Leveraging Transit Investments to Enhance Walkability and Bikeability Along the Green Line in Calgary ( breakout presentation )

Abstract

Background The Green Line is one of The City of Calgary’s largest ever infrastructure projects, adding over 40 kilometres of LRT line to the city’s existing LRT network. This infrastructure investment has led The City of Calgary to update and develop planning policy documents to guide redevelopment at key stations along the Green Line. Aims (1) Provide an overview of the Green Line project; (2) Educate attendees on how The City of Calgary has leveraged the investment of the Green Line to enhance walkability and bikeability in three unique neighbourhood contexts; (3) Contrast and compare plan area contexts and challenges to enhancing walkability and bikeability through policy, and; (4) Highlight indirect contributions to walkability and bikeability through built form policy. Summary The presentation will delve into different approaches The City of Calgary has taken to enhance walkability and bikeability in transit oriented developments based on each plan context and existing attributes. This includes policies that directly address to walking and cycling as well as policies regarding that indirectly impact walking/biking through the built form. Three local area plans will be examined: (1) Inglewood: reinvigorating and retrofitting an older inner-city character neighbourhood with historical resources. Policy in Inglewood focuses on redeveloping underdeveloped parcels while maintaining historic buildings and enhancing the 9 Avenue Main Street; (2) Ogden: retrofitting a lower-density established community to encourage active modes. Policy in Ogden will focus around key open space linkages and how the enhancement of local services in neighbourhood nodes will increase walkability and bikeability in Ogden, and; (3) South Hill: creating a new urban village on primarily undeveloped inner city City-owned lands. South Hill's policy focuses on how key infrastructure construction in the short term will lead to the establishment of an urban village with public spaces, and a High Street oriented to attract transit users, pedestrians and cyclists.