bit about our relaunchstrategy and what reopening meansfor all of us.
But first of allsince last we spoke there have been 13additional deaths in the Calgary zone.
This is nowherenear over.
People are getting ill, very ill, people are dying.
And the fact we aretalking about relaunching and reopening doesn't mean thisvirus has gone away.
If anything, it means we haveto redouble our efforts to ensure we stay safe anddisciplined.
We are counting on you every single day.
As you know, theprovince announced, somewhat surprisingly, on Thursday, that they would allow golfcourses to open under a number of particular conditions that needed to be putin place at each course.
I know some privatecourses were able to openthis weekend.
I heard mix thingsfrom golfers about whether physical distancing wasable to be in place and whether the changes that werepromised to the rules were fully in place atevery single course.
We are going to makesure that happens and I would remindprivate golf course operators that they aresubject to these rules and they are subject tobylaw inspection if we receive complaints.
As for city courses, we needed to ask somesell some policy questions.
Does the accessibility of city courses outweighthe risk of allowing this practice? Can we operate underreal rules about physical distance in? To give you an examplewe have rules around tennis, allowingsingles tennis.
I wonder how many ofyou really were using two different coloured balls for eachplayer so know when touches the same ball? The city of Calgary had to spendtime and staff worked all weekend toanswer questions on whether we could do thissafely and when we could do it.
Remember we haven't beenhiring seasonal staff and we laid off a bunchof people at the city and we had to make surewe had the staff and volunteers to do this.
I am now announcing thatwe will be opening public golf coursesthis summer.
That the city causes areaiming to open on May 14.
Online bookings arescheduled to open on Monday Online bookings arescheduled to open on Monday, May 11 at noon.
Not everything willbe open all once.
Additional courses andancillary services will come later.
We are followingstrictly the National Allied golf Association guidelinesat public courses to ensure public safety.
The May 14 opening is dependenton safety and the availabilityof personal protective equipment forfolks working at the courses, andthat includes installing plexiglassat the point of sale.
We normally hireseasonal people and it is the same processes usual, it isdelayed by a few weeks.
We will have powercarts and pull carts available.
You may only share apower cart with someone who lives in the same household as you.
More informationwill come, you can watch the weband social media for more informationon that.
But we have a tentativedate of May 14.
Skate parks and other recreational services.
We opened skate parks over theweekend, we know there was demand.
I don't mind tellingyou it was a big debate around the City ofCalgary around whether we should openthem are not.
We decided to openthem because we trust the users will treat these skate parksresponsibly.
I haven't got greatreports from this weekend.
They've been OKbut not great.
I've heard lots ofreports of people not physically distancing.
Remember, 2 m , it has to be in place.
Skate parks aredangerous because they are high touch services, we want tomake sure you have and sanitiser with you and are cleaning yourhands regularly because you don't know who elseis touch that surface.
Contact tracing in thatsituation is impossible.
We always want peopleto do the right thing but I have to behonest with you, if you don't buy — know by nowyou are being deliberately ignorant.
How many times do I haveto say the length of a full grown llama apart? After a while it has tobe about enforcement.
I know we havegreat skate park ambassadors and they areworking hard to create a pleasant and safeexperience for everyone, I am notjust picking on skate park users, we will close the parks again if we seepublic safety problems in those parks.
I ask that everybodyplanning on using them do so responsibly.
We had lots of questionsabout playgrounds and unfortunately we arenot at the point yet where we can openplaygrounds.
Contact tracingis just too hard.
These are high touchservices and if a child gets sick we can'ttrace the contact and contain the outbreak.
Playgrounds area while away, we will get there butwe have to be very careful.
With that, let meturn it over to Deputy Chief Henry for more detail andthen we will hear from Sandy.
>> Thank you, your worship .
Thank you for joiningus today and I want to remind everyone we arestill in a state of local emergency and thisis to support the collaborative effortswith the province of Alberta and the cityto combat COVID-19.
Last week we hearddetails about the governor of Alberta'sopening relaunch strategy.
Many of you will havequestions about what this strategy means foreconomic activities and recreational activities during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
We are working toclarify parts of the relaunch strategy.
We want to make surethis process is done with caution andsafety in mind .
As we learn more wewill let you know.
We do know a few thingsdo not change for the foreseeable future.
Physical distancing .
we need to maintainphysical distancing.
