As I have previously said, I really would like to see more cross country ski trails in our city. COP, as part of their expansion, is planning on including more ski trails.

The land use change that was coming to council in February ended up being tabled, and will come back to Council in June. The reason for the tabling was to allow COP to do more work with administration and look at different options for their lands. At this point, I will have to wait and see what COP comes back with in June before being able to respond in any more detail.

As I learn more information on this, I will be sure to share it with you.

The City does plan on replacing the overpass further down the road. However, the current condition of the concrete stairs has reached a state that remediation is required immediately. The short term solution will be to construct timber stairways on top of the concrete stairs at each end of the bridge.  

More information can be found on the City’s website here.

Hosted by Russell Bowers of CBC Radio One’s Daybreak Alberta, the nominees will each present an example of their work, followed by a discussion of the unique contribution they hope to make in the inaugural term of the position and the value that the Poet Laureate will bring to our city.

The showcase will take place at the Hotel Arts and will run from 7:00-9:00.

Please RSVP at YYCPoet.eventbrite.com.

Calgary Arts Development

NOTICE OF OPEN HOUSE
Calgary John Howard Society – Bedford House Relocation
Development Permit Review
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
5 – 8 pm
The Comfort Inn – 4611 Macleod Trail SW

Dear Resident/Business Owner:

The Calgary John Howard Society (CJHS) is planning to relocate one of its Community Residential Facilities (CRF’s) – otherwise known as a halfway house – as well as its offices and educational classrooms, to the address of 4444 Builders Road SE in the industrial area known as Manchester. The CJHS has purchased the property at this location and was successful in its land use re-designation proposal to the City of Calgary in July 2010. At that time, CJHS requested to change the land use designation for 4444 Builders Road SE from that of Industrial General Land Use District to Direct Control Industrial General Land Use which allows Special Care Facilities.

The next step in this process is the Development Permit application stage. Calgary John Howard Society has been working with its architect and planners on the Development Permit and anticipate a submission to the City of Calgary in the short future. Prior to a formal submission to the City, we invite you to preview our Development Permit application. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about the proposed building and site development and provide comment directly to the CJHS team. After the open house and once the application is submitted to the City for processing, the public will have the opportunity to provide formal comments to the City.

Please join us on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 (5:00pm and 8:00 pm) at the Comfort Inn at 4611 Macleod Trail SW.

The Calgary John Howard Society Team will be available to answer questions. Should you have any questions prior to the open house, please contact: Kathy Oberg at 403.692.4532 or koberg@bapg.ca. If you have any questions about the Calgary John Howard Society, please contact Gordon Sand at gord.sand@calgaryjohnhoward.org or visit their website: www.calgaryjohnhoward.org.

Date: Monday Feb 20th, 2012
Time: 1:00PM – 2:30PM
Location: Rose/Kohn, Jimmie Condon Arenas (502 Heritage Dr. SW)
Ages: ALL

**Please bring your skates and helmet**
Kidsport Skate Shack will have skates and helmet to borrow.

Calgary Eats, presented by the Calgary Food Committee, will feature:

• Delicious food from local farmers, producers and chefs.
• Interactive permaculture and gardening demonstrations.
• Live Bands: Jon Gant, SAVK & The Magnetic North.
• Panel talks with top local chefs and producers.

Calgary Eats will take place at the Ant Hill Building in Kensington, located at 148 10th St. NW.

Click here for more information!

Transportation Planning has begun a long-term transportation Corridor Study for Crowchild Trail. The study will update the Crowchild Trail Corridor plan to align with the 2009 Calgary Transportation Plan (which is available here). The original Functional Planning Study for the Crowchild Corridor was completed in 1978.

Updating the Crowchild Corridor plan will includes a transportation corridor study of Crowchild Trail between 17th Ave SW and 24th Ave NW and a potential High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Corridor Study between Glenmore Trail and 16th Ave NW.

A major part of this work includes gathering input from Calgarians. A survey is available on the City of Calgary website, which I would encourage you to complete. It will be online until February 3rd, 2012. You can read more about the Crowchild Trail Corridor Study and complete the survey at http://www.calgary.ca/crowchild.

The City of Calgary is hosting three information sessions to outline options and hear from citizens about the future of public transit in the southeast.

Between 1999 and 2006, Calgary Transit completed functional planning studies for the future Southeast Light Rail Transit (LRT), one of two new LRT lines planned for Calgary. These studies examined existing transit service, identified the need for LRT based on projected future demand, and considered future LRT alignment, station locations, high-level land requirements and costs.

It is estimated construction of the Southeast LRT between downtown and the South Health Campus in Seton would cost over $2 billion. Since funding is not available to build any amount of new LRT, The City is studying options for staging improvements in the form of bus rapid transit (BRT) on dedicated transitways.

The City has initiated a predesign study for the Southeast Transitway, or SETWAY, with the goal of making significant improvements to public transit service in southeast Calgary in the short term while still enabling LRT in the longer term.

