Forest Lawn was built on the promise of connectivity: a streetcar line from Calgary to Chestermere. Instead, the community got 17 Avenue SE—which, by the 1970s, had become an unsightly auto-centric thoroughfare.

This summer 17th Avenue, a.k.a. International Avenue, is being substantially remade with wide sidewalks, dedicated BRT bus lanes and public art.

We investigate the street's dramatic transformation.