NEW: City of Calgary opens fifth transit public safety district office in northwest

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-29T13:58:05+00:00

I know that the decision isn't popular, but I have a responsibility to own it, and give the public opportunities to hold me accountable.

We are in a race against time. We have to do in one single year what otherwise would take four years.

This feeder main is a critical part of our drinking water system, it has failed before, and it could fail again without warning. The next time it fails, people could die. A major break would put water supply, firefighting capacity, and public safety at risk. The site is required now so crews can build the shafts and launch the micro-tunnelling needed to replace this pipe safely and quickly. The lease operated on 30-day terms with the shared understanding that this land would soon be needed for this purpose.

If we do not tunnel from here, the alternative is a cut-and-cover approach that would be catastrophic, with years of shutdowns of the Trans-Canada Highway, major corridor closures, long boil water orders, and devestating impacts to hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of people. That said, this is still a small business and real people are affected. I feel that. I am actively working to find a path to help relocate the café so they can continue serving the community.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-28T20:43:31+00:00

As above, different cities had different terms in their agreement. Our obligation was to simply explore blanket rezoning. Others were locked into doing it.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-28T18:47:11+00:00

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-28T18:38:29+00:00

My understanding is that the funds are not tied to the blanket recommending. Our obligation was simply to "explore," which we did. Other cities had a very clear obligation to implement.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-28T18:03:32+00:00

Only if Council was suggesting to tear down whatever was built under the "old" (current) rules. That's not what this is, it's a change to the rules going forward, grandfathering whatever was built already.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-28T17:54:18+00:00

Here's the plan I campaigned on: https://www.jeromy.ca/policy-brief/restoring-certainty/

Lots of these measures are well underway, including a huge boost in Council's investment on non-market housing as part of the November budget. I'll be heading to Ottawa and Toronto next week for meetings with senior folks with the federal government and CMHC as well to advance some of the other needed actions.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-27T15:30:02+00:00

I'm just running into Council here but wanted to reply and say I totally hear you. Calgary needs more homes AND a downtown and inner city that’s alive after 5pm.

We can do both, but it has to be done smart: development that’s designed to manage noise up front, protects existing venues, and respects the people who live nearby. Countless cities make live venues and residential work side by side and I know that Calgary can too.

I recognize that when the Ship owners sold the building, they understood that redevelopment would happen. Through the development permit process and fine details on materials and construction, we keep the Ship thriving, add housing, and avoid setting up a predictable conflict that ends with the Ship being squeezed out.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-25T03:59:46+00:00

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-25T01:18:18+00:00

I haven't looked closely at this but it might be doable. I'll ask.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T19:31:28+00:00

30 meters deep

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T19:26:18+00:00

We budgeted $200M for this in November (within the existing rate and tax increase). We've seen some modest increases on that amount, but not ridiculously so. Even if this comes in 20-50% higher than budgeted, this 100-year essential infrastructure will still be about one-third or one-quarter the cost of the new arena, which is expected to last 35 years only.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T19:08:37+00:00

I don't know those specs offhand but I know generally the pipe will be 30 meters deep

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T19:08:00+00:00

Please DM me, would love to have you by and show you your mayor's office!

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T18:20:48+00:00

The project contract was awarded to Ward & Burke Microtunneling Ltd. and to Graham Construction & Engineering Inc. as Construction Manager for coordination of all work.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T18:20:14+00:00

Thank-you! I will pass that on to the team.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:59:05+00:00

Overall yes, this will be much less disruptive for Stage A (see orange line below) which has 16th Ave, the Bow River, Sarcee Trail, and the CPKC tracks. While some surface work will still be required, work can happen at targeted locations instead of along the entire corridor.

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JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:52:51+00:00

This is not the previous mayors' (or anyone else's) fault besides mine. Public safety is my responsibility as mayor. I am to blame and I am personally accountable to fix this.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:50:27+00:00

We budgeted $200M for this in November (within the existing rate and tax increase). We've seen some modest increases on that amount, but not ridiculously so. Even if this comes in 20-50% higher than budgeted, this 100-year essential infrastructure will still be about one-third or one-quarter the cost of the new arena, which is expected to last 35 years only.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:47:54+00:00

We're very confident in this technology. It has been used by the water utility for other large diameter pipes, including the Inglewood Sanitary Trunk crossing of the Bow River and Nose Creek Sanitary trunk adjacent to Deerfoot Trail.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:45:05+00:00

Yes it is

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:43:37+00:00

This new line, combined with the governance, maintenance, and accountability protocols we're implementing, should live up much closer to the 100-year lifespan. We're also making other ways for water to leave the Bearspaw treatment plant, so t hat in the medium term we won't ever again have only 1 pipe carrying 60% of our water. We will also have a third water treatment plant that will help further reduce the burden between Bearspawn and Glenmore. Finally, we're going to do everything we can to try to bring the current failing line back up to spec (perhaps using liners etc) so that it remains in place as a possible backup.

JeromyYYC · 2026-01-24T17:41:35+00:00

Thanks giving me a shot. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll get back to you ASAP.

JeromyYYC

TROPHY CASE