Dear Brentwoodians,
Putting The Cart Before the Horse, Or Rather the Density Before the Transit
There is no question that Calgary needs densification: our population will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, and the city can’t continue eating up farmland and foothills at the present rate. The blanket rezoning plan was a one-size-fits-all attempt that wound up alienating a majority of Calgary voters and is now being reconsidered. One of the major objections that was cited was the impact of reducing off-street parking space requirements while simultaneously significantly increasing the number of people living on a given street or block (see Melanie Swailes’ article in this issue).
The objections are based on concerns about street parking availability, safety of pedestrians (especially children or mobility device users who can’t see over parked vehicles), and traffic congestion on formerly calm residential streets. A common response is that the inner-city and inner-suburb neighbourhoods most affected are close to transit lines and hubs, so residents are less likely to need cars.
2016 Census figures showed that 93% of households in this city had at least one car, with the average approaching two per household.* Compare this to the dense cities we are trying to emulate: Chicago at 73%, Toronto at 72%, London at 56%, New York at 44%. Calgarians are thoroughly dependent on cars—we even outdo Houston and Phoenix (both at 92%).
It isn’t just a cultural love for big trucks and fast cars that drives this dependency we have – it is to a large degree the lack of a real alternative. In the cities with the best transit, commuting with a car is nearly unthinkable: why would anyone choose to deal with traffic and pay for parking and gas, when within a short walk they know that a bus, tram, or train will be arriving in a few minutes to take them efficiently and safely on their way?
Calgary will never be able to achieve the density we need with two cars per household. The only way to reduce our dependency on cars is by expanding transit on a massive scale to make up for decades of neglect and deferred investment.
*Full disclosure: my household has two cars, although one is old and in need of reconditioning and spends most of its life off the road. Both of our cars live in our garage.
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