CentreCity

Science Centre New Chapter

For forty-four years, the Calgary Science Centre called it's 11th Street S.W. location in the Centre City - home. This week, this cherished learning, playing and discovering staple for kids young and old in Calgary, has closed its doors for good.  

So now it's time to turn our sights toward the new Telus World of Science which is being built near the Calgary Zoo (at 220 St. Georges Dr. N.E.),. Anticipated to open at the end of October this year, memberships are already being sold and there's a healthy anticipatory buzz as we wait for the building to come alive: 

(artist's rendering of the new building) 

You can sign up for updates, read their blog, learn more about becoming a sponsor, donate and watch a video of the plans for the new 153,000 sqaure ft. facility here. 

Have Your Say - Land Use and Bonusing in the Centre City

(downtown Calgary shot by TravisBell)

This Wednesday, there's a great opportunity for some information gathering on the current Downtown Land Use and Bonusing project that's in the works for the Centre City. June 29th, between 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at Bankers Hall in the +15 bridge over 8th Ave. S.W., you'll be able to speak with City of Calgary Planners. There, you can also share any comments you may have regarding the transitioning from the old land use bylaw to the new one. 

The Centre City areas which remain to be transitioned include the Central Business District, the Downtown West End, Eau Claire and Chinatown, which continue to be held to the old land use bylaw (CM-2 district) and its associated bonusing system. 

The detailed document outlining the proposed improvements and related concerning parties in this new alignment of land use bylaws, along with the Downtown land use district study area, can be found here. 

For more information about this public feedback and information session,
please call 3-1-1. 

Introducing Route 300

Starting today, it's going to get a little (actually, maybe even a lot) easier for people to get to the Calgary International Airport from downtown (and vice versa). 

Route 300 is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service and is a new direct link from our city core to the airport. It'll run every 30 minutes between 5 a.m. - midnight seven days a week with a few stops along Centre Street. The ride is estimated to take about 30 minutes and connects to hotels, attractions, shopping and the CTrain system downtown.  

This route is a six-month pilot project and once officials get some feedback and numbers as to how effective the new Route 300 is, they'll then decide if it should become permanent. 

How much will it cost? Regular transit fares apply for customers travelling to the Airport on Route 300 as well as for customers travelling to other destinations on the route. Customers boarding Route 300 at the airport will be required to purchase a Calgary Transit boarding pass for $8. Additionally, monthly, senior, low income, day and Upasses will also all be accepted as fare to and from the airport with no extra cost incurred.

For more information about this new Route 300 BRT service, which begins today, click here . And by all means, leave us some feedback here as well. We'd like to know what you think of this new service. 

Taxi!

 

Good news for people heading out for a night of celebration and entertainment in the Centre City: starting this week, licensed cabs are allowed to park in some new designated fire hydrant zones in order to pick up and drop off passengers.

It's a pilot project that will mean less of a wait for people out and about in the downtown core. If you think about it, 135 taxi parking stalls added to the mix is going to have a great impact on the wait times for passengers. It's a win-win solution for everyone. 

The 43 designated hydrant zone parking areas will also help protect those areas by preventing illegal parking by other Calgarians - no more blocked fire hydrants when time is of the essence. Taxi drivers using the zones must remain with their vehicle at all times should an emergency arise. 

The pilot project will run through 2011 and a report will be presented to a committee of Council in April 2012.

 

So to find out more about these taxi hydrant zones and if you'd like to check out a map of the zone locations, you can visit www.calgary.ca/roads

 

Keep Those Name Books Out!

You know how we told you about Calgary Transit's name-the-smart-card contest earlier this week? Well there's one more big naming contest happening right now in Calgary.

This time, you're being asked to help name the first new mixed-use land development (which will cover some 700,000 square feet) in the Centre City's East Village. Embassy Bosa Inc. has just launched this contest to find the quintessential name for the much-anticipated development.

Here's an artist's rendering of the space, as designed by renowned Vancouver-based architect James Cheng:  

 

So what name do you think suits the space? Keep in mind you're naming more than the buildings. Contest entrants are being asked to think about the neighborhood, its history, and the direction in which it's headed under Cheng's vision.

The contest runs now through to July 20th, 2011 and the winning name will be announced later in the summer. Oh and did we forget to mention the prize? The winner will receive a trip for two to New York's East Village. 

All contest details are available at www.evexperience.com or facebook.com/ev.calgary. 

To find out more about the East Village redevelopment, which is led by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, please do visit their website. There, you'll find heaps of information about what has already been done in the area and also an inspiring look ahead at what's to come. 

 

 

Brutal Bus Tour

Brutal Bus Tour is not a Sled Island act (though it really would make a great band name), it's actually the name of an upcoming guided bus tour of Calgary's amazing and sometimes controversial Brutalist architecture.

