SW Ring Road – Calgary Ring Road

Jane’s Walk 2019: The History of the SW Ring Road and the Weaselhead

Why was the SW ring road planned through a First Nation’s reserve? How did the Weaselhead come to be owned by the City of Calgary? Why are Unexploded Ordnance being found in the Elbow river valley?

Join me again on this year’s Jane’s Walk through a beautiful and historic part of Calgary.

This is the fifth year that I will be leading the walk, and it will be a chance to talk about many of the issues I have covred on this blog; to look at the history of the SW Ring Road and to explore the past, present, and future of the Weaselhead area, one of the most historically rich parts of Calgary.

We’ll travel along the first Provincial highway that was built through the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve over 115 years ago (with origins dating back even before the signing of Treaty 7) and through land that was purchased in the 1930s for the Glenmore Reservoir. We’ll see where the Canadian Military operated the largest WWI training camp in Western Canada, and explore the legacy of disputed land ownership and unexploded ordnance that years of military use has left behind. We’ll experience one of the quietest corners of the city, now adjacent to where the SW Ring Road is being built, and see where previous plans would have located the road through the valley. We’ll look at the role that the Tsuut’ina Nation’s economic development plans have played in getting the road approved, and how Calgary and the Nation can come together as development progresses.

Details

Date: Sunday May 5, 2019
Time: 1:00 pm
Duration: about 2.5 hours
Meeting Place: North Weaselhead Parking Lot (at the corner of 37th street SW and 66th avenue SW in Lakeview)

Don’t forget to download the handout to your smartphone for the walk! Download here

Jane’s Walk in Calgary

Click here to visit the Jane’s Walk description for the SW Ring Road and Weaselhead walk

Thank you to Stephanie Hawes for providing the photos of the 2017 walk!

Jane’s Walk 2017

Jane's Walk graphic photo 2017 A

Why was the SW ring road planned through a First Nations reserve? How did the Weaselhead come to be owned by the City of Calgary? Why are Unexploded Ordnance being found in the Elbow river valley?

Join me on this year’s Jane’s Walk through a beautiful and historic part of Calgary, and learn about the soon-to-be-built SW ring road, 60+ years in the making.

weaselhead

The turn out for the last year’s walk was fantastic, and I will be leading it again for the third time this year. The walk will be a chance to talk, to look at the history of the SW Ring Road, and to explore the past, present, and future of the Weaselhead; one of the most historically rich areas of Calgary.

We’ll travel along the first Provincial highway that was built through the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve over 115 years ago (with origins dating back even before the signing of Treaty 7) and through land that was purchased in the 1930s for the Glenmore Reservoir. We’ll see where the Canadian Military operated the largest WWI training camp in Western Canada, and explore the legacy of disputed land ownership and unexploded ordnance that years of military use has left behind. We’ll experience one of the quietest corners of the city adjacent to where the SW Ring Road is planned to be built, see where previous plans would have located the road through the valley, and look at the role that future economic development has played getting the road approved.

Details

Date: Sunday May 7, 2017
Time: 1:00 pm
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: North Weaselhead Parking Lot (at the corner of 37th street SW and 66th avenue SW in Lakeview)

Jane’s Walk in Calgary

Click here to visit the Jane’s Walk description for the SW Ring Road and Weaselhead walk
and
Click here to see all of the Jane’s Walks that will be happening this year

With thanks to Doug Sephton for the photos of last year’s walk.

2016 SW Ring Road Open Houses

KGL Constructors, the subcontractor responsible for the design and construction of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, will be leading three open house sessions this month. Representatives from KGL, Alberta Transportation, and the City of Calgary will be on hand to present information about the project, and to answer questions about the progress and schedule of construction.

2016 SOUTHWEST CALGARY RING ROAD INFORMATION SESSIONS:

Monday, November 28 (South Glenmore)
5:00-8:00 p.m.
Oakridge Community Hall, 9504 Oakfield Drive S.W.
View Google Map

Tuesday, November 29 (North Glenmore)
5:00-8:00 p.m.
Calgary First Church of the Nazarene, 65 Richard Way S.W.
View Google Map

Wednesday, November 30 (Deep South)
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Bishop O’Byrne High School, 333 Shawville Boulevard S.E.
View Google Map

Jane’s Walk 2016 – Sunday May 8

Jane's Walk graphic photo 2016 small

THE HISTORY OF THE SW RING ROAD AND THE WEASELHEAD WALK

Why was the SW ring road planned through a First Nations reserve? How did the Weaselhead come to be owned by the City of Calgary? Why are Unexploded Ordnance being found in the Elbow river valley?

