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Current Affairs | Kids' Page | UHCA Contacts |
| UHCA
RESIDENTS WRITE:
UHCA encourages our members
to express their
See here for a list of suggested people to contact, with their addresses and other co-ordinates. Here is a sample letter, which you can probably expand and improve on. If you send us a copy of
your letter, we will try to post at least part of it here.
Eveline Goodall: That land is supposed to be for education Hoy Caine: Medical facilities should be spread throughout the city Rob Beekhuizen: CRHA ignored good planning process Pam Cox: Too much noise already Tom Cox: Hospital should be located more centrally David Hartwick: Travel times to other sites shorter Roy Christensen: Fire Park a better location Lorraine
Silas: Unpreferred Choice
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DEAR
MLA, ALDERMAN, CRHA, U OF C, PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT:
Opposition
to this site and the selection method is city-wide.
May 23, 2001 Dear Roman Cooney; I am writing to tell you that, in my view as a resident of Mayland Heights and the in the view of many others, the West Campus is not the right place for the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) and the ACH is not an appropriate development for University Endowment Lands. The best location for the ACH is Century (Fire) Park. The Site Selection Committee (SSC) recommendation that the ACH be built on West Campus is unacceptable for many reasons as follows... The SSC has failed to demonstrate the overwhelming need for the ACH to be located in close proximity to the U of C & FH. Why do a few patients & administrative or academic staff justify such proximity? Why are uses of e-mail & e-libraries or video conferencing, which are common business practices, unacceptable? If high risk or other services must be “adjacent to an adult acute care centre”, why can ACH not have dedicated units within FH to provide access to the resources that must be shared? With such operations staffed by ACH specialists, the entire ACH need not be located across the street from FH. Resource sharing is a common practise for companies with operations in more than 1 location, because it makes business sense. The SSC Report glossed over
the numerous superior attributes of Century Park over the West Campus
location including
The SSC Report also highlighted
many attributes of the Century Park location that are simply non-issues
At Century Park, the ACH will have a smaller & softer foot print on the adjacent communities, instead of becoming another brick in the wall of a huge hospital-university & power co-generation industrialization complex. No site maps will ever be required at Century Park. At Century Park, the funds for the new interchanges required at West Campus will be put into health care facilities & services for kids. The SSC recommendation is fundamentally flawed in many ways and therefore should not be used as the basis for railroading the UH community, ACH stakeholders, taxpayers & the City of Calgary with an ill-conceived plan that has the dubious merit for a select few. Feelings of apathy or futility should not be construed as defacto public approval of the West Campus location. People across the City of Calgary feel very strongly about this issue, and oppose the West Campus site. Please urge the Board of
the Calgary Regional Health Authority to reconsider the SSC recommendation
and put the ACH in the location that truly will put “Kids First” - Century
Park.
Re "CRHA eyes two surprise sites: Health leaders seek public input on kid's hospital" Calgary Herald Sept. 20. It really scares me when I see the sites people with influence are pushing in this city for the Children's Hospital. Clearly, none of them have made an emergency trip to the Children's in recent years. I spent the past three years living five blocks from the hospital and even though my sick son had to wait up to four hours to see a doctor, I was thankful to be in a handy location. I am quite familiar with the roadways of Calgary and travel-times so I analyzed each site proposed for the hospital. The N.W. is most illogical. The travel time to the N.W. from any other quadrant of the city is up to 60 minutes in non-rush hour traffic as there are no easy accesses other than Crowchild Trail, Shaganappi Trail or 16th Avenue, all of which are horrible for traffic any time of day. Lincoln Park and Fire Park are both more logical because they are located near the infamous ring roads, particularly Fire Park. There is also access from Deerfoot or 16th Ave., which combined connect to Hwy 22X, Country Hills Blvd., the future Stoney Trail, Glenmore Trail and Crowchild Trail. Travel time from Deer Run: 15 minutes. Travel time from Citadel: 30 minutes. Travel time in the NE: 15 minutes. Travel time from Coach Hill: 45 minutes. Travel time from Bowness: 30 minutes. Travel time from Somerset: 25 minutes. Lincoln Park travel times would also be generally under one hour once an overpass is built at Elbow Drive and Glenmore Trail. We already have a hospital at the University, why would we put another there? David A. Hartwick
I question the selection
of the University of Calgary's west campus as the
The CRHA site selection committee's
report, submitted to the board last
The public's choice was
32 per cent for Century Park site and only 19 per
According to the 2000 civic
census, 55 per cent of Calgary's population and
How much weight did the CRHA
place on its own survey and to whom is it
Lorraine J. Silas,
Calgary
"A CRHA news release on December 12 stated that the key reason for choosing the University site was proximity to the Medical Centre and the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, and their expertise in caring for children....Is this proximity so all-encompassing that it negates other considerations? It can just as reasonably be argued that medical facilities should be spread throughout the city, wherever they best meet local needs, and so they are accessible to all families in Calgary and southern Alberta. The paramount consideration is, as in the title of the Site Selection Committee report, "Kids First", and it is important to remember that the objective of the Children's Hospital is for the treatment of children. With all the electronics communications that exist, and as long as the site is not completely inaccessible, proximity should not be the governing factor.... "...A variety of medical
resources should be spread around the city, and doctors-in-training
need to work in a variety of different settings and different hospitals,
in order to be well-rounded. It does not follow that not sharing a pot
of coffee will detract from any studies; indeed, planning a meeting with
an agenda (rather than any impromptu conversation) will allow for greater
concentration and productivity....It is the quality of technology, excellent
facilities, the opportunity to practice their abilities and skills, and
fair compensation, that will keep medical people, practitioners and
researchers dedicated to their commitment -- not psuedo-perks. Nor,
with all the communications technology that exists today, does there have
to be a "hospital industrialization complex" to have an effective medical
network...."
From Robert Beekhuizen: "Last Sunday (March 3rd) I took my kids for a walk through the Shaganappi Reserve. My boys asked me what the big black bird above was with the white tail and white head. To my surprise, I looked up to see a magnificent bald eagle soaring directly over the Reserve lands. Isn't that an interesting statement about the wildlife in the area. Enough to draw a bald eagle's attention. Last summer we watched the fox cubs play on the south side of the hill. We've also seen coyote, and deer. "What's wonderful is that
this natural wildlife occurs in what can be deemed
Instead, the citizens of
this city are being rail-roaded by two municipal
I have spent 15 years
in industry conducting major projects nationally and
The issue is not the need
for a new Children's Hospital. The issue is about
Please circulate this note
as an indication of public concern and reaction...
March 10, 2001 To: Premier Ralph Klein
"I am a resident of University Heights. I am writing to tell you that, in my view, the West Campus is not the right place for the new Children’s Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital is not an appropriate development for the West Campus. "We recently moved to this community in an effort to bring our two children, aged 7 and 9 to a quiet, family oriented neighborhood with an established school and community based sports program and close proximity to the green space where the new Hospital is planned. "Our home backs directly on to 16th Avenue and we have already had to adjust to the noise level at night from the passing trucks, ambulances and steady stream of traffic. "This community has successfully managed to stay family-oriented and secure despite being adjacent to high traffic areas (Foothills Hospital, McMahon Stadium and the University). It does not seem fair to expect residents to welcome another new hospital which would much better serve the needs of all Calgary residents if built in a more central location, especially when other areas of the city would welcome such a development. I am told that the residents of Mayland Heights and Albert Park in the NE would be delighted to have more medical resources close at hand, and so would the doctors who practice in the NE. Other places in Calgary have better, more direct road access already. Lincoln Park is just off Crowchild Trail, and not too far from the present ACH. Fire Park is not only close to Deerfoot Trail, Memorial Drive and Barlow Trail, it’s also close to an LRT stop. "This community feels very strongly about this issue, and will continue to work together to oppose it. Please consider more thoroughly the implications of this site, not only to University Heights but to all the residents of the city who deserve better access than this site would provide. Please urge the CRHA Board to reconsider the Site Selection Committee’s recommendation." Yours truly,
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Congratulations on your very
successful re-election.
As a resident of University
Heights I strongly oppose this proposal.
Additionally I view the location
as poor, as this will locate a vital facility
Your attention to this matter
is greatly appreciated.
My husband and I are 26-year
residents of University Heights.
We looked at the plans
available on Monday and would like to offer
Close 24 Avenue N. W. where
it turns a becomes Collegiate Rd N. W.
Use the new interchange planned
for 16 Ave and Shaganappi Trail for
Move ACH closer to the brow
of the Hill and build it down the hill.
We do have a question. This
land is University Reserve land and was
Thank you. Eveline Goodall, Upton Pl. N.W. |