From transit to climate, Calgarians speak on proposed four-year budget

A public hearing for Calgary's proposed four-year budget saw more than 107 citizens and community groups lined up at city hall to share their feedback with city council.

More than 100 Calgarians lined up at city hall on Tuesday to have their say about the city’s upcoming four-year budget.

The public hearing, on the second day of the city’s budget deliberations, featured citizens and community organizations, with transit and climate initiatives a common theme throughout the day.

Hilary Chappele, an advocate for vulnerable Calgarians, spoke to city council about accessibility challenges at bus stops.

Chappele, who experienced homelessness eight years ago, also raised concerns with rising costs for low-income transit passes proposed in the budget.

“The low-income transit pass for our homeless people, if it goes much higher, a lot of our friends at the Women’s Centre won’t be able to afford it,” she told Global News.

Improving Calgary Transit service was a topic raised by several speakers in front of council on Tuesday, with some speakers like David Cooper calling for increased frequency of trains and buses during off-peak hours like evenings and weekends.

Cooper, who runs Leading Mobility, said increasing frequency of buses and trains to a minimum service standard of every 15 minutes could be achieved without major increases in funding in the budget.

“Calgary is one of the few cities of its size that does not have minimum service standards, and you can do that within the existing budget envelope with the reallocation of service,” Cooper said. “There’s a huge opportunity to improve (service) for thousands of Calgarians that rely on it.”