Good hygiene andrestrictions to the size of gatherings.
We are taking this slow and we wantto do things the right way.
There were lots ofquestions on the weekend around enforcement.
Public safety remainsour top priority and over the weekend ourteams remained focused on enforcing thepublic-health orders requiring no gatheringsof over 15 individuals andmaintaining a physical distance of 2 m.
Over the weekend 16%of the calls to 311 were relatedto COVID-19.
128 calls, about folksnot at hearing to the public-healthorders, 59 of those calls were related to physicaldistancing in public areas, 26 about physical distancing in yards orprivate areas and 22 for public gatherings of less than 14 people.
21 for physical distancing andplaygrounds.
Our community peaceofficers also conducted 189 visible patrolsthis weekend.
Engaging with over 2200 citizens on patrols.
Community peace officersworked hard to educate and when necessaryprovide verbal warnings to folks whowere not following the public health warningsor bylaws.
Our position sincethe beginning of the emergency has beento educate first.
Moved to a warningand move to a ticket only when there isegregious behaviour and it is absolutelynecessary.
Over the weekend we didissue some warnings.
32 verbal warningswere issued over three days.
These were relatedto open liquor and public consumptionof alcohol.
19 warnings were issuedfor off leash dogs in designatedon leash areas.
We also saw 11 verbal warnings issuedfor things like parking bylaw concerns, bird feeding and golfing in a park.
Unfortunately we didhandout three tickets on top of those warningsfor egregious behaviours.
One for not physical distancing, one for consumptionof cannabis in public , and one for a violation ofthe parts and pathways bylaw.
We saw 83 warningsissued to citizens.
Business licensesreceived 40 new calls over the weekend, bringing the totalnumber of business complaints to 625 to 600 and $.
25 thestate of local emergency was announcedin mid-March.
Calgary Policehave issued 27 public health summons since April 1, 2020.
We are asking Calgarians to continue to follow thepublic-health orders, maintain your physicaldistance, don't gather in groups over15 until that order is lifted by theprovince of Alberta.
We need to get used to that beingthe new normal.
As we talk aboutbriefly last week, council approved theapplication of a COVID-19 thank you ribbon on city vehicles to honourfrontline workers and essentialservices staff.
These ribbonsare a way to publicly acknowledgefrontline workers and let them know we areproud of their surface — service, whether theyare responding to emergencies, supplying us with cleanwater, fixing roads or keeping shelves stocked.
The city has receiveda donation of 5000 brightly coloured thankyou ribbons from local Calgarybusinesses.
This week Calgarianswill start to see these ribbons on Calgary policeunits, fire department units, transit buses, see trains and other city-ownedvehicles.
The city is not printingor selling these ribbons, however any organisationor individual looking to acquirea ribbon can contactCanWest Legacy by visiting CanWestLegacy.
com.
This is also emergency preparednessweek and there is no time better than now to takeaction to be prepared for all typesof emergencies.
Questions like what ifanother disaster that strikes during the term — pandemic are no longerhypothetical as we have seen floodingin Fort McMurray displacing peoplefrom their homes.
Our thoughts are withour friends in northern Alberta.
People from CEMAthat went last week have returnedhome last night.
The local community has the emergency well in hand.
In Calgary we are stillin risk for seasonal hazards that come withsevere summer storms , like flooding, hail, tornadoes, wildfires andhigh winds.
It's critical that youas Calgarians do your part to helpus be prepared and reduce the load onthe frontline services that respond in theseemergencies.
Being prepared with aplan and resources for your household willreduce the need to rely on municipal resourcesthat are also busy respondingto the pandemic.
Now more than ever we need to think abouthow our families will respond to an emergencywithin an emergency.
To help you andyour family loan what the risksare for Calgary , we will postinformation daily on social media channels.
Some will be informativeand some all the activities to help you buildresiliency.
Hopefully with thatresiliency we will build the great community spirit that Calgaryis renowned for while continuing social distancing andrestrictions on gathering size.
I want to do, as I've said before, we have a strong plan in place and manydifferent people are involved in helping us preparefor the pandemic.
We couldn't do itwithout their expertise and engagement.
The expertise of anagency of over 60 members that have taken individual andcollective actions to make sure we as theCity of Calgary are ready.
I'd like to take amoment to thank Calgarians.
You have stayed at homeduring this difficult time and have had to makeincredible changes to your routines and life.
