A group of concerned residents in Bowness are hoping they can garner enough support to save a park in the area. Located on Bowness Road, the park could become an affordable housing development consisting of 50 units.
Leslie Herrera, who lives near the park, told Global News she understands the need for affordable housing, especially in Calgary, but thinks there are better alternatives.
“I hear about the housing crisis, and I just don’t think that taking away a green space is the solution,” Herrera said.
Another reason why Herrera and other residents believe the park is the wrong space for the development is that the building would stand out in the area.
“Nothing here is six storeys,” Herrera said. “It doesn’t quite fit in.”
To date, Herrera and others have collected more than 450 signatures to try and save the park and they hope to gain more in the coming weeks.
As to why the park was put up for redevelopment in the first place, the city determined it to be surplus to municipal requirements in 2022, at which point it voted to sell the plot of land in order to have affordable housing built there.
The Trellis Society, a local non-profit organization, was chosen to develop the land, and its CEO Jeff Dyer says as a Bowness resident himself, choosing to build this development in the neighbourhood was intentional.
“We’re in the high school helping kids graduate; we run out-of-school and preschool programming for kids in the neighbourhood,” Dyer said. “I think this is another chance for 50 families to do that with their families … and there’s no better place in the city.”
Dyer said the homes around the proposed development won’t go long without a proper playground.
“We noticed right off the bat, there was a playground on it,” Dyer said. “We’ve been working since day one to try and find an alternative solution, and build a park for our current standards … and we’re aiming to have that within one block of the current location.”
Two open houses are scheduled on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. and Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Bowness Community Association. More details about the project can be found on the Trellis Society website.