Calgary Council: Infrastructure Crisis Looms as Towers Rise

CALGARY, AB — Two high-rise towers—one already approved, one under review—are set to drop more than 2,000 residential units into the Currie/Garrison area near Peacekeepers Way SW, and residents are asking the same question Calgarians have been asking for a decade: Where's the infrastructure?

The latest application, Land Use Redesignation LOC2025-0233, proposes multiple towers up to 30 storeys with 1,800+ units plus commercial space. It sits next to LOC2024-0163 at 5116 Richard Road SW, already greenlit by the previous council. Together, the projects represent a downtown-scale density play in a neighborhood built for single-family homes and townhouses—not rush-hour gridlock and standing-room-only buses.

The Friction: Towers Without Transit

The clash here is structural, not ideological. The Farkas administration and council—via the Calgary Housing Strategy approved in September 2023—have committed to aggressive densification in established communities. The developers are playing by those rules. But the rules didn't come with a budget line for new bus routes.

Mount Royal University is a five-minute drive away. During the academic year, buses serving the area are already standing-room-only at peak hours. Adding 2,000+ residents without committed transit upgrades means MRU students, staff, and Garrison Green families will be competing for the same overcrowded service. The City of Calgary Transit Department has not announced new routes or frequency increases tied to these projects.

Road capacity is equally strained. Peacekeepers Way SW feeds into already-congested arterials, and the surrounding street grid was designed for a fraction of the proposed population density. No traffic impact studies have been released publicly.

The Players

Ward 8 Councillor Nathaniel Schmidt will shepherd the application through the Planning and Urban Design Committee before it lands at council. The Garrison Green Community Association and residents have raised infrastructure concerns, but public engagement details remain vague. Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who campaigned on fiscal restraint and "common-sense development," has not weighed in on whether this qualifies.

The developers—unnamed in public filings so far—are operating under the Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 and the Guidebook for Great Communities, the city's blueprint for infill. Both documents prioritize housing supply over infrastructure sequencing.

The Money (Or Lack Thereof)

Increased density triggers demands on the city's capital and operating budgets—roads, utilities, transit, parks. The Service Plans and Budgets 2023-2026 outline current funding, but those numbers were finalized before these applications landed. Developer contributions (off-site levies, community amenity deals) may offset some costs, but those negotiations happen behind closed doors and typically fund a fraction of true infrastructure needs.

Translation: The towers get built on private money. The roads, buses, and sewer upgrades? That's on the city—and the taxpayer.

What Happens Next

LOC2025-0233 will move through committee review in the coming weeks. Public engagement timelines and formal hearing dates have not been announced. Residents seeking input should monitor the city's planning portal and contact Schmidt's office directly.

For Garrison Green, the question isn't whether density is coming—it's whether the infrastructure will show up before the move-in trucks do. Calgary's track record suggests: probably not.