The Plus 15 or +15 is a

Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclo ...

network in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and 86 bridges connecting 130 buildings as of 2022. Calgary often has severe winters and the walkways allow people to get around the city's downtown more quickly and comfortably. The busiest parts of the network saw over 20,000 pedestrians per day in a 2018 count. The system is so named because the skywalks are approximately 15 feet (approximately 4.5 metres) above street level. Some Plus 15 skywalks are multi-level, with higher levels being referred to as Plus 30s and Plus 45s.

History

The system was conceived and designed by architect Harold Hanen, who worked for the Calgary Planning Department from 1966 to 1969. This development earned him the 1970

Vincent Massey Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...

Award for Merit in Urban Planning. Opening in 1970, the Plus 15 network has expanded to include 86 enclosed bridges connecting 130 downtown Calgary buildings. The central core of the system is a series of enclosed shopping centres, and the city's flagship department stores. New developments were required to connect to the walkway system; in exchange for this, they were offered more floorspace (the "bonus density"). When not physically able to connect to nearby buildings, developers contribute to the "Plus 15 Fund", managed by the city, used to finance other missing connections.

Impact

The system has been identified with a decline in street life in the Downtown Commercial Core."Plus 15 User Survey", a City of Calgary study published in 1998 Street life is instead concentrated on streets (such as

Stephen Avenue Stephen Avenue is a major pedestrian mall in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The mall is the portion of 8 Avenue SW between 4 Street SW and 1 Street SE. It is open to vehicles only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The street is known for some of C ...

) or in neighbourhoods where there are no bridges (such as Eau Claire and

Beltline The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect nei ...

). In 1998, the city began to re-evaluate the system. Part of the goal of these studies was reinvigorating decreased daytime street life on some downtown streets. The possibility of limiting expansion to encourage more pedestrian street traffic was raised. Critics continue to claim the system is detrimental to culture and economic activity at ground level, however proponents argue that its heavy use points to how useful and convenient it is in cold weather. The system's bridges are integral to the buildings they serve. City planning by-laws now confer tax credits to owners who connect new buildings to the system. Businesses and the general public make extensive use of the system's enhanced flow of human traffic.

List of connected buildings

*333 5th Avenue *444 7th Avenue *505 3rd Street *606 4th Street *635 8th Avenue *715 5th Avenue *736 6th Avenue *840 7th Avenue *Amec Place * Alberta Energy Utilities Board *Altius Centre *Andrew Davison Building *Aquitaine Tower *Atrium I *Atrium II *Bank of Canada *Bankers Court *

Bankers Hall Bankers Hall is a building complex located in downtown Calgary, Alberta, which includes twin 52-storey office towers (197 metres high), designed by the architectural firm Cohos Evamy in postmodern architectural style. The first building, known a ...

*Banker's Hall Parkade *Bantrel Tower *Bow Parkade * Bow Valley College * Bow Valley Square *420FOURTH (formerly BP Centre) * Brookfield Place (Calgary) * Calgary Board of Education *Calgary House *Calgary Marriott Hotel *Calgary Place *

Calgary Tower The Calgary Tower is a free standing observation tower in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally called the Husky Tower, it was conceived as a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky Oil as part of an ...

*Canada Place *Canadian Fina Building * Canterra Tower *Carter House *Centennial Parkade * Centennial Place *Centre Four *Century Park Place *Chamber of Commerce *Chevron Plaza *City Centre Parkade *City Hall * City/Omni Building *Convention Centre North *Convention Centre South * Core Shopping Centre (Formerly TD Square/Calgary Eaton Centre) *Daon Building *Delta Bow Valley Inn * Devonian Gardens * Dome Tower *Dominion Centre *Eau Claire Place II * Eighth Avenue Place * Elveden Centre *Emerson Centre *Encana Place *Encor Place *Epcore Centre *Ernst and Young Tower * Fairmont Palliser Hotel *Fifth and Fifth * Fifth Avenue Place *First Alberta Place *First Canadian Centre *Fourth and Fourth *Fracmaster Tower *

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was established as a private non-profi ...

*Gulf Canada Square *Hanover Place *Harry Hayes Government of Canada *Hawthorn Hotel and Suites *Hollinsworth Building *

Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (doing business as Holt Renfrew and known colloquially as Holt's) is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. It has been owned by the Weston family since 1986, and was previo ...

Department Store * Home Oil Tower *Hyatt Regency Hotel *Intact Place *International Hotel *Iveagh House *J.J. Bowen Building * Jamieson Place *Lancaster Building *Life Plaza *Livingston Place *London House *Mobil Tower *Monenco Place *Municipal Building * Nexen Building *Northland Building *Northland Place *Palliser South * Palliser Square *Panarctic Centre *Pertogen Building *Petex Building *Petroleum Building *Place 800 *Old Police Headquarters Building *Provincial Court *Ramada Hotel *Rocky Mountain Court *Rocky Mountain Plaza *Roslyn Building *Royal Bank *Sandman Inn *Sanjel Building *Scotia Bank Tower * Scotia Centre *Selkirk House *Shell Centre *Sheraton Suites *St. Regis Hotel *Standard Life *Stock Exchange Tower *

Suncor Energy Centre The Suncor Energy Centre, formerly the Petro-Canada Centre, is a project composed of two granite and reflective glass-clad office towers of 32 floors and 52 floors, situated in the office core of downtown Calgary, Alberta. The Council on Tall B ...

* Sun Life Plaza * TD Canada Trust Tower *TELUS House Calgary * The Bay Department Store * The Bow * TC Energy Tower (formerly TransCanada Tower) *Trimac House *Watermark Tower *

Western Canadian Place Western Canadian Place is an office tower complex located in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It consists of two buildings, the taller North Tower and the shorter South Tower. It was designed by the architectural firm, Cohos Evamy ...

*Western Union *Westin Hotel *Workers Compensation Board Office *YWCA Building List fro
plus15.ca

In popular culture

The Plus 15 is one of the central plot elements in the 2000 film '' Waydowntown'', directed by Gary Burns.

References

External links

City of Calgary PDF Map

Plus 15 Map with iPhone app

Plus 15 Ninja - Directions, Meetups & Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plus15 Buildings and structures completed in 1970 Buildings and structures in Calgary Modernist architecture in Canada Pedways in Canada Skyways Transport in Calgary Tourist attractions in Calgary 1970 establishments in Alberta