Balmoral Circus Park Improvements
Balmoral Circus Park Improvements
Creating a quiet space for passive recreation adjacent to homes and creating an attractive and meaningful community destination.
Project update – November 2, 2023
We are pleased to share that Balmoral Circus Park is officially complete, and the park is open for the community to enjoy year-round!
Balmoral Circus Park is located at 19 Avenue and 2 Street N.W. Features of the park include:
- A compacted granular circuit around the perimeter of the park.
- Lawn space for passive recreation.
- Paved surface for play and activities.
- A north-south pathway through the park for walking and wheeling.
- New trees and plantings.
- Fixed and moveable seating and tables, as well as bike racks and waste receptacles.
We appreciate the community’s ongoing patience while we were working on Balmoral Circus Park. We encourage you to gather your family and friends and check out the park, and we hope you enjoy Balmoral Circus Park for many years to come.
Park gallery
Project background
The corner of 19 Avenue and 2 Street N.W. is one of the most unorthodox in the city. It might not be immediately extraordinary from the street, but from above, the landscape resembles four pie slices that join to form a circle. Its shape is not an accident, but a byproduct of a push for social order and civic harmony, the leftovers of urban planning's City Beautiful movement, which saw urban grandeur and formality as a means towards social order and increased quality of life. By the late 1930s, some 5,000 annuals were planted here every year.
Given this unique design and rich history, along with previously identified traffic concerns, it presented an opportunity to transform this space back to original form. In fall 2020, as part of the Neighbourhood Streets North Hill Area project, park expansion at Balmoral Circus transformed the intersection at 2 Street and 19 Avenue N.W. by changing roadways back into park space.
Timeline
Goals
Our goal is to find an appropriate balance between creating a quiet space for passive recreation and creating an attractive and meaningful community destination, resulting in:
- A quiet outdoor space for community members
- Decrease in short cutting and a reduction in volume of the vehicles on the street
- Provide all directions access for people walking and cycling
- Retain vehicle access to all homes
- Results in reduction of on-street parking
- Partial closure of a portion of street with potential for community programming and open space
Budget
The estimated cost of this work is $2.6 million. Funding is provided by the Established Area Growth and Change Strategy Capital Fund.
We are excited to be participating in the 2021 CN EcoConnexions – From the Ground Up program sponsored by CN in partnership with Tree Canada. This program is supporting us with $25,000 for tree planting in Balmoral Park.
Final designs
Feedback from public engagement was used to inform the final design:
| What we heard | What we did |
|---|---|
| Want to see more green space allowing for simple recreation, or lounging, with lots of trees creating walkways and entrances. | The final design includes a double row of trees to emphasize the formal geometry of the space, provide a pleasant walkway circuit for strolling, and is clearly distinguished between public and private spaces. Half of the circle is devoted to lawn spaces for passive recreation. |
| Like the idea of a smaller plaza space for gathering. Consider bike routes and pathways in plaza design to maintain safety for cyclists and park users. | The final design includes a paved half circle space to facilitate play and activities that benefit from a hard surface, such as street hockey, or learning to ride bicycles or scooters. Walking and cycling movements through the space are encouraged through central connections, including a tree-lined pathway running north-south. |
| Prefer a vehicle turnaround cul-de-sac outside the park space, resulting in less street parking and larger park space. | Cul-de-sac turnarounds to City standard will be provided at the east and west edges of the park, facilitating safe vehicle turnarounds and maximizing the increased park space. The north and south entrances to the park include vehicle parking areas and connections with the street and alley network. |
| Would like to see added amenities to enhance space usage. | Through the provision of plantings, walkways, fixed and moveable seating and tables, waste receptacles, and sandstone boulders, the final design provides amenities that support a range of activities. |
Final design renderings
Aerial rendering of the site
Site plan drawing
Springtime rendering
Evening rendering
Frequently asked questions
General
What is the origin of the Balmoral Circus Park project?
As part of the Neighbourhood Streets Program, the North Hill Area Project implemented a temporary expansion of Balmoral Circus Park into the existing roadway, to test the concept and support different uses of the space, enabling walking and cycling across the street network and continued vehicle access to residential homes. This project was informed by engagement held over the last six years for Green Line, The City's local growth planning program's work in North Hill Communities and Main Streets, which all identified a desire to see reduced vehicle volumes and speeds along residential streets parallel to Centre Street N and to provide safe and comfortable walking and cycling routes.
What was included in this project?
- Park expansion at Balmoral Circus, transforming the paved intersection at 2 Street and 19 Avenue N.W. into park space and limiting vehicle access with temporary materials. Community engagement was conducted in March 2021 to find an appropriate balance between creating a quiet space for passive recreation adjacent to homes and creating an attractive and meaningful community destination before permanent landscaping starting in fall of 2022.
- Pathway connections were completed, and improvements were made to crossings at high volume intersections with permanent materials in 2021.
How much will this project cost?
We are excited to be participating in the 2021 CN EcoConnexions – From the Ground Up program sponsored by CN in partnership with Tree Canada. This program is supporting us with $25,000 for tree planting in Balmoral Park.
Balmoral Circus Park Expansion
Why is The City expanding the Balmoral Circus Park at 19 Avenue and 2 Street N.W.?
Through the North Hill Communities Local Growth Planning engagement, many participants identified a desire to see an increase in open and green space to support the arrival of more homes and workplaces in the area through continued development. Repurposing street space as open space helps reduce through traffic on 2 Street N.W. and helps to create a new community space for passive recreation. Expanding Balmoral Circus to include the roadways allows for a 25 per cent expansion of green space and allows for new options to celebrate this unique part of Calgary’s heritage and create new opportunities for passive recreation.
When did public engagement for the park expansion take place?
In November to December 2020, Phase 1 of public engagement connected with adjacent residents as to how they currently use the space and inquire about reaction to possible future uses. The final What We Heard Report can be found here.
Phase 2 ran in conjunction with the larger North Hill Neighbourhood Streets program, to encompass a broader base of the community and to assess how the temporary traffic installment changes affected use. The final What We Heard Report is here. From March to April 2021, Phase 3 presented two concepts that highlighted various features for community feedback, and the final What We Heard Report.
How were the concepts for the park expansion developed?
The concepts presented as part of Phase 2 engagement were developed by using technical analysis, consideration of what we learned through the pilot and feedback we heard in Phase 1. During Phase 2 engagement, we received feedback on design considerations for the space to create an attractive and meaningful community destination.
When will the final design and construction take place?
We used your feedback to help inform the final design for Balmoral Circus Park. The final design renderings are shared on the project website. Construction and transforming the intersection of 2 Avenue and 19 Street N.W. into a permanent expansion of the park will begin in fall 2022.
What is a Neighbourhood Street?
A neighbourhood street is a street you might live on or the one near you with local shops and your closest bus stop. There is a lot of activity that belongs on neighbourhood streets like moving, connecting with neighbours and gardening or mowing the lawn. Neighbourhood streets work well when everyone can move safely and comfortably. Find out more about The City’s Neighbourhood Streets program.