“The Boss”, sometimes described as the most dominant grizzly bear in and around Banff National Park, is awake! This tells us spring is upon us and additional wildlife sightings and encounters are bound to occur around Discovery Ridge. Coexisting with wildlife is one the benefits of our special community, but this also requires caution and mutual respect. Let’s coexist positively!
The unseasonably warm weather has taken its toll on the ice rinks. As a result, the hockey rink is now closed and is expected to remain closed for the balance of the season. The leisure ice will remain open for as long as possible.
This decision was difficult to make, but with the season ending in a few short weeks anyhow and the utility bill doubling last month due to the water use required to salvage the rink after the last warm spell, it may be cost prohibitive to continue to try to salvage and rebuild the ice for such a short period of time.
If you are one of so many that love the rinks, please consider volunteering next year to be part of the rink crew team!
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on February 26 at 7:00 pm, via Zoom, during which elections for our 2024 DRCA Board will be held. For get the Zoom link, please email drca_pres@discoveryridge.com.
The AGM is open to all Discovery Ridge residents; however, only members are eligible to vote. To purchase or renew a membership, see our Membership page.
Please consider getting involved with the DRCA as a board member. We have positions to fill! The DRCA Board is an elected board of volunteers, and our bylaws allow for up to 20 active board members. If this is something you’d be willing to consider, please reach out to us at drca_pres@discoveryridge.com.
Due to warm weather, we must cancel our DRCA Community Skating Party planned for Sunday, January 28. Stay tuned for a new date. We’re hoping for colder weather as it is winter after all.
With the approval of The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy, Council directed Administration to take bold actions to address the housing crisis. One of these actions is to rezone low-density residential properties to allow for more forms of housing (including single-detached, semi-detached, rowhouse, and townhouses) throughout all communities. As mailouts about rezoning reach Calgarians this week, public interest on the topic is expected.
The City’s Rezoning for Housing website includes information on upcoming webinars and open houses, FAQs, timelines, resources, and a link to an Engage page for Calgarians to provide their questions and comments. The site also provides an interactive address map to see which land parcels will be affected by citywide rezoning.
The dates/times/locations of the upcoming webinars and open houses as well as the opportunity to sign up to receive project updates can also be found at engage.calgary.ca/rezoningforhousing,
The DRCA recreation facility’s leisure ice rink is ready to go, so please enjoy safely! The hockey rink is still closed as the ice isn’t yet ready due to the unseasonably warm temperatures we were having.
Did you know the rinks are 100% volunteer run, both for ice making and maintenance? The pool of volunteers assisting this year has been limited, so more help is always needed and welcomed. If you are able to assist or can pass the message along to someone who might be willing to help, we would appreciate it. Contact us at volunteer@discoveryridge.com.
Stay tuned for news about the opening of the hockey rink.
The City of Calgary has advised the DRCA that it has been monitoring the area of Discovery Ridge Blvd directly below the storm pond rock fall on the north side of Discovery Ridge Blvd and the entrance to Griffith Woods Park on the south side of Discovery Ridge Blvd. The City has indicated a proper crossing area is needed and is proceeding with planning for one. We will provide additional information as it is received.
The DRCA Board is an elected board of volunteers. Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on February 26th, via Zoom, during which elections for 2024 will be held. We have positions to fill!
Please consider getting involved with the DRCA as a board member. The DRCA bylaws allow for up to 20 active board members. If this is something you’d be willing to consider, please reach out to us to join us for our January regular board meeting so you can get a feel for the group and what goes on prior to making any commitments. As the saying goes, more hands make for lighter work!
We are fortunate to have so many pathways and sidewalks throughout our special community, but when colder temperatures arrive they can become icy and treacherous on occasion. Did you know our partners at the New Discovery Homeowners’ Association (NDHA) oversee green spaces, snow removal, and holiday lights for our community pathways? However, the NDHA does not clear snow on the sidewalks adjacent to roads. This explains why some areas are so well cared for and others have very different conditions. The City of Calgary is directly responsible for the sidewalks along Discovery Ridge Boulevard and Discovery Ridge Hill in addition to a few smaller areas. It is also important to note that while the NDHA continues to use ULS to maintain our community pathways, the City no longer uses ULS for the walks they are responsible for. If these city-controlled sidewalks are not maintained to a reasonable, safe standard similar to those the NDHA oversees, these spots must be reported to 311 to ensure they are addressed. Using the 311 app is fast and efficient, and photos of icy or neglected areas can be included. It should also be noted that all property owners are responsible for clearing city sidewalks adjacent to their property.
We encourage everyone to refer to this map which shows the areas ULS maintains under its NDHA contract (highlighted in red). Additional information can be found on the NDHA website in the FAQ section (see question 22).
The city also has an online map that shows all city-owned pathways and sidewalks that get cleared and who is responsible for clearing them: If you go to the Layers section and cancel the Snow Clearing By Other Agencies eye, it does become very clear where the city has responsibility. Unfortunately, this map doesn’t show any of the pathways owned by NDHA nor the paths behind Discovery Ridge Manor/Park/Mount (special circumstances), so the map’s usefulness is a bit limited.
