In what’s becoming a familiar refrain at Calgary city council, more money is going to be needed to fix steadily deteriorating roads.
Members of the Infrastructure and Planning Committee were presented with a report that showed 38 per cent of pavement quality in Calgary is rated as good, 36 per cent fair and 26 per cent rated as poor.
The Canadian municipal average of roads in good condition is 60 per cent. In Calgary, at the current funding level, city administration believes that the road network will continue to deteriorate by 3.2 per cent annually, with the number of trips on poor roads reaching two million daily by 2034.
In order to increase Calgary’s road pavement quality to 60 per cent in good condition, it would require a $132 million annual investment – or an additional $80 million annually. The current budget averages $47.8 million annually.
Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong, who crafted the original Notice of Motion to examine what it would take to get Calgary’s pavement quality to the national average, said there are some tough choices ahead.
“This is one of those areas in a budget that you can allow to lapse for a certain amount of time, and it’s obvious that we have, and now it’s time to gear back up and say, It’s time to reinvest in our road network,” he said.
“It is actually quite surprising, which is why it’s so immediately important to get on top of it now, because we can’t let it deteriorate any further than it’s gone already.”
He said that given the many infrastructure needs – roads, water, recreation, transit – several city councillors are waiting with bated breath to see what’s going to be proposed in the upcoming November mid-cycle budget adjustments.
Report isn’t surprising, says Coun. Sharp
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp said given the cost escalation they’re seeing in other areas of Calgary, the cost of delaying road maintenance isn’t surprising.
“I would say that we probably haven’t been diligent enough to spend enough money on infrastructure over the years,” she said.
“Clearly, we’ve seen it through our infrastructure, through water, and now we’re seeing it through roads and they go hand in hand.”
Given the level of need in upgrading Calgary’s infrastructure, Coun. Sharp said that people are telling the city what kinds of investments are important to them. That will be dealt with in the budget.
“It’s very simple. You start taking out stuff that people don’t want,” she said.
Sharp referenced an upcoming public perception report that she thinks won’t be filled with glowing reviews of the City of Calgary’s performance.
“That’ll be what I think will shape some of the conversations you’ll see during budget, in understanding what Calgarians are looking for – and they’ve always been the top: the public safety, the infrastructure, quality of life, that all goes hand in hand,” she said.
“Once you see those numbers, I think council needs to start figuring out where they want to focus their efforts on moving forward into the new year.”
In the end, Coun. Demong is hoping for a plan to continue tackling the backlog in road projects, with the city slowing clawing its way back to a better overall road system. The City has already filled 25 per cent more potholes than last year with $30 million in pavement rehab cash, and winter maintenance reserve ($8.9 million) put into more pavement improvements.
City administration has suggested an additional $14.45 million in 2025 and 2026 for major deferred repaving work. They want an additional $35.8 million in 2026 for the road maintenance budget and $18 million more than the proposed $98 million for 2027.
It all comes at a cost to taxpayers – with perhaps some help from the province. His area residents, however, have been loud and clear with what they want.
“Fix the damn roads,” he said.