Thank you.
The actions you aretaking a truly saving the lives of otherCalgarians.
We are all inthis together and let's make sure weprepare for the upcoming hazard season together.
To learn about therisks in Calgary throughout disasterrisk Explorer and to learn about your role in helpingus be prepared visit Calgary.
ca /get ready.
I would like to passover to Sandy Davis, team lead for riverengineering to speak about flood repairedmust.
>> Thank you.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressfulfor Calgarians.
As we turn our thoughtsto the river and the upcoming flood season manyresidents may be nervous.
I want to reassureCalgarians we are ready.
This season we areseeing above average snowpack in many placesin the mountains.
This is good news forwater supply as we head into the summer.
We are keeping a watchfuleye on it as a big into melt because ithas resulted to higher levels in theElbow River and Bow River.
Mounting snow alonedoes not generally result in floodingin Calgary.
The bigger driverof flattery .
make flooding isfrom heavy rainfall .
Our teams are monitoringthese events 24/7 using updated forecasting andmonitoring tools so we can give as much advancewarning as possible.
Heading into this year'sflood season Calgary is better prepared andequipped to manage flooding thanever before.
On the Elbow River we have completed theinstallation of 21 steel gates across the crest of theGlenmore Dam.
These gates are 2.
5 mhigh and they double the amount of waterstorage volume in the reservoir that allows us to managesmall and moderate sized flooding onthe Elbow River.
It also increases theamount of water we can store in the summer andwinter months when the flow is on the ElbowRiver slow.
In preparation for thisyear's flood season, the level of thereservoir has already been lowered.
The completion ofthe Glenmore Dam improvements is animportant step forward but our workis not done.
Once the provincecompletes construction ofthe Springbank reservoir, thesestructures will work together to protect communities aroundthe Elbow River from a 2013 sized flood.
On the Bow River the agreement withtrans-Outer is in place, there is more storagecapacity for floodwater and greaterflexibility to manage the reservoirfor high flows and protect communitiesalong the Bow River.
In addition, toprepare we have stockpiled materials for temporary barriers , completed testing of outfalls and pumps and made preparations of how we can respondconsidering COVID-19 distancing measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic in combination with floodseason can be a stressful timefor Calgarians.
Because the riskof flooding cannot be eliminated and floodscan happen quickly here, being prepared by takingsimple steps now to be flood ready is one way thatresidents can help ease the stress.
Check out the citiesflood maps to know if you're on home or community is at risk.
Take precaution toprepare your family and property.
Review your emergencyplan and consider where you might stay ifasked to evacuate.
And stay informedthroughout the flood season.
We have lots ofresources and tips on our website to help you preparefor flood season.
Calgary.
ca/floodinginfo.
Thank you.
>> Thanks, Sandy.
It's important for allof us to know and remember that evenduring this pandemic the work of the city continues and dedicated publicservants like Sandy are delivering servicesand looking after all of us every day.
I would be very unhappy if we had a majorflood event during a pandemic.
But our friends atMcKenzie County had to deal with that and also at FortMacquarie.
— Fort McMurray.
Our provinces relaunchstrategy.
As I mentioned last weekI was apprised on Thursday afternoon whenI heard the details of the launch strategy andtickly when I heard the date of May 14.
My first instinctualreaction is it feels too early, is two weeks long enoughfor businesses to get up to speed on whatthey need to do in order to reopen? While I am thankfulwe have a strategy , I think a strategy is byand large fact based on evidence driven and wellthought out, there remain many questions.
I am calling onthe government of Alberta now to answera number of these questions.
First, what areyour targets? What metrics will yoube using to determine if May 14 is a go and when we may getto future stages? For example with heardmany folks say that the target to start a reopening is two weeks ofdeclining cases.
Here in Calgary with hada couple of days of declining cases.
But if we don't continuethat for two weeks will the date be pushed back? What is the targetwe are aiming for? Furthermore, once thestage I openings happen on May 14, what happens after that? How long do we wait ? Do the targetsimply the next stages may come a coupleof weeks later.
Let me to clear, thatwould be a mistake.
The incubation periodof the virus is 14 days, you need to leave a month or more between stages so youhave the evidence in place to make futuredecisions.
Ultimately the city isinterested in sharing that we are workinghand-in-hand with the province on the relaunchstrategy.
