Community Beautification

We caught up with Patricia Medhurst, our Director of Community Beautification to hear about the 18th Street Refresh Project. 

How is the 18th Street Refresh Project coming?

It’s going really well. We’ve made some good progress this year and, by our unofficial count, approximately 16 fences have been painted so far in 2022! Special thanks to everyone who has painted their fence as well as to our wonderful donors and volunteers who chipped in to help some residents who needed a hand: Bart Lamb , Tarryn Hamilton, Remington Development Corp, Tracey, Graham, Delby, Jerry, Mark, Stephen, and Darryl. 

What do you hear from community residents about the project? Are they noticing?

Yes! Many have said they are noticing and that it is making a visible difference to our community. I believe there are approximately 20 fences that still require repairs and/or painting so we will continue to work with homeowners to get those completed. 

What have you learned or what has been surprising to you?

One of our  volunteers encouraged me to knock on doors to meet 18th Street homeowners and find out what some of the barriers are to painting them. Many homeowners asked about the possibility of replacing the grey fences with a concrete sound barrier. They were aware that there was a study done a number of years ago and didn’t want to spend a lot of time or money on their fence if it was going to be replaced so they’ve been holding off.

And will a sound barrier be built?

When the City of Calgary conducted a sound assessment along 18th Street a number of years ago, only the southernmost part of Riverbend was approved for a sound barrier (21st Street south to Quarry Park border) As an aside, those southern fences were built as single thickness whereas all the other fences are double thickness so that’s why there is a higher sound level in that part of the street).  All retrofit noise barriers across the City have since been put on hold indefinitely. More information on the sound barriers is available on City of Calgary website 

What else have you been working on?

We have been working with the City to address the farthest south centre median as it is bald and in need of attention. The City has agreed to pilot a program of tilling in “salt grass” to see if this method of planting will be successful. Typically salt grass has to be transplanted so this pilot program will test another planting method. Salt grass is a very hardy grass that looks similar to regular grass (it takes a bit longer to green in the summer) and thrives in salty road conditions. It will take a year or two to determine whether it will take successfully. We have also requested replacement trees be planted along that median.

What’s next for the Beautification Team?

We think there is more to be done in terms of landscaping. There are some opportunities for us to work on a few small garden areas, shrub beds, etc. along 18th Street and around Riverbend. We are in need of a small volunteer team to work on the landscaping/gardening project. If you like to garden and are interested in  getting involved and meeting others who are passionate about beautifying Riverbend please contact me at pat@riverbendcommunity.ca

With a few more volunteers we could have an even greater impact by applying for grants, doing some gardening work, or even just brainstorming ideas to beautify our community. All are welcome, it’s a fun and gratifying project.