UrbanCSA Brentwood MAP Review

Earlier this year, UrbanCSA was asked by the City of Calgary Transportation Department to review the mobility assessment plan (MAP) for the Brentwood TOD.

Since the Brentwood TOD MAP has now been made public, UrbanCSA can publicly post our comments on the MAP (Click the image to view the document) .

UrbanCSA would like to thank: Trent Loosemore, Ken Lin, Samuel Boisvert, Steven Petersen, Elton Gjata, Riley Iwamoto, Linda Pham, Dana Martin, Tom Schloder and Adam Fajner for participating in the project.

The City of Calgary Planners and Engineers  also thanked UrbanCSA for the review stating:

Thank you all for your comments on the Brentwood MAP report draft.  The comments provided are some of the most thoughtful ones I have received from any of the stakeholders so far – I can tell you really thought about the ideas in the draft and weren’t afraid to challenge ones that were vague.

I attempted to challenge the status quo with discussion of some of the negative aspects of transportation in the area and like how some of the comments latched onto that by agreeing that more could be done to improve things in the area.

Thanks a lot for your assistance with the review.  I’m glad that groups like yours exist in Calgary.



Time to re-think the way we build cities

New model means growing up and not out, and swapping private space for public spaces

Terrence BelfordFrom Friday’s Globe and Mail

It may be time to ask a key question: Are Canadian cities marching in the right direction? Many very smart people say no.

And it is not just academics either. About this time last month, IBM Canada, a company not known for taking a keen interest in housing, decided it was time for all stakeholders in the future of this country to start talking about the issues we face when it comes to building cities that will maintain top quality of life as they grow.

It conducted a cross-Canada survey about the issues surrounding cities that people are most concerned about. Not surprisingly, about half rated traffic and public transit as No. 1. Almost one-third said their city was not on the path of long-term livability and nine out of 10 said we have to change the way we manage cities.

So why would the company want to raise these issues?

“We think it is time we start discussing the future of our cities,” says Pat Horgan, vice-president of operations for IBM Canada. “By 2050, almost 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in urban centres, compared with about 50 per cent today.

“That means making big changes and IBM thinks we all have a responsibility to work together to ensure their future as livable places.”

James McKellar, professor of real estate and infrastructure at York University’s Schulich School of Business, says hats off to IBM for wanting to generate discussion but he thinks the company is placing the focus in the wrong direction.

“Talking about roads and traffic is the wrong paradigm,” he says. “That places the focus on the old way of growing cities in North America. To ensure livability, we have to embrace an entirely new model.”

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