The Pulse: Feb. 22, 2023

Episode 209 of Speaking Municipally was perhaps uncharacteristically positive about some recent civic developments involving climate action and reimagining the Whyte Avenue area.

(Given city council's decision on Feb. 21 not to close a portion of 102 Avenue to cars after all, things may not be so rosy in Episode 210.)

Taproot's city hall observers expressed support for a program offering free energy audits to homeowners looking to retrofit their houses to achieve net-zero emissions.

At first, the program seemed a little underwhelming, given that Change for Climate is looking to connect just 10 to 15 homeowners with trained contractors.

"Given the thousands of people that have been interested in e-bike rebates and solar rebates and other things, it just seemed like 10 to 15? Really? That's it?" said podcast co-host Mack Male.

But as co-host Troy Pavlek explained, this is about building capacity and awareness rather than retrofitting homes. A free audit, valued at $600, is not insignificant, but it's just the first step toward a retrofit, and the program is really meant to be a kind of practicum for contractors who are taking training through the Canadian Home Builders Association.

"Hopefully this fills up so that these contractors can get some more experience, and we can be (more) adept at making more buildings net-zero," he said, acknowledging the incremental nature of the move. "We should absolutely do a ton of small things. But this is definitely a small thing."

Pavlek and Male also seemed pleasantly surprised by the Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy, which is seeking public feedback until March 5. While it's a bit unclear how it would work to have bus lanes down the middle of the avenue, and there's always a gap between the renders and reality, Pavlek described the strategy as a win so far.

"There is a proposal that says we're going to reimagine Whyte Ave. with wider sidewalks — no compromises on that. With dedicated space for mass transit — no compromises on that. With removing the parking lot for the farmers' market and making the linear park up to End of Steel connecting with the river valley," he said. "All of these things are things that we've been asking for for a decade or longer … So broadly? I think it's pretty good."

Listen to the Feb. 17 episode to hear more thoughts on these issues, as well as on the state of intergovernmental relations, funding to renew the Citadel Theatre, a consultation on the community sandbox program, and a recommended shift in the use of a screen-industries fund.

Photo: A 1953 bungalow in Westmount underwent a retrofit to reach net-zero emissions, part of which involved beefing up the installation. (City of Edmonton/Change for Climate)

• Vehicle traffic on 102 Avenue between 99 and 103 Streets will soon be permitted again after city council voted 7-5 against a proposed bylaw that would have piloted the four-block strip as a pedestrian-only zone. The corridor has been closed to traffic since 2018 as TransEd worked on the Valley Line LRT, but administration told council that the avenue could reopen within a few weeks. Council had asked for the draft bylaw last June as a way of increasing vibrancy and foot traffic in the area, but several organizations, including the Edmonton Downtown Business Association (EDBA), the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, and the YMCA spoke against the proposal. EDBA executive director Puneeta McBryan said with the LRT and a bike lane already on the avenue, the road does not have enough space and "does not really make sense from an activation standpoint."
• Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee said police are "prepared to lead" efforts and "try some different things" to address downtown crime and social disorder while suggesting the tactics are "probably not going to be popular for some." He made the remarks at a luncheon chat with Lisa Baroldi, CEO of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Edmonton, who said safety is the "No. 1 threat" facing the commercial real estate industry. Baroldi said a survey commissioned by BOMA showed costs for downtown property owners and managers have increased almost $200,000 per year on average since March 2020 due to expenses related to security, maintenance, and addictions awareness training and resources.
• The Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH) issued an open letter calling on the leaders of Alberta's political parties to commit to taking action on housing security ahead of the May provincial election. The requests include more money for affordable housing, recognizing housing as a human right, and establishing a housing ministry. ECOHH chair Nadine Chalifoux told Postmedia that much of the provincial money put toward affordable housing isn't meeting the need and existing laws fail to protect renters.
• ATCO and Qualico are partnering to build what could become Canada's first fully hydrogen-powered community in Strathcona County just east of Edmonton. Construction on the proposed Bremner community is expected to start this year, with residents able to move in by 2025. The community is designed to eventually support 80,000-85,000 residents plus businesses. A study on the logistics of delivering hydrogen to the area will be funded by a $2-million grant through the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence run by Alberta Innovates, which has announced a total of $20 million for 18 projects across the province to advance hydrogen innovation.
• The Silver Skate Festival, the last festival in Hawrelak Park before it closes March 13 for a three-year rehabilitation project, wrapped up on Feb. 20. Silver Skate will relocate next year to the nearby Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park, while other festivals formerly at Hawrelak will relocate elsewhere, including the Exhibition Lands, Borden Park, and RE/MAX Field.
• Habitat for Humanity volunteers recounted their memories of working with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who spent time in Alberta as part of a pledge to build 150 affordable homes across Canada to mark 150 years of Confederation. Carter Place, a 58-townhouse site in Edmonton built in 2017-2018, takes its name from the former president. The Carter Center recently announced the 98-year-old would spend the remainder of his life receiving hospice care at home.
• The province said in a news release that its 2023 budget, if passed, would invest an additional $243 million in primary health care over three years, for a total of $2 billion. Of the new money, $125 million will be used to implement recommendations made by advisory councils formed as part of the Modernizing Alberta's Primary Health Care System initiative. The budget is expected to be unveiled Feb. 28. The Opposition NDP have said they would spend $150 million a year to hire health care workers to support a team-based primary care model as part of their Family Health Teams plan. They are holding public consultations on the plan on March 1 and 9.

On this day in 1972, Edmonton polka master Gaby Haas was releasing an album, another addition to a discography that would make him one of Canada's most recorded musicians.

Haas and his family fled to Canada in 1939 to escape the threat of war looming over Czechoslovakia. When he arrived in Saskatchewan, it was with "little more than his lederhosen, a little Czech accordion and 20 78 rpm records," the Edmonton Journal would later recall.

Haas had grown up with a love of music and words — he was trained in classical music, played the violin, piano, and accordion, and spoke six languages. It wasn't long after arriving that Haas was playing his accordion at dances and on local radio. When the family moved to Edmonton a year later, he reached larger audiences, joining the King's Gloom Chasers band and becoming a regular fixture on CKUA radio.

It was a start of a record-breaking career with the radio station. After the end of the war, Haas began hosting a handful of shows that highlighted his boundless knowledge and passion for the music of continental Europe. He started with The German Show and The Sourdoughs, both of which would have long runs. But it was Continental Musicale, the weekly show where Haas would play his accordion and old-time records from Europe, that he is best known for. It would start in 1946 and run for more than 40 years — making it, at the time, the world's longest-running radio show in the same time slot with the same host.

Haas found that audiences were thirsty for music from Europe, but he had trouble finding record stores to import it. So he started his own. The European Music Shop on 97 Street would import tens of thousands of records over the next 25 years.

In addition to being a record-store owner and radio host, Haas was a prolific musician, Haas recording 50 albums and 60 singles, in addition to playing more than 12,000 dances, earning him the nickname of Canada's Mr. Polka. He frequently appeared on television and radio, and would later host TV music shows for both CFRN and QCTV.

Haas was diagnosed with brain cancer and saw his health decline through the 1980s. In 1987, he signed off from Continental Musicale for the last time. That same year, he was inducted into Edmonton's Arts and Culture Hall of Fame and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alberta Recording Industry Association. Less than a year later, Haas passed away. The city named a park in Highlands after him in 2003.

Want to hear the man in action? Rev Recluse, whose blog inspires this column every week, shared a recording of the Edmonton Polka by Gaby Haas and His Barndance Gang on the Vintage Edmonton Podcast.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.