Upgrades in Kensington will cost $4.5 million

The City is spending $4.5 million to upgrade sidewalks, streetlights and trees to improve public spaces in Kensington.

The Kensington Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) is partnering with the city on the project starting this week, which focusses on two areas:

• 10^th Street N.W. between Memorial Drive and 5^th Avenue N.W.
• Kensington Road between 10^th Street N.W. and 14^th Street N.W.

“The budget for the project is 4.5 million dollars and that money was recovered from a surplus in parking revenue,” said Jessica Bell, City of Calgary Roads.

The project includes:

• Installing new energy efficient LED streetlights and pedestrian lights
• Replacing broken interlocking paving stones on 10^th Street N.W. and Kensington Road with new concrete sidewalks
• New trees will be planted to replace old and dying ones
• New litter receptacles, bike racks and benches will be added

“With over 270 shops and services in Kensington, pedestrian traffic is important for a thriving business community,”said Annie MacInnis, executive director of the Kensington BRZ. “The work being done during this project will improve the experience of visitors to Kensington. This project will allow a century old community to maintain its vibrancy for years to come.”

A detailed construction schedule will be available online at Calgary.ca/kensington. Construction is expected to be ongoing through October, but is weather dependent.

Efforts will be made to minimize the impact to local businesses during construction by ensuring pedestrian access is maintained through temporary sidewalk construction.

For more information on this project citizens are encouraged to visit Calgary.ca or contact 311.

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  New streetlights and bike racks among the improvements scheduled for Kensington.