The Pulse: March 28, 2024

The city is recommending making one block of 83 Avenue between Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard car free.

"The avenue is frequently utilized by pedestrians and cyclists, particularly during weekends and the spring to fall seasons," the city said in the recently released draft Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy. "Additionally, 83 Avenue experiences periodic closures to vehicular traffic for events and festivals, averaging approximately 30 days annually."

The city said it will pilot closures on 83 Avenue outside of festivals and events in the future.

The Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy is meant to be a guiding document for the redevelopment of Whyte Avenue, Gateway Boulevard, and surrounding areas over the next 10 years and beyond. The city is inviting public input on the plan's final phase until April 7.

In June 2022, city council approved piloting a pedestrian-only street on part of 102 Avenue downtown, but reversed course nine months later. Coun. Tim Cartmell, who voted to reopen the street to drivers, said during the council debate that the portion of 102 Avenue closed has no storefronts. "It is not an energetic place and not having cars there is not going to change that, not in the short term," he said.

In contrast, the block of 83 Avenue now under consideration includes two theatres, multiple restaurants, a park, a public plaza, a high-volume bike lane, and the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market.

The city also recommends turning what is currently a gravel parking lot it leases to the farmers' market into a district park. About half of surveyed Edmontonians said they did not support repurposing parking areas to create more open spaces.

Corinne Olson, manager of the farmers' market, told Taproot in an emailed statement that the proposed changes will affect how vendors load and unload but that the market already adjusts for this during the festival season when 83 Avenue is routinely closed.

"Changes to the market loading and unloading location to 103 Street will cause a few pain points," Olson said.

• Premier Danielle Smith told reporters she is concerned about Edmonton's finances and stability, citing the turnover of seven senior executives, including city manager Andre Corbould, and that the province is "on standby to help" if asked. Postmedia opinion columnist David Staples wrote that "should it be required, the province will step in to stabilize the city and audit the finances and corporate culture," but Smith said that no firm plans are in place. In a statement, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the city is complying with its guiding legislation, and it was "clear from the premier's comments today that there are no inspections or audits planned for the City of Edmonton."
• Edmonton's spring waste collection begins on April 2, moving green food scrap cart collection to a weekly schedule. Black garbage cart collection will continue happening every two weeks, and recycling will still be collected weekly. Yard waste collection days run Mondays from April 22 to June 17. Every curbside residence will get two yard waste collection days. Also starting April 2, Eco Stations will move to summer hours of 8am to 6pm seven days a week.
• The city has launched a new Truth and Reconciliation Dashboard to share its progress on addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action. The dashboard shows city projects and initiatives active as of December 2023 are connected to 34 calls to action, and the city's TRC Municipal Response Plan includes 90 commitments connected to 39 calls to action.
• Alberta's first commercial hydrogen fuelling station has opened at Blackjacks Roadhouse along Highway 2 in Leduc County. The station is a collaboration between the Alberta Motor Transport Association, Nikola Motor Canada, Leduc County, Emissions Reduction Alberta, and Blackjacks Roadhouse. At the opening, Premier Danielle Smith discussed the government's $100 million investment into the hydrogen sector, which has supported the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence and the Edmonton Hydrogen Hub. She also reiterated the province's commitment to the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge.
• Crown prosecutors have declined to charge three St. Albert RCMP officers who arrested a non-verbal autistic youth in October 2022, despite the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team finding the officers' actions met the standard for unlawful confinement and possibly assault. The Crown said it found no reasonable likelihood of conviction were the case to go to trial. The youth's mother said the "damage of this decision is insurmountable" to the victim and the family.
• Edmonton woman Jean Henderson has received the Governor General of Canada Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers, the highest honour for volunteer service in Canada, at a ceremony on March 27. Henderson has been volunteering in the Edmonton area for more than 45 years, including with the Edmonton Police Service crime and trauma-informed support services unit, Habitat for Humanity, and the Alberta SPCA.
• The TELUS World of Science is inviting Edmontonians to a safe telescope viewing of a partial solar eclipse on April 8, which will be visible if skies are clear. The free viewing will take place from 11am to 2pm at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Observatory in Coronation Park.
• The city is preparing to open municipal golf courses for the 2024 season. Victoria Driving Range will open March 28, while the Riverside, Rundle, and Victoria golf courses will open once the snow clears.

Here are opportunities to help shape city