Summary#

Calgary City Council adopted Councillor Schmidt’s notice of motion on June 30, 2026. It directs City staff to use up to $6.0 million from the 2026 positive operating variance to start a traffic-safety pilot; the stated goal is to improve safety through community-based measures and other initiatives in the Calgary Safer Mobility Plan.

• The pilot is to expand measures such as rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) and temporary corridor safety improvements, with funding at equal levels in each ward.
• City staff must identify other ways to expand traffic-safety initiatives in the plan.
• City staff must report to the Community Development Committee by September 2026 on a pilot framework, possible redirection of net parking enforcement revenue, and the effects of reallocating the year-end variance to General Revenue.
• City staff must also propose how to measure the pilot’s outcomes and when to report on its success, no later than the third quarter of 2027.

What it means for you#

• People who walk, drive, cycle or live near treated streets: The pilot may bring measures such as marked crosswalks, speed cushions, speed humps, bump-outs or curb extensions. The motion does not identify locations or require every community to receive a specific measure.
• Residents and taxpayers: The decision does not change traffic rules, parking fines or enforcement, and it does not redirect parking revenue now. It requires City staff to report on that possibility.
• City staff: They must fund and develop the pilot and provide the reports on the stated timelines.

Money#

The decision directs up to $6.0 million from the City’s 2026 positive operating variance to start the pilot.

• It calls for community-based initiatives to be funded annually at equal levels in each ward, but does not set the annual amount or duration.
• No estimate is given for the pilot’s total cost or the amount, if any, of parking enforcement revenue that might later be redirected.
• The motion does not itself approve redirecting that revenue or reallocating the year-end variance to General Revenue; it asks City staff to report on the costs and impacts.

What is unclear#

• Which locations and specific safety measures will be chosen, and how they will be selected.
• How the up-to-$6.0-million amount relates to annual funding at equal levels in each ward.
• Whether Council will later decide to redirect parking enforcement revenue or reallocate the year-end variance.
• What measures of success City staff will use and what results the pilot achieves.

Case for#

• The motion cites nearly 9,000 vehicle collisions, about 900 injuries and 10 deaths, including five pedestrian deaths, as of the end of April 2026.
• It says the City’s 2024–2028 Safer Mobility Plan targets a 25% decrease in major-injury and fatality collisions and vulnerable road-user collisions by 2028, while 2026 data showed these incidents were increasing year over year.
• A pilot with measures such as crosswalk beacons and speed cushions could test street-design and traffic-calming approaches across wards before City staff report on outcomes.

Case against#

• The motion does not set locations, selection rules or a detailed spending plan, so the near-term effect in any particular community is uncertain.
• Equal funding levels in each ward may not match differences in safety needs; the motion does not explain how those needs will be weighed.
• The Executive Committee approved the item 14 to 1, with Councillor Chabot against, but the supplied material gives no reason for that vote. Council later adopted the motion 15 to 0.