CITY OF IAN Health RECEIVED • Services IN COUNCIL CHAMBER APR 2 0 2016

April 12, 2016 ITEM: Andrew King, BLA, CSLA CITY CLERKS DEPARTMENT Project Manager, Pedestrian Strategy Liveable Streets Division, Transportation Planning, City of Calgary Municipal Building, P.O. Box 2100, Stn M. #8124 Calgary, AB, T2P 2M5

Dear Mr. King:

RE: Step Forward

On behalf of Healthy Living, Population, Public and Aboriginal Health, Alberta Health Services I would like to express my support for Step Forward: A Strategic Plan for Improving Walking in Calgary.

Step Forward links well to Alberta Health Services' Provincial Chronic Disease Prevention plan that focuses on physical activity promotion through improvement of walkability in Alberta communities. As you are no doubt aware, research has found that physical activity reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and helps to prevent overweight and obesity. And yet despite this overwhelming evidence, only 60% of Albertans are physically active enough for health benefits.

Increasing physical activity levels as a component of health promotion requires a comprehensive program to address a variety of factors including the environment, culture, and socioeconomic conditions. Step Forward contributes to a comprehensive approach and thus will help to improve the health and wellness of Calgarians, thereby supporting our provincial initiatives to promote the health of Albertans and their communities.

Thank you for engaging Alberta Health Services in the work done to date —we were pleased to participate in the development of the strategy and look forward to supporting its implementation

Kind regards,

Sara Jordan, MRT, MBA Executive Director, Healthy Living Population, Public and Aboriginal Health Alberta Health Services

Cc: Peter Mackinnon, Senior Program Officer, Population, Public and Aboriginal Health, Alberta Health Services Shannon Evans, Team Lead, Public Health, Communications, Alberta Health Services

Population, Public and Aboriginal Health — Healthy Living 10101 Southport Road SW Calgary, AB, T2W 3N2 www.albertahealthservices.ca

CITY OF CALGARY RECEIVED IN COUNCIL CHAMBER APR 2 0 2016

ITEM. E"3 17,Q0ICo- occ HSCA ) Th; sJa- ,10o-kcon Planning Committee CITY CLERK'S DEPARTMENT

April 19, 2016

City Council, City of Calgary Office of the Councillors, 800 MacLeod Tr. SE Calgary, AB T2P 2M5

Delivered via email to: Andrew King, Lead, Pedestrian Strategy (andrew.kinqcalqarv.ca ), Mayor Nenshi and City Council Members

RE: Transportation Report to Council Standing Policy Committee on Transportation and Transit: TT2016-250 Pedestrian Strategy

Honourable Mayor Nenshi and Members of City Council:

The Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee ("HSPC") supports the framework and recommendations set out in the Pedestrian Strategy as developed by the City of Calgary Transportation Department. HSPC supports additional funding, direction and implementation of safety measures to create improved conditions for pedestrians.

Hillhurst Sunnyside is a compact established neighbourhood with quality sidewalks and pedestrian crossings and it is home to the vibrant shopping district of Kensington, making it one of the most walkable neighbourhoods in Calgary. The area already experiences high pedestrian traffic from both residents and visitors into the community. As more density (residents and jobs) gets added to the Transit Oriented Development area, the risk of multi-modal transportation conflict increases.

With five major thoroughfares (Memorial Drive, 10th Street, Kensington Road, 5th Avenue, and 14th Street), there is a dangerous mix of vehicles and pedestrians. Community residents have expressed first-hand experiences with near-misses, direct hits and the unfortunate tragedy of pedestrian fatality while walking within the designated crosswalks and within the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) areas in the community.

The community association is frequently contacted by residents regarding vehicular traffic; whether over issues of safety on the commercial and residential streets, speed, or cars shortcutting through the community. We have assisted residents with the City of Calgary's community traffic study application process to improve and add traffic calming measures on a per problem area basis; however Hillhurst Sunnyside has yet to have been chosen for a Community Traffic Study. We support the broader city-wide recommendations for reduced

1/3 speeds in residential areas and would like to add a request for reduced speeds on the commercial main streets from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. Additional issues in the community have been identified with recommendations for improvement in the appendix.

The HSPC strongly supports any initiative that enhances walking as a safe, accessible and viable option for transportation. Thank you for the opportunity to provide our feedback.

