Calgary city council has decided on a long-term strategy to enhance recreation facilities across the city.
Councillors voted on Tuesday afternoon on one of three options — ultimately selecting the ‘Making Waves’ GamePLAN path that will cost $250 million per year to implement.
The path includes plans to add 40 per cent more swimming lessons, 25 per cent more public skating hours and an increase in bookable indoor field hours.
‘Making Waves’ was the most expensive option, with the other options calling for an annual capital investment of $150 million and $30 million respectively. The city says the plan will ensure 86 per cent of Calgarians live within 5 km of an aquatic facility.
“It’s important to people in the community, when you can’t get your kids in swimming lessons, when you can’t sign up for adult programs, it’s incredibly disappointing,” says Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
Not everyone was on board with the new idea, including Ward 10 councillor Andre Chabot.
“I’m a strong believer in under promising and over-delivering,” he says. “This to me is over-promising and ultimately disappointing many folks by not delivering all the programs that were envisioned.”
More information on GamePLAN and the Making Waves scenario can be found here.