The predesign process will focus on the technology, infrastructure, right of way, and land requirements to get the SETWAY ready for detailed design and construction.

As part of the process, three public information sessions will be held so The City can present findings on the early phases of the predesign to the public for input. A report with recommendations will go to City Council later this year.

The information sessions will be held:

• Tuesday, Jan. 24, 4-8 p.m. Riverbend CA Hall (19 Rivervalley Dr. SE)
• Wednesday, Jan. 25, 4-8 p.m., Ramsay CA Hall (1136 8 St. SE)
• Thursday, Jan. 26, 4-8 p.m., McKenzie Towne Hall (40 McKenzie Towne Blvd. SE)

For further information on the Southeast Transitway (SETWAY) predesign study, please visit calgarytransit.com

RE: Bid to host 2014 Sustainable Communities Conference and Trade Show
WHEREAS the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is seeking proposals from member municipalities interested in hosting the FCM Annual Sustainable Communities Conference and Trade Show, from February 12 – 14, 2014;
AND WHEREAS The City of Calgary has successfully hosted FCM Annual conferences on two previous occasions, in 1996 and in 2007;
AND WHEREAS it is estimated that The City would need to budget approximately $400,000 in order to successfully host the FCM Sustainable Communities Conference in 2014;
AND WHEREAS should The City of Calgary’s bid be successful, the full Conference budget would require Council consideration in November 2012 as part of the budget adjustments;
AND WHEREAS the Conference offers the opportunity for Calgary and the surrounding region to showcase its variety of sustainability initiatives;
AND WHEREAS the Conference also provides Calgary and the surrounding regions with the opportunity to promote itself to a national audience;
AND WHEREAS as a host city, The City of Calgary has the opportunity to showcase its services and programs through the delivery of potential study programs and education sessions for the conference;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that City Council directs the Administration to submit a proposal to FCM, by its January 20, 2012 deadline, to host the 2014 Sustainable Communities Conference and Trade Show.
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that Council approve, in principal, funding of up to $500,000 from the Fiscal Stability Reserve for hosting the Conference, should we be successful, with a final budget being brought to Council as part of the 2013 Budget Adjustments in November 2012.

The research firm IPSOS Reid conducted citizen surveys and focus groups in April 2011 to determine Calgarians’ opinions concerning diversion of food and yard waste. The research found strong support for this program:

• 83 per cent of Calgarians support the implementation of a food and yard waste program
• 96 per cent of Calgarians agree that it is important to reduce the amount of household waste going to landfills

Pilot Highlights

The City will launch a pilot program in March 2012 in four communities to test weekly food and yard waste collection and biweekly garbage collection (every other week). Here are the highlights:

• Approximately 7500 homes in four communities:
  • Abbeydale
  • Brentwood
  • Cougar Ridge
  • Southwood
• The communities were chosen based on the following criteria for the pilot:
  • Ability to test front curb and back lane collection;
  • Communities with different volumes of yard waste – i.e., established neighborhoods with higher volumes of yard material (mature trees and vegetation) and newer communities with smaller volumes;
  • A mix of housing types – single family homes up to and including fourplexes;
  • Varied collection days;
  • Four communities with no more than about 2,000 homes each;
  • Whole communities to participate for ease of communication and education.
• There will be no charge to pilot participants.
• Each home that currently has blue and black cart collection in the pilot will receive a green cart, kitchen pail and compostable pail liners, and paper yard waste bags, along with instructional materials and a collection schedule.
• The green carts are about 120 liters – half the size of the blue and black carts we are now using.
• In the pilot, residents will use the green carts for their food waste – including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products – as well as yard waste. They can also use the large paper bags for any additional yard waste.
• The green carts will be collected every week just like the blue carts.
• Black cart collection in the pilot communities will occur every other week since most of the material that decomposes and produces odours will be in the green carts.
• Only two carts will be collected on the same day. The third one will be collected on a separate day during the same week. We will be testing different combinations of cart collection – blue and black together or blue and green together.
• Waste & Recycling Services will communicate with pilot community residents through a variety of means including open houses, direct mail, instructional brochures with the carts including collection schedules, newsletters, educator visits, and The City website.

Questions and Answers

1. What are the benefits of food and yard waste collection and composting?
   Food and yard waste accounts almost 60 per cent of residential garbage going for landfill disposal and represents the biggest opportunity to move Calgary closer to Council’s diversion goal of 80/20 by 2020 for the residential sector. Food and yard waste does not decompose in landfills due to lack of oxygen but produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. The diverted food and yard waste will be turned into compost.

   By composting food and yard waste, instead of sending it to the landfill, we can reduce waste and greenhouse gases, reduce our dependence on landfills, and produce compost, a valuable product for gardens and parks. Reducing the materials going to landfill also reduces The City’s long-term environmental liability.

