Montgomery’s Main Street – Bowness Road N.W. – underwent the “design” step of the Main Streets program in 2018 and 2019. The City has developed a streetscape master plan for your Main Street based on citizen and stakeholder feedback, technical analysis, and financial considerations. The plan supports the needs identified by the community and provides a vision that guides the detailed design and construction phases. This vision encompasses numerous considerations, including:

• enhanced pedestrian safety and comfort;
• improved mobility options, including transit and cycling;
• a design that is uniquely “Montgomery” and reflects its identity;
• green, friendly streets through naturalized boulevards, trees, and site furnishings;
• making Montgomery a destination that will support existing and new local businesses, and;
• improved connections to park spaces and amenities.

The Bowness Road N.W. Main Street is funded for construction and is expected to begin in summer 2020, completing in fall 2021.

The Main Streets team is committed to keeping your community informed and up to date as this project progresses towards construction and beyond.

We’ll be communicating with residents, property owners and businesses over the coming months to provide more detail about the Bowness Road N.W. Street Main Street construction process, potential tree removals, changes to driveway access and when you will see construction crews in your community.

The streetscape master plan focuses on Bowness Road N.W. , but considers segments of 43 Street N.W. and 46 Street N.W. to ensure Bowness Road N.W. is properly integrated into the community and the city at-large. It aligns with the Complete Streets Policy and Guide and include safety and operational improvements for people walking, cycling, taking transit, and driving.

The streetscape master plan proposes near-term solutions to priority issues that are affecting the community today, as well as illustratomg a long-term vision for Bowness Road N.W. as a memorable destination, a living room, and a hub for the community. As part of regular road maintenance, Bowness Road N.W. is scheduled for repaving in the next few years. The road surface will be removed and replaced, which presents an opportunity to redesign the road so it functions more effectively for all users.

The design concept proposed in the master plan addresses all elements within the public right-of-way, as well as the interface between the street and adjacent buildings, parks, and plazas. This includes:

• enhanced pedestrian safety and comfort;
• improved mobility options, including transit and cycling;
• a design that is uniquely “Montgomery” and reflects its identity;
• green, friendly streets through naturalized boulevards, trees, and site furnishings;
• making Montgomery a destination that will support existing and new local businesses, and;
• improved connections to park spaces and amenities.

The Main Streets Program is one of the ways that the City of Calgary is working to make our city “a great place to make a living, and a great place to make a life.” Our program shares The City’s common purpose of “making life better every day” by implementing a comprehensive process to transform our main streets into places where people want to live, work and play.

Vision

Main Streets are places where citizens come together. They allow us to travel less and live more by providing the things we need right in our own communities.

Core Principles

Main Streets are resilient, adaptable, and attractive places that:

• Celebrate the character of the community;

• Encourage diversity of businesses, buildings and residents;

• Create a vibrant destination, and;

• Improve public health.

What is a Streetscape Master Plan?

A Streetscape Master Plan is more than improved accessibility, safety and beautification. It is about place-making, creating vibrant places that put a priority on sociability, access and linkages, comfort and image, and uses and activity.

Within the Main Streets Master Plan process we engage the public in three phases; Discover, Explore and Reveal to better understand community’s values for their street.

In the Discover Phase we Listen & Learn; stakeholders and The City listen to and learn about public views, plans, concerns, and expectations.

In the Explore phase, public feedback is obtained through consultation to review preliminary design ideas and options developed from input input discussed at the Discover phase. We ensure issues and concerns are understood and considered prior to design resolution of the Master Plan.

The Reveal phase focuses on communicating the short and long term strategies that will be carried forward into detail design of the project. The information communicated will include: (a) the proposed design; (b) what is different from existing; (c) why it is different, and; (d) how engagement input influenced the design, and; if not, explaining how the input was considered and why it could not be incorporated into the design.

How we use your input?

Feedback gathered from public and stakeholder engagement is reviewed with City of Calgary policy and standards, site conditions, and technical design analysis then refined for the next stage of engagement.