Highland Park – a Post-War Community on the Cusp of Change

The Beginning

The Highland Park community is situated within the Nose Creek watershed.  During the early part of the 20th century, these lands were used as hay fields for farm animals.  During the 1930’s the community of Tuxedo Park was being developed to the south.

On Centre street, the Canadian Estates Company Ltd., donated a route extension to the community of Tuxedo Park and a city park in return for guaranteed street car service.  Street car service was continued to Tuxedo Park until 1936.

Aerial photos show that extensive development of Highland Park did not occur until after World War II.

Post-War Development

In the 1950’s, Calgary underwent an economic boom, and the community’s housing stock was constructed in a style that is typically a one storey bungalow that is horizontal to the street with a hip roof.  For more info about this period of development, I recommend reading Suburban Modern: Post-War Dreams in Calgary.

Most streets in the community were built on a grid pattern, as it was not until later that urban planners and developers started experimenting with curvilinear street designs.  The grid pattern results in the community being highly amenable for walking and cycling due to a high degree of connectivity.

A Resurgence

Calgary continued to expand, but it wasn’t until the start of the 21st century that Highland Park started experiencing infill development.  In part, due to lengthening commute times for new suburbs and gentrification, Highland Park now ranks as the fastest growing community in ward 4.

Highland Park is on the cusp of change once again.  Redevelopment has been proposed for the Highland Park Golf Course. And a light rail transit project, called the Greenline, has been proposed on Centre St.

Recently, I attended a community forum about the golf course redevelopment in the community.  Among the concerns, were the following:

• Without a Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) in place, City of Calgary should meaningfully engage with community from outset of a major redevelopment
• Site’s unique topography requires a slope adaptive plan
• Confederation Creek daylighting
• Lack of Greenline station charrettes and also integration of stations within context of Area Redevelopment Plan
• Due to increased demands on community resources as a result of the proposed added density, there is a need for a community enhancement fund
• Preservation and enhancement of urban forest
• Integrate an active mobility strategy for pedestrians and cyclists

Unfortunately, Ward 4 councillor, Sean Chu was not at the meeting, though did send a representative.  The redevelopment of Highland Park is one of Ward 4’s biggest potential opportunities and risks.  It needs a holistic plan to guide redevelopment for the next 50 years.

 

Patching Ride-Sharing Bylaws in Calgary

Real-time ridesharing is a service that arranges shared rides on short notice.  In recent years, this type of carpooling has become viable due to three recent technological advances:

• GPS navigation devices to determine a driver’s route and arrange the shared ride
• Smartphones for traveler to request a ride wherever they happen to be
• Social networks to establish trust and accountability between drivers and passengers

Services, like Uber, have now been approved for use in Ottawa, Edmonton and potentially soon in Toronto.

When Uber was piloted in Calgary 60,000 members signed up and 2,000 drivers enrolled.

Calgary approved bylaws to allow ridesharing services. However, Uber has stated that it is unable to operate under current bylaws.  The only councillor that voted against the proposed bylaws in a 14-1 vote was Councillor Evan Woolley.

A recent poll by Leger showed 86% of Calgarians agree that ridesharing can help bring affordable and reliable transportation options to their city.

I recently met with an Uber representative to discuss the business model and why ride-sharing bylaws are not feasible in Calgary.

First off, the business model of Uber is different from taxis in that the vast majority of ride-sharing drivers drive less than 10 hours a week.  The other aspect that differentiates itself from taxis is demand-based pricing.  This allows surge pricing to occur during peak demand periods, like after a hockey game, such that there is sufficient supply of ridesharing drivers to meet demand.

Calgary’s regulations were pointed out as being unworkable primarily due to the following 3 reasons:

• Annual fee structure of $200/driver is prohibitive for part time drivers.  Instead, both Edmonton and Ottawa have a variable component whereas a portion of money is collected on a per trip basis. Uber’s representative stressed that they objected to how, not the amount collected.
• The vehicle inspection that is requested by City of Calgary is onerous and costs twice as what is performed for used car vehicle inspections.
• Current bylaws require a Calgary Police background check which takes 3 weeks versus a 2 day background check done by 3rd party. This timeframe makes it more difficult for drivers to enter the market in advance of events like Stampede or the Global Petroleum Show.

