You won’t drive by the Calgary community of Bridgeland anymore without knowing exactly where it is. 

That’s because the northeast community installed a Hollywood-style sign on 9 Street NE and Memorial Drive. It’s right across the street from the Bridgeland – Memorial C-Train Station.

Ali McMillan, with the Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association, said they’ve been working on boosting each gateway into the community. 

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“We have only three entrances into Bridgeland, and lots of people don’t even realize our community is there,” said McMillan.

“There is nothing to say ‘Hey Bridgeland is here!’ on our main entrance on Memorial Drive, you know, there’s no welcome and there’s no gateway treatment.”

The Bridgeland sign letters are made out of metal framing and wood, and are bonded together with car bondo. McMillan admits the signs aren’t meant to be a permanent fixture, but are made to last for the next few years. 

Bridgeland sign possible due to dozens of volunteers 

According to McMillan, dozens of volunteers have worked tirelessly on crafting the letters over the last few months. Earlier in September, members of the Bridgeland community came together and spent an evening to paint the signs.

McMillan adds the Bridgeland sign was sponsored by local developer JEMM Properties. They rolled up their sleeves and helped apply the finishing touches to the new community project. Local company, Fuse 33 Makerspace also donated their equipment and materials to help create it in their workshop. 

For McMillan, to have support from the community made the project even more special.

“It’s about building an identity for our community to say this is Bridgeland,” McMillan said.

“We love our neighbourhood, so it’s about beautification and it’s about pride in our community.”

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