HSPC Sub-committees
The HSCA Planning Committee currently has three sub-committees that are open to residents and business owners in Hillhurst-Sunnyside.
Mobility
Are you passionate about walking, riding a bike, or using your accessibility device to make your way around Hillhurst and Sunnyside? Do you think our community would serve us better if we had less car dependency and had safer routes for traditional means of local transportation? If so, you may want to join or get involved with the mobility sub-committee. To learn more, connect with the Community Planning Coordinator who will place you in contact with the Chair of the Mobility team.
Hillhurst-Sunnyside is a community that is great for walking, wheeling, and accessing public transportation. This is thanks to the fact it was developed in the early 1900s before vehicles became a dominant form of mobility in Calgary. Trends towards becoming more car-centric grew from the 1950s onwards. This transition in trends shaped the streetscapes throughout the neighbourhood making it more challenging for people wanting to move throughout the area outside of the car. Hillhurst-Sunnyside was also impacted during this time by the choice of the city to use the community’s streets for residents outside the neighbourhood to drive through it to reach downtown. For example, 14 Street NW in 2019 served a daily volume of 38,000 vehicles per day.
The HSCA Mobility Sub-committee represents the community’s interests in seeking out equity for people moving about the neighbourhood by active means. This involves working with the City of Calgary to identify and create safe routes (streets, bikeways, pathways and sidewalks) and safe crossing points across streets. This will in turn allow residents, particularly the younger and older generations, to be able to safely use active means to reach everyday destinations like schools, parks, transit stops, and friends.
The Mobility Sub-committee values choice in transportation and that our neighbourhood streets are for people of all ages and abilities. Not everyone will want to always walk, bike or use transit and that’s okay. However, the infrastructure made available for vehicles must not discourage or effectively dissuade residents from choosing active means due to safety concerns or because it is impractical.
Heritage
Hillhurst-Sunnyside is one of the oldest communities in Calgary and with that comes a lot of wonderful history. Marilyn Williams and Gillian Sissons wrote the Hillhurst Sunnyside Historical Context Paper. This is a paper that explores and characterizes what has shaped our community over time.
Our heritage sub-committee leads the way in historical preservation by educating residents on the merits and benefits of keeping our history alive through recognition and preserving century homes and buildings.
If you are passionate about becoming an advocate for heritage preservation, please connect with the Community Planning Coordinator who will place you in contact with the Chair of the Heritage team.
Sunnyside Brightening Committee
The Sunnyside Brightening Committee (SBC) is an active group of neighbours seeking to “brighten” Sunnyside through recreational, artistic, and environmental improvements. The SBC members meet monthly and have been working on several projects over the years! The projects include Sunnyside Bike Track, a sculptural sign for Sunnyside, murals throughout the community, and many more!
The SBC was originally established to focus on aesthetic aspects of flood mitigation that were introduced following the 2013 flood. As interest has grown over the years so as the scope of the committee! One of the biggest concerns the committee has with ongoing flood mitigation is tree loss associated with the berm construction. The SBC is actively working to ensure there is a plan for tree replacement, river access, and placemaking projects so the berm is functional both as protection from high flood waters and providing a good aesthetic appeal and urban design.
The SBC is always looking for new Sunnyside residents who want to make something happen in the community. Please reach out to the Community Planning Coordinator if you are interested in leading a project or supporting the ongoing work.