April 2015 Newsletter

Hello Ward 14!

April is a transition month here in Calgary. Technically it is spring, but anyone who has been here for more than a year knows that it is spring in name only. We will likely be living with snow on the ground for a little while longer, and although temperatures will gradually be climbing, there is still the definite possibility of some cold weather.

I’m going to blaze the trail into spring this month regardless of the conditions outside, but first let me mention Aldertalk. This month’s edition of Aldertalk is on April 11 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Queensland Community Hall (649 Queensland Drive SE). If you can’t make it this month, you can find upcoming dates at www.calgary.ca/aldertalk

City landfills will be taking yard waste free of charge from residential customers again this year. Your chance is from April 17 to May 31, but before you leave for the landfill there are a couple of things you should remember. First, you should only bring things like leaves, branches, and plants (no sod, please). Second, it needs to either be left loose or be in a paper yard waste bag.

It’s a great program that really helps the City cut down on waste, and this year yard waste from the September snowstorm will also be accepted. I suggest you take advantage of it, and visit www.calgary.ca/waste.

Another sign of spring is street cleaning.  You should keep an eye out for signs on the streets in your neighbourhood starting April 13, because that is when Calgary’s Roads department begins its 2015 Spring cleanup program.

By now some Ward 14 communities have been notified of Canada Post’s intention to convert their mail service from door-to-door to community mailboxes. While service to those who have been contacted will be converted within the year, all service across the ward, the city, and the country will be converted within the next five years.

Several have contacted my office about the changes, and rightly so. My door is always open, so to speak, and I am always here to listen, but I want to make it clear that Canada Post is leading the engagement process with residents, not the City of Calgary.

Canada Post, under the Federal Canada Post Act, may install, erect or relocate in any public place, including a public roadway, any receptacle or device to be used for the collection, delivery or storage of mail. However, if residents have issues with the sites selected, they should call Canada Post.

To everyone in Chaparral Valley and Walden, I hope the new bus route is working out. I want to thank the Chaparral Community Association, and the residents of those communities for bringing this need to my attention. Without their efforts to lobby Calgary Transit I would not have been able to have moved this forward so quickly. It is a very big step in the development of two wonderful neighbourhoods.

I will write again for May. Until then, take care and feel free to contact me anytime.

Councillor Peter Demong​