| Bridgeland (Riverside) |
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|---|---|
| — Neighbourhood — | |
| Bridgeland seen from Calgary Tower | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Alberta |
| City | Calgary |
| Quadrant | NE |
| Ward | 9 |
| Established | 1908 |
| Annexed | 1910 |
| Government | |
| • Administrative body | Calgary City Council |
| • Alderman | Gian-Carlo Carra |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.2 km2 (1.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,055 m (3,461 ft) |
| Population (2008)[1] | |
| • Total | 5,251 |
| • Median Household Income | $44,363 |
| Postal code | T2E |
| Website | Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association |
The neighbourhood of Bridgeland (formerly known as Riverside) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is located to the immediate northeast of downtown Calgary. It is bounded to the south by the Bow River, to the east by Deerfoot Trail, to the west by Edmonton Trail and to the north by the community of Renfrew.
The community is primarily residential with a mix of parkside condominiums and single family houses. Bridgeland contains a variety of restaurants, retail shopping, offices, financial services, churches and schools. The Calgary Zoo, Telus World of Science - Calgary, The Bridges urban renewal development and access to the city's large network of pedestrian pathways (the Bow River pathway) and parks are unique focal points for the community and surrounding region.
Bridgeland borders a natural environment composed of the confluence of the Bow River and Elbow River. Tom Campbell's Hill park lies on the eastern edge of Bridgeland and overlooks the downtown, Bow River and northeastern part of the city. St. Patrick's Island and St. George's Island lie in the southern part of Bridgeland. St. George's Island is home to the Calgary Zoo, Canada's second largest zoo.[2]
Bridgeland will be the site for the Telus World of Science - Calgary. Construction broke ground on July 26, 2009.[3] It will be Canada’s first purpose-built science centre in more than 25 years. The 153,000-square-foot (14,200 m2) facility is projected to cost $160 million and will open on October 29, 2011.
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The community of Riverside was established by Russian-German immigrants during Calgary's first population boom in the 1880s, when Riverside was known as Germantown. At the beginning of the 20th century, immigrants were mostly of Italian and Ukrainian origin.[4]
The name "Bridgeland" was coined in 1908 by the Dominion Bridge Company.
Riverside incorporated as a village on July 6, 1903, and was subsequently annexed by the City of Calgary in 1910. A Red Light District survived in the neighbourhood until the First World War. In 1910, the Calgary General Hospital was built in this area. It was closed in 1997 and was demolished in a controlled explosion on October 4, 1998.[5]
Parts of lower Bridgeland were popularly known as "Little Italy" in emulation of similarly named enclaves in other cities of immigrants of Italian stock. The concentration of Italian bakeries, restaurants and groceries has diminished over time but the strip along 1st Avenue NE is sometimes still referred to by this name.[6]
The Calgary Zoo was established on St. George's Island in 1929 with 36 mammals and 78 birds.[7] By 2006, it had expanded to over 1,000 animals with 290 different species with exhibits from Destination Africa, Canadian Wilds, Australia, Botanical gardens, Eurasia, Prehistoric Park and South America.
Over 5,000 people participated in a public process that is underway in 2010 to develop a master plan for St. Patrick's Island.[8]
In modern times, the community is recognized as a "distinct bobo (bohemian/bourgeois) residential neighbourhood"[9] and having a high degree of walkability.[10] In 2010, Bridgeland was shortlisted by Fast Forward Weekly magazine as being among five communities as the "most livable neighbourhood" in Calgary.[11]
In 2008, the neighbourhood had a population of 5,251, a 16.3% increase from 2005.[1] The City of Calgary adopted an area redevelopment plan for this community in 2006,[12] which regulates construction of buildings and recreational areas, with the intention of increasing population density in certain areas, as well as development of a public transit oriented community.
At the beginning of the 21st century, gentrification was occurring in Bridgeland. This resulted in new residents and business moving into the community. In addition, household incomes rose in real terms by +22.3% within Bridgeland between 2000 and 2005. This compares against a real household income growth of +1.8% in the rest of Calgary over the same period.[1]
The community is represented in the Calgary City Council by Ward 9 Alderman Gian-Carlo Carra. On a provincial level, Bridgeland is part of the Calgary-Mountain View constituency in Alberta's Legislative Assembly and is currently represented by the leader of the provincial Liberal party, and leader of the opposition party, MLA Dr. David Swann. On a federal level, Bridgeland falls in the electoral district of Calgary Centre-North and is represented in the House of Commons by MP Michelle Rempel.
Bridgeland is the start and finish point for the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon, Canada's longest running marathon.[13] In 2009, the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon was rated as Alberta's best road race and is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.[14]
Public recreational facilities within Bridgeland include a soccer pitch, tennis court, baseball field, disc golf course, children's playground and toboggan run.
In 2010, based on an Ipsos-Reid Needs and Preferences study, the Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association initiated a conceptual design for an ice rink.[15]
The community is served by the Bridgeland/Memorial Station and Zoo Station of the light rail C-Train transit system. As of 2007, there were 1,900 boardings per day at the Bridgeland/Memorial Station, and 1,700 boardings per day at the Zoo Station.
A major redevelopment dubbed "The Bridges" commenced in 2004 on land previously occupied by the General Hospital and is underway as of 2007. It is a 37-acre (150,000 m2) inner city development, consisting of multi-family residential and mixed use buildings.[16] The project includes 11.7 acres (47,000 m2) of parks and open space.
The Bridges is a transit-orientated development.[16] The three phase project is located next to the Bridgeland-Memorial LRT station which is on the 202 McKnight-Westwinds/City Centre line of the city’s LRT, the C-Train. Early success of the project has seen it become an example development for cities interested in creating TODs.
A design competition was held in 2009, by the Calgary MLC[17] for St. Patrick's Island Bridge, a new pedestrian bridge. The bridge will link Bridgeland and St. Patrick’s Island to the East Village in the south and the Bow River pathway system. It will provide improved linkages to many different nearby communities including Bridgeland, Inglewood, East Village and Downtown Calgary. The international design competition received 33 entries, with the winning design selected as RFR of France and Halsall of Calgary. The design is said to, "remind the public of a stone skipping across the river or an arch of clouds in the Calgary sky. The goal of the design was to have as little structure as possible in the river channel, to respect the context of the island and to provide a pedestrian and cyclists link." Construction is scheduled for 2010 at an estimated cost of $25 million.
The Langevin Bridge was opened in 1910 and was named for Sir Hector-Louis Langevin,[18] one of the Fathers of the Canadian Confederation.
In 2009, the City of Calgary set up 5,600 programmable lights on the bridge for Christmas, at a cost of $370,000,[19] as a part of Downtown East Village re-vitalization efforts. The LED, built by Montreal-based Lumenpulse, is composed of 5600 LED grouped in 156 programmable light assemblies,[20] and is part of the RiverWalk project, an effort to improve the pathways along the Bow and Elbow rivers adjacent to the East Village.
The community is served by the following schools:
Elementary
Junior High
High School
Bridgeland is also served by the following schools in adjoining neighbourhoods:
| Crescent Heights | Renfrew | Renfrew | ||
| Crescent Heights | Deerfoot Trail | |||
| Bridgeland | ||||
| Bow River Downtown, Chinatown |
Memorial Drive Downtown East Village, Zoo |
Inglewood |