Calgarians report strong quality of life, but roads and traffic remain top concern

A survey shows Calgarians are enjoying their lives in the city, but there is room for improvement when it comes to traffic.

Calgarians continue to report a strong quality of life, but frustration with roads and traffic remains the city’s top issue.

A new City of Calgary survey finds more than three-quarters of residents rate their overall quality of life as good, while most also say Calgary is a great place to live and work.

The survey suggests residents remain generally satisfied with city services and continue to view Calgary favourably compared to other major Canadian municipalities.

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However, when asked to identify the most important issues facing the city, roads and traffic once again ranked first.

About four in 10 respondents, or 39 per cent, identified traffic and road conditions as their top priority. That places it well ahead of other concerns, including crime and public safety, transit and growth planning.

The findings come as Calgary enters what is expected to be another busy construction season, with projects set to take place across the city’s road network in the coming months.

“With all the construction that’s happening in Calgary, we want to ensure that Calgarians can have access to information to help them plan better around construction,” said Anthony El-araj, the City of Calgary’s manager of traffic services

Residents are encouraged to “check before they go” using the updated Plan Your Trip tool.

“There’s a lot of useful tools on that website that people can rely on to get access to live up to date road closures, traffic incidents and other special events – but also congestion tools as well.”

El-araj says the site launched last year and has been updated with feedback from users to make it more accessible.

Those updates include a starting point for users along with a more connected traffic map highlighting closures, incidents, live feeds and dynamic sign messages displayed on the map. Users can also look ahead at upcoming delays, closures, events and detours.

The site is also users friendly for those walking, cycling and wheeling.

“Visiting Calgary.ca/planyourtrip, there’s a lot of really useful information that’ll help you plan ahead,” said El-araj.

Calgary’s Traffic Management Centre in the southeast does work to help prevent congestion while monitoring and managing traffic around the clock.

In 2024, the city made more 5,000 real time adjustments to respond to changing conditions.