In the lead-up to 2024, LWC has given you the most-read stories of 2023, the top data stories of the year, and a selection of top photos.

A look back on 2023 as a reminder of the year that tends to elicit the question: What does 2024 look like?

There’s a lot that should happen in 2024, so here’s a rundown of what we think you can expect in 2024.

Big infrastructure projects dig in

Two of Calgary’s biggest-ever infrastructure projects are scheduled to start construction in 2024 – the $5.5 billion Green Line and the $1.22 billion Event Centre project.

The Green Line project is expected to enter the “implementation phase” in 2024. The development agreement, which began in April 2023, was expected to take between 12 and 16 months to hammer out.  The goal is still construction start in 2024, according to Green Line CEO Darshpreet Bhatti.

The Event Centre, which has yet to release the definitive agreement to the public (early 2024, according to the City of Calgary’s website), is also expected to break ground later in the year. Enabling works around the area, including the complete relocation of 5 Street SE (will become 5A Street SE) are expected to start in early 2024 and go through the spring.

Route Ahead / Transit public safety strategy

We should start to see changes in how Calgary Transit delivers service, as the implementation of the revised Route Ahead strategy is scheduled for implementation after Q3, 2023. The expectation is the city will move towards a frequency-based service, with trains or buses arriving every 10 to 15 minutes, 15 hours a day, seven days a week.  While Calgary Transit needs to staff up and add hundreds of buses, Calgarians should expect to see service changes beginning this year.

Sticking with transit, and though the timeline is a bit vague, commuters should start to see the deployment of resources towards the new public transit safety strategy. Aaron Coon, Chief of Public Vehicle Safety Standards with the City of Calgary, said that full rollout of the strategy would go through to 2025.    

A pillar of the strategy is a hub-based model that would see a target response time of 7 to 10 minutes along the City’s LRT lines.

Housing, land use, density debates

These items could stand on their own in this list, as they will continue to dominate city policy and politics in 2024.  After passing the Housing Strategy last year, citizens can expect to see the city moving forward on some of the major pillars in that document. One of those we expect is further disposition of city land for potential housing projects – especially around transit nodes.

One major item will be the public hearing on city-wide rezoning. This will likely be one of the hottest debates of the year in land use. That goes on April 22, 2024.

Flying under the radar on all this is the much-talked-referred-to-but-rarely-discussed overhaul of the City of Calgary’s entire Land Use Bylaw.   That could come up in 2024, however, with an election on the horizon, it might be kicked to the next city council.

Generally speaking, expect to continue seeing ongoing disputes over density vs character, especially with big redevelopments like the proposed Viscount Bennett site overhaul, and the introduction of more Local Area Plans. Five plans will continue their community engagement this year.

Water.

Pretty straightforward. Water will be, if it isn’t already, the next major issue that cities face as it collides with the ongoing impact of climate change.   If it isn’t flooding due to extreme weather patterns, it will be drought-like conditions that will put further pressure on the Bow and Elbow Rivers.

The City of Calgary is already considering water restriction plans for this upcoming spring, and Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she expected the city to follow some of the surrounding areas in implementing automatic water restrictions from spring through fall.

Election jockeying

If you thought the last municipal election was an interesting one, the municipal election in 2025 will probably knock your socks off.  In 2024, many councillors (maybe future mayoral candidates) will begin staking out their ground in the lead-up to the 2025 municipal campaign.

By this time next year, a picture will emerge of who wants to lead Calgary beyond 2025.