Beltline urges city to make walking 'safe and comfortable' with physical distancing

After the City of Calgary started opening traffic lanes to pedestrians and cyclists, some communities are asking for more, hoping this will aid physical-distancing mandates and reduce the crowds on riverside pathways.

In a letter to the city manager, the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association outlined a grid it believes would help give pedestrians and commuters better access to grocery stores, pharmacies and businesses during the pandemic.

"Just being able to live day to day in the Beltline, and continue to do groceries and also to be able to safely access all the local businesses we have … we want that experience to be as safe and as comfortable as possible," said association president Peter Oliver. 

To create even more connections north to south, the group suggests blocking off lanes on Macleod Trail S.E., First Street S.E., Fourth Street S.W., Eighth Street S.W., and 14th Street S.W., all between 10th and 17th avenues, which would also give up a lane for east to west traffic.

"We can't have everyone crowding or clamouring to Memorial Drive to go and get some exercise," Oliver said. "Even on a weekday now, the pathways are kind of too busy to really safely go for a run or even a walk or to take your dog out."

Mitul Kakadiya owns a business on 17th Avenue S.W. He says that as the weather warms, it would be great to have extra space.

"Last couple of days, there are so many people on the streets," he said. "It should be permanent for a while, so seven days a week, so people know about it. Otherwise, if you do it for the weekend or a couple of days, it will be hard for people to know."

On Wednesday, Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he expects three or four more locations to open up over the weekend. But the city is not being loud about where these makeshift walkways are because officials don't want to create attractions. 

"What we are doing is we're being reactive in places where we see that there is crowding," Nenshi said. "And frankly, where people are trying to do the right thing. But there's just not enough space. Those are places where we're opening up the roadway."

This was echoed in a statement from the City of Calgary.

"We continue to monitor user behaviour and assess community needs — this includes proactively closing down traffic lanes so that people can get the physical distance we have repeatedly stressed the importance of," the statement read.

"However, we are not highlighting the locations of these specific closures as we recommend people take advantage of quieter spaces in their own neighbourhoods."

Ward 8 Coun. Evan Woolley says the city's roads division is looking into measures to help Calgarians stick to the physical distancing rules. He said the Beltline has a need, so he hopes to see some sort of measures in place soon. 

"We need to make sure we move quickly to implement any suggestions that do line up and make sense," said Woolley. 

Oliver said the city has acknowledged the Beltline association's request.

"They've let us know that they're working on some of this. And so we're keen to see what they come back with," Oliver said.