Council passes partial closure of Memorial Drive for party

Amidaccusations of petty politics and an impromptu poem, Calgary city council is going ahead with a street party that would close Memorial Drive for half a day in August.

Four aldermen, led by Joe Connelly, wanted to halt the proposal to temporarily shut down about seven blocks of the busy road, arguing the closure would seriously inconvenience motorists.

Memorial Drive is already going to be closed for several events in the summer. Connelly's motion focused specifically on blocking Ald. Druh Farrell's proposal to close it in August.

"Remain fully open to traffic every day in August 2009 to the exclusion of all previously approved events and programmed construction activities," Connelly moved.

"So we're saying that those are OK to go but nothing new in four weeks of August?" Mayor Dave Bronconnier asked.

Connelly later further explained his intention: "What you're talking about here is a brand new festival, coming out from nowhere.Well, I doubt they're going to have the capacity, I doubt they're going to have the numbers that will support closing Memorial Drive."

Farrell is proposing closing two of the four lanes on Memorial Drive between 10th and Third Streets for one Sunday morning in August so people can use it as a promenade. She downgraded her original pitch from all Sundays in August.

Ald. Gord Lowe observed it was clear to him Monday's debate was not about Memorial Drive, but about partisan politics, and that it diminished all of council.

Farrell said: "What I'm for is a healthy community, a vibrant city and a healthy respect for our riverbank and getting people out of their cars for a few hours on Sunday without inconveniencing the whole city. So please, council, this is trivial, it's petty, I find it insulting to Calgarians."

Alderman waxes poetic

Ald. Bob Hawkesworth called this type of debate dreary, then launched into a poem supporting the closure.

Ald. Ric McIver denied the charge of petty politics and said he was only expressing to council that many Calgarians have told him the closure was a bad idea.

McIver, Diane Colley-Urquhart and Jim Stevenson co-signed Connelly's motion, and picked up Andre Chabot's support during Monday's vote. But they were defeated by a vote of9-5 in the end.

"The road can handle the traffic. The community wanted the festival. The business owners wanted the festival.The only reason we've had all this drama is purely personal," said Naheed Nenshi, a spokesman from the Better Calgary Campaign, a volunteer group that supports sustainable development in the city.

The next stop in the process will be for the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association to apply for a permit for the event.