The Connaught Open Street Project will set a precedent in the City of Calgary for how local neighborhoods and their community members can re-imagine roadways adjacent to schools to provide healthier and safer streets for kids, and the greater community.

The scope of work includes design and implementation for a permanent Connaught Open Street, taking inspiration from the temporary trial installation (pictured above). The Connaught Open Street Project represents a global shift of values that is emerging on how we design and think about streets adjacent to schools. Urban planners, designers, policy makers and communities in general are seeing the value in reducing or eliminating car presence on streets adjacent to schools in urban communities. Prioritizing pedestrians over vehicles means reducing, slowing, or eliminating cars from our streets. There are many positive health and environmental outcomes from eliminating or reduce vehicles. Examples include, reducing air pollution from vehicles around playgrounds, and the ability to incorporate greening and biodiversity opportunities (School Streets: Putting Children First and the planet first, Advocacy Hub, 2022).

For example, the City of Paris just recently implemented a street program called School Streets. The program identifies streets adjacent to schools in densely populated urban areas in Paris that are good candidates for the COMPLETE removal of cars. After a comprehensive trial period, if deemed appropriate, car access is removed from the street, allowing space for additional tree planting, seating, bike routes, and urban pocket parks. The move to de-centralize vehicular use from streets towards a pedestrian focus on a global scale will have a major impact on the health and sustainability of our cities.

Location: Connaught Street, Calgary, Alberta Canada

Status: Schematic Design

Partners: Abydoz Civil Engineers / M3 / Martinson Golly