December 2023 Newsletter

December 1, 2023

Dear ,

   🎄Wishing a happy holiday season to you and yours. There are 14 different cultural and religious holidays observed in December, so no matter what or how you're celebrating, I hope this month brings joy to you and your loved ones.  

    The annual food drive for the Calgary Food Bank has officially kicked off and will run until December 11th! 

    I'm excited to participate in such a great initiative again this year! Ward 3 has four drop off locations: VIVO, Livingston Hub, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and The Salvation Army Berkshire Citadel Community Church. You can also donate directly to the food bank through CanadaHelps here. Around 700 households a day are serviced by the Calgary Food Bank, and these donations go directly to those who need them most. If you're able to give, this is a great initiative to support. 

Fieldhouse advocate, Jason Zaran, and Olympic speed skater, Gilmore Junio, helped give Ward 3 a great head start in the food drive.

    Last week, Council voted to pass the 2023 Budget Adjustments.

    Notable investments include: 

• Funding for the Max 301 North Convertible Corridor
• Funding for the Green Line North Land Acquisition
• Extension of Free Transit for kids under 12
• Limiting of Transit Fare Increases
• 65 Peace Officers to respond to Transity Safety Concerns
• Road Repaving for 176 lane kilometers of road
• Improved transit service on Bus Rapid Transit
• Permanent funding for the Addiction and Mental Health Strategy
• 48 playground improvements 

    Read the full list of budget investments here and my perspective on the proceedings here. 

Hanson Ranch Roundabout Survey Results

     After engaging with the residents of Hanson Ranch and the adjacent communities of Hidden Valley and Panorama Hills, my office presented the results of the survey to the Mobillity department. They will be moving forward with the chosen option and working to install a permanent roundabout in 2024. You can read my full response to common concerns and questions, as well as all of the comments from the survey, on my website here. As with all change, it will take some time to adjust to the roundabout. Based on feedback from residents, I've sent a mailer to residents in the area with a reminder on the rules of using a traffic circle.

    Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey, it was great to hear from those who use the roundabout on a regular basis.

Panorama Hills Neighbourhood Streets Program Update

     You may recall that earlier this year, the work began to make a number of traffic calming improvements to Panorama Hills through the Neighbourhood Streets Program. Through this program, four communities across Calgary were chosen to partner with the City to make improvements to their local streets. Construction on the larger improvements, specifically traffic calming curbs as well as curb extensions, is now complete. You should see curb extensions like the ones pictured below and other improvements throughout all of Panorama Hills. You can view a full list of the locations and measures on my website here. 

• December: Northern Hills Community Association's Gift of Joy Program

• December Holiday Activities and Events - City Wide

• New Years Eve - Check out the events happening here. 

• Outdoor Skating Rinks: It's been a warm winter so far, but there are still options for skating!

• DMAP: DMAP allows you to view active Land Use and Development Permit applications. 

• Residential Solar Calculator: This tool helps you understand the viability of adding solar panels to your home. 

• Playground Finder: An interactive map of all playgrounds maintained by the City of Calgary. 

• As always, here is a link to my voting record.