Ever wondered what Calgary looked like in 1924? There’s a map for that.
Looking to figure out what kind of trees have been planted in the neighborhood or maybe even check if a property still uses lead pipes for water delivery? There are maps for those too.
From one documenting every traffic incident since 2016, to another outlining every registered secondary suite within the city, the City of Calgary has an entire database of maps — many of which are interactive.
Here are five worth checking out.
Calgary Imagery
Traverse back through time with the Calgary Imagery map. The city has changed in many ways throughout the years, and this map’s aerial view highlights how much it has expanded and been developed.
Pick an address in Calgary or simply find a location that looks interesting to see how time has changed the landscape. Once zeroed in on an area of the city, the orthophoto — the aerial photograph medium the map uses — can be changed by year, with images of the location that date back to 1924.
Whether the creation of a new neighbourhood, business or even how Calgary’s downtown core skyline has changed, this map allows the city’s expansion over the years to be visually explored.
Urban forestry map
Before thinking about grabbing a “souvenir” off a tree, consider that it could be one of the ones that cost more than $50,000.
Using the urban forestry map, users can search the location of any tree in the city. From apple to spruce, this map features 12 different kinds found throughout Calgary — all with an exact location.
Each tree is colour-coded and sized, and can be examined closely with the zoom-in feature. Once finding a tree of interest, users can look up all the specific statistics. This includes the tree’s ID, who maintains it and the appraised value — one of the poplar trees in Prince’s Island Park is worth $58,000.
Registered secondary suites
Rent prices are rising fast, and some may be looking for a change in scenery. Secondary suites might be a cheaper alternative than some living arrangements, but be wary of ones that may not be properly legalized.
A self-contained residence attached to a home, secondary suites require two or more bedrooms with proper windows, a separate bathroom, cooking facilities and an entrance accessible from the outside of the residence.
Calgary’s registered secondary suites map highlights all the legal properties in the city, so users can check this database before making the decision to move in. With an aerial overview of Calgary and the ability to partition the various communities and wards throughout the city, this map can help users identify where potential residencies are located.
Calgary recently extended the secondary suite amnesty program until 2023, meaning that homeowners who are not on this map still have some extra time to legalize their property.
Public Water Service Lines
Although copper is widely used in Calgary’s water lines, some pipes installed before 1950 are lead. Check up on a property’s water supply with the Public Water Service Lines map.
This map allows people to search through more than 349,000 addresses with public water lines going into their buildings by address, building type, installed date and material type.
There are 17 different water line material types that this map highlights, all of which are colour-coded.
Traffic Incidents Heat Map
Users of the Traffic Incidents Heat Map shouldn’t be too surprised the next time they’re stuck in a traffic jam on Glenmore Trail, considering the amount of crashes that have taken place on the road since Dec 6, 2016.
With more than 32,000 incidents across the city since that date, the majority of Calgary is covered in red. By zooming in on a red zone, users can see exact locations of incidents, from crashes to traffic lights not working.
Complete with description — which highlights what happened and if there were any lane blockages — this map provides the ability to check on which roads are the most dangerous to traverse in the city. There is the ability to search for direct latitude and longitude coordinates to find the exact location of any incidents.