But our primary concern continues to bepublic health and we will make sure that as those guidelines areinterpreted in the City of Calgary, that willhappen in a way that keeps people say.
Speaking of guidelines, we have heard frommany businesses through our businesssupport sector task force as well as othermechanisms that they are veryconfused as to what it is they need to do.
On one hand we heardfrom the province they will be issuingdirection, on the other hand we have heardthrough others that the province willnot be issuing direction but they will askindividual industry associations to create their own rulesand run them by public health to makesure they work.
Either of these is fine, we just need to clear the confusion.
When you think about thefolks that might be opening in stage I, hair salons anddentists, let's use those as two examples.
I've heard from manydentists who say we know how todeal with PPE , we have face shieldsand masks and we do this all the time.
We just don'thave enough PPE at the moment.
So we may not be ableto open right away.
But we needthe PPE first.
I've heard from dentistssaying things like we're not going todo power scaling.
Because too muchstuff flies out .
We will fill cavitiesand deal with other things but dentistshave a good sense, they have a professionalassociation looking through all of this.
But I've heard frommany hairstylists that they not sure where to begin with this conversation about what operatinga hair salon safely looks like.
Do you let people wait, do you space out appointments, havepeople wait outside? What level of PPE to the stylist's need, N 95 masks? Should they be requiring patrons to wear a mask? If so, how do you coloursomeone's hair if they have a mask on? There are a bunch ofquestions still not answered and we need some answersfrom the provincial government so businessescan make decisions.
I give you acouple I have.
Retail stores are able to open that our shopping maulis able to open? We still have a limitof 15 people, will businesses beexempt from that? Or if you are a restaurantis it 50% or 15 people, whichever is lower? These are many questionswe are hearing from businesses andit's important we have specific andconsistent guidance and best practices, including cleanerPPE recommendations, for different kinds of businesses.
The City of Calgary is willing to bea partner on this.
I have already askedpeople at the City of Calgary to work together to develop best practicemessaging, looking at what other jurisdictionsaround the country and the world are doing.
It is really importantthat we are there to help businessesbecause we want is in this is to reopen, we want them to be able to reopen in a safe way wherethey feel confident.
And it's not clear underthe current rules whether they can.
I want to make onething very clear.
Your business .
make no businessis required to open.
It's a decision you have tomake yourself.
You have to decide if your business canwork under these conditions.
If it is 50% ofcapacity, can you make money or would you ratherstick with pickup and delivery if youare restaurant? Are you confident that you can keep youremployees and your customers safe? You have to make thedecision for your own business, for what'sright for you and your business.
And if you don't feelconfident that you can do it, you don't haveto open on May 14.
You can take more time.
I've heard frombusinesses that say if I don'topen the moment my competitor opens, I will lose mymarketshare and my customers willnever come back.
I need to tell you, as someone from a longline of entrepreneurs, it's a valid concern.
But it's alsostrange times.
If you have agreat product, your customerswill come back.
Don't feel rush becauseyou are worried about losing customers, makesure what you are doing is the right thingfor your employees, customers and yourbottom line at the same time.
These are all things weneed to continue to work on thoughtfully, together.
But I also want to speakto citizens on this.
I want to make somethingreally clear.
This past Saturday whenthe weather was really nice , what I observedwas that the vast majorityof Calgarians are being very careful.
And I thankyou for that.
It's the only reason weare even having this conversation, because people havebeen so thoughtful, considerate and careful in their actions overthe last several weeks.
But there is a minorityof people in the city who think this is go to time, I could do whateverI want, life is totallyback to normal.
It is not.
Many restrictionsstay in place.
When I hear stories ofbaseball games organised on baseball diamonds, I remind you thatbaseball is still prohibited.
Why? Because if you are anygood at it you will touch the same ball assomeone else and we can't have thatkind of activity.
Some activities havebeen allowed again .
singles tennis withcertain rules, pickle ball, I'm told it is popular, singles not doubles unless youhappen to live in the same home.
All these thingsnow allowed but small numbers, soccer, basketball, contact sports, any sport where peopleare touching the same ball, not allowed.
This stuff is in placefor our own protection.
I will say something toyou very straight right now.
Relaunching doesn't mean thatCOVID-19 has gone away.
It doesn't meanthe risk isn't there anymore.
All it means , if I can quote a meme I saw on socialmedia this week , there is now room in the ICU for you.
It means because of yourefforts we flattened the curve enough and our health caresystem is not overwhelmed.
