You Can Always Go Downtown

Centre City gets a passing grade from Calgarians

In a perception survey undertaken by the City of Calgary, 86 per cent of Calgarians feel the Centre City has improved or stayed the same over the last 12 months. The second of its kind, the survey was conducted in October and November 2011 and included questions about Centre City safety, cleanliness, amenities and sense of community as well as transportation and infrastructure.

Centre City encompasses the neighbourhoods of the Beltline, Chinatown, Downtown, East Village, Eau Clair, Stampede Park and Downtown West.

"The survey findings show us that people are noticing The City of Calgary's work to make our Centre City safe, clean, vibrant and vital," said Dawn Thome, Centre City planning and implementation. "This feedback is important because it tells the City we need to sustain the work we are doing and it also informs our future work."

Other findings in the city include a five per cent increase in residents visiting cultural centres such as museums, art galleries and theatres; Calgarians are making more use of Centre City recreation centres and the importance of parks in the area has increased by five per cent.

Calgarians are also heading downtown more often to eat lunch (up 10 points, from 64 per cent to 74 per cent) or attend sporting events (up six points, from 18 per cent to 24 per cent).

Another feature drawing more people to the Centre City was the river pathway, with six per cent more Calgarians heading downtown to walk or
along the Bow River. A likely factor in the increased popularity of the pathways is RiverWalk, the four-kilometer promenade running from Centre Street to Fort Calgary.

A Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) project, RiverWalk is just one part of the greater East
Village revitalization, set to transform a large portion of Downtown Calgary in the coming months.

The results come from The City of Calgary's second Centre City Citizen Perception Survey conducted by telephone. The City called upon citizens to answer a number of different questions about our Centre City. Citizens were asked about issues such as Centre City safety, cleanliness, amenities and their sense of community. Citizens were also asked about transportation to and within the Centre City, along with their satisfaction levels with Centre City infrastructure including sidewalks, onstreet bikeways and parks.

Calgarians can visit www.calgary.ca/ centrecity.com to find out more on the findings of the survey.

How often do you go downtown? Do you use the extensive bike and walking pathways?

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