The 17th Avenue Business Improvement Area wants to know if Calgarians would like part of 17 Avenue Southwest to become car-free.
The BIA posted a survey sent out to businesses and residents in the Beltline that subscribe to the 17th Avenue newsletter. It presently has no end date.
Around 26,000 people live in the Beltline. Some have been pushing the BIA to conduct a survey on making the avenue more pedestrian friendly.
“This is an extension of their living room in some cases. People live in condos and apartments and so having some extra space for them and their families to enjoy outdoors,” said Tulene Steiestol, executive director for 17th Avenue BIA.
The executive directors of 17th Avenue BIA and the Victoria Park BIA say they don’t know yet if shutting down vehicle traffic would benefit the hundreds of businesses that operate there.
“It’s fair to say this is definitely more driven by residents. So far, the survey results that have come in — a couple of businesses have identified themselves and said that we have a Stephen Avenue in Calgary and maybe that’s where we need to leave it at for a closure. I think what we need to do is dive deeper now and say maybe it’s not a full road closure all summer long but maybe it’s once a month,” Steiestol said.
One of the constant complaints from residents and customers on 17 Avenue is the dining to the sound of revving engines.
“There have been a lot of comments online since we put this out about all the noise. You’ve got the cars and the motorbikes and it creates a giant disruption. So it’s one of those things – how do you please everyone? And I’ve learned you can’t,” Steiestol said.
17th Avenue also extends into Victoria Park to the east.
The executive director of the Victoria Park Business Improvement Area says adding entertainment and activities in the car-free space needs to be considered.
David Low calls the move “an interesting experiment” that can provide a more efficient use of space.
“A patio can service anywhere from 15 to 30 patrons whereas one vehicle will only bring in maybe four bodies at the most,” Low said. “In principle, it has some merit. We saw the benefits of making streets more pedestrian centric over the last three years. It’s an interesting notion.”
The survey has already generated hundreds of responses ranging from:
“Terrible idea! I stopped going to 17th Avenue because there is already no parking.”
“Yes, 100 per cent do this!! MTL has had amazing success” referring to Montreal’s 2.5-kilometer pedestrian street.
The BIA will still need to consult with the city.
A pilot project that might experiment with a one-day-a-month vehicle closure could be in the works by next summer.
Cities around the world have had great success (and some with less success, but big learnings) with open streets programs where busy thoroughfares go car-free for various periods of time including weekends and in some cases for the duration of summer.
What do you think? Is turning 17th Ave SW into a car-free zone something the City of Calgary and the 17th Ave BIA should consider? Take our short survey below and let us know your thoughts!
- We want to hear from you! What do you think about the proposed idea of closing down 17th Avenue S.W. to vehicle traffic and making it open to pedestrians only?
- Would you like to see 17th Avenue S.W. closed to vehicle traffic and dedicated to pedestrian use only at various times throughout the year?
- If 17th Avenue S.W. closed to vehicle traffic for pedestrian use only, what time frame would you like to see it closed for?
- If 17th Avenue S.W. were to close to vehicle traffic, what type of programming (if any) would you like to see brought to the area during the closure?
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