On Sunday morning (June 26 at 10 a.m. leaving from the historic City Hall), join The City of Calgary's senior architect and urban designer David Down for a three-hour guided tour of those buildings of ours built during the Brutalist period of architecture (1960s and 70s). Centre City is home to many Brutalist buildings and this is your chance to get the stories behind those concrete bodies you usually pass by on your daily commute. 

The tour includes a brown bag lunch and tickets are $30 for Calgary Heritage Initiative Society (CHI) members, $35 for non-CHI members and $40 for CHI membership and a ticket. You can save a seat on the Brutal Bus Tour by sending an email to rsvp@calgaryheritage.org (please inform organizers if you have any dietary restrictions) and for more information on this great getting-to-know-your-city event, visit www.calgaryheritage.org. 

This tour has been made possible thanks to a partnership between the Calgary Heritage Initiative Society and the Calgary Architecture and Urban Studies Alliance (CAUSA). 

 

(Downtown Calgary Public Library - great Brutualist example, all lit up at night  photo by  raelmyfi) 

 

National Music Centre Design Unveiled

The long-awaited, hugely anticipated design of the National Music Centre in Calgary's Centre City has finally been revealed and it's a sight to behold. Imagine this as part of the East Village landscape: 

To read more about the National Music Centre project, follow this link. 

What do you think of the new design? 

Focus on Safety: Centre City Lunch and Learn June 23

(Calgary Miniaturized - by Debby A)

159,000 people work in our Centre City. More than 30, 000 people live in it. And then there are the renowned concerts, festivals, shops, businesses and organizations that draw the rest of the city in on an annual basis. So what's being done to maintain our Centre City's livability? How do we keep it thriving, clean and safe? What's on the horizon? Answers to those questions and much more will be offered up to every Calgarian this week at our Focus on Safety Centre City Lunch and Learn.

It's happening Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 between noon and 1:00 p.m. (with doors opening at 11:30 a.m.) at the ConocoPhilips Theatre, Glenbow Museum 130 - 9th Ave. S.E.

The heart of Calgary, our Centre City, is deeply cherished and so very well cared for by citizens and City of Calgary staff alike. With our Clean to the Core program and Centre City team, our Centre City is in good hands. Maintaining a livable, thriving and caring Centre City is important for all Calgarians. And that's why we're inviting all Calgarians to attend this meeting. The City of Calgary, along with its partners on the Clean to the Core and Centre City Safety Impact Teams will share their most recent work to keep the CC strong and flourishing, safe and clean.

This will also be a time to hear about the impact all of this concerted work is making in the core. (What's wonderful, in fact, is that Calgarians already have noticed an improvement in safety and cleanliness  in our Centre City and they told us so in the first Centre City Perception Survey.)

So please try to attend this important meeting. On the agenda is an update on the Late Night Ride Home Stands, launched in December as part of the team’s current late night focus, along with a discussion on the outcomes of a recent initiative, the 20 Minute Makeover.

This is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about the work that is being done to ensure our Centre City is Where You Want to Be.

 

 

 

Name That Fare Card

 It's convenient, it's new and it's nameless, so far.

That's why we're turning to you, our pithy Centre City Talk blog readers, to step forward and help name Calgary Transit's new electronic fare card. The contest to name this new smart card is open to all Calgarians. And we don't know what's better - that it could give you a chance to experience the fame and power associated with naming such a fantastic new service OR that the winner receives six months paid transit! 

Here are the new Calgary Transit smart card details: 

-People will be able to load their card with money online for individual rides or monthly passes. 

-An electronic card reader will be found on buses and at CTrain stations. 

-In the future, this smart card can be used for a number of other City services beyond transit so keep that in mind in picking a name - don't limit it just to Calgary Transit. 

So put on your thinking caps and help name our new fare card! Submissions will be accepted starting today (June 20th) through to Sunday July 3rd at midnight. Click here to offer up your idea. Once the names are in, a committee of reps from The City of Calgary and also Calgary Transit will be charged with selecting the top three choices. And then; here's your chance again, Calgarians will be asked to vote on these three names on July 6-7th. The winner will be announced on the 8th.  

If you're looking for more information on the contest, click here and for more information on the electronic fare collection system, click here. 

Good luck! 

Centre City Annual Update 2010/2011

Many of you reading this blog probably already know there is a team at The City of Calgary that is dedicated to working on projects and programs in our Centre City. They are called... The Centre City team. Easy enough, right? :)

The team is made up of three groups:

• Centre City Planning & Design Policy
• Centre City Implementation
• Centre City Development Applications (this is the team in the photo below)

 

Today, the team released its Centre City Annual Update 2010/2011. The update highlights the achievements made by The City of Calgary in our centre city in 2010 and lists the projects we're working on this year. Take a look here.

Centre City Implementation project manager Ben Barrington says, "This update reflects the work of many people - both in The City and our external partners - coming together to work on fulfilling the vision of the Centre City Plan that sees our core as livable, thriving and caring."