Happy New Year!
I’m writing this in mid-December, so I sincerely hope that the latest variant has not caused us to lockdown again. We at the ECCA are very concerned about the number of small businesses, particularly restaurants, that we’ve lost over the long period of uncertainly brought about by COVID-19.
But the good news is we’re starting to see new shoots pop up – 1886 has reopened with a much-expanded footprint and longer opening times in the Eau Claire Sheraton. It’s great to see this restaurant with 40 years of history in the Plaza reopen!
As you’ll see in longer articles in this issue, the City of Calgary continues to keep us informed of the progress of developments within the Green Line and the Eau Claire Public Realm. As time is passing, we are seeing milestones met, and we think that the end result of the Plaza Redevelopment, the Jaipur Bridge replacement, and the flood resiliency efforts should be well worth the pain of this construction project.
The 3rd Avenue Walking and Wheeling Project was designed as a temporary measure to enhance the detour required because of the construction, but the City is measuring use and engaging with communities to determine success criteria, along with technical analysis, for future evaluation of the long-term detour.
This has ignited some controversy and we’d love to hear your opinion. We have heard some drivers complain about not being able to turn right when someone is in front of them turning left. And we have heard from some cyclists already advocating to make the bike lanes permanent. One option that was shared with us is a permanent two-way bike lane on the north side of 3rd Avenue and none on the south – the reasoning there being that the majority of the underground parkades have access on the south side. As your representatives, we want to make sure that we hear all of your opinions so that we can truly represent the whole diversity of resident opinion and present that to the City – please let us know your thoughts.
As we face the start of a new year with continued challenges for Eau Claire and the Greater Downtown community associations, we hope that you consider joining our team and having a say in how the neighbourhood interacts with the City and with other CAs, as well as monitoring developments and planning some fun events and enhancements in the neighbourhood.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please email us at [email protected] for further information.
