Improving Community Park Spaces in MLCA Communities

The City of Calgary is supporting improvements to Flanders Park through a $50,000 Growing Spaces grant, recently awarded to MLCA. The Growing Spaces Projects & Grants Program directly supports public space improvement ideas in growing communities.

Flanders Park could be considered underutilized and in need of additional programming and improvements. The improvement(s) are anticipated to increase enjoyment of the park, providing an even better experience for community members and visitors to enjoy.

How do you use Flanders Park? What do you think Flanders Park needs? The MLCA is seeking community feedback and engagement to help develop a plan for the use of the Growing Spaces grant at Flanders Park. Please click below to provide your feedback.

Survey is open from April 15, 2026 to May 31, 2026!

Flanders Park - Community Engagement Survey

The MLCA was recently awarded a $5,000 Stella Conceptual Drawing Grant from the Parks Foundation. This grant will allow the MLCA to work with a landscape architect to develop high-level conceptual drawings for potential upgrades at the South Calgary Park.

The MLCA is proposing the development of a new multi-use sports court area in South Calgary Park. This new sports court will be the first of its kind in the MLCA’s jurisdiction, improving the amenities of South Calgary Park for the community, and providing a multi-use surface for community members to gather and play basketball in the fall, summer, and spring, and hockey/skating in the winter.

There currently is a huge strain on our community volunteers to flood and maintain our current outdoor rink setup, and every year it is difficult to gather the manpower required. The current rink is filled with sand for our volleyball courts which makes flooding and maintaining very difficult. With a new concrete base sports court, we can keep a high quality outdoor rink maintained for the community with much less manpower. 

In addition to the sports court itself an adjacent community gathering space for sitting and hanging out, changing into skates is being considered. This area could include a permanent fire pit installation, a shade structure, community signage/art, etc.

This project would require the re-envisioning of the layout of the existing amenities (the MLCA deck, fields, pathways, volleyball courts, etc.) to determine an overall master plan to make it all fit.

How do you use South Calgary Park? What do you think South Calgary Park needs? Do you use the outdoor rink? The MLCA is seeking community feedback and engagement to help develop a conceptual plan using the Stella Conceptual Drawing Grant. Please click below to provide your feedback.

Survey is open from April 15, 2026 to May 31, 2026!

South Calgary Park - Community Engagement Survey

Kiwanis Park has also been identified by the MLCA volunteers as a top candidate for future investment for upgrades. There are currently no allocated grants allocated towards upgrading this park.

We would still like to hear your feedback! Your feedback can help with developing a long term plan for the park, as well as generate ideas for potential upgrades in the future.

How do you use Kiwanis Park? What do you think Kiwanis Park needs? The MLCA is seeking community feedback and engagement to help understand the usage and needs of the park. Please click below to provide your feedback.

Survey is open from April 15, 2026 to May 31, 2026!

Kiwanis Park - Community Engagement Survey

Objective

In keeping with Marda Loop Community Association’s (MLCA’s) vision of an evolving, vibrant urban community that is engaging, connected and desirable, a group of volunteers at the MLCA is taking the initiative to explore improving various community spaces.

These projects help respond to growth in communities by upgrading public spaces for more people and activity. This program is part of The City of Calgary’s Established Area Growth and Change Strategy (EAGCS), which invests in growing and changing communities to sustain and increase the quality of life for current and future residents and businesses.

Community Spaces Evaluated

The on-going densification of the greater Marda Loop area has increased the need for high-quality, accessible green-space that offers opportunities for a variety of outdoor activities.

An on-site evaluation of parks within the Garrison, South Calgary and Altadore areas was undertaken by a group of MLCA community volunteers. Eleven community parks were evaluated against the following set of criteria: 

  • Condition
  • Accessibility
  • Safety
  • Activity Level
  • Outdoor Comfort
  • Four-Season Use
  • Potential Community Benefit of Improvement

The analysis identified the following parks as the top three candidates for future investment.

  1. Flanders Park (4220 Passchendaele Rd SW)
  2. South Calgary Park (3130 16 Street SW)
  3. Kiwanis Park (3185 16 Street SW)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Growing Spaces grant?

The Growing Spaces grant is a grant provided by The City of Calgary to support public space improvement ideas in growing communities. You can learn more at:
https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/growing-spaces.html

The Stella Conceptual Drawing Grant is provided by the Parks Foundation and helps community groups like the MLCA in the creation of professional concept drawings. You can find more information at:
https://parksfoundation.ca/grant-programs/conceptual-drawing/

We intend to keep the community informed throughout the planning and implementation process. Updates will be posted on this website as they are available. We intend to engage community members at the outset of the project to understand perspectives on the parks and to get an idea of what improvements might be preferred. We also intend to engage the community on the concept plan to gather feedback on what improvements might be implemented in the future and how they may work together.

All efforts will be made to consider community feedback. Community feedback will be compiled and summarized on this website.

Ultimately, the MLCA is the decision-maker, with decisions guided by grant terms and conditions and the overall vision for the community.  

The process of selecting and implementing an improvement for the parks involve many steps. It will be run by a volunteer organization, and all timelines are subject to change. Should an unanticipated event occur, or if the grant terms are not able to be fulfilled, the project will not proceed.