Earlier this week, Lyft has also announced that Calgary’s ride-sharing rules are not conducive to service.

Due to regulations that are not fit-for-purpose, Calgarians risk losing out on a service choice that may help reduce drunk driving and congestion.

 

 

Not So Random Thoughts of The Day

For those reading this blog for the first time, thank you.

I started writing this blog to provide some thoughts about life in Calgary and ideas on how to make it better.

I have deep roots in the Ward 4 community of Thorncliffe where my parents and grandparents lived and grew up.  Yes, just east of the big black space that is Nose Hill Park in the NASA photo below.

Calgary at Night (NASA Expedition 35 crew 3/31/2013)

There are many things I love about Calgary from the Rockies in our backyard, to a diverse economy and also citizens that volunteer and help to make Calgary such a great place to live.

Though I worry…

I worry of the failure of government to timely adopt new technologies to address transportation issues and lengthening commute times.  That government does not understand the complex future needs of millenials and aging seniors that include different types of housing and public transit.  That children in new communities are, for the most part, not able to walk to school and have poorer health outcomes than their parents generation.   I worry that many government officials and corporate executives lack the demographic diversity of the citizens.  I worry about the need for campaign finance reform and for a government that is passionate to serve the broad public interest.  I worry of a culture of public complacency. Of a political class that is not business savvy, that devalues public safety. And of increasing political polarization.  And yes, sometimes I lose sleep over these concerns.

For these issues, I know that I can’t make change alone.  And I know I can’t wait for the next generation to fix these problems.

I know that to have thriving communities will take building trust with a network of community stalwarts, taking an active interest in local issues and being pragmatic with meaningful alternatives.

Steps I have taken so far include, most importantly, networking with community association leaders digitally and in person.  But it also has includes advocating for the Greenline to serve transit needs of future, advocating for secondary suite reform, the need for a community centre in Northern Hills, insight and analysis of local politicians, sharing community events, advocacy causes  and policy ideas that serves the public interest.

Thanks again for following along and contributing your thoughts! Here’s hoping that together we can help set a better foundation for a stronger, more dynamic tomorrow.

 

Democratic Toolkit for Calgary Nose Hill

I have been listening and researching ward 4 issues and concerns.  With the upcoming federal election, I thought I could put together a bit of information about the local candidates running in Calgary Nose Hill (and also Calgary Confederation).

I didn’t attend any of the debates in Calgary Confederation. Though, as a reminder, there is a Nose Hill Forum organized by the Just Vote Youth Forum happening tonight October 8th from 7:30PM to 9:00PM at the Beddington Heights Community Arts Centre at 375 Bermuda Dr NW.

The following candidates are running in Calgary Nose Hill:

Robert Prcic [Liberal]: Twitter, Election Page

Laurie Scheer [Green]: Election Page, Facebook

Bruce Kaufman [NDP]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook

Michelle Rempel [Conservative]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook

Edward Gao [Libertarian]: Election Page, Facebook

Faizan Butt [Conservative]: Facebook

Calgary Herald wrote an article recently on the riding here:

Government services and spending centre of debate in Calgary Nose Hill

Also, to provide some perspective, the following chart shows recent polling and projection data. For more detail click the infogram.

Remember to vote in the upcoming election on October 19, 2015!

Democratic Toolkit for Calgary Confederation

I have been listening and researching ward 4 issues and concerns.  With the upcoming federal election, I thought I could put together a bit of information about the local candidates running in Calgary Confederation (and a later blog on Calgary Nose Hill).

I attended the Highland Park debate and was thrilled to see that there are many people who are passionate about helping the Calgary economy and communities thrive!  It takes a lot of courage to run for public office and I applaud those who make the dive into politics.  Unfortunately, not all of the candidates showed up.

