The Pulse: April 28, 2021

Leduc city council has voted to get rid of automated traffic enforcement, including speed cameras and red light cameras, in favour of manned traffic stops.

One reason cited for the decision is a staffing increase to the Municipal Traffic Unit (MTU). But councillors also said during deliberations that they had received negative feedback from residents.

"We've heard the voice of this community with respect to photo radar and we're adapting our safety efforts resulting in a greater presence of manned enforcement," Mayor Bob Young said in a news release.

Young added that "vulnerable areas" like school zones will get the same amount of enforcement, but through MTU personnel as opposed to cameras.

A report from Leduc's administration says the city will lose $201,480 in budgeted revenues from photo radar tickets in 2021.

The province has been going after automated enforcement programs since 2019, when it issued a new set of restrictions that prohibited municipalities from installing new equipment or adding new enforcement locations.

• The mayors of Edmonton and Calgary "have entered a COVID-19 Battle of Alberta" on vaccination uptake. "The Edmonton health zone - which extends west past Evansburg and as far south as Leduc - has seen 28.3% of people receive at least one dose," reports CTV News. The City of Edmonton's Open Data team has helpfully created a visualization to track the competition.
• At council's executive committee meeting earlier this week, councillors agreed to provide additional funding to support daytime services for the homeless, approving $2.4 million for the Bissell Centre and up to $564,704 for the Boyle Street Community Centre. But they voted 3-2 against a $4 million proposal for a new temporary shelter that would have been operated by Bissell Centre at 105th Avenue and 105th Street as a drop-in centre from May 1 to Oct. 31.
• The University of Alberta is up 20 spots in the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) World University Rankings 2021-22, landing in 81st in the world.
• The U of A's International Students' Association is calling for better security on campus after an international student was stabbed last weekend at University LRT station.
• Fort Edmonton Park is planning to open during the Canada Day long weekend, after $165 million worth of renovations.
• It is now possible to drink beer and other alcoholic beverages at the Edmonton Valley Zoo.
• A former Hells Angels clubhouse in west Edmonton has been listed for sale online for under $300,000.

University of Alberta neurologist Dr. Sanjay Kalra has received a $2.85-million funding boost to work towards improving treatment options for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to conduct research that will help scientists better understand the causes of the disease.

The funding is a collaborative effort between Brain Canada and ALS Canada, as well as two U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies ― Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron.

The grant will support Dr. Kalra and his team who are working on the Comprehensive Analysis Platform To Understand, Remedy, and Eliminate ALS (CAPTURE ALS) to enhance collaboration between researchers and people living with the neurological disease.

Kalra said the funding "enables access to an abundance of information that will lead to improvements in ALS treatments on a global scale."

This week's word is "sakaw" which means "forest/bush/woods" in Cree. Here's how to pronounce it.

The Cree lesson of the week is produced in collaboration with local strategic communications agency Naheyawin.