Councillor Druh Farrell’s April Ward 7 News Nugget
Bow to Bluff began as a citizen-led initiative focused on transforming the neglected spaces along the LRT line between the Bow River and McHugh Bluff into a green necklace of mini-parks. Out of this award-winning engagement process, we created a design that focused on community vibrancy, safety, and beautification. Now, after years of hard work and a short delay caused by the pandemic, construction on Bow to Bluff starts this spring!
While the community and the City built a remarkable vision for Bow to Bluff, and while the project was also identified as the top public improvement in the Hillhurst/Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan, it took time to deliver on the funding. Originally fully funded by the ENMAX Legacy Parks Program, this money fell through during the economic recession as ENMAX’s revenue declined. However, the City and I never stopped pursuing the funding needed to make Bow to Bluff a reality.
Fortunately, the stars recently aligned to secure $4 million for the project. The City’s Parks department first secured $840,000 for Bow to Bluff. I then worked with City staff on the creation of a new Leveraged Partners Program for parks that would top up this fund if we could leverage further money elsewhere. Fortunately, the Hillhurst/Sunnyside Community Amenity Fund (HSCAF) was the perfect source. The HSCAF receives money from developers in exchange for increased density, with the intent of using that funding to improve public spaces for current and future residents. The HSCAF committee, which is made up of community and City representatives, unanimously committed $566,931 from the fund to Bow to Bluff. Council likewise unanimously supported directing HSCAF funding to Bow to Bluff. With the Parks funding and HSCAF funding in place, we secured $2.6 million from the Leveraged Partners Program to fully fund Bow to Bluff! Funding for construction partially comes from Provincial stimulus money as well.
With construction starting, and expected to last until Summer 2022, you can stay up to date on the project at: http://www.calgary.ca/bowtobluff
Thank you again to all of the community volunteers and City staff who are bringing Bow to Bluff to life!
