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 Calgary,
in the year 2024, has grown by over 500,000 people, the equivalent of adding
eight cities like Red Deer. Population: 1.25 million.
We live closer to where we work, relying less
on our cars for the shorter work trip and more on transit, walking and
cycling. While the car remains the dominant choice of travel for Calgarians,
investment in transit has resulted in a higher level of service and usage:
shorter walk times to transit and LRT stops and preferential "transit
treatment" make the transit trip more attractive and convenient.
We have slowed the rate of the outward growth
of the city, making a conscious effort to intensify our neighbourhoods.
Today, new and redeveloped older communities are a more diverse variety of
housing mixes with a slightly higher concentration of dwellings per acre.
Our downtown as a center for employment has kept in step with market demand.
We have moved towards a "user pay"
system as a significant funding source for our transportation system.
Whether we drive our cars or take public transit, we pay more equitably and
directly for our choice of travel. In spite of more people moving around the
city in more vehicles, efforts to promote efficient use of vehicular travel
have helped maintain air quality standards at 1990 levels. We have moved
toward "cleaner cars", and carry more people in our vehicles for
the work trip. The trend toward "driving alone" to work each day
has reversed. Changes in the way we work such as telecommuting and flex time
have had an effect on reducing and spreading out the rush hour.
We have made a deep commitment to protect our
river valleys, our environmentally sensitive areas, and the integrity of
communities. Wherever the need for new transportation links or river
crossings are demonstrated, the trade-offs between the mobility needs of
Calgarians, community and environmental impacts, and costs are carefully
considered by Council and all Calgarians before decisions are made.
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