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Cultural MasterPlan
We will be finalizing our Cultural Masterplan for the Community in 2020. Culture and celebration opportunities are what bring our community to life and are constantly identified as one of the most valued attributes of Canmore life. The new masterplan will articulate a sustainable, authentic, and long-term vision for Canmore’s cultural vitality and creative sector development.
New Public Art Piece
Stay tuned for an announcement about when Tony Bloom’s sculpture Orogens will be installed this year.
New Fire Hall
Council has approved a new 8-bay fire hall to replace the old fire hall built in the late 1970’s. It will be located along Palliser Trail, at the site just below the cemetery. The fire hall will be designed this year, and construction should begin in 2021.
As a part of the design process, opportunities will be considered for future affordable housing projects and/or other possibilities as part of the project.
Cougar Creek
After seven years of designs and approvals, tenders for the Cougar Creek project will be issued in preparation for a spring construction start. We have secured 90% of the funding for this project from federal and provincial sources, with the remaining ~ $4M to be funded by the Town.
Town Centre Master Plan
In 2020 a new Town Centre Master Plan will be developed. The plan will provide strategic direction for design and infrastructure improvements for the next two decades, while supporting the evolution of Canmore’s downtown core as the hub of our community.
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Climate Action
Over half of Canmore’s Green House Gases come from heating buildings. We won’t be able to meet our identified community and municipal targets without switching to some sources of renewable or low carbon energy. In 2020, we will be conducting a feasibility study to inform the work to get us to our targets.
Food Waste Collection
We will launch the commercial food waste collection program for businesses and institutions in the fall. At this time, we are working on an expansion at the Waste Management Facility, in order to have the space required to manage the large amounts of food waste separately from garbage.
The plan is for 100 roll carts for commercial collection, which will significantly assist the Town in reaching its 2020 Environmental Sustainability Action Plan goal.
Solar Power in Canmore & Elevation Place Solar Project
As part of our commitment to the environment, we will be installing solar voltaic systems on Elevation Place, artsPlace, Seniors Centre, the Roundhouse, and the waste management centre over the next 2 years. The Town has also received a grant to hire a climate change specialist for a 2 year term to assist in decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions.
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Canmore Recreation Centre Lifecycle Maintenance Project
The Canmore Recreation Centre (CRC) is the largest of our municipal buildings, and the original section is now 35 years old. The current lifecycle replacement and building upgrade project for the CRC will complete essential maintenance work, replace the ice plant, increase change room size for the Alex Kaleta arena, and include modifications to the floor plan of the building.
Overnight Camping on Municipal Lots
A seasonal outreach worker was hired in the spring of 2019 to meet with individuals living in their vehicles to gather information, and to provide social support, if necessary. The work will inform recommendations in 2020 as to how best to manage the situation, with one possibility being the establishment of a seasonal, safe, overnight parking program in conjunction with community partners.
New Land Use Bylaw
Canmore's new Land Use Bylaw will come into effect on April 1, 2020. The Land Use Bylaw directs the town’s form and use, and the Town is modernizing key regulations to account for community changes, suggestions, challenges, and aspirations. Each regulation within the Land Use Bylaw plays a role in supporting sustainable growth, respecting community character, improving mobility choice, and more.
Lions Park Playground and Tennis Courts
In Lions Park, the project to replace and move the playground will be completed in conjunction with a proposed tennis court expansion. The tennis court expansion project is currently approved with a 50% contribution from the Town’s Municipal Sustainability grant funding, with our funding conditional on the Tennis Club receiving a $500k CFEP grant from the Province.
Three Sisters Playground Rubberized Surface
The joint parent committee at the OLS and NDM have spent the past couple of years fund-raising to replace the play structure and install a new rubber surface at the school site playground. The playground structure was replaced last year, paid entirely by the parent’s fundraising. Phase 2 of the project entails removing the pea gravel surface and upgrading it with a rubberized surface. This will allow all students and the public who may be confined to a wheelchair to play and interact with other children. Rubberized playground surfaces allow for ease of wheelchair access to a playground.