I need you to remembersomething .
it is still out there, still dangerous , most people whoget sick are fine , some peoplewho get sick get very sick andsome people die.
In New York State we know that even if youwere lucky enough to get a ventilator , 80% of people puton ventilators still died.
What we know aboutreopening and relaunch is we will getmore cases.
It is almost certain that there willbe more outbreaks.
But we are willingto take that risk because the healthcaresystem is not overwhelmed.
Let's not overwhelmthe healthcare system.
So what that means isfor every single one of us, we have todouble down.
We have to workeven harder on the first ofmy three things, clean hands.
We have to giveeverything we can to avoid the virus.
Everybody knows 2 m, the length of a moose way.
Everybody knows that .
I don't need to educateyou on that anymore.
We have to do itevery place we go.
Public health isrecommended, you wear face coverings, even home-made ones whenyou go out in crowded places.
That includes placeslike the grocery store and public transit.
It's important for everysingle one of us to continue to act in a way not like we don't wantto get sick but to imaginewe have the virus and we don't want tospread it to anyone and every person we meet is our 90-year-oldgrandmother.
I've heard a smallminority of people say don't restrict my ability todo what I want.
Last week I starteda trend of analogies, hereis another one.
There is a reason there is not a peeing section anda not peeing section in a publicswimming pool.
This is a contagious disease.
Like John Dunn says, no man is an island.
Those people doing theright thing and staying home as much is possiblestill have to go and buy groceries, someone inthe household might be an essential serviceworker and you don't want your carelessness to affect them.
You can't pay in theswimming pool without it affecting others.
I wanted to see ifanyone would crack up when I said that and Ithink I got Sue Henry.
Fundamentally Ithink we have to ensure that everyone ofus is doubling down on this stuff.
I know it's hardbecause I want businesses to reopen.
When this weather is good, I want to siton a patio, have chicken wings anda virgin cocktail.
But I can't right now.
I can't because I livewith a 79-year-old woman and whateverI bring home , I'm going to bringhome to my mother.
So every single one ofus need to remember that the sacrifices are tough, it's tough to hear there is stillno high school graduation, a weddinghas to be postponed, but we arenot out of the woods.
And now more thanever, the future is in our hands, in our clean hands.
We want thingsto reopen, we want people to goback to work and we want the economyto start again, at in order for that tohappen every one of us has to take responsibility.
After I leave the EOC tonight I will go to my favourite placeup the street and get socially responsible takeout food.
I want that restaurant to thrive, I want them to be therewhen we can all go together and enjoythe food together.
In order for that tohappen we have to look after ourselves first.
My advice afterall these weeks has not changed at all.
Clean hands , do everything you can to prevent the spread ofthis virus.
Clear heads, don't let your emotions, whetherfear, anger, frustration or optimism, hope or joy get the best of you.
Every decision you makehas an impact on someone else and you have to makethose decisions in a way that is directional, clearheaded and person must fulfil open hearts, look after each other, look after localbusinesses, and we will get through this as wewas get through things .
together.
Let's stop there andgo to questions.
Set the hoop, first question, please.
>> We are saying an increase in illegaldumping around the city and long linesat the dump for people to chooseto do it legally.
What is being done toaddress the demand and stop illegal dumping? >> This is a questionthat has been going on for decades and I'm starting heremore complaints about it now.
I want to remind peoplethat the city dumps are open, the costis very reasonable .
In fact right nowwe are accepting organics and compostingfor free until the end of the month.
I want to remind peoplethat you feel it's too expensive to goto the dump, remember that there arehuge fines if you are caught illegally dumping.
Far more than you wouldever spend at the dump.
I also want to sayto homeowners, if you are using thisas an opportunity to do renovations, make sureyou are working with an ethical organisation, if you hire someone totake your garbage or have a contractor, ask them to take a photoand email them the dump slip before you pay them.
That is thesimplest thing you can do to makesure you're not contributing to thisproblem because it drives me insane if people go outside the city limits and dumpedstuff in farmers fields.
That baking you aredoing, where do you think the flowercomes from? So it is critical thatwe look after our neighbours.
As I say, the vastmajority of people don't even know that thecontractors they have hired to take away theirrubbish is doing this stuff.
So that is one simplething to do .
say you will get paidwhen you send me a photo of the dump slip , or the second halffor the balance.
