The provincial government announced plans on Friday to upgrade a busy highway interchange near CrossIron Mills north of Calgary, but a local conservation group sees the construction as a make or break project for park plans that would connect Calgary to Airdrie.
A new overpass at the intersection of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway and Highway 566 will be constructed after funds were allotted for the project in the Alberta government’s recent capital budget.
“The transportation infrastructure will not only provide much-needed relief to the businesses and residents in the Balzac area, it will benefit our broader communities by improving traffic flow and enhance safety and increase economic opportunities,” said Rocky View County mayor Crystal Kissel on Friday.
The Nose Creek Valley is full of wildlife and runs through the north end of Calgary into Airdrie.
Ultimately, the goal is to have the valley protected as a major regional park.
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“We’ve been advocating for a provincial National Urban Park from Calgary to Airdrie,” said Andrew Yule, founder of the grassroots advocacy group Save Nose Creek, which was formed last year.
Save Nose Creek supporters aren’t opposed to the overpass construction — they see it as an opportunity to make improvements by going above and beyond the minimum requirements for crossing the creek.
“One of the things our organization is trying to do is get Nose Creek to be the focal point of many of these projects that are around it and not a side afterthought,” Yule said.
Yule says infrastructure projects like the overpass can create barriers for nature and pedestrians.
He said designs for the Balzac interchange will be critical for plans to make a park to connect Calgary to Airdrie
“If we don’t have that space, then maybe our project doesn’t go beyond Balzac because our project is trying to connect communities through green space. If we just put up a barrier like we have been in a lot of places in Calgary, these barriers just prevent nature and pedestrians from moving from community to community,” Yule said.
Interchange construction is slated to begin in 2025.
Save Nose Creek members are urging government to not to cut costs by using minimum standard culvert practices.
“Let’s open that culvert up so that we can have more nature. So we can have more pedestrian pathways underneath the overpass,” Yule said.
The second fastest land animal in the world has been making a rare appearance recently in the Nose Creek Valley.
A lone pronghorn antelope was first spotted in November and is still in the area.
“This one got separated from its heard somehow. It’s definitely a rare sighting in the Nose Creek Valley,” Yule said. “It’s just another reason why we need more of this green space in central Calgary.”
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