The Pulse: Oct. 11, 2023

The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues is in favour of proposed changes to the city's zoning bylaw, though it wants to see amendments to support climate-change mitigation measures.

"It really sits with the values that I think EFCL has around trying to move forward with vibrant communities, more livable communities, better mobility options for people," EFCL executive director Laura Cunningham-Shpeley told Episode 236 of Speaking Municipally. "Those are the things that the EFCL stands on, and so that's why we really felt that this was in alignment with that."

A public hearing on the proposed new zoning bylaw will take place from Oct. 16 to 18. City council will then vote on whether to accept the changes.

Although the EFCL supports the overall vision of the proposed renewal, workshops and conversations with leagues around the city made it clear that they would like to see a framework for climate change actions such as solar readiness, electric-vehicle support, and tree preservation added, Cunningham-Shpeley said.

"We want to make sure we get it as close to right to begin with because we know that sometimes those amendments can be difficult to get done later, and so our ask is for it to get done before," she said.

Opponents of the proposed zoning changes have cited a lack of public engagement as cause for concern, but Cunningham-Shpeley said efforts to engage the public have been going on for a long time. She encouraged people to look at the vote as the "beginning of a new bylaw," rather than the end of the discussion.

"I am not convinced that longer engagement is going to produce anything different," she said.

The EFCL supports Edmonton's 162 independent community leagues by coordinating engagement and acting as a unified, representative voice, but it's unusual for it to take such an explicit, public stance. Cunningham-Shpeley said this issue is beyond some leagues' capacity to address, and the federation wanted to provide a point of reference for those groups.

"It gives them something to stand on if they don't have the capacity or interest, frankly, to take a position on their own," she said. "This is a pretty divisive project for a lot of leagues, and so a lot of them have just decided to be conveners for conversations as opposed to taking positions at this point."

Hear more from the EFCL on the Oct. 6 episode of Speaking Municipally, which also touches on potential compensation for businesses affected by the construction of the Valley Line West LRT.

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi held a press conference to clarify his response to the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza after he became the target of both criticism and support for a social media post he made on the weekend. Sohi said he has denounced "all forms of terrorism," and that his job as mayor is to support to all Edmontonians rather than "offer personal opinions on global issues." Sohi has been heavily criticized by the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, which posted on X that the mayor's original statement was a "disgraceful false equivalency." However, a member of the Edmonton chapter of Independent Jewish Voices said it was "completely appropriate" for Sohi to issue a "balanced statement acknowledging that there is suffering on both sides."
• The city provided $9,000 in funding for a website to help support Stony Plain Road businesses impacted by Valley Line West LRT construction. The Rally for the Road site, launched in partnership with the Stony Plain Road Business Improvement Area, promotes local businesses, includes an interactive map and parking information, and provides ongoing construction updates. Last week, city council approved a motion from Coun. Andrew Knack directing the city to explore options for a financial relief program to help businesses that lose revenue due to impacts from major construction projects.
• TransEd, the consortium building the Valley Line Southeast LRT, said it has successfully completed testing on the 13-kilometre line. TransEd said in a social media post that it will complete some maintenance in the coming days and that independent certification work is ongoing. The long-delayed line is expected to open sometime this fall, though TransEd has not specified a date.
• The Edmonton Public School Board elected Ward F trustee Julie Kusiek as its new board chair during a meeting on Oct. 10. The position was vacated last week after former chair Trisha Estabrooks announced she would seek the federal NDP nomination in Edmonton Centre. "I'm humbled and look forward to carrying on the role of telling the story of Edmonton Public Schools, advocating for students, and working alongside division staff, families, and government to make it happen," Kusiek said in an Instagram post.
• The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce named former Alberta MLA Doug Griffiths as its new president and CEO. Griffiths had a 13-year career in the provincial legislature and in 2014 founded the consulting firm 13 Ways. He takes over the position from Haydar Al Dahhan, who has been the chamber's interim president and CEO for the past eight months. Al Dahhan will remain chair of the chamber's board of directors.
• Edmonton's municipal golf courses are wrapping up their 2023 season as staff begin work to prepare the greens for the winter. Rundle Golf Course closed Oct. 9, while the Riverside Golf Course and Victoria Golf Course will close Oct. 15. The Victoria Golf Course Driving Range will remain open throughout October, but its hours will be reduced from 9am to 5pm effective Oct. 15.
• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services has launched the Home Fire Safety Assessment Challenge as part of Fire Prevention Week to help Edmontonians reduce the risk of house fires. According to the fire rescue service, there were 705 residential fires in Edmonton last year, causing more than $60 million in damages. The online questionnaire will help people reduce the risk of fire, and residents who complete the assessment by Oct. 31 will be entered into a draw for prizes. Fire Prevention Week runs Oct. 8-14.
• Edmonton was among nearly two dozen Alberta communities to set new record high temperatures on Oct. 9. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, Edmonton reached 25.2°C, beating the old record of 25°C set in 1991. Calgary's temperature hit 25.4°C, and Taber had the highest temperature with 29.1°C.
• The city closed parts of the road and sidewalk at 102 Avenue and 100 Street after a concrete panel fell from the former National Bank building on Oct. 10. The closures will remain in place until a safety review of the building's exterior is completed. A pedestrian detour has been set up, and southbound traffic on 100 Street has been reduced to one lane.
• The You Can Play Project, which advocates for inclusion and diversity in sports, criticized the NHL's decision to ban Pride Tape on hockey sticks. The ban is part of updated league guidance that says teams can't alter uniforms or gear to reflect theme nights. In a statement on Oct. 10, You Can Play said "the NHL is stepping back from its longstanding commitment to inclusion, and continuing to unravel all of its one-time industry-leading work on 2SLGBTQ+ belonging." Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and winger Zach Hyman also expressed their disappointment in the league's decision.
• Albertans can now book appointments for COVID vaccines and flu shots through the province's online portal or by calling 811. The new COVID vaccines, which target the XBB 1.5 strain, are a "real upgrade what we had previously," said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta. Vaccine appointments will begin Oct. 16.
• The Alberta government is expanding the Space Creation Grant to include private child-care operators with $28 million in funding provided by the federal government. The grant is expected to help create up to 22,500 new licensed child-care spaces in high-demand communities across the province, bringing Alberta closer to its target of $10 per day child care in the province by 2026.

