Survey suggests Calgarians mostly in favour of 17th Avenue pedestrianization pilot
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But a group that represents businesses along the busy corridor said much more consultation is needed before determining if it's worth pursuing the idea seriously, while the city said no plans are currently in the works to close the street to vehicles.
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The Beltline Neighbourhoods Association conducted public engagement last summer in a bid to gauge how residents and area businesses felt about making a portion of 17th Avenue S.W. vehicle-free.
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'Right now, we know the street is suffering during peak times, like on the weekends, from a lot of congestion,' Oliver said. 'Cars are sitting at the lights for multiple cycles, there's pollution, there's noise.
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'That's actually keeping people away from here, and one of the interesting things we found was the most common mode of people coming to the street was by walking.'
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The idea of restricting vehicles from certain retail-focused streets has been successful in other Canadian cities, Oliver noted, including Montreal and Vancouver. He added that Calgary has flirted with the concept as well, in Inglewood and Kensington, as well as during the 4th Street Lilac Festival.
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Seventy-seven per cent of the BNA's respondents said they'd visit 17th Avenue more often if the road was devoid of cars, Oliver said.
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Another finding from the poll was that most of the avenue's foot traffic is from residents who live within two kilometres of the street, and that walking is their most common mode of transport.
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