Calgary announces $153 million in infrastructure spending

Nearly $153 million in infrastructure investments will be made in the coming year in Calgary, the city’s budget shows.

City officials announced plans to spend $153.8 million on infrastructure by utilizing the province’s $500 million Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP).

“We’ve got a long list of infrastructure needs in the City of Calgary,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi in a statement. “This investment is going to let us get to work on some of the most pressing ones, including the repairs and upgrades our affordable housing stock requires. Strategic investments like this allow us to build a city that serves all of its people.”

The city noted it has analyzed shovel-ready investments that meet MSP requirements. These projects also meet the city’s standards of creating jobs, supporting vulnerable Calgarians, attracting investment, improving climate resiliency, rehabilitating historic structures, supporting accessibility and more.

The MSP funding also requires the cities demonstrate their efforts to reduce red tape that prevents investment.

“The most compassionate thing we can do right now is create jobs for Albertans,“ said Tracy Allard, minister of municipal affairs. “The MSP program provides vital infrastructure dollars to our municipal partners, so they can invest in Alberta’s economic recovery.”

The MSP-funded projects for Calgary include:

• Affordable Housing – repair and upgrade to existing units and construction of new units
• Critical Road and Fiber Infrastructure Renewal – betterment and rehabilitation of streets and continuation of the Fiber Infrastructure Strategy
• Cultural Building Envelope Upgrades – upgrades to the Glenbow Museum, Jack Singer Concert Hall/Public Building and the Northwest Travellers Building
• Facility Upgrades to the TELUS Spark Science Centre, Heritage Park, Calgary Zoo, Fort Calgary and others
• Park System Upgrades – Eau Claire public realm improvements, construction of a dome at Shouldice Athletic Park, improving infrastructure, river access upgrades, biodiversity implementation and naturalization of existing parks and open spaces
• Stormwater Community Drainage Improvements – improvements in established communities to reduce risk of flooding and improve resiliency against the impacts of climate change
• Transit Infrastructure – provide transit lanes, queue jumps and traffic signal upgrades along 52 St. SE