On this day in 1941, Canada's first library streetcar hit the rails in Edmonton.

The tram library was an innovative attempt to deal with the demands of a growing city. Edmonton's population stagnated in the early 1930s but was on the rise again. New homes were being built further away from the city's core. At the time, Edmonton only had two library branches — one downtown and the other in Old Strathcona — which meant the system was out of reach for many. But what Edmonton did have was an extensive streetcar system that reached most parts of the expanding city.

So the library board and the radial railroad partnered to refit a retired streetcar as a mobile library. The 32-year-old car was retrofitted with shelving for thousands of books, a desk, and a heating system. When the streetcar was opened, then-mayor John Fry hoped it would help people find solace in the written word "through the troubled times through which we are passing." The idea was met with fascination from Edmontonians, with almost 1,500 people coming to inspect the vehicle in a single night before it actually went into service.

Once it got moving, the library streetcar would make stops as far north as Calder twice a week. It was loaded up with around 2,000 books at a time and a real live librarian. In addition to what was on the shelves, the streetcar also carried a list of what was housed in the library's collection so people could request specific books for the next trip.

The people behind the library streetcar weren't quite ready for how popular the idea would be. Initially, the plan was for the streetcar to stop at its destination for about six hours before heading back downtown. But they soon had to extend those hours to handle the book-hungry patrons. They also had to split kids up by grade and schedule specific times for them, or else the streetcar would be mobbed by children. In the first couple of months of streetcar services, officials said, library memberships jumped by 1,500 people.

The streetcar drew international attention, appearing in newspapers and magazines. It even caught the eye of Paramount Pictures, which sent a film crew to the city to shoot a newsreel about the program that would play in movie theatres around the world.

The library expanded its fleet of vehicles in 1947 when it purchased two bookmobiles that could reach people in other areas of the city. The library streetcar was retired (along with the two original bookmobiles) in 1956. The city continued running other bookmobiles until 1974 when it switched to larger book trailers. Those lasted until the early 1980s when they were replaced with smaller vehicles. EPL now runs Literacy Vans, which offer a number of services to schools, community centres, and other locations.

The library streetcar was a first in Canada (and perhaps even the world), but it was only one of the many innovations EPL has pioneered. It was the first library system to computerize its circulation system and was one of the first to provide online access to its catalogue. EPL continues to expand on what a library should offer a modern city, offering everything from cooking classes to makerspaces. Earlier this summer, the institution shut down its free seed-sharing program because of overwhelming demand. And in August, the library announced Mallory Chipman as its first-ever musician-in-residence.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.