Over the past few months, I have had coffee with a couple of Calgary’s inner city main streets managers to get an update on how they are adapting to the post COVID realities of how people shop, eat, work and be entertained.

Every spring 100,000+ Calgarians flock to 4th Street for the annual Lilac Festival, which is great but does it really enhance the everyday vitality of the street afterwards? This years festival takes place June 4, 2023.

Most of the people wander down the middle of the street, glance over at the various vendor displays or hang out to listen to the live music, without paying much attention or even noticing the businesses hidden behind the tents. Do they come back over the summer to patronize the businesses because of the festival? I doubt it!

In my opinion, successful main streets have everyday vitality, not a once or twice a year special event mayhem.

4th Street is packed with people for the annual Lilac Festival, which started in 1989 as small neighbourhood street festival, today it attracts 100,000 people.

Everyday Vitality

The Power of 10 is a concept by Project for Public Spaces, a group based in New York City focuses on how to foster everyday urban vitality for all ages and backgrounds. It postulates you need a minimum of 10 different activities to attract the diversity and critical mass of people necessary for urban vitality in public spaces.

Obvious things like shopping, restaurants, pubs, cafés, art galleries (commercial and public), cinemas, museums, live music venues, but also places to sit, playgrounds for children, small performance spaces for outdoor music or markets and public art (murals, sculptures) are some of the important components of urban vitality. As are professional services – banking, pharmacy, groceries, fitness studios, health professionals.

Diversity and critical mass of things to see and do are key to having main street vitality weekdays, evenings and weekends. And vibrant main streets are the key to attracting more people to live in a city centre neighbourhoods.

While the City of Calgary is investing billions in mega projects to help revitalize the greater downtown – Glenbow renovation, Arts Commons expansion and renovation, BMO Centre expansion, Stephen Avenue makeover, office to residential conversions, new urban parks, pedestrian bridges, East Village makeover and maybe a new arena – it is the everyday vitality that will make Calgary’s downtown and City Centre a more attractive place to live and play.

Everyday street vitality is created by placing benches in the sun where people can chat in the sun year-round.

Summer on “The Avenue”

Kudos to 17th Avenue (aka Red Mile aka Uptown 17th ) as they are experimenting (last year and this year) with a different model of main street public programming as a means of trying to enhance its everyday vitality. Utilizing Tomkins Park (est. 1915) there will be entertainment five days a week to enhance the everyday pedestrian experience, without overwhelming the street. For current events go to 17thave.ca

From classical music and operas on Sunday afternoons, to live performances from popular local bands on Fridays and Saturdays and outdoor family movies the second weekend of each month, there is something for everyone.

Last year’s 13 weeks of “Summer on 17th” events attracted an estimated 8,000 people. However, it will be a challenging summer this year and next as a major sidewalk rehabilitation project will commence. But as they say the show must go on….

Sidewalk patios are a great way to add animation to urban streets. If they are in the sun they can attract people to hang-out even in the winter.

Model Main Steet

17th Avenue has all the elements of a model main street, with it mix of shops and services. Overall, 17thAvenue has 98 shops/boutiques, 121 restaurants/lounges, 33 spas and salons, 23 cafes, 183 professional services and 21 patios. That is the diversity and critical mass of an ideal main street!

It is home to unique large anchors like Urban Fare grocery store, and an urban Canadian Tire store. Boutique shopping at places like Rubaiyat, Gravity Pope, West Elm and Bex/Mr. Mansbridge Vintage attracts people from across the city. It is also home to one of Calgary’s signature cafes (Café Beano) and Calgary’s signature pub (Ship & Anchor) as well as Analog’s flagship café and the popular Trolley 5 Brewpub.

If cocktails are your thing, there is Lulu Bar, Living Room and even two speakeasies (Betty Lou’s Library and Pricket Richard). 17th Avenue is also one of Calgary’s best restaurant rows offering cuisine from 30 different nations including Calcutta Cricket Club, Gringo Street, and Nami Sushi & Grill. It has an everyday mini festival atmosphere with its 21 patios.

Over the past few years, “The Avenue” has become an outdoor art gallery with its 21 murals thanks to the Beltline Urban Mural Project. Part of the “Summer on 17th” programming this year will be to offer guided tours of the murals. (FYI: 17th Avenue initiated Calgary’s first mural program back in the early ‘90s.)

17th Avenue is unique in being situated between one of Canada’s densest and diverse residential neighbourhoods the Beltline (26,000+ residents) and one of Canada’s wealthiest, Mount Royal.

Other Main Streets

Kensington Village has evolved its programming from its annual Sun & Salsa street festival to regular entertainment on their tiny plaza in front of the Plaza Theatre and Pages Bookstore for smaller events.

Similarly, Inglewood has been hosting monthly summer Night Markets for a few years as a means of attracting locals and summer tourist, to come and discover/rediscover Calgary’s oldest main street. Bridgeland/Riverside, Marda Loop and Currie are now also hosting markets as a means of creating attractive urban neighbourhoods.

BIAs across Calgary are creating more weekly summer programming that attracts people to mix and mingle and sometimes even dance in the streets.

Last Word

One reason Calgary’s greater downtown is one of the fastest growing in Canada is because our BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) understand the importance of everyday vitality versus the single signature event.

Kudos to the 17th Ave and Calgary’s other BIAs for the work they do to animate our Calgary’s main streets for everyone.

Note: An edited version of this blog was published in the Calgary Herald’s New Homes + Condos section May 20, 2023.

You might enjoy these similar blogs about main streets:

Calgary vs Austin: 17th Ave vs South Congress

Jane Jacob’s quintessential Main Street is located in Vancouver.

Stephen Avenue Walk: A Unique Sense of Time & Place

Calgary Main Streets: Everyday Street Vitality & Urban Living