‘See You on Stephen Avenue’: Calgary launches push to revive historic downtown street

The City of Calgary is launching a new effort to draw people back to one of the city’s most recognizable streets.

City officials unveiled the ‘See You on Stephen Avenue’ initiative on Wednesday — a campaign that combines promotions with recent upgrades to the historical street in the downtown core.

The push from the city comes on the heels of the end of construction between 1 Street SE and Centre Street, work that replaced century‑old underground utilities and refreshed surface features including trees, benches and festival‑ready streetscape elements.

The redevelopment began in 2025 after years of consultation dating back to 2019, a process that initially drew concern from some businesses but ultimately continued with what the city describes as ongoing engagement and maintained access.

As part of the new initiative, Explore Downtown YYC is offering free evening and weekend parking at the Harmony Parkade until June 2027. Other measures include improved lighting and cleaning, coordinated safety efforts, patio promotions, a gift‑card contest and expanded partnerships aimed at supporting local shops and restaurants.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the upgrades demonstrate why the city must continue investing in aging infrastructure.

“Coming down here and seeing the incredible benefit, the public realm, but also addressing the critical failing infrastructure underneath our feet proves the need to continue to invest in projects like this,” he said.

A new Stephen Avenue Safety Hub now brings police, bylaw officers, transit safety staff and community partners into a shared space to respond to issues in the area.

Thomas, a tourist visiting from Germany, told CityNews he and his partner felt uneasy walking to dinner.

“We feel a bit scared about the people using drugs… it kind of reminds me of LA and San Francisco, and I didn’t expect it in Canada,” he said.

Local residents say more activity downtown could help.

“The safer it is, the more opportunity there is for small businesses and people to enjoy all the city has to offer, including the downtown core,” says Calgarian Breanne Olive.

Some businesses still say the recovery will take time. Tosif Charania is the owner of Kanata Trading Post and says construction devastated his sales.

“Our sales dropped nearly 80 per cent during the construction time,” he says. “It’s good that they finished in time, but they still have to do more. As you see, Olympic Plaza is still under construction, and you got to motivate people to come to this block.”

Future redevelopment phases west of Centre Street are not yet scheduled and will depend on engagement, council direction and funding.