Community and Business Relations General Support
Business-friendly construction
Building the infrastructure Calgary needs—while supporting the businesses Calgarians rely on.
How The City supports businesses during construction
We are committed to building infrastructure that Calgary needs, while supporting businesses that help our city thrive.
In recent years, The City has been piloting a range of business-friendly construction approaches. These efforts focus on area-wide measures that supports business continuity and customer access during construction. This includes:
On-site support with Business Liaisons
Improved signage and wayfinding
Temporary parking solutions
Marketing and business-area promotions
Clear and timely information sharing
Coordinated detours and access routes
Support on current projects
This work is delivered by individual project teams. Have a question or comment? Visit the project webpage by clicking “Learn more about this project”.
Business-friendly construction policy
The Business-Friendly Construction Policy reinforces The City’s aim to consider business needs where possible in balance with City priorities of delivering safe, effective projects for the benefit of all Calgarians.
Specifically, the Policy:
- Clarifies what Calgarians can expect from City-led construction projects
- Sets clear objectives to guide how business continuity and customer access is considered during the planning and delivery of City projects
- Guides how these approaches are formalized and applied more consistently across projects
- Emphasizes that Policy sets a consistent approach for how The City plans and delivers construction near businesses. Wwhile construction impacts cannot be fully avoided, they can be mitigated to support business continuity and help customers to access businesses during construction.
More than 1,200 business owners, customers, business organizations, Business Improvement Areas, and construction industry representatives participated in engagement to inform the Policy.
Policy statements:
The City will endeavor to:
- Consider, as part of the project planning for City projects, the operations of Neighbouring Businesses;
- Identify foreseeable construction-related issues relevant to Neighbouring Businesses and incorporate mitigation measures into project planning for City projects
- Provide timely, plain-language information regarding planned construction activities, schedules and anticipated changes to Neighbouring Businesses;
- Maintain communication channels for inquiries for Neighbouring Businesses during construction and provide updates and responses as required based on project scope;
- Provide public access that is safe, accessible, and easy to follow, around City projects;
- Implement initiatives that work to build customer experience and confidence and promote business area vitality.
The proposed policy will be presented to the Infrastructure Planning Committee for consideration on March 11, 2026, through the agenda item on Advancing Business-Friendly Construction.
Council directs administration to create a Business-Friendly Construction Policy
Public engagement and research with businesses, customers and construction industry
Present Policy to Infrastructure Planning Committee
The Main Streets Business Support Grant Pilot
In 2024, at the direction of City Council, The City implemented a one-time Main Streets Business Support Grant pilot with the objectives of
- helping businesses prepare for construction and
- implementing strategies to encourage business patronage during construction.
The pilot was evaluated throughout 2025 and the evaluation report has been included in the March 11, 2026 Infrastructure and Planning Committee agenda item on Advancing Business-Friendly Construction.
For more information on the Main Streets Support Grant pilot visit Calgary.ca/MainStreetsGrant
Frequently Asked Questions
General questions
Why is The City helping businesses during construction?
The City recognizes how important businesses are to the local economy. Construction projects can create challenges for businesses and their customers. The City’s business-friendly construction approach supports business continuity and customer access across entire business areas, aims to build customer confidence and support business area vitality.
What has The City already been doing to support businesses during construction?
For the past few years,, The City has piloted many supports to help businesses prepare and manage potential impacts during construction. These include:
- Impact assessments
- Early outreach and communications
- Alternative parking solutions
- Business Improvement Area (BIA) Financial Support
- Business liaisons
- Improved directional signage for customers
- Support local marketing campaigns
Business-Friendly Construction Policy questions
Why is The City bringing forward a Business‑Friendly Construction Policy now?
With a $3.8B capital program planned for 2026, construction impacts will continue to increase. The Policy ensures a consistent, proactive approach to planning and delivering City projects and reinforces The City’s aim to consider business needs where possible in balance with City priorities of delivering safe, effective projects for the benefit of all Calgarians.
What problem is this Policy trying to solve?
Construction is necessary to support growth, maintenance, and services, but it can be inconvenient and even disruptive to business operations and customers’ experience. The Policy aims to minimize those impacts while keeping projects moving forward.
How is this Policy different from what The City already does today?
Since 2022, The City has piloted a range of business‑friendly approaches on select projects. The Policy formalizes this work, setting clear objectives and consistent expectations that can be expanded across City‑led infrastructure projects.
How were businesses involved in shaping this Policy?
Input from more than 1,200 businesses and customers, along with years of on the ground piloting of various approaches and collaboration with construction industry partners, directly informed the policy.