Sincerely,

Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association

End: Appendix 1 - Observations and Recommendations

Cc: Honourable Mayor Naheed Nenshi Ward 01 Councillor Ward 02 Councillor Ward 03 Councillor Jim Stevenson Ward 04 Councillor Ward 05 Councillor Ray Jones Ward 06 Councillor Richard Pootmans Ward 07 Councillor Ward 08 Councillor Ward 09 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra Ward 10 Councillor Andre Chabot Ward 11 Councillor Brian Pincott Ward 12 Councillor Shane Keating Ward 13 Councillor Diana Colley-Urquhart Ward 14 Councillor Annie MacInnis, Executive Director, Kensington BRZ Members, Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee

2/3 Appendix 1 - Observations and Recommendations

Issues Recommendations 1. Distracted drivers and pedestrians • Pedestrian/driver education • Improve signage on parking lots and businesses 2. Cars turning as pedestrians are starting to • Advance lights for vehicles or pedestrians cross at a crossing with street lights (i.e., • Corner extensions as envisioned in the westbound traffic on Memorial Drive City of Calgary Complete Streets turning north on 10th Street, westbound Guidelines Memorial Drive traffic turning north on 10a • Flashing lights warning of pedestrians Street, eastbound traffic on Kensington Road turning north + south on 10th Street) 3. Vehicular egress from back lanes onto • Signage/lights/buzzers to remind drivers of streets pedestrians (akin to underground parking garages) 4. Visibility of pedestrians crossing • Increase distance from each corner to the Kensington Road street parking space to increase visibility • Provide pedestrian crosswalks at every corner • Coloured or raised pedestrian crossings 5. Cyclists using the sidewalk along the north • Provide wider sidewalks side of Memorial Drive between 10 Street and 14th Street 6. Pedestrians and cyclists attempting to • Install RRFB cross Memorial Drive: (a) between 10 Street & 14th Street (b) access 7. Increase pedestrian safety • Reduce speed limit to 30-40 km/hr • Make some areas of the Kensington shopping district a car-free zone 8. Continuity of sidewalks in the community • Ensure universally accessible sidewalks to (i.e., there is no sidewalk on the east side accommodate all ages and abilities of 12th Street on the western boundary of Riley Park, a heavily used regional park

3/3

WAUKCALGARY CITY OF CALGARY 223 12 Avenue SW #207 RECEIVED Calgary, Alberta IN COUNCIL CHAMBER T2R 0G9 APR 2 0 2016

ITEM . 3-3 41;900° -0.950 April 16, 2014 CITY CLERK'S DEPARTMENT

SPC on Transportation and Transit City of Calgary Municipal Building 800 MacLeod Trail SE Calgary, Alberta

April 20, 2016

Dear members of the committee:

The demand for better pedestrian options is clear.

Calgary has been offering its citizens more and more transportation choices for decades. In 1981, after much controversy, the first portion of the C-Train system came into service, and today we boast one of the most successful LRT systems in North America. In 2011 the Cycling Strategy was approved and our streets are already becoming both safer and more comfortable for bicyclists of all ages. In 2012 Car2Go launched in Calgary and was promptly declared the fastest growing market in the world. Through InnagineCalgary and Planit Calgary, Calgarians asked for more options in the way they get around. Walking was overlooked at this time simply due to the fact that everyone at some point of their day is a pedestrian.

The need for a pedestrian strategy is dear.

Today, the all too common reality is that people walking in Calgary encounter infrastructure that has been designed for the automobile and not at a human scale,. This discourages walking, has impacts on our social community, affects our physical and mental well-being, and because of some very crucial missing connections for the last kilometer" limits desire and access for public transit, increasing the amount of single occupant vehicles on our roads. Students are driven to school due to safety concerns, and neighbourhoods become conduits for motor vehicles instead of people.

The importance of proper design is clear.

All modes of transportation require well-connected networks. Dead-end streets or vanishing sidewalks, improper lighting, extreme grading and several other factors discourage use. The more direct a route, the more appealing the appearance, the safer it appears, the more successful it will be. When walking appears safe and easy, it is the most natural and efficient way to move.

The demand for action is clear.

With our current limited data showing only when a pedestrian collision has occurred severe enough to impact a traffic lane, we can still see that there have been 114 reported concerns in 111 days. This cannot continue to be viewed as "the cost of doing business". We echo Councillor Farrell's request to take an Occupational Health and Safety approach with data analysis towards injury and incident reduction.

Walk Calgary believes that the Step Forward Pedestrian Strategy has considered the above and incorporated the information as well as proper measurements into their 50 point action plan, and recommends that council approve the Step Forward Pedestrian Strategy.

Sincerely,

Kimberley Nelson

Director