The Pulse: July 19, 2021

A national association of planners has recognized Edmonton for its shift away from mandatory minimum parking and for its new City Plan's commitment to compact growth.

On July 15, the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) presented its Award for Planning Excellence in New and Emerging Planning Initiatives to the Open Option Parking project, which removed parking minimums from zoning bylaws in favour of "right-sizing" the number of parking spots according to market demand.

"The jury applauds the City of Edmonton for its leadership on this project and being the first major Canadian city to take such a drastic step away from regulatory parking," the CIP said in its award announcement.

In June 2020, after city council passed the Open Option Parking bylaw, Canadian Architect magazine said the approach was "much more likely to result in the 'right amount' of parking."

"On-site parking runs anywhere from $7,000 to $60,000 per stall," read the article. "This high cost … has created significant economic barriers to affordable housing development and the ability for new businesses to open in Edmonton."

CIP also presented an award of merit in City and Regional Planning to the Edmonton City Plan for its approach to managing the city's growth, and for the creative community engagement that informed the final document.

"The Edmonton City Plan is a comprehensive document that promoted the means to move Edmontonians forward with focus, boldness, and agility within the global context," the CIP jury wrote.

Howaida Hassan, the city's general supervisor of urban growth who helped develop the City Plan, explained that while it projects the city's population will double within the next 50 years, one of the main goals is to ensure this growth can be accommodated within the city's current boundaries.

"It's about considering all these systems and networks together," she said. "If we grow more compactly, we will have to annex less, and won't have to invest any more land as we welcome the next million residents."

• The Edmonton area is still under an air quality alert. The poor air quality, caused by wildfire smoke, is expected to last until mid-week.
• There were 85 opioid-related calls in the Edmonton zone from July 11 to 14. Alberta Health Services said "stronger or different supply and unusually warm weather" were both factors in the spike.
• Idylwylde residents are pushing back against the city's plan to plant trees in a popular green space at 84 Avenue and 77 Street. The group is concerned the trees will decrease visibility and reduce recreation space. The planting is part of a larger city initiative to plant 6,000 trees across more than 100 sites.
• A new housing development is forcing some North Glenora residents out of their homes, reports Global News. The Edmonton-based Regency Developments is planning on building four new apartment buildings on four properties.
• The Africa Centre received a 2021 Alberta Community Justice Award for its efforts supporting Black youth at risk of involvement in the criminal justice system.
• Edmonton Sport Council is already seeing an uptick in interest in sports featured in the upcoming Summer Olympics. There are a dozen Edmonton-area athletes participating in Tokyo this month.
• The province has proposed an immediate 4% wage cut for health-care support staff, followed by a three-year wage freeze. Alberta Finance Minster Travis Toews says the proposal is fair in light of the province's fiscal situation, while the union says it's disrespectful given the pandemic.
• Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh launched a three-day Alberta tour. While in Edmonton, he spoke about his plans to invest in infrastructure and get energy-sector workers back to work in renewables.

In Episode 138 of Speaking Municipally, hosts Troy Pavlek and Mack Male discussed the 100 Street Funicular which was closed recently due to high temperatures.

According to the City of Edmonton, the funicular will stay closed whenever the temperature is 30 C or higher as the sealed cab can get very hot, reaching temperatures as high as 50 C. It has also closed numerous times with temperatures colder than -25 C, though a number of enhancements were made in 2019 in an attempt to better deal with cold weather.

The funicular was closed for nearly 17 days in 2020 due to unplanned maintenance, on top of nine days of planned maintenance of eight hours or more. Operational costs for 2020 were $531,602.

A total of 70,553 trips were made using the funicular in 2020, bringing the total since opening to 300,028.

Photo: The 100 Street Funicular on May 31, 2018. (Jim Hoffman/Flickr)

• Rainforest Alberta will present Alberta's Clean Tech Environment on July 20 at 4:30 pm. The free online panel will focus on how renewable and clean energy are "the next big opportunity for investing and business growth in Alberta."
• The Edmonton Public Library will host A Conversation on Anti-Asian Racism on July 21 at 7 pm. Panelists Sandra SG Wong, Linda Hoang, Wing Kar Li, and Rajah Maggay will speak about their perspectives.
• Business Link is hosting a free course titled Emergency Preparedness Program: Protect Your Business from the Unexpected. You can tune in online on July 21 from 11 am to noon.
• Taste of Edmonton returns to Churchill Square on July 21 and runs until Aug. 1. The festival will feature dozens of Edmonton restaurants and food trucks.

Thanks to Veronica for sharing your photo with us!