A recent Statistics Canada study has confirmed what many living in the city already know: Airdrie is growing at an extremely fast rate.
The document tracked the City’s growth between 2006 and 2011, detailing how 13,637 people moved into Airdrie, bringing the total to 42,564.
“Airdrie is certainly a strong community,” said Kent Rupert with Airdrie’s economic development.
“We’re young, (there’s) lots of families (and) young professionals. There’s a lot of energy around and that’s what makes Airdrie really exciting.”
With a 47.1 per cent population increase, the City’s density is pegged at 1,286 people per square kilometre.
Although many new areas such as Windsong, King’s Heights, Hillcrest and Williamstown are contributing to the growth, Rupert said there are “pockets of growth everywhere” in Airdrie.
“You look at all the areas and they’re all growing quite quickly,” he said.
The city also boasts no business tax, something that is helping lure business away from Calgary.
“There’s five to 12 per cent business growth each year,” said Rupert.
Mayor Peter Brown called Airdrie’s recent growth “pretty strong.”
“People are taking notice of us with our proximity to the (Calgary International) Airport and all the amenities we have,” he said. “It’s a viable place to live and raise a family.”
Brown lived in Vancouver prior to moving to Airdrie a decade ago and said the traffic cannot even compare.
“When you live in Airdrie, you can live in furthest northwest part of city and be at the rec centre in seven to 10 minutes at most,” he said.
With growth come challenges, however.
“We have to keep up with infrastructure and lots is aging,” said Brown.
One of those projects is a 1.6-kilometre stretch along 24th Street, a road that sees more than 3,000 cars on it each day.
“Every day you (Airdrie) gets older it puts more pressure on everything,” said Brown.
