The Pulse: April 7, 2023

After the Easter long weekend, community and public services committee will meet on April 11, urban planning committee will meet on April 12, and executive committee will meet on April 14. There's also a non-regular city council meeting scheduled for the evening of April 12.

Here are some of the key items on the agenda:

• Encampment-related calls to 311 have increased by 1,075% since 2016, rising to 9,300 in 2022, and administration says the issues associated with encampments have been "further deepened by the simultaneous impacts of the economic downturn, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the drug poisoning crisis". An enhanced encampment response plan that will guide the city and its partners over the next two years will focus on increasing the number of people shifted from encampments to housing, reducing the time it takes for unsheltered people to be housed, and improving the coordination, communication, and efficiency of encampment response processes. Additional funding will be required, as council only approved about $1.4 million of the $4.89 million Encampment and Unsheltered Homelessness Response package in the 2023-2026 budget.
• Establishing a Municipal Development Corporation could make land development more nimble while reducing risk exposure to the City of Edmonton, but the idea would take time to set up and faces potentially significant startup costs. An MDC may also reduce alignment with city goals, might have a limited ability to borrow money, and is "poorly suited" to undertake existing land development work such as Blatchford and the Exhibition Lands, administration says.
• Major construction on the Capital Line South LRT extension from Century Park to Ellerslie Road is expected to start in spring 2024, but administration cautions that estimated project costs "have escalated" due to "significant economic pressures and market uncertainty." Potential cost-saving measures include deferring the planned Heritage Valley Park and Ride expansion, reducing the number of light rail vehicles to exclude spares, and reducing the storage garage capacity. The 4.5-kilometre extension will include two new stations and is expected to attract an additional 9,100 daily riders in 2030.

• City crews will begin annual street sweeping on April 11, weather permitting. Sweeping will run from Monday to Friday, 24 hours a day, with a focus on residential roads on weekdays and high-volume roads at night. Signs will indicate no parking in areas that are undergoing sweeping, and the city encourages Edmontonians to move their vehicles during this time to allow crews to complete the work efficiently. You can check which roads have been swept and see major closures on the city's street cleaning map. You can also sign up for parking ban notifications. Sweeping is expected to be completed by June 1.
• Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager for the Edmonton Transit Service, said at a news conference that the city would consider reopening conversations about transferring authority over transit peace officers to the Edmonton Police Service, a request that came from the Alberta government as part of its announcement of measures to "restore order and improve public safety" on transit. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he hadn't yet considered the request. Steve Bradshaw, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 569, called it a "bad idea" and suggested crime is a "police problem" that can be helped by EPS reinstating an LRT beat officer program, which was cut in February 2020.
• An article published by OEG Inc., which runs the sports and entertainment assets owned by the Katz Group, considers the next chapter for Daryl Katz and the Edmonton Oilers, who have spent the past 15 years trying to "redefine the very notion" of a professional sports franchise. OEG Inc. includes the Oilers and two minor-league clubs, a film production company called Dark Castle Entertainment, various restaurants under the Oliver and Bonacini brand, and cannabis retail interests. Katz, who said his companies have "created a series of synergies and a symbiotic relationship" with the ICE District, is now looking to add 5.3 hectares of mixed-use development north of Rogers Place under the proposed name Village at ICE District.
• The Edmonton Metro Region Economic Recovery Working Group, formed in February 2022 to gather views from businesses and organizations about how the province can support the Edmonton-area economy, released its final report of priorities and recommended actions. One area of focus was how the province can better support Indigenous entrepreneurs. Spruce Grove-Stony Plain MLA Searle Turton, who chaired the working group, said the Edmonton region is well-situated to be a hub for economic opportunities for Indigenous communities.
• English Bay Blending & Fine Chocolates, a chocolate producer based in Delta, B.C., announced it is relocating to Stony Plain and investing $30 million to build a 100,000 square-foot manufacturing facility. Edmonton Global, an economic development agency for the Edmonton region, said in a release that the chocolate company chose the area for its affordable land, and was incentivized by the province's Investment and Growth Fund and new 12% tax credit for capital investments in value-added agri-processing.
• Coun. Aaron Paquette took to Reddit on April 5 to answer Edmontonians' questions and share updates on the city's approach to transit safety. The thread attracted hundreds of comments and questions.
• Edmonton was included on a Forbes Magazine list of the 23 best places to travel around the world in 2023 as chosen by a panel of experts. The article praises Edmonton as a "vibrant urban centre in the heart of the wilderness" with strong culinary and craft beer scenes.
• Edmonton Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins earned his 100th point of the season on April 5 as the team celebrated a 3-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks. The Oilers have won six games in a row and are preparing to face the San Jose Sharks on April 8.

Correction: This file has been updated to more accurately reflect Carrie Hotton-MacDonald's response to the provincial government's request regarding transit peace officers and the police service.

This long weekend offers a downtown dance party, choral music, Easter activities, Mexican-flavoured jazz, and a chance to make sporty art.

• April 7, 7:30pm: Good Friday with Pro Coro Canada at Robertson-Wesley United Church
• April 7-8: The Downtown Defrost at Louise McKinney Park
• April 7-10: Easter Weekend at TELUS World of Science
• April 8: Easter Saturday Activities at the Edmonton Downtown Farmers Market
• April 8, 8pm: Esteban Herrera at Yardbird Suite
• April 9: Art and Sport at the Art Gallery of Alberta

Find even more things to do in the Arts Roundup.

Photo: Louise McKinney Park will be turned into a family-friendly dance party on Friday and Saturday to celebrate the end of winter. (Downtown Defrost)