The city can't enforceoutside city limits but our neighbours are certainly looking atways to step that up as well.
Follow-up? >> If I could follow up on thecomments you made regarding the provincesreopening strategy , it sounds likeby your tone you are starting to feelmore critical of that reopening strategy.
Do you think theprovinces setting businesses up forfailure by not providing a clear guide for opening safelyfor themselves and their customers? >> I would love tosee those limited business openingson May 14 but we need to make sure businesses areadequately prepared because the worstthing we can do , I've talked about theanalogy of the faucet, the dial instead ofthe switch, we opened businesses a bit and thenclose them, the worst thing we can do ishave businesses go through the costs ofreopening and closing down.
It's important businessesget clear messaging from the provinceand clear guidance.
I can't say the province can't do it, I think they can, in fact am confident they can.
But the clock is ticking and we need to ensurethat people have the guidance they need in order to do well.
I will repeat, if you are a businesswho feels you will not be ready for May 14, youdon't have to open.
Next question? >> Madeline Smith withthe Calgary Herald.
>> I am wondering from deputy chief Henry , to give more details on tickets that was handed out forphysical distancing, where that was and whatthe circumstances were.
And as well, in termsof complaints about businesses, I'm wondering how that compared thisweekend to some of the complaints in the past, if there was a higher volume or if you sawbusinesses trying to jump the gun andopen up too early.
>> I will start with yourenforcement question first.
The three tickets thatwere handed out, two of them were two malessitting together, sitting on a bench onCrescent Road sharing a cannabis joint.
The adult male wasissued a ticket under the public health act and theyounger male was a youth and they were issueda cannabis ticket.
The third ticket wasa male young offender that was using thewading pool off of Riley Park for skate boarding.
The wading pool is notin operation and is close to the public andhas fencing around it.
The ticket was issuedand the parent was notified.
And for yoursecond question around the amountof businesses, I don't have the number, I apologise, but there were 40 new calls over theweekend and the total of complaints was 625.
As his worshipreferenced, we are seeing businesses that areexcited to open and working to get openas soon as they can and some of those areahead of the May 14 deadline and we areworking closely with our teams that thatdoes not occur.
>> Sorry, which was the physicaldistancing ticket? Was that related to the two peopleon Crescent Road? >> Correct.
The adult male onCrescent Road who was with the youth.
>> I'm just wondering, I know you do have anumber from in the past, is there anythingmore you can say about the volume of complaints, aboutbusinesses over the past weekend? Was it an increasecompared to what you have seen in past weeks? >> Our 311 complaintswere down compared tothe last few weeks.
>> Darren Kresswith Livewire.
>> From what I understandsome of the biggest concerns at Calgary Parks are in the parking lots.
I understand thatStanley Park and Rosehill Park have parking concerns virtually every day.
Is there anythingbeing doing — done around parking lotsto limit activity? >> The parks youmentioned are very large parks and we have not had manysocial distancing issues once peopleare in the park.
Fundamentally what weare saying right now is just park like adecent human being.
Don't crowd people in.
Because peoplearrive and leave at different times, thesocial distancing when getting into your car isnot something we are hugely fussed about.
Be commonsensicaland if you can see people are loading thecar next to your car, hold off fora little bit.
I will say we are doingroutine patrols across all parks.
I get a report everyMonday about how things went on theweekend and I know there are couple of parks in the city that are close to capacity.
Let's put it this way .
if the parking lot is full , don't park on thestreet or park like an idiot.
If the parking lot isfull it probably means the park is full, go somewhere else.
>> A quick follow-up.
In line with some ofthe questions that councillor Woolley asked last week.
Stanley Park and SueHiggins dog Park , we are seeing a lot oftraffic in these areas.
With the COVID-19situation and the budget situation, are we running into an area wherewe are not going to be able tokeep the parks up ? Or there will belong-term damage to some of these parks with moreand more people coming here to get out into thecity parks as opposed to provincial ornational parks? >> The provincialparks are open now.
Although we are seeinggood use of our parks, I wouldn't say we areusing tremendous overuse of our parks.
Sue Higgins isa good example, it is busy all the time.
It remains a busy dog park.
We will maintain a goodlevel of cleanliness and service to these parksas we always do.
Next question? >> Good afternoon.
During the COVID-19pandemic we have seen Calgary'smotorways open up a bit.