The following candidates are running in Calgary Confederation:

Matt Grant [Liberal]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook, Gauntlet Article

Natalie Odd [Green]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook, Gauntlet Article

Kirk Heuser [NDP]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook, Gauntlet Article

Kevan Hunter [Marxist-Leninist]: Twitter

Len Webber [Conservative]: Twitter, Election Page, Facebook, Gauntlet Article

The following video shows a recent debate held in Varsity:

Also, to provide some perspective, the following chart shows recent polling and projection data. For more detail click the infogram.

Calgary Confederation is blessed to have some amazing candidates.  Remember to vote in the upcoming election on October 19, 2015!

Sean Chu and Affordable Housing

More housing choice, and specifically secondary suites, are needed now to facilitate a thriving Calgary economy, allow seniors to age in place and supply housing to compete for world-class talent.

The following flow chart (courtesy of Paul Fairie) shows the burdensome process that an applicant must follow to gain secondary suite approval.

Unfortunately, Sean Chu, Calgary ward 4 councillor, has often voted against secondary suites.  In 2014, according to a Manning foundation report, Sean Chu voted for affordable housing choice a mere 23% of the time.

What makes Sean Chu’s vote record more interesting is that many of the ward 4 community associations have already voiced support for secondary suites.

Whereas, the ward 4 community of Thorncliffe wrote that they “strongly support reform on the secondary suite application process and regulations.” Likewise, the ward 4 community of Highland Park wrote that they “would like to voice our beliefs in affordable housing, and to consider reducing “red tape” in order to improve access to secondary suites within our city“.

Clearly, this is an issue that ward 4 communities are passionate about as well as many Calgary business leaders.  I strongly believe that Sean Chu needs to publicly address his record on secondary suites in the upcoming election.

To view more videos related to secondary suites check out this video by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce:

and this video from Don Campbell, Real Estate Investment Network founder:

Ward 4 Evolution

As mentioned in the previous post, the communities in ward 4 have been built up over a period of about 4 decades.

As Calgary is constantly evolving and changing, I was curious what changes are happening in modern times.  For example, what communities are growing fastest and which one are shrinking?

As population and demographics change the needs of the community change.  For example, a newer community may require a new school, or a historic community may require more seniors care facilities to allow seniors to age in place.

The following chart shows each ward 4 communities growth and relative size.

The following map highlights changes in population over the last 5 year period:

• High growth (5+%) 
• Low growth (0 to 5%)
• Shrinking (less than 0%)

What I found interesting from this analysis was that the high growth communities were clustered closer to the central city and have a grid style street network (North Haven, Greenview & Highland Park).  This is in contrast to the negative population growth in less central communities with curvilinear style street network (Edgemont, MacEwan Glen & Sandstone Valley).

What will each of these communities need to thrive today, 5 years and 20 years from now?

Please share or comment if you found this post interesting.

The Social Media Landscape of Ward 4

In an effort to better understand ward 4, I created the following map to show the various community associations.  Ward 4’s current councillor is Sean Chu and it borders on a number of other wards including:

• Ward 2 – Joe Magliocca
• Ward 3 – Jim Stevenson
• Ward 5 – Ray Jones
• Ward 7 – Druh Farrell and
• Ward 9 – Gian-Carlo Carra

Ward 4 has several unique feature.  One of the unique features is that many of the community associations border a large park space called Nose Hill.  Nose Hill Park is the 2nd largest urban park in Canada.  Nose Hill Park briefly gained infamy and sparked the social media hashtag #NoseHillGentleman when an American police officer wrote a letter to the Calgary Herald lamenting that Canadian gun laws prevented him from carrying a gun in the park where he felt threatened by two men promoting the Calgary Stampede

Another unique feature of the ward is that style of housing changes as the City of Calgary was built out.  From Highland Park that was built on a grid-style street pattern in the 1950’s to Hidden Valley that was a built on a curvilinear style street pattern in the 1990’s.

One of my realizations after creating this social media map is that each community association may only have 2 links to directly offsetting neighbourhoods in the ward.

I believe these links are important and desire to strengthen them.  Please connect via Twitter to the respective community associations!