Budget Update '23: Housing Needs Transportation
A modest tax increase supports efforts to actually bring needed change to this city
Last week Calgary City Council approved its budget adjustments with relatively little drama, with over $75M allocated to the recently-approved Housing Strategy, These funds will be used to support the development of around 3,000 non-market homes, as well as programs for secondary suite incentives, downtown office conversions, land acquisition, and simplifying the process for accessing non-market housing.
The annual budget review includes a public hearing where Calgarians have the opportunity to provide input to council. Of those who came to speak at the public hearing, the majority focussed their support of investments in transit and 5A (Always Available for All Ages and Abilities) cycling/wheeling infrastructure, including a few from the More Neighbours Calgary community. If you’re wondering why housing advocates bothered to show up to support transit and bike lanes, it’s because housing and transportation are inextricably linked. Housing advocacy attracts transit advocates because they realize that transit thrives when there are more people with more diverse travel needs around it. Transit and cycling attracts housing advocates because they learn that mode shift can be a catalyst for housing abundance and affordability.
One of the major barriers to building more efficient and liveable neighbourhoods is the assumption that we are and always will be a city of drivers. Attend any engagement session or public hearing on any kind of housing development and the number one complaint is inevitably about parking, and the spectre of chaos if more cars are added to the streetscape. This is true even in amenity-rich walkable communities.
We are stuck in a feedback loop wherein we can’t build denser housing because some folks fear that it might create traffic and parking pressure, so instead we build all the houses on the edge of the city and force everyone to drive, and repeat ad nauseum. If we are to solve our housing problems, our transportation system needs to be improved in lockstep.
Calgary has a high rate of car use, but it is not written in our DNA—Rather it is the result of decades of policy choices that have made it difficult to get around the city without a car. As evidenced by last week’s public hearing, a lot of Calgarians are living happily in single-car or car-free households, and many more want to see the city’s transportation options expanded. This will become even more important as we watch shelter and vehicle costs skyrocket, and more Calgarians struggle to afford both a place to live and the expense of a car. When push comes to shove, shelter is more important than a car, and living without adequate transit or other mobility options further increases social isolation and hardship.
Bravo to Council for choosing to invest in our city’s housing and transportation future.
We want to end with our winner of the most entertaining remarks of the public hearing, complete with helpful money-saving tips. Enjoy: