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Plus 15

{{Short description|Pedestrian skywalk system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada}}

{{about|the skywalk network in Calgary, Alberta, Canada|the integer value positive 15|15 (number)}}

{{more citations needed|date=July 2011}}

File:Plus 15 sign and walkway Calgary.jpg (east) and Fifth Avenue Place]]

File:Calgary+15.png

The Plus 15 or +15 is a skyway network in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and 86 bridges connecting 130 buildings, as of 2022.{{Citation |title=Plus 15 network – Calgary’s Skywalk |work=City of Calgary website |date=December 19, 2022 |url=https://www.calgary.ca/bike-walk-roll/plus-15-network.html}} Calgary often has severe winters and the walkways allow people to get around the city's downtown more quickly and comfortably. The busiest parts of the network saw over 20,000 pedestrians per day in a 2018 count.{{Citation |title=Plus 15 - Network Study Report |last=Krishan |first=Aparna |date=December 19, 2022 |url=https://www.calgary.ca/content/dam/www/transportation/roads/documents/road-maintenance/plus-15-network-study-final-report-sep-2019.pdf |publication-date=September 2019}}

The system is so named because the skywalks are approximately 15 feet (approximately 4.5 metres) above street level. Some Plus 15 skywalks are multi-level, with higher levels being referred to as Plus 30s and Plus 45s.

History

File:Plus15underconst.JPG and the Canterra Tower in 2009]]

The system was conceived and designed by architect Harold Hanen, who worked for the Calgary Planning Department from 1966 to 1969. This development earned him the 1970 Vincent Massey Award for Merit in Urban Planning.

Opening in 1970, the Plus 15 network has expanded to include 86 enclosed bridges connecting 130 downtown Calgary buildings. The central core of the system is a series of enclosed shopping centres, and the city's flagship department stores.

New developments were required to connect to the walkway system; in exchange for this, they were offered more floorspace (the "bonus density"). When not physically able to connect to nearby buildings, developers contribute to the "Plus 15 Fund", managed by the city, used to finance other missing connections.[http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Living/Recreation+and+Leisure/Activities/Walking/Plus+15.htm City of Calgary - Plus 15 System]

In 1985, graphic designer Lance Wyman created a wayfinding system featuring a person wearing a cowboy hat. In 2021, the city chose to rebrand the signs.{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Andy |date=2014-10-14 |title=Interview with graphic designer Lance Wyman |url=https://www.designboom.com/design/lance-wyman-interview-10-14-2014-2/ |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=designboom |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Pike |first=Helen |date=2021-04-06 |title=Feeling lost? Calgary Plus 15 network getting wayfinding update |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-plus-15-network-policy-wayfinding-update-1.5975488 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}

Impact

Critics argue that the system has led to a decline in street life in the Downtown Commercial Core,"Plus 15 User Survey", a City of Calgary study published in 1998{{citation-needed|date=October 2023}} while proponents cite extensive use of the system, enhancing the flow of human traffic to businesses downtown, especially in the winter.{{citation-needed|date=October 2023}}

In 1998, the city began to re-evaluate the system. Part of the goal of these studies was reinvigorating decreased daytime street life on some downtown streets. The possibility of limiting expansion to encourage more pedestrian street traffic was raised. Critics continue to claim the system is detrimental to culture and economic activity at ground level, however proponents argue that its heavy use points to how useful and convenient it is in cold weather.{{Citation |title=Up and Over It: Plus-15 hater moves downtown and learns about system's charms |last=Lambert |first=Taylor |work=Calgary Herald |date= |url=https://calgaryherald.com/life/swerve/up-and-over-it-plus-15-hater-moves-downtown-and-learns-about-systems-charms |publication-date=March 16, 2018}}{{Citation |title=Should Calgary dismantle its Plus 15 skywalk network? |last=Offin |first=Sarah |work=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9316649/calgary-plus-15-skywalk-network-debate/ |publication-date=November 30, 2022}}

City planning by-laws now confer tax credits to owners who connect new buildings to the system.{{citation-needed|date=October 2023}}

List of connected buildings

File:Calgary Plus 15.jpg]]

File:Plus15-Calgary-7ave.JPG tracks linking the downtown Holt Renfrew department store to the 4th Street Southwest LRT station before its reconstruction]]

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{{div col end}}Building List from [http://plus15.ca/ plus15.ca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604005316/http://plus15.ca/ |date=2008-06-04 }}

In popular culture

The Plus 15 is one of the central plot elements in the 2000 film Waydowntown, directed by Gary Burns.

See also

{{Portal|Canada|Architecture|Engineering|Transportation}}

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References

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External links

  • [http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/Roads/Documents/Road-Maintenance/Plus-15-Skywalk-network-map.pdf City of Calgary PDF Map]
  • [http://www.calgaryplus15.com Plus 15 Map with iPhone app]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218072655/http://plus15.com/ Plus 15 Ninja - Directions, Meetups & Directory]

{{Calgary landmarks}}

{{coord|51|2|50.05|N|114|4|8.19|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plus15}}

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1970

Category:Buildings and structures in Calgary

Category:Modernist architecture in Canada

Category:Pedways in Canada

Category:Skyways

Category:Transport in Calgary

Category:Tourist attractions in Calgary

Category:1970 establishments in Alberta