We're building huge momentum!
The petition to save the successful 3rd Ave South downtown cycle track has now reached over 1,400 signatures in just the first week! Community associations in and around the Greater Downtown and major businesses like Shaw and Rogers Communications, whose headquarters are on 3rd Ave, have all voiced their united support for the Downtown Strategy and keeping the 3rd Ave South cycle track.
Through numerous media reports (CBC, CTV, Livewire Calgary), Project Calgary has exposed City Administration's scandalous suppression of promised project reports to the public and their backroom "senior leadership decision" to subvert the Downtown Strategy and numerous other City plans and policies by ripping out the 3rd Ave South cycle track downtown.
Councillor Walcott supports keeping the 3rd Ave South Downtown cycle track!
A voice of reason on City Council, Greater Downtown Cllr. Walcott has emphasized the need for an east-west mobility corridor and voiced his support for keeping the 3rd Ave South cycle track.
Meanwhile, Project Calgary's June 27th email to the Mayor, City Manager, and Greater Downtown Councillors Walcott and Wong remains otherwise unanswered.
Will Mayor Gondek and Cllr. Wong remain silent on Senior City Administration's backroom decision to gut the Downtown Strategy, subvert the Climate Strategy, and ignore the Chinatown ARP?
City Administration must provide answers
1) Which member(s) of "senior leadership" at the City made the decision to override the Downtown Strategy and numerous other plans and policies?
To date, the City continues to cloak in secrecy how the decision to remove the cycle track was arrived at and by whom it was made. Community associations were told simply that it was a "senior leadership decision" with no rationale provided. If public engagement was inconclusive as the City now claims, why did City Administration override the Downtown Strategy and numerous other policy documents supporting a permanent cycle track on 3rd Avenue South?
2) Why is City Administration fighting it's own Downtown Strategy, Climate Strategy, Chinatown ARP, and other policies?
Making Downtown Calgary less safe and accessible for people walking and wheeling runs counter to numerous City policies created by past and present City Councils with significant public input including the Downtown Strategy, Climate Strategy, Chinatown ARP, Calgary Transportation Plan, and more. Why is City Administration subverting these guiding City plans and policies?
3) Where did all the money go?
The City announced the 3rd Ave Walking and Wheeling Upgrades project in August 2020 as fully funded permanent infrastructure. At the 11th hour in 2021, City Administration made a decision to build the cycle track with cheaper, more temporary finishings so that it could be more easily removed. Now they say they have no money to make it permanent. So where did the money go?
4) Why is the City withholding reports that show the 3rd Ave South cycle track is a huge success?
Project Calgary was able to obtain the City's publicly withheld "Metrics Summary" (promised release Fall/Winter 2022) and an "Operational Review" of the cycle track through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The reports show the cycle track is a huge success with a 6x increase in people biking, majority of surveyed in support post-installation, and no impact to vehicle traffic. Now the City is indicating they will not formally release this information publicly until after their planned removal of the cycle track in this fall. Why the lack of transparency?
We still need your help!
1) 📋 Keep sharing the petition!
Help us continue to grow the petition and spread the word.
2) 🥳 Join the list of supporters
Do you know an organization that would like to add their name to the list? Have them email us at [email protected].