2. Why a pilot program?
   A pilot program allows The City to test weekly collection of food and yard waste using small green carts and paper yard waste bags. It will also test customer experience and acceptance of collecting black carts every other week. The pilot will be funded through efficiencies from automated black cart collection.
3. What communities were chosen for the pilot?
   The four pilot communities are Abbeydale, Brentwood, Cougar Ridge and Southwood.
4. Why were those communities selected for the pilot?
   The communities were selected for the pilot based on the following criteria:
   1. Ability to test front curb and back lane collection.
   2. Communities with different volumes of yard waste – i.e., established neighborhoods with higher volumes of yard material (mature trees and vegetation) and newer communities with smaller volumes.
   3. A mix of housing types – single family up to and including fourplexes.
   4. Varied collection days.
   5. The four communities with no more than 2,000 homes.
   6. Whole communities to participate for ease of communication and education.
5. How many homes will be involved in the pilot?
   Approximately 7,500 households that currently have blue and black cart collection will participate in the pilot. The City will provide green carts, kitchen pails, compostable plastic pail liners and paper yard waste bags to all homes in the pilot communities that currently receive black cart collection from The City.
6. Will customers in the pilot communities be charged for the service?
   No. The green carts, kitchen pails and paper yard waste bags will be provided to homes in the pilot communities and the collection service provided at no charge to the participants for the duration of the pilot.
7. Will the green carts be the same size as the blue and black carts?
   No. The green carts are about 120 litres, which is half the size of the black and blue carts. Extra yard waste that doesn’t fit in the cart can be placed in the large paper yard waste bags for collection.
8. What can I put in the green carts and paper yard waste bags?
   Residents in the pilot can include a wide range of food and yard waste such as meat, fish and dairy products as well as fruits and vegetables and food soiled paper products. Both food and yard material can be put in the green carts. The large paper bags can also be used for additional yard waste once the cart is full.
9. Will green carts be collected on the same day as blue and black carts?
   Only two carts will be collected on the same day to avoid three carts being set out for collection on the same day. The third one would be collected on a separate day during the same week. We will be testing different combinations of that format – blue and black together or blue and green together.
10. How often will The City collect the green carts and paper yard waste bags?
    The City will provide weekly collection of the green carts and paper yard waste bags in the pilot communities.
11. How will The City collect the carts and bags?
    The City will use the same type of truck equipped with an automated arm to collect the carts. The bags will be picked up by hand.
12. Will the same truck that picks up the blue/black carts collect the green carts too?
    No. The materials from each cart are taken to a different location for processing or disposal. While we will use the same type of trucks to collect each cart a different truck will collect the compostable materials from the green carts and bags and take that material to a processing facility to turn it into compost. The blue cart recyclables are taken to a sorting plant operated by Cascades for processing and shipping to manufacturers that will turn the materials into new products. The garbage in the black carts is taken to the City landfills for disposal.
13. Why are you switching collection of black carts for garbage to every other week in the pilot communities?
    The City will collect the green carts every week since about 60 per cent of residential garbage is food and yard waste and that is the material that decomposes and produces odours.

    The City will also continue to collect the recyclable materials from blue carts every week to encourage Calgarians to maintain their recycling activities. What is left as garbage in the black cart should be dry material and the volume should be considerably reduced making it feasible to collect every other week instead.

    Research shows that waste diversion increases when garbage collection is less frequent (e.g. every other week instead of weekly) and diversion programs like blue cart and green cart are more frequent (e.g. weekly).

14. What about pests attracted to the food and yard waste in the carts?
    Residents are already dealing with food and yard waste now – they are just putting it into their garbage. The people participating in the pilot will put that material in the kitchen pail with compostable liner and then into the green cart instead. The green carts will be collected every week.

    The black carts have proven successful in keeping pests out and keeping communities cleaner than when we only used bags, which were often torn open by birds and other animals. Green carts also have a lid that should keep pests out.

15. Can people who already compost opt out of the program?
    We will encourage all residents in pilot communities to participate. The planned program will accept a wider range of food and yard waste than can be readily composted in a backyard composter – materials such as meat, bones and dairy products.
16. How much will the pilot cost?
    The pilot costs, including collection, processing, community engagement and performance measurement, will be funded through efficiencies from automated black cart collection. The pilot will help determine the cost of a city-wide program.
17. Why are you doing another pilot since you did one previously in 2004/05?
    Since the original pilot was conducted in 2004/05 we have made significant changes to the way we serve Calgarians – particularly with the introduction of blue carts for recycling and black carts for garbage collection – and we need to test different things to determine how to implement a food and yard waste collection program for the city.

    For instance, we will be testing a smaller cart that will be collected using a fully-automated truck. We will be expanding the materials that can be accepted in the green cart to include items such as meat and dairy products and we will be testing bi-weekly black cart collection, as well as citizen experience with three different carts.

18. Why don’t you start a city-wide program now?
    We need to complete the pilot first to determine the actual costs and test different collection scenarios. A composting facility capable of processing food and yard waste from a city-wide program would have to be built as well. Nothing currently exists at that scale.
19. Where will you take the food and yard waste for composting?
    The materials collected from the green carts and paper yard waste bags will be taken for composting to a private company, which was awarded the contract through a public tender.
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