Happy November Manchester! There are some exciting activities and events happening over the next several weeks. All great ways for you to meet your neighbours, learn something new, and have some good ol' fashion community fun!

As GreenLine design work resumes between 4 Street SE and Shepard, the project team will be hosting several community information sessions in late November to share the most recent designs plans for the southeast stations. This is an opportunity for Calgarians to ask questions, learn more, and get an updated look at the project’s progress.

The final draft of the Chinook Communities Local Area Plan (LAP) is ready. Together with thousands of community members—including a working group, community association members, and development industry representatives—a local area plan has been created for the Chinook Communities. This means new policies to guide growth and change in the areas of Manchester, a south portion of Manchester Industrial, Bel-Aire, Britannia, Elboya, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Parkhill, Windsor Park, and a small eastern portion of Glenmore Park.

Earlier this spring, neighbours in Manchester came together to build a new community garden space for residents to learn about and grow food, herbs, and flowers together.

Community gardens help enhance the health and well-being of neighbourhoods and communities by providing the space and opportunity for people of all skill levels to learn and interact. They are a place where people can connect with nature, better understand where their food comes from, and provide opportunities for sharing and learning.

The City of Calgary is delivering new routes and local improvements to Calgary's Pathway and Bikeway Network to enhance healthy, safe, and accessible travel options in Calgary.

We're developing dedicated pathway and bikeway routes in Ward 9 (Penbrooke Meadows, Forest Heights, Forest Lawn, Dover, Erin Woods, and Eastfield) aligning with Calgary's established Pathway and Bikeway Network. The proposed routes currently serve residential, recreation, shopping, education, and work destination. When the routes are improved, they will provide safe, healthy, and affordable travel choices for people of all ages and all abilities.

This year’s HMCS Barn Burner was a wild success!

Councillors Kourtney Penner and Gian-Carlo Carra along with the Friends of HMCS Calgary Committee welcomed nearly 600 friends, family, community organizations. and service members to this year’s event! All to help raise funds for the Foothills Burn Treatment Centre and The Veterans Food Bank of Calgary on behalf of HMCS Calgary, our city’s namesake Navy ship.

Phase 3: REFINE of the Chinook Communities Local Area Planning project is taking place May 28 – June 24, 2024. In this phase, we are looking to further discuss and refine how redevelopment and revitalization could happen in the Chinook Communities of Bel-Aire, Britannia, Elboya, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Parkhill, Windsor Park, Manchester, a south portion of Manchester Industrial and a small eastern portion of Glenmore Park.

 Share your thoughts from May 28 – June 24, 2024.

Councillors Kourtney Penner and Gian-Carlo Carra along with the Friends of HMCS Calgary Committee are delighted to invite you to this year’s HMCS Calgary Barn Burner!

Dust off your best western attire and kick off Stampede with the Commanding Officer and members of the HMCS Calgary crew, our city’s namesake Navy ship.

There will be good food, good drink, good music, and most of all good people! This event is family-friendly (kids under 12 are free!) with proceeds going to support two soon-to-be-announced local charities.

This weekend, stop by Manchester’s Annual Community Yard Sale!

May 25, 2024 11am-3pm
5757 2 ST SW

Households will be selling a variety of goods at the yard sale, all accepting a range of 20% - 100% Calgary Dollars towards purchases.

Our office is seeking proposals from Indigenous artists with a connection to Treaty 7 land interested in partnering to design and create an illustrated map about water. This map will highlight water resources, infrastructure, and landmarks, while sharing stories and raising awareness about water conservation, management, history, and the importance of water in Ward 9 and through Calgary.

After a 15-day Public Hearing, City Council has voted to approve citywide rezoning to allow for the construction of a variety low-density homes across Calgary.

In response to feedback from Calgarians, amendments have been introduced to address concerns regarding community engagement during the development permit phase, modified parking requirements, and adjustments to secondary suite allowances for row houses.

The What We Heard Report from Phase 1 is now available here.

The City of Calgary is working on several projects that will guide the future of the 50 Avenue S.E. corridor. These include the Chinook Communities Local Area Plan (LAP), the Central Bus Maintenance Storage Facility (MSF) Study, and the 50 Avenue Functional Planning Study (FPS).

The City of Calgary is making improvements at the Calgary Soccer Centre (CSC) located at 7000 48 Street SE 

Construction is underway and is expected to be completed by early 2025.Once complete, citizens will have access to a high-quality, year-round practice and play space. It will be bookable by anyone. Learn more at Calgary.ca/CSCDome.

One of the best days of the year is just around the corner!  Neighbour Day is Calgary’s celebration of community connection. Held each year on the third Saturday in June, Neighbour Day is a step toward creating welcoming and inclusive communities where neighbours connect and belong every day of the year.

Neighbour Day 2024 will include two kick-off events on May 4 to help raise awareness of Neighbour Day and invite Calgarians to start planning their own Neighbour Day block party or community event for June 15.  

Jane’s Walk 2024 is back and taking place May 3rd through 5th. Calgarians of all ages are invited to participate in free walking tours throughout a variety of communities and areas of interest in the city!

A global event inspired by and in honour of Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. Jane believed that in order to properly observe how people, through their actions and interactions, create communities with a strong sense of belonging, we need to get out and walk the city.

The City of Calgary takes a proactive approach to protecting and replacing aging assets. The water main replacement program reduces emergency water main breaks and service interruptions by replacing corroded mains with new PVC pipe and adding protection to reduce the rate of future corrosion.

Since 1980, this program has contributed to a 73 per cent decrease in the number of emergency water main repairs. As part of this years water main replacement program contract, water mains will be replaced along with some public and private water services in the following Ward 9 areas:

There is an exciting opportunity for a local Manchester artist to paint some of the windows in the Manchester Tower Community Space. They are currently looking for a creative person who is available in April to paint. If that's you, see more details above on how to submit a draft proposal before March 31.

Calgary is in a housing crisis. We need more homes. The citywide rezoning proposed in Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy will help.

How will rezoning help?

This change will help increase the supply of housing to better meet demand by reducing the costs and timelines for permit approvals. This means more housing is able to be built faster. It also allows for greater housing variety, options, and price points to suit more Calgarians needs.

 If you’re renting or buying, rezoning increases the number and types of homes available in all communities, making homes more affordable. If you own property, you’ll have more options to meet your future needs.

As the GreenLine LRT begins to shift from planning to implementation, we are at a place where key challenges and opportunities associated with the current GreenLine station designs in Ward 9 need to be addressed. These challenges and opportunities are grounded in the perspective I have as a 10+ year advocate and champion of the GreenLine in my role as the area’s City Councillor, as well as my 20+ year role as an urban design professional working with East Calgary Communities towards the transit-oriented future we are now on the brink of achieving.

The City of Calgary is currently in the second phase of the Chinook Community Local Area Planning project, which includes the communities of Manchester and Manchester Industrial. Some great conversations and engagements have already taken place with the working group and local community associations.

Opportunities for the public to get involved are open from November 14 to December 11, 2023.

From November 30th - December 10th, we will be collecting donations for the Calgary Food Bank as part of the Mayor’s Annual Food Drive.

Like Food Banks across the country, the Calgary Food Bank has seen an unprecedented increase in demand this past year. In 2022, Council raised just over $80,000 in food and funds for Calgarians in need. We hope to surpass that number this year.

The City of Calgary is updating plans that will shape the Calgary of the future and make sure our city keeps on being a great place to live. We want to hear from you.

Calgary is a city of opportunity and choice. As our city’s population approaches two million, The City of Calgary must prepare to support this growth. The City Building program will align and strengthen The City’s plans and tools to create a place where everyone can thrive.

Beginning October 12, Green Line’s Development Partner, Bow Transit Connectors, will be undertaking a series of borehole tests in the area surrounding the future 26 Avenue SE LRT station (around Ramsay and Highfield). Impacts are limited to City-owned and private property and are not expected to impact general traffic in the area. Each investigation is expected to take one-to-two days. Where there are potential impacts to businesses, Green Line will coordinate directly with those who may be affected.

After three hard and emotional days, City Council voted 12-3 to pass the Housing Strategy in its entirety. The actions outlined in this strategy make up a comprehensive and critically needed framework to address housing affordability, ensuring more Calgarians have a safe place to call home.

Over 1,322 pages of written submissions were sent in, 162 members of the public came out to speak, and our office received hundreds of emails. Overwhelmingly, the stories of those desperate to find or keep a roof over their head are the ones that dominated the conversation.

You can read the full Housing Strategy report and all 66 of the recommendations HERE.

For September, the Connectors are organizing a two-part cookie event. They are looking for volunteers to help prep the cookie dough on Friday, Sept 15 and to help bake on Saturday morning, Sept 16. If munching on yummy cookies is more your thing, join the community as we gather in the afternoon on Saturday September 16 to eat cookies together.

Calgary is experiencing a housing crisis.

Our city has grown significantly over the past several years and, at this moment, one in five Calgary households are unable to afford where they currently live. This equates to more than 80,000 households who are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. As we anticipate welcoming another 110,000 new residents over the next four years, the scale of the challenge we face is significant.

As part of The City’s Local Drainage Improvements (LDI) Program, we will be working in your area to improve the stormwater system to alleviate excessive pooling and flooding that can happen. This work includes installing storm pipes, storm drains (or catch basins), and upgrading existing catch basins and connecting pipes to increase the flow of stormwater into the system.

With Stampede just around the corner, we’re sharing a roundup of pancake breakfasts happening throughout Ward 9.

If you have an event you’d like us to include, please email us at caward9@calgary.ca

The Manchester Neighbourhood Connector Initiative started last year, with the goal to help build community connections and reduce isolation while using the skills and assets of those living in the neighbourhood.

 The Neighbour Connector Initiative is expanding, and looking to hire a few new members.