Each day, thousands of City employees ensure the essential services Calgarians rely on are available.

Our community has experienced several disasters and emergencies over the years. Employees have stepped up in extreme conditions to maintain and restore critical:

• Infrastructure
• Utilities
• Transit service
• Roadways
• Pathways

This also includes making sure public parks and spaces were clean, accessible and safe. 

This webpage pays tribute to our operational frontline employees. We are proud to recognize their work and thank them for being there for our community, in the good times and the hard times.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 viral disease a pandemic. Cities and communities across the world responded with public health restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus, protect at risk individuals and limit strain on public healthcare systems. The City delivers many essential services to Calgarians and several operational adjustments were made so that employees could safely keep serving Calgarians.

City employees played a key role in maintaining the health, safety and vitality of our community during the pandemic.

• Water Services continued providing water, wastewater and stormwater services throughout the pandemic, ensuring Calgarians and the region had safe, reliable drinking water, and the health of our watershed was maintained.
  
• City parks enhanced programming to ensure Calgarians had outdoor space for year-round socializing when the risk of indoor viral transmission was high. Fire pits and skating features were introduced to many city parks for winter season activities. 
• Expanded pathways and adaptive roadways were created for Calgarians who needed more space and were spending more time outside.
• Waste & Recycling Services maintained collection services with minor adjustments. Demand for collections and landfill services increased as Calgarians spent more time at home, including increased home improvements and yard maintenance. Service changes and landfill hours were communicated to Calgarians through calgary.ca, the Garbage Day app  and social media.
• Calgary Transit services were adjusted and service changes communicated to Transit customers. The Plan a Trip  feature of the Calgary Transit website enabled customers to easily connect with the latest information.
• Temporary patios on public property were approved with no fee for restaurants wanting to add outdoor space for customers.
• As more people began to work from home, downtown parking demand declined. Calgary Parking converted the upper levels of the City Centre Parkade (Lot 25) to an expansive outdoor park (High Park] ) for Calgarians and Beltline community members in need of additional outdoor space for recreation and socializing.