💸Councillors vote for harsh austerity cuts to services for Calgarians in the 2025 budget
This week, Sonya Sharp, who as chair of the Event Centre Committee infamously spearheaded the $831-million public subsidy to build a new arena for one of the richest billionaires in Canada, led a group of councillors in a failed push for harsh austerity cuts to funding for the most vulnerable Calgarians struggling with affordability, mental health and addictions to help pay for the proposed subsidies to fund four new unnecessary sprawl developments in the 2025 budget.
(Image source: Global News)
The above Councillors voted to:
❌ Cut $4M from the Secondary Suites / Backyard Suite incentive program (Sharp, McLean, Wong, Chu, Chabot, Demong)
❌ Cut $6M funding for Calgary's Mental Health and Addictions strategy out of the city's base budget (Sharp, McLean, Wong, Chu, Wyness, Demong, Chabot)
❌ Cut $20M from the City-Wide Transit Oriented Development budget for affordable housing (McLean, Chu, Wyness, Chabot)
❌ Cancel $325M in federal funding for the purchase of new zero-emissions buses for Calgary Transit (Sharp, McLean, Wong, Chu, Wyness)
📣IT'S NOT TOO LATE: Help us tell City Council to re-invest public dollars back in existing communities, not four more new sprawl developments
1) 🚃 Make Calgary Transit funding a priority, not an afterthought
Calgary Transit has fallen into a state of neglect, with infrequent and unreliable transit service. Tell City Council to properly fund our public transit to be reliable and frequent with 10 minute minimum frequency on all BRT and LRT routes and finally introduce a Night Bus Network. Necessary investments include:
- Low Income Transit Pass sustainment for 2025 and onwards
- Calgary Transit Night Bus Network ($10M) establishing a 24-hour transit network through the creation of a network of night bus services with essential crosstown routes.
- North Central BRT - Max 301
- Blue Line extension and to 88 Ave NE and the airport
2) ❄️ Finally start citywide sidewalk snow clearing
Calgary is notorious for its treacherous sidewalks in the winter months. Unlike most other major Canadian cities, the City of Calgary clears only 4% of its sidewalks while Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton have robust sidewalk snow clearing programs. Icy and snow covered sidewalks make Calgary less accessible for the elderly, parents, and people with physical disabilities. According to cost estimates from other Canadian cities, the City could clear the entire 5,658 kms of sidewalks of snow citywide for $20M-$30M.
Meanwhile the City Administration is proposing to spend a whopping $40M to widen just 1.4km of suburban road.
3) 🚲🛴 Get serious about adding more protected pathways
All communities in Calgary should have access to safe cycling and active mobility infrastructure. Unfortunately, the City is still not adequately funding protected cycle tracks or pedestrian safety improvements - instead making only tiny, isolated piecemeal improvements.
Meanwhile, the City of Edmonton is planning to build over 100km of bike lanes over the next four years. Other winter cities like Montreal are making even more ambitious investments with plans to add 200-km of protected bike paths.
City Council needs to get with the times and make measurable progress on Calgary's safe pathway network with a commitment of at least 100km in the next four years.
4) 🏘️ Build more affordable housing and expedite transit oriented developments
Affordable housing is critical to tackling poverty and making Calgary a safe place to live for all citizens. Instead of costly new sprawl communities, City Council should be working on rapidly developing Transit Oriented Development (TOD) sites for a more balanced approach between established community and new sprawl development by activating under-utilized lands while increasing population density and diversifying housing, employment, and business opportunities. Promoting sustainable development and healthy lifestyles through improved walkability to C-Train stations are additional benefits.
5) 🏬 Revitalize more mainstreets and downtown
Calgary’s mainstreets support local businesses and their surrounding communities. But underinvestment in these streets has resulted in most of the planned revitalization projects for our mainstreets sitting on the shelf while Council approves $100M’s for new communities on the city’s fringe. City Council must fund the 10 approved mainstreets that have been sitting on the shelf unfunded since 2018.
📣TAKE ACTION: Help us tell City Council to re-invest public dollars back in existing communities, not four more new sprawl communities
📨 1) Sign up for Project Calgary email updates on the 2025 budget adjustments
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