If you have a creative idea to make your community’s streets safer, it could be eligible for $750 in funding.
Community associations, cultural communities, business improvement areas and other grass-roots organizations keen to make their streets more walkable can soon apply for a micro-grant, after council approved an application to the city’s innovation fund on Monday.
The pitch to spend $172,000 on a program that will dole out $112,500 in grants to 150 community projects across the city passed in a 9-5 vote.
Councillors Andre Chabot, Sean Chu, Peter Demong, Joe Magliocca and Ward Sutherland voted against the ‘Walk21 Community Microgrants’ program. Coun. Jim Stevenson was absent.
The funds are meant to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday and coincide with Walk21, an international conference on walking the University of Calgary is hosting this September.
Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell said the conference will bring experts, focussed on pedestrian safety, from around the world to Calgary.
“The ability to connect those experts with communities to talk about these micro interventions to improve safety and walkability in neighbourhoods will have a lasting impact,” Farrell said.
“It’s cheap and cheerful.”
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Traffic issues are a common complaint from community associations and it’s hoped the funds will allow at least eight walking improvement projects per ward to be completed over a two-year period.
“This will allow us to do a bunch of stuff in neighbourhoods to address pain points, in particular communities, at a very low cost while utilizing experts that are in town for the very, very big international conference,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said.
The $172,000 in funding will come from the City of Calgary’s innovation fund and $112,500 will be spent on the micro grants.
The remaining money will go towards communications and promotion ($5,000), program administration ($40,000) and a program process review ($15,000).
Details on how citizens and community groups can apply for funding are expected in the coming months, with successful applicants scheduled to be announced during the Walk21 conference that runs September 20 to 22, 2017.
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