The report on the design future of one of Calgary's key avenues has garnered a top award just as another step is being taken on 17th Avenue S.E.
"We're going to come up with a state-of-the-art plan and change the course of Forest Lawn forever," says Alison Karim-McSwiney, executive director of the International Avenue BRZ.
The business revitalization zone runs 35 blocks along 17th Avenue S.E. in Forest Lawn.
The report on a charette held last year by the International Avenue Design Initiative (IADI) won a Charter Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in the academic category. The IADI vision from Deerfoot Trail to the eastern city limits was among 14 CNU award winners from around the world presented last week in Pasadena, Calif.
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| Illustration courtesy of International Avenue BRZ |
| 17th Avenue in Forest Lawn could become a leafy boulevard. |
A charette, named for a French word for a small cart, brings all stakeholders in an area or development together for a brief, intense problem-solving session. The charette process was sponsored by groups including the BRZ, the city and the University of Calgary's faculty of environmental design.
The International Avenue plan looked to the streets of Europe and boulevards with room for pedestrians and cyclists that can still move large traffic volumes.
Another recommendation is the consolidation of key urban centres along the avenue.
This week a charette focuses on a two-block radius from 50th Street S.E. - one of the areas that the first charette identified.
"We'll look at all the nodes up and down 17th Avenue. This is the first one," says Karim-McSwiney.
