With work complete on the first block of the Stephen Avenue rehabilitation project, the City of Calgary wants citizens to reconnect with the iconic Calgary strip.
Several stakeholders joined the City of Calgary to announce the new See You on Stephen Avenue initiative with the goal of having more people visit the area.
It coincides with the completion of the first block of the Stephen Avenue Revitalization project between 1 Street SE and Centre Street. That project made upgrades to the street level, but also to the century-old infrastructure beneath it.
The See You on Stephen Avenue Plan includes a series of marketing-driven activations, along with public investments into the area, including the reopening of the Stephen Avenue Safety Hub, enhanced lighting, more outreach services, including 24-hour support from Alpha House, and additional cleaning, graffiti removal and power washing along the strip.
“Over the past several years, businesses on Stephen Avenue have faced real challenges: construction, COVID, changing work patterns, concerns about safety, fewer visitors. But behind every storefront is someone who unlocks their door every day, each morning, hoping today will be just a little bit busier than yesterday,” said Thom Mahler, director of the Downtown Strategy and deputy general manager of planning and development services.
“Throughout this project, businesses have given us a clear message: Help us bring people back. This initiative wasn’t shaped behind a boardroom table; it was shaped by the people who know Stephen Avenue best — our businesses, community partners, and Calgarians who told us what this street needs to thrive.”
Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that the project recognizes the patience of business owners in the area, having to deal with ongoing disruptions for the past two years.
“This place has always been a reminder and a connection to Calgary’s past, but now it’s part of a growing and brighter future,” he said.
“It’s through the maintenance, the restoration, the upkeep of historic assets like we have here on Stephen Avenue, which for nearly 150 years has been a place of community, of commerce, and a central feature of our downtown, that we continue to build our future.”
Safety presence in the core
The Calgary Police Service will reopen the Stephen Avenue Safety Hub, which first opened in 2021, to continue serving as a convening point for various stakeholders in the area.
That hub was upgraded in 2024, only to be temporarily shut down in late 2025 as they worked with the building’s landlord, according to Chief Katie McLellan.
“The safety hub creates a dedicated downtown base that supports a visible and coordinated presence in the area,” she said.
“It provides space for officers and partners to work together, store equipment, and spend more time where they are needed most.”
Chief McLellan also touched on Operation Restore, which began June 25, to bring higher visibility presence to Stephen Avenue and the East Village. She said since that operation began in mid-July, officers have attended more than 2,500 calls for service, visited 471 businesses, issued almost 700 arrest warrants, laid 75 charges and connected 829 people to social supports.
She said they are doing a more “robust capture” of data on safety impressions and impact of the downtown operations in the coming months, but anecdotally she’s hearing from business owners and area residents that it’s working.
That’s also what the area councillor for Ward 7, Myke Atkinson, is hearing. He said that while the overall perception of downtown safety among Calgarians across the city hasn’t moved, the story is different for people who frequent the area.
He said there will always be a lag between how regular downtown users feel and how that spreads to the rest of Calgary.
“I think that this is one of those things where it takes time for the investments, in terms of the public realm, in terms of the safety on the streets, for people to feel that the folks who are using downtown, the heavy users of downtown,” he said.
“Then to have that percolate out into the non-users of downtown, the folks who maybe have written off downtown, to then try it again, come down and have a great experience in downtown.”
He said that the Stephen Avenue announcement was important to continue to redefine people’s experience in the downtown.
“You want to look around and see people having a good time downtown,” Atkinson said.
“That’s a really important part of creating a perception of safety within downtown.”
Sheila Taylor, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association, agreed. She said that for many, Stephen Avenue is their gateway into the downtown.
“Announcements like this, where we’re putting more resources into Stephen Avenue and downtown generally, are critical. So, we are happy to see it,” she said.
“Downtown is 102 city blocks, so that’s a big area. But by coming to Stephen Avenue and experiencing that here, we hope that that will be a spillover effect for our city. The business impact, economic impact, and general vibrancy.”
To encourage Calgarians to hit the area, there will be free evening and weekend parking at the Harmony Parkade through 2027, along with a gift card contest and featured patio menus and promotions.
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