December 2016 Newsletter

Hi Everyone!  

It’s the holiday season, and I hope you will have some time to spend with friends and family. Here are a few notes that will help you during December.

Snow & Ice Control

It is a good thing to mention once or twice a year... The City maintains over 16,000 lane kilometres of road excluding Deerfoot and Stoney Trail, which are the Province’s responsibility. Naturally, maintaining this amount of road requires prioritization. That is why the City endeavors to maintain all roads seven days from the end of a snowfall. You can expect a major road like Macleod Trail to be cleared within 24 hours of the last snowflake, while your own street will likely be taken care of within day 3-7. Parking bans may be called if you live on a Snow Route. They are marked by a blue sign with a white snowflake.

The City clears about half of its 800 kilometres of pathway too. How do we decide what pathway to clear? That is based on a combination of volume, steepness, and the connections that it makes. Pathways are to be cleared within 24 hours of the last snowflake.

Sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owner. They are to be cleared within 24 hours of the last snowflake.

I highly recommended downloading the City’s Roads App. It will have all the latest updates on Calgary’s roads. Calgary.ca/snow and calgary.ca/roadconditions will have that information too. You can also call 311 and ask.

Natural Gas Carbon Levy Information

The Province’s carbon tax levy is going to be a tough pill to swallow for most of us, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be prepared. Budgeting is an extremely important habit to get into, and I am very happy that Enmax is helping people do that. Along with posting general information on their blog (enmaxonforyou.ca), they have provided customers with individualized estimates of the carbon tax levy. If you haven’t already looked over your estimate and the blog, I suggest you do so. There is information there that is likely to save you money.

Reporting Street Light Outages

We have a really neat new way to report street light outages. You will be able to select street lights that are out, flickering, or burning during the day on a map to indicate that they need repair. Keep in mind that the City is not responsible for the repair of streetlights in back alleys, parks and recreation areas, or Deerfoot Trail, Stoney Trail North, or Stoney Trail South. To find the map and get more information go to calgary.ca/streetlights.

Counciltalk

Now I would like to look forward to the upcoming year, because in January my Counciltalk sessions will begin again. I won’t go into too much detail because I think many of you already know what they are about. If not, you can learn more at calgary.ca/counciltalk and sign up to receive important updates about things like Counciltalk at calgary.ca/contactward14.

We will be starting at the Lake Bonavista Community Centre this year. You are welcome to join me in the multi-purpose room on Saturday, January 28 from noon to 2 p.m. I hope you can come

Thanks for reading. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and joyful New Year

-Councillor Peter Demong​