Calgary continues to grow rapidly. Being the fastest-growing major municipality in Canada in 2023–but is this growth keeping in mind the needs of residents without cars?
Calgary Transit saw record-breaking ridership at the start of 2024, with a 21 per cent increase compared to the previous year. But some residents feel that the city’s system still has room for improvement.
Maxim Ratnicov relies on his electric scooter to commute around downtown. Kate Calagan depends on her car to get from the suburbs to her two jobs across town. As Calgary grows, both hope the city will offer more accessible options for those without cars.
E-lternative
Ratnicov lives in the Beltline area of downtown.He primarily uses his electric scooter to commute, patiently waiting until he can get a vehicle. He travels by scooter almost daily, ranging from two to ten kilometres. But the two-wheeled electric vehicle has its limitations.
“You have to be mindful of how far you go,” he said. “Because there aren’t many places to charge.”
Ratnicov prefers to use bike paths. Safety is his number one concern when bike paths aren’t available. His interactions with distracted and inattentive drivers in larger vehicles has led him to be more cautious.
“I almost got T-boned because the driver didn’t pay attention and didn’t check his blind spot,” he said.
Imrantiqov’s scooter has become a convenient and fun way to zip around in warm weather. But, electric scooters are less useful in the winter, which means Imratniqov will have to resort to public transit.
Working late nights and early mornings, Ratnicov finds Calgary Transit’s service unreliable and unsafe. He believes that the presence of law enforcement at transit stations late at night may benefit those who feel unsafe.
Suburban-life
On the other side of the city, Calagan, a resident of Cranston in Southeast Calgary, relies heavily on her car.
“I haven’t used transit since about a year ago, when I would commute to Bow Valley College,” said Calagan.
She would drive to a train station and take the train from there – still needing to use her car for a portion of her daily commute.
She finds it difficult to imagine her busy life without a car, due to her two jobs located in the inner city—taking her 20 to 40 minutes by car depending on traffic.
Calagan’s location in the suburbs plays a big role in her frustrations with Calgary’s public transit.
“The gym is actually just 10 minutes away by car, but if you took the bus, it would probably take an hour,” she said.
For Calagan, Calgary has the potential to be more car-free-friendly. Despite its growing population, has yet to catch up to other Canadian cities such as Toronto, where she used to live and use transit often.
Green Line project
Following the city’s recent decision to limit plans for the Green Line project, Calagan expressed her disappointment, as the project was set to develop C-Train routes near her area.
“It makes me sad for those who don’t have access to a car in my area because it would have been really beneficial if we did continue with the Green Line.”
In mid- September, Calgary city council voted to phase out the Green Line LRT, after spending at least $2.1billion.
Construction for the new LRT line ended when the province withdrew its funding in early September.
While Calgarian’s like Imrantiqov have found solutions to navigate the city without a car, residents like Calagan rely on their car to get to their day-to-day responsibilities.
Whether through better routes and later transit schedules or safer roads for alternative transportation, both Ratnicov and Calagan agree that Calgary has room for improvement when it comes to car-free-living.