Calgary ran more than 17,000 unsignalized intersections through an algorithm and produced a ranked list of where pedestrians are most likely to be hit. Then administration recommended upgrades at 26 of the top 50.
Key facts
- The City of Calgary scored more than 17,000 intersections without traffic signals or rectangular rapid flashing beacons for pedestrian risk, and its administration recommended upgrades at 26 of the top 50.
- The highest score is 99.02 at Martindale Boulevard and Martindale Gate, and the lowest score in the top 50 is 93.55.
- Upgrading the 26 sites is estimated at about $6 million in the upcoming four-year budget, with design possible from 2027 and construction possible in 2028 and 2029 if council approves the funding.
- The city recorded 15 pedestrian deaths in 2025, an 11-year high, and more than 10 so far in 2026.
The scoring model gives every qualifying crossing in the city a risk score. The highest is 99.02, at Martindale Boulevard and Martindale Gate in the northeast. Second is 98.54, at Falshire Drive and Falton Drive, also northeast. The lowest score inside the top 50 still comes in at 93.55, which is the part of this that deserves a second look.
Fifty problems and twenty six answers
A spread from 99.02 down to 93.55 across 50 intersections is a cluster. The fiftieth worst crossing, at Bowness Road and 47 Street NW, scores barely below the worst one, so the cut at 26 does not come from the scores. Councillor Nathan Schmidt said $6 million is the amount administration projected as available.
The estimated cost of upgrading those 26 sites is about $6 million. Design could start in 2027 and construction could follow in 2028 and 2029, but only if council funds it, so neither is committed. The city has produced a solid piece of analysis and attached a work plan that touches about half the top 50, no earlier than two years from now.
Meanwhile the human numbers sit there. Fifteen pedestrians died on Calgary streets last year, and more than 10 have died so far this year.
The northeast keeps showing up
The two worst scored crossings are both in the northeast, and six of the top 13 are in Ward 5. Councillor Raj Dhaliwal says many newcomers there do not have cars, rely on transit and often walk to stops in the dark.
The model itself is good municipal work. Ranking every qualifying intersection on one consistent basis beats deciding by whichever community association files the loudest complaint.
The gap is not in the analysis. It is in what happens after the analysis lands on a desk.
Six million dollars in a city budget
Set $6 million against the scale of what Calgary spends every year and the figure stops looking like a constraint and starts looking like a choice. This is not a large capital program. The city prices its options at $160,000 for a curb extension, $90,000 for a flashing beacon, $300,000 for a raised crosswalk or roundabout and $475,000 for a traffic signal.
Taxpayers are entitled to ask why the list stops at 26 when the scores do not. If the other 24 sites cost more per fix, publish that. If the capital envelope was set before the ranking existed, publish that too. What erodes trust is a study that names 50 dangerous crossings and a plan that addresses half of them without explaining the cut line.
The same gap shows up when Calgary builders wait half a year for a decision. The city does not lack analysis. The delay between analysis and concrete is where the public cost accumulates. The province’s flood infrastructure spending proved the opposite point this summer, that money committed early shows up as damage avoided later.
Publish the whole list and the whole timeline
Three changes would cost nothing. Release the full ranking rather than the top 50, so residents can look up their own corner. Publish the cost estimate for each of the 24 sites left out. And put a firm year on design and construction in place of the word possible.
Council takes up the four-year budget this fall. A resident who wants the other 24 sites costed can ask their ward councillor to request the numbers before that debate starts.
Related from Alberta Tribune: Alberta’s Flood Infrastructure Money Proved Itself This Summer
