City hosts daily drop-in sessions on Transitway Project

View of the project at 17 Avenue SE (City of Calgary)

The city has set up a store-front office to host daily drop-in information sessions so Calgarians can learn more about transit and revitalization plans for the busy 17 Avenue S.E. corridor.

The Transitway Project will include bus-only lanes from 26 Street S.E. to Hubalta Road and will also see improvements made to road infrastructure, street lighting, and pedestrian and cyclist facilities.

Approved plans will include running the Transitway through the center of 17 Avenue S.E. and the installation of BRT stations with heated waiting facilities.

The project team is in the process of consulting with local businesses and residents to try and minimized the impact of construction.

A daily drop-in centre has been established at ArtBox, located at 1807 42 Avenue S.E, and project staff will be on-hand to answer questions from citizens.

“It’s really about providing Calgarians with improved travel options,” said Howard Kai, a senior transportation engineer with The City of Calgary. “People are more likely to choose public transit over their cars if they know it’s reliable and provides consistent service. More people taking transit means a reduction in cars on the road and, hopefully, less congestion, less traffic and less time spent on the road.”

The International Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) has been working with the project team on improvements to 17 Avenue for a while now and officials say they are pleased with the long-awaited improvements.

“This has been a long time coming, our organization and businesses have put a decade into ensuring this happens. We want to thank the Mayor and City Council for stepping up to the plate as we believe this will be a home run for the area,” said BRZ President Michael Shymka.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in the summer of 2016 and be completed sometime in 2018.

The drop-in sessions are open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from now until Friday, December 11.

For more information, click HERE.