1 Alberta Children’s Hospital Integration
Step outside the hospital and within minutes you can walk into nearby office buildings and stores in an area to the north that will be known as the Professional District. The district will be pedestrian-friendly with streets and bike paths. Cars will enter the east-west main street, University Avenue (now West Campus Way), from north-south Shaganappi Trail.
2 Urban Format School
The District plan allows for a potential K-12 urban format school to be located just north of University Avenue. The urban format, new to Calgary, aims to make it easier for students to walk or cycle to classes. The school would be located in one of the mixed-use buildings adjacent to one of the north residential parks.
3 University Family Housing
The existing university family housing complex (immediately east of 39th St.) is anticipated to have 20 years left in its life cycle before the buildings will be replaced with new low-density housing. There are currently 250 townhouses available to students with families. This area is expected to be included in the last stages of the district development.
4 Walk, Bus and Bike
The plan takes a multi-modal approach to transportation though an extensive bicycle and pedestrian network and an interconnected transit network. The plan supports environmental sustainability and encourages a stronger sense of community. That means generally less vehicle traffic (and fewer greenhouse gas emissions) and more walking and cycling.
5 Street Names
As the district undergoes a future facelift, West Campus Way will become University Avenue, 39th Street will be renamed University Link and West Campus Boulevard will become University Boulevard. Plans are underway to name other streets after University of Calgary chancellors.
6 Plenty of Parks
The plan creates five parks totalling almost 32 acres throughout the district. The largest park will be 20 acres, located toward the southeastern boundary of the site and landmarked by an existing storm-water pond. Other options include a park in the northwest that will act as a major gateway to a pathway system that will run around the perimeter of the entire district.
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