Adaptive Seat Swing
Playground upgrades completed at Centennial Park in 2011 included a wheel chair accessible rubber surface with a number of play components at ground level that support the inclusion of persons with special needs, specifically those in a wheel chair. This new adaptive swing structure will house two seat swings, one for children 2-5 years old and one for children 5-12 years old. This project is supported by Lawrence Grassi Middle School, who currently have a child that requires a wheel chair enrolled at the school as well as Rocky Mountain Adaptive, a not for profit charitable organization whose aim is to provide individuals with any disability the chance to access sport and recreational activities in the Canadian Rockies. The swing structure will have rubberized surface and will be placed by the existing rubber surface play structure for children 2-5-years-old and 5-12-years-old.
Quarry Lake Mountain Bike Trails
Work has started with a volunteer group to formalize the mountain bike trails in the Quarry Lake Park, create a new trail, and to establish a trails maintenance program – all under Town direction. The project will be completed this year.
Teepee Town Area Redevelopment Plan
Feedback from Teepee Town residents suggests that changes are required to the ARP, including allowing for more affordable housing opportunities and amending some of the development regulations such as landscaping, roof style, neighbourhood character, and density requirements.
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Paid Parking & Fare Free Transit
It is clear that we need to better manage our existing parking resources and address traffic congestion. Parking is not free. Residents, businesses, and visitors pay indirectly through higher taxes, higher rents, and increased costs of goods and services.
Newly proposed strategies focus less on increasing the supply of parking space and in favour of using existing facilities and infrastructure more efficiently.
Integrated Parking Management
We will be assessing private and public lands for the suitability of intercept parking in 2020, and the scope of work includes developing a preliminary design for an 80-stall parking lot and 20 stall RV lot adjacent to the current parking area at Elevation Place and on a combination of Provincial and Municipal land. The designs will be used to determine project feasibility and costs and to pursue approvals for lease amendments from the Province of Alberta that would allow for potential future construction.
Transportation Improvement Program 2020
We will be seeing a lot of major roadwork projects starting in 2020. We have grouped a number of these Transportation Improvement Projects into one large project - TIP20 - in order to minimize the length of time we’ll have to deal with detours and traffic disruptions. Projects include:
- Palliser Trail Improvements
- Railway Ave & Bow Valley Trail Intersection Improvements
- Bow Valley Trail Pathway Improvements
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Broadband Internet
We will continue to work towards Broadband delivery with a Broadband Planning Study to provide options for a potential fiber network in Canmore.
Economic Development
Economic development and diversification remains a strategic priority for Council. With our in-house department (which is funded entirely through business registry fees) we will be developing a new Economic Development Strategic Plan to provide direction for activities engaged in by the Town of Canmore that aligns with the Town of Canmore’s vision.
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Centennial Park Wildlife Fencing
Canmore made a commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Wildlife Coexistence Roundtable, and identified it as a strategic Council priority. A key recommendation is to install a 2.4-meter fence to be installed around Centennial Park with gates providing access. This is similar to fences installed in Banff and Jasper to deter elk from congregating there. The tender in 2019 for the fence at Centennial Park did not receive any bids. We will re-tender the project early in 2020.
Quarry Lake Dog Park
In 2016 a pilot was initiated to provide off leash dogs with legal access to a portion of the dog pond and a 1km loop trail, but we need to clarify and delineate the on and off leash zones in the area to allow Town of Canmore Bylaw Services to confidently issue warnings or tickets in the area. The 1km loop trail will return to on leash zone and the area around the pond be formalized as an additional off leash area. There will be two official off leash areas - the meadow area and the pond area.
Removing Wildlife Attractants
There are a large number of fruit trees that are wildlife attractants on Town of Canmore lands. This year we will identify the location, number, and species of all such trees and bushes on Town lands and develop a multiyear plan for removal. Some removal may be done in 2020 if sufficient funds remain in the budget after plan development.
The Town of Canmore will offer a fruit tree removal incentive in targeted high risk neighbourhoods of 50% of the cost of removal to a maximum of $300 to encourage community members in high risk neighbourhoods to remove their fruit trees.
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