The Pulse: May 10, 2021

As temperatures creep upwards and Edmonton gains a few more minutes of light each day, Adam Laughlin is preparing for one of the busiest construction seasons in his 16 years with the city.

The City of Edmonton has 268 projects underway, with plans to spend $1 billion on construction this year.

"It's a really ambitious capital program. The 2019 to 2022 (budget) is the largest that we've seen over my time at the city in terms of infrastructure spending,” the deputy city manager of integrated infrastructure services told Taproot's Speaking Municipally.

Work will continue on the already delayed Valley Line Southeast LRT, which Laughlin is cautiously estimating will be complete by late 2021. Other upcoming projects include road paving, neighbourhood renewal, playground construction, plus improvements on Yellowhead Trail and Terwillegar Drive.

While there has been some criticism about construction timelines in the city, Laughlin said any negative perception is the result of "how projects are reported.”

"The suggestion or the notion that you're going to be perfect on infrastructure delivery is a fallacy, because you can't," Laughlin explained. "When you get into construction, you're going to find some imperfect situations. You do your best to figure out how to mitigate those, but you're just not going to have 100% on time, 100% on budget."

Regardless of past delays, Laughlin said his department works hard to ensure projects are completed efficiently.

"We do our best," Laughlin said. "The unfortunate part of that is that we don't control all of the utility companies. We do our best to coordinate that but it's a big city — lots of projects, lots of different issues come up."

• The Edmonton zone saw a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases being treated in intensive care units on May 9. The region recorded 10 new ICU cases, which represents the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. There are now 67 patients in Edmonton zone ICUs.
• Edmontonians enjoyed one last day of patios before the new COVID-19 restrictions took effect at midnight on Sunday. As of May 10, patios and personal services must close for at least three weeks and retail capacity is being limited to 10%. The restrictions won't impact Root 107, which is considered a park, reports the Edmonton Journal.
• Erin Rutherford, a candidate running for city council in Ward Anirniq has paused her doorknocking campaign in light of the newest COVID-19 restrictions and is encouraging other candidates to do the same. "Politicians are leaders in the community, so it's our chance right now to lead by example," she said.
• The Edmonton Convention Centre saw very little damage after acting as a temporary homeless shelter for five months, reports CTV News. The condition of the site has been questioned by some councillors.
• The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new federal financial support program announced by the federal government at a virtual event last week. The Canada Recovery Hiring program will offset costs related to hiring back laid-off workers or bringing on new staff. The federal government will also be extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and Emergency Rent Subsidy to Sept. 25.
• A mandatory evacuation order was lifted on May 8, after overnight rain helped contain the Parkland County wildfire that began Thursday. Fire crews continue to battle the blaze, which was still classified as out of control on Sunday evening.
• One inmate and two staff members at Edmonton Institution, a men's maximum security prison located northeast of Edmonton, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from Correctional Service Canada.
• The Yellowhead Tribal College received nearly $200,000 in joint federal and provincial funding to upgrade the college's STEM facilities.

Here are some of the notable agenda items coming before city council this week:

• Edmonton's sanitary trunk network, foundational to the city's ability to grow, is a system of deep pipes that facilitate sanitary flows to wastewater treatment plants. Executive committee will discuss a report on Monday, May 10 about the Sanitary Servicing Strategy Fund Oversight Committee which manages the fund that supports growth of the trunk network in developing areas.
• Executive committee will also discuss an update from the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative Society, formed in 2018 to oversee implementation of the Chinatown Strategy. In its report, the society said "the future of Chinatown is uncertain" and that "there has been division and isolation during these current circumstances."
• In a report on transit centre security measures, administration said lower ridership during the pandemic has led to "less natural surveillance" and "an increase in social and security disorder." Security guards are currently deployed at 19 transit centres and LRT stations and later this year the City of Edmonton intends to develop a "bystander awareness" campaign to "help empower bystanders to identify and effectively respond to forms of harassment and sexual violence." Urban planning committee will discuss the report on Tuesday, May 11.

Meetings are streamed live on city council's YouTube channel.

• The first-ever UAlberta Innovation Showcase is on this week. Researchers will present virtual posters through Twitter, sharing knowledge and breakthroughs, and engaging with fellow researchers, members of the public, industry and more.
• The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) presents Mind the Gap: Bridging Human Creativity and Machine Learning on May 11.
• The Edmonton chapter of Women in Machine Learning & Data Science will meet on May 11.
• The Citadel Theatre's Collider Festival is on May 12-16. It is a new play development festival that celebrates and helps bring to life new stories and scripts for larger stages showcasing a mix of local, national and international artists.
• Edmonton Global's vice-president of strategy and innovation will share the organization's investment strategy, work on the region's competitiveness, and promotion efforts on May 13.

Thanks to Luke for sharing his photo with us!