Here’s how Calgarians can help transform Stephen Ave. into a world-class destination

Stephen Avenue has long been known as one of Calgary’s most iconic downtown streets. But, in recent times, the area has experienced some challenges.

With a decline in the downtown workforce, an incline in office, retail, and hospitality vacancies, and a worry about the overall physical condition of the historic street, many people have become concerned about its future. 

That’s why the City of Calgary is investing in its future, aiming to transform Stephen Avenue into a more vibrant downtown main street — and it wants Calgarians to be involved every step of the way.

Locals are encouraged to view Stephen Avenue as a world-class main street, similar to NYC’s 5th Avenue with awesome restaurants and shopping; or Montreal’s Saint-Catherine Street with historic buildings and a mix of entertainment and business destinations.

City of Calgary

The Future of Stephen Avenue project, which is part of Calgary’s Downtown Strategy, is aiming to collaborate with Calgarians and visitors to the downtown area to create fresh ideas and strategies that will ensure the street’s future as a world-class destination.

The first phase of the project kicked off in 2019 and focused on engaging with Calgarians to create a vision and roadmap toward achieving this goal.

Building off this first phase, a new design outlining how the street will look and function is being created. It focuses on what sort of features, programming, activations, and events could be a part of the day-to-day life of this downtown location.

City of Calgary

To achieve the vision for Stephen Avenue as an active, vibrant, year–round destination for culture and commerce, The City wants to create a plan and design for Stephen Avenue that is both bold and outside the box. It wants Stephen Avenue to be inviting for people from all walks of life, so they’re excited to visit more often and stay longer.

Since what happens downtown has a direct impact on all Calgarians and visitors to the area, The City is calling on residents and visitors to share their ideas about how Stephen Avenue can be best redesigned for the future. From February 6 until February 28, 2023, Calgarians can share their ideas on The City’s Engage platform.

For more information about The Future of Stephen Avenue project, click here.