City of Calgary’s Parks and Open Spaces department wants to hear from you about Connect: Calgary's Parks Plan, a 20-year plan for the future development and management of the City’s parks network. Join the open house on October 19th at 4 PM at the Shane Homes Rocky Ridge YMCA. Learn more at engage.calgary.ca.

  • Calgary Transit recently introduced monthly passes to Transit, the official Calgary Transit app. Prior to this, users were able to buy single ride tickets and day passes only. This new integration will give app users the convenience of being able to use one app for all of their transit needs. 

  • The next round of intake for the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) will be open on November 14th at 9 AM. CEIP offers flexible financing to residential properties to help with upfront costs of energy efficiency and renewable energy additions and upgrades. Learn more at calgary.ca

Categories: Budget, General, Newsletter

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