Well – this is the stuff that gives me grey hair!
As many of you are aware, we have been working with the City of Calgary on Main Streets over the last three years. This September, City Administration recommended cutting funding to Main Streets. For us, this means that we have been through three years of engagement, an amendment to our ARP to meet the City Municipal Development Plan densification targets, and NO investment in the amenity space in the community.
Imagine my surprise when I was told there was never any funding for Main Streets and that it was a “miscommunication”. City staff suggested that they were clear that the project was not funded past the design/construction drawing stage. I was able to pull direct quotes from City communication:
- “Council also approved funding in May 2017 to implement the Montgomery Main Street Improvements”
And from the City Main Streets Website:
- “As part of regular road maintenance, Bowness Road N.W. is scheduled for repaving in 2019. The road surface will be removed and replaced which presents an opportunity to redesign the road, so it functions more effectively for all users. As a result, the projects will be combined and implemented together, providing significant improvements on Bowness Road N.W. while reducing construction costs and minimizing impacts on businesses, residents, and road users. Our investment in Montgomery starts in 2019.”
When confronted with this information, the City staff responded with a letter noting:
- “The City recognizes that the information on the website is incorrect, and we are committed to updating our website to reflect that there is currently no funding allocated for construction of streetscape improvements….”
I was able to do a verbal presentation to Council at the end of September which included the above along with key points:
- Not okay with densification without amenities.
- Not okay with City not keeping its promises to the community.
- Not okay with the time spent in engagement without outcomes.
This may be an egregious oversite, but the confusion is not on the part of the community! We have upheld our side of this by agreeing to the targets of the amended ARP. The City needs to follow through on their promises.
In November, Council will be debating the budget. We need City Councillors to vote to keep the funding and the City promises.
Here’s where I need your help. Druh Farrell is on our side and has strongly voiced her disappointment in the recommendation and her strong support for amenity spaces in Montgomery. We need to get the other Councillors to also vote to fund Main Streets.
If you believe that it’s important for the City to follow through on the promise to fund Main Streets, please contact the Mayor and all of the City Councillors:
Email for Mayor Nenshi: [email protected]
You can email all the councilors at http://www.calgary.ca/citycouncil/Pages/Contact-the-Office-of-the-Councillors.aspx
If funding is not forthcoming, we will be working with Councillor Farrell on our next steps and options.
On another note, cannabis has been legalized; we have one approved cannabis store site in Montgomery. I would just like to ask that we continue to be good neighbours. If you are smoking outside, please be aware of your neighbours and the direction the wind is blowing. Not everyone likes the smell.