Join me again on this year’s Jane’s Walk through a beautiful and historic part of Calgary, and learn about the soon-to-be-built SW ring road, 60+ years in the making.

The turn-out for last year’s walk was fantastic, and I will be leading it again this year. The walk will be a look at the history of the SW Ring Road, and will give anyone who is interested the chance to explore the past, present, and future of the Weaselhead; one of the most historically rich areas of Calgary.

Travel along the first Provincial highway that was built through the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve over 115 years ago (with origins dating back even before the signing of Treaty 7) and through land that was purchased in the 1930s for the Glenmore Reservoir. See where the Canadian Military operated the largest WWI training camp in Western Canada, and explore the legacy of disputed land ownership and unexploded ordnance that years of military use has left behind. Experience one of the quietest corners of the city adjacent to where the SW Ring Road is planned to be built, see where previous plans would have located the road over the valley, and look at the role that future economic development played getting the road approved. Continue reading “Jane’s Walk 2016 – Sunday May 8”

Three Groups Shortlisted to Bid on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road

Update September 15 2016: A $1.42 billion contract (adjusted to 2016 dollars) has been signed between the Province of Alberta and Mountain View Partners for the construction of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project. Click here for details.

Update July 8 2016: The Alberta Government have entered into an interim agreement with Mountain View Partners to begin initial work on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project. Click here for more.

The Government of Alberta has shortlisted three consortia to bid on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project, following the completion of the Request for Qualification (RFQ) process in August. Five groups in total responded to the request, with Mountain View Partners, Southwest Connect and Valley Link Partners having been selected.¹

The Province is proceeding with the Southwest Calgary Ring Road as a 30-year Design-Build-Finance-Operate P3 (Public/Private Partnership) project, and is anticipating to contribute partial funding of between 50%-70% of the capital cost of the project.² The selected groups will now submit proposals for the project in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process that should last about nine months.³

Representatives of Alberta Transportation have indicated that the contract for the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project is to be awarded in the first week of September 2016.

The RFP process includes:

“Outlining preliminary details of the design, including the roadway, bridges and other elements of the project”
“Outlining their management plan and schedule for the construction of the project”
“Detailing how they plan to provide partial financing for the construction of the project; and”
“Outlining their management plan to operate, maintain and rehabilitate this segment of the Calgary Ring Road over the 30-year operations period.“³

Continue reading “Three Groups Shortlisted to Bid on the Southwest Calgary Ring Road”

Jane’s Walk – The SW Ring Road and the Weaselhead

Join me on a ‘Jane’s Walk‘ through a beautiful and historic part of Calgary, and learn about the soon-to-be-built SW ring road, 60+ years in the making.

Why was the SW ring road planned through a First Nations reserve? How did the Weaselhead come to be owned by the City of Calgary? Why are Unexploded Ordnance being found in the Elbow river valley?

I will be leading a walk that will look at the history of the SW Ring Road, and give anyone who is interested the chance to explore the past, present, and future of the Weaselhead; one of the most historically rich areas of Calgary.

Travel along the first Provincial highway that was built through the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve over 100 years ago (with origins dating back even before the signing of Treaty 7) and through land that was purchased in the 1930s for the Glenmore Reservoir. See where the Canadian Military operated the largest WWI training camp in Western Canada, and explore the legacy of disputed land ownership and unexploded ordnance that years of military use has left behind. Experience one of the quietest corners of the city to see where the SW Ring Road is planned to be built, see where previous plans would have located the road, and look at the role that future economic development played getting the road approved.

Details

Date: May 3, 2015
Time: 1:00 pm
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Weaselhead Parking Lot (West side of the corner of 37th street SW and 66th avenue SW in Lakeview)

–

Jane’s Walk in Calgary

Click here to visit the Jane’s Walk description for this walk
and
Cllick here to see all of the Jane’s Walks that will be happening this year (more will be added over the coming weeks)

UPDATE

I wanted to thank everyone who came to my ‘History of the SW Ring Road and the Weaselhead’ Jane’s Walk. More than 75 people came out to journey through a beautiful corner of Calgary, and were hopefully informed and entertained along the way.

I will be doing the walk again next year, so please look out for it next May!

Utility relocation open house

Today, February 24 2015, the Government of Alberta is hosting its latest ring road public information session. The focus will be on the relocation of utilities in preparation of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road project.

In addition to Alberta Transportation and the City of Calgary (who will be presenting the City’s proposed ring road connections and the 37th street SW storm trunk relocation) there will be representatives from AltaLink, ENMAX, ATCO and the Alberta Utilities Commission who will be available to answer questions.

Tuesday, February 24 2015
4 – 8 p.m.
Glamorgan Community Association, 4207 41 ave SW
View Google Map