In Calgary

Last week, I had some work to do in the mountains. This meant a short stop-over in Calgary. Despite its proximity, I hardly know Calgary. I must say from this short visit that Calgary seems to be doing many things a lot better than Edmonton.

1. LRT. Their system dwarfs that of Edmonton. I saw a sign on the extreme west end of the city that said that the LRT would be arriving in that community by 2008. This amazed me. The kind of timelines we’re used to in Edmonton are in the five to ten year range. The famous can-do attitude of Calgary is certainly reaping benefits when it comes to rapid transit.

2. Downtown. For a start, it is much bigger than Edmonton’s. It surprised me to see the great canyons between the rows of skyscrapers. Their downtown seemed almost as big as, say, Montreal’s. Plus, the preservation of many old buildings was heartening to see. In particular, I enjoyed Stephen Avenue. I have no clue why Edmonton has not developed a pedestrian zone like this. Please, give us somewhere that we can take refuge from the bikers. Not that I’ve got anything against bikers, of course. I just don’t know why they’re allowed to thunder up Whyte Avenue, deafening conversations every few minutes.

Here is Stephen Avenue:



3. Homeless. The issue has been well publicized, but seeing it for real is still disheartening. There were entire sections of the city where I saw nothing but homeless. Calgary has built a lot more shelters for them than Edmonton has, but I’m not sure this is the long-term solution needed.

Another thing I noticed about Calgary is that the “look” for males is more corporate. There did not seem to be as many big, beefy and aggressive-looking males.


I am glad I had a chance for one last trip to the mountains as well as a stay in Calgary before leaving Edmonton. It is now exactly two weeks to departure time.