Activating Green Line land: Crescent Heights Village Night Market

While Green Line construction is currently focused on Phase 1 of the project from Shepard to Eau Claire, we are exploring creative ways to use empty parcels of land in Phase 2 and across the future alignment to foster community support.

This summer, we are partnering with the Crescent Heights Village Business Improvement Area to activate land reserved for the future 16 Avenue N. Station. The vacant lot, located at Centre Street and 16^th Avenue N. is being used to host bi-weekly night markets. These vibrant markets showcase an array of local vendors offering apparel, handcraft artisanal products, food trucks, live music, and a diverse range of other attractions.

We spoke with the Executive Director of the Crescent Heights Village BIA, Camie Leard, about the importance of activating Green Line land for community use:

“When you’re working with a mega project like the Green Line, it can take years to come to fruition. So, what you want to do in the meantime is to create spaces Calgarians can use, that BIAs can use, that communities can use to create spaces to gather. You don’t want empty lots sitting around, so the more the Green Line can do to utilize the space they have, the better.”

When asked about the BIA’s experience partnering with the Green Line this summer, Camie Leard said, “the Green Line has been a really great partner in putting this together, we couldn’t have done it without the Green Line team. Any concerns have been totally addressed and they have really set us up for success here.”

Phase 2 of the of the Green Line will extend north across the Bow River from Eau Claire to 16 Avenue N. The 9 Avenue Station will serve as a vital transportation hub for Crescent Heights, offering access to local shops, restaurants, services, and the Crescent Heights High School. Designed to be a compact community station, it will also facilitate convenient connections to nearby parks and pathways, including Rotary Park and McHugh Bluffs. 

Moving further along the line, 16 Avenue N. Station marks the conclusion of Phase 2. This station will be one of the busiest on the Green Line and transit riders will have the opportunity to connect to the MAX Orange rapid transit network and BRT’s serving north-central Calgary.