The Pulse: Dec. 6, 2021

Alberta introduced new guidelines to govern photo radar enforcement in the province last week, but the City of Edmonton didn't know some of them were coming.

The provincial government's changes extend the freeze on new photo radar units until Dec. 1, 2022 (and prohibit upgrading photo radar equipment). Photo radar will also not be allowed on residential streets under 50 km/h, except for in school, playground, or construction zones. Municipalities will have to provide a safety reason for existing photo radar units by next June, or be removed.

"The UCP has never been a consultative government despite their best arguments in public," said Speaking Municipally co-host Troy Pavlek, who was at the media availability where Edmonton's head of traffic safety announced the new guidelines.

He asked Jessica Lamarre if the city received advance notice from the province that it wouldn't be able to use photo radar on residential streets.

"The answer was a plain no. This was never surfaced as an idea, this was never floated as an option and they found out about it when we found out about it," Pavlek said in Episode 158.

• The City of Edmonton is working with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services to reduce fires on vacant properties after four people experiencing homelessness were killed in fires this fall. The city has seen an increase in fires in vacant buildings and suspicious fires in the northeast over the past 12 months.
• The outdoor ice rinks at Victoria Park and The Meadows Community Recreation Centre opened for skating this weekend, with more rinks anticipated to open through December. Public health measures, including a mask requirement and 30% occupancy limit for indoor facilities, will be in effect for all users.
• The Edmonton Police Service is looking to hire 10 recruits next year through the Experienced Officer Program which fast-tracks applicants with at least 18 months of previous Canadian policing experience through an eight-week training period instead of the typical 27-week training course. The next class is scheduled to start in June 2022. In total, EPS plans to hire more than 100 recruits next year.
• An ETS bus driver hit and injured a 32-year-old in a marked crosswalk on Jasper Avenue and 109 Street on Dec. 3. The driver has been charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian.
• On Dec. 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the city announced updated language for DATS. Instead of the Disabled Adult Transit Service, DATS is now the Dedicated Accessible Transit Service, which the city said "is more inclusive and reflects the diverse individuals who rely on this vital service."
• Three Alberta First Nations are preparing to take control of child welfare in their communities. "Under this new system, we will focus on prevention... we will provide services to the parents, children, (and) families, and support them to ensure that no child is ever removed from their family except as a last resort," Peerless Trout First Nation Chief Gladys Okemow told Postmedia. In Alberta, 23 Indigenous children receiving child welfare services died this year, the majority of the 30 total deaths reported as of Oct. 31.

Here are some of the items that will be considered this week:

• City council will receive operating and capital financial updates, which were postponed from the Nov. 22 council meeting.
• Councillor Anne Stevenson has indicated that she will make a motion asking administration to explore the possibility to "pedestrianize" 102 Avenue adjacent to the Valley Line LRT.
• The Business Improvement Area (BIA) association budgets, which are funded through tax levies, are up for consideration. Council will also approve board membership for BIA's.
• Council will be informed about decisions by the previous council relating to the "sale of greenfield residential land holdings and the history of Enterprise Land Development with a focus on the recent decision to sell current greenfield land holdings."
• Utility committee will review amendments to the waste services capital budget and the amended operating budget, with a recommended 0% increase to the rate filing for 2022 except for multi-unit transitional customer rates.
• It will also look at adjustments to the 2022 operating budget for Blatchford Renewable Energy. If recommended to council by utility committee, councillors will vote on new customer utility rates and fees for 2022 for the area.
• A city council public hearing will consider a variety of bylaws, including an amendment to the Strathcona Area Redevelopment Plan to build a four-storey development; commercial zoning, infill requests, and more.

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

Photo: Mack Male/Flickr

• Voice of Albertans with Disabilities and Women in Film & Television Alberta will host a disability awareness presentation on Dec. 7.
• NAIT will conduct a session about national travel during COVID-19 on Dec. 7.
• Alberta Women Entrepreneurs will facilitate a content marketing workshop on Dec. 8.
• The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute will run an AI seminar with Mokah Shmigelsky on Dec. 10.

Photo: Edmonton's holiday season is in full swing. (Spencer Vandermeer/Instagram)