Councillor pitches gardens for Green Line stations

One city councillor is hoping to see $4 million budgeted for public art along the Green Line LRT expansion used to create gardens at a number of stations along the 20-kilometre route.

“I always thought Calgary was a little short on public gardens for the size of the city we have,” said Coun. Shane Keating, who authored the proposal going to council Monday.

“I thought, why don’t we combine public art and public gardens?”

The city typically sets aside a small portion of the capital budget for any infrastructure project for new public art. Major projects, including the Green Line, budget a maximum of $4 million for public art.

Keating acknowledged it might take more than $4 million to complete landscaping and gardens for multiple stations, but suggested the city could partner with the Calgary Parks Foundation, the Calgary Horticultural Society and even some of Calgary’s sister cities to raise funds for some of the gardens.

“I’ve talked with a number of councillors. We could have a South Asian-style garden in the north part of the Green Line and themed gardens all along,” Keating said.

“You take a trip on the Green Line and see the different gardens and greenery. It’s a theme on the public art aspect.”

Keating said there could be station gardens created above and below ground. A traditional Chinese garden might fit in Eau Claire, while other stations could have rose gardens or native Prairie wildflowers and grasses.

He said he doesn’t view his plan as being in opposition to the city’s existing public art process.

“It doesn’t mean that the gardens have to be the artwork themselves. It could be that there is artwork placed within a garden,” Keating said.

One aspect of Keating ’s plan has particularly thrilled the Calgary Horticultural Society.

Keating has floated the idea of the city setting aside land and building space at Shepard station in the southeast — where the city plans to build a facility to store and maintain light rail vehicles — to provide a permanent home for the Horticultural Society, with classroom space, greenhouses and demonstration gardens.

The society currently rents a small house on 50th Avenue S.W. and Macleod Trail.

“The one thing we’ve always dreamed about is an opportunity to have a little bit nicer of a facility, but more importantly to have a place where we could actually hold our educational programming,” said Don Terway, president of the society.

“There could be a demonstration garden at Shepard as well, which would be a bit of a focal point.”

Keating said gardens have the benefit of being more interactive than some of the high-profile public art projects that have attracted criticism in Calgary over the years.

“I think that’s where a few of the criticisms we’ve had in the past, where citizens can’t touch and feel and interact with the public art,” Keating said.

“That’s what I’m hoping this will be: that it will be a catalyst for us to be able to really develop some extraordinary public gardens, along with public art within the gardens.”

The motion directs the city to set up an informal steering committee for the project.

If approved, city staff will report back to council next spring.