Welcome to the

Connaught Open Street

A project by sustainable calgary

What is the Connaught Open Street?

In 2022, a group of Grade 4 students from Connaught School envisioned a way to transform the street next to their school into a safer place to walk and play. During their daily commute, students had noticed reckless driving and illegal parking around their school. Pick-up and drop-off times were especially stressful as high levels of traffic made intersections difficult to cross.

To improve the situation, students proposed closing 10 St SW to cars and opening it to pedestrians: “We want to close the street forever and always!” Not only would this make the space safer for everyone, but it would also provide much-needed park space to the neighborhood.

Sustainable Calgary took their ideas and synthesized them into the Connaught Open Street - a temporary intervention that transformed a hazardous, noisy street into a fun and safe community space for all Beltliner’s to enjoy. The first prototype of the open street was installed last summer, with the street closure running from June to October.

And this summer we’re back! We’ve reinstalled the Open Street in its temporary form for a second round of prototyping.

We have integrated community feedback from last year into this year’s prototype: the project will extend into the winter, more project signage will be produce, and we are working with the City to install additional traffic calming measures in the area. We will continue to tweak and improve the space through the duration of the project.


What’s next for the Connaught Open Street?

Last year's interventions were a resounding success. When surveyed, 90% of Connaught School families and staff wanted the project to return permanently. We have heard similar support from the wider community and are working to develop a permanent version of the Connaught Open Street.

As we move to the next stages of the Connaught Open Street, we will be engaging with residents to collect more community feedback. Designers working with Sustainable Calgary will use these comments to develop a design proposals for a permanent installation. These designs will then go back to the community for further engagement.

So: what amenities should be included in future iterations of Open Street? Public water fountains, a pond, picnic tables, bike repair station? Think like a kid; the sky's the limit! Send us your ideas at the survey above or find us at our bi-weekly popup!

 
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, August 18 from 2:00 - 6:00 pm: Engagement Pop-up

Tuesday, August 22 from 2:00 - 6:00 pm: Engagement Pop-up

Thursday, August 24from 2:00 - 6:00 pm: Engagement Pop-up

 

  • In 2018, Canadian kids were given a D+ grade for their lack of physical activity. And can we blame them?

    Areas like the Beltline have high levels of trac that make walking to the playground or biking around dangerous. Since 2017, the City has logged over 1000 traffic incidents in the community. Not only do sedentary lifestyles lead to higher rates of childhood diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, but they also negatively impact academic achievement, concentration, classroom behaviour, and stress levels. Children are also more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, which are excessive around school zones.

    With the Open Street, we’re making it easier for kids and parents to get out of their cars and use active modes for their daily commute.

  • Students identified 10th St SW as a barrier to safely walking and/or wheeling to school.

    For more on this, we will let the students tell you in their own words: https://youtu.be/soUdYXxnMEA