What effect has theCOVID-19 pandemic has on constructionprojects around the city? >> Construction is considered anessential service.
We had a late springthis year so we had a slow start.
We are continuing to dothe work and usually a few weeks beforenow in the year I give my speech.
Our ability to controlthe road conditions, Calgary is very goodcompared to most Canadian cities.
You do see problems inthe spring as you would see everywhere.
A lot of those aremeasured on major roles.
If you have a pothole that is a majorconcern, call 311 and we will putit on the list.
Now the weather is nicerand the traffic is lighter we are trying to getahead of those repairs.
Follow-up? >> All the constructionproject that were started before the pandemic , can we expect delays, such as the bridge over the boat Trail? >> There may be minordelays because we have had to change conditions to allowfor distancing between the workersand so on.
I can't imagine you'llsee major delays on things that were alreadyunderway of .
There are small numberof projects where we were in the midst of awardingthe project to someone, or to an architect, and that got hardbecause you couldn't have face-to-facemeetings.
But that has been sorted, I wouldn't imaginedelays of more than a few weeks maximum.
Next question? >> Thomasina DeSilva withglobal TV Calgary.
>> I'm just wondering if .
.
.
We are hearingfrom some people including the mayorof less bridge, Calgary and southernAlberta, the places harder hit should have a relaunchplan later than other parts of the province.
Is that feasible? How would we keep peoplefrom going to city is not hit as hardas Calgary? >> It is feasible, anythingis possible.
In fact we heard premier logo say he would push back hisdates for Montréal.
The question if thatis a wise thing to do.
The South zone isa good example.
New account he hasbasically zero cases for a long time and in threedays they went to the highest number of activecases in the country because of the outbreakat JB's and Brooks.
We have to understandthat there but for thegrace of God go you.
Everywhere is one hourbreak away from being a hot zone.
If we were to makedifferent rules for different zones, they would have to belogical and follow how people move and commute.
For example, we couldn'thave restaurants not opening in Calgary but opening elsewhere, that would make sense.
If we were to do thingslike that in conjunction with the province, they would have to bebroadly reflective of how people moveand commute.
>> How would we stop people from goingto Edmonton? >> We wouldn't.
There are no tollboothson the QE2.
Looking at this from aprovincial perspective, we can't stop people from goingto Saskatchewan, but we have to look at how peopleare moving.
If I was advising theprovince .
look, I am .
I would say the levelof restriction to think are appropriate for Calgary should applyacross the province.
Next question? >> Kevin mimicked with CTV Calgary.
>> The Stampede isstill cancelled.
That will neverget old, Kevin.
>> I'm wondering if youare aware of project Calgary callingon the city to close more streetsand lanes, to open up areas fordistancing for cyclists and walkers? Now that we know there is less demandon our roads from motorists, why hasn't that workalready been done? >> It has totallybeen done.
We have opened up more lanes every week.
It's surprising they arecalling for something that starteda month ago.
We will continueto do that.
We have to remember that as businesses startto reopen, the traffic will go up again.
My colleagues in Calgary Transit , they have to thinkhard for the relaunch strategy aboutbuilding up transit hours again.
I am not announcingwhich lanes and which roads are closedbecause I don't want to encourage peopleto say let's have a street party there.
But we have beenresponsive to opening up morelanes everywhere.
I don't knife it is the Project Calgary group you are talkingabout but a group has been asking to do openup more roadway for patios andstreet retail.
That is a great idea because it will allowrestaurants that have to operate at 50% capacityto get more people.
We have easy policyon patios as it is but I'vereached out to city administration and askedto make it easier for this time period and they will report tocounsel about that on Monday.
Follow-up? >> I will just askabout this patio idea.
I hadn't heardthat before.
Could this beacross the city or more for theSteven Avenue, 17th Avenuekind of area? >> Those places typicallyhave patios already.
If you know KensingtonRoad, there are a coupleof restaurants, at least one onthe north side, that have createdtemporary patios out of parking spaces thatwould otherwise be street parking.
I would like to see ifwe could waive fees and remove red tape on those to help thoserestaurants get back on their feet.
With that, let me saythank you, everybody, we will be back here on Thursday, knock on wood.
And nothingever changes, it's in our own hands .
clean hands, clear heads andopen hearts.
Stay safe if you can toprotect those who can't.
Be kind to everyonealways and together we will save lives.
Thank you, all.
.
