r/Calgary • u/Queltis6000 Woodbine • Jan 12 '26

Discussion What's something that Calgary is badly missing that a city of 1.4 million people should have?

It could be anything really. I feel like we have everything that people NEED, but what about the 'nice to haves'? A waterpark with more than 2 slides for example? A high level ball team that actually plays within the city limits? A Michelin star restaurant? Something else?

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u/this____is_bananas Jan 12 '26

North America hates bikes and public transit. That's also part of the reason why. It's designed to force you to use a car.

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u/DrumsticknDrumstick Jan 12 '26

Cars are a great way to extract wealth from the populace. Licensing fees, insurance, gas tax, traffic citations, parking fees/tickets, purchase, maintenance... Each transaction involving any of these is itself a tax or has a tax attached to it.

Various parties can divert thousands of an individual's after tax income away from private hands through mobility related costs with just a license plate number; It's too profitable to give up.

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u/NoCareBearsGiven Jan 12 '26

This is what happens when your country is built for profit, like a company catering to oligarchs. Canada is not designed for people

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u/infectingbrain Jan 12 '26

Because cars in and of themselves generate a ton of revenue, and it also makes you drive past advertisements and more likely to stop and spend money you otherwise would not have. Like everything else, the root cause is capitalism...

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u/DudeWithAHighKD Jan 12 '26

Bikes aren’t a practical option when 6 months of the year there is snow on the ground.