1. River Flooding in Calgary: Journey from 2013 to Resilience
2. Innovation at The City of Calgary’s Traffic Management Centre
3. Aquatic Connectivity and Highway Wildlife Crossings / Exclusion System
4. Avalanche Control for Highway Safety

River Flooding in Calgary: Journey from 2013 to Resilience

June 2013 brought flooding to Southern Alberta resulting in the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history at the time. Impacts in the City of Calgary included neighborhood-wide evacuations, major transportation, economic and utility disruption, life safety risks and environmental impacts assessed at over $2 billion Canadian. Intending to not only recover but to build back with enhanced resilience, the City of Calgary assembled an Expert Management Panel on River Flooding, drawing on expertise from across the region and around the globe to guide a comprehensive flood resilience strategy. The strategy has resulted in a range of programs as well as investments in local and regional flood protection infrastructure, structural and non-structural measures, all configured to work synergistically and adaptably. Join us for a tour of some key local flood resilience measures and share insights with staff on regional hydrology, geology, economy, infrastructure design practices, climate change, bioengineering and ecosystem services, land use regulation, and citizen engagement. 

Other

Video of the Q+A sessions for this Technical Visit can be found in the: Detailed Program

Innovation at The City of Calgary’s Traffic Management Centre

Using everything from drones, virtual reality goggles, realtime data from citizens using traffic navigation apps, and even humour, The City of Calgary’s Traffic Management Centre is always exploring inventive solutions to keep Calgarians on the move in our winter city. Join us for a guided tour of our newly renovated Centre that uses state-of-the-art technologies to gather realtime traffic information that impacts our winter service, traffic signal operation, and management. Walk through the Calgary Traffic Management Centre and learn how we incorporate many innovative technologies and hear how our new Traffic Tuesday program aims to make motorists smile through humorous traffic safety messages. Explore our multilayered approach to communicating with motorists in real-time about traffic conditions, congestion, lane closures, and construction delays to keep traffic moving and ensure everyone’s safety. In managing national parks, Parks Canada maintains and restores ecological integrity, while providing Canadians with opportunities to safely discover and enjoy these special places. Through this virtual excursion on the Trans-Canada Highway you will be introduced to two innovative aspects of highway management in Banff National Park.

Other

Video of the Q+A sessions for this Technical Visit can be found in the: Detailed Program

Aquatic Connectivity and Highway Wildlife Crossings / Exclusion System

The Trans-Canada Highway in Banff and Yoho national parks boasts the world’s most extensive network of highway wildlife overpasses, underpasses and exclusionary fencing. In addition to discussing wildlife crossings, an Aquatics specialist will present advancements and commitments Parks Canada has made to improve the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems by reconnecting aquatic habitat. 

Other

Video of the Q+A sessions for this Technical Visit can be found in the: Detailed Program

Avalanche Control for Highway Safety

Parks Canada is a leader in avalanche safety and monitors slide paths that affect highways daily throughout the winter in the mountain national parks. When avalanche risks are elevated, Parks Canada staff deliberately trigger avalanches on slide paths that may affect park highways. In a few locations, Parks Canada has installed remote avalanche control systems (RACS) which can be safely deployed at any time of day or night and in all weather conditions.

Other

Video of the Q+A sessions for this Technical Visit can be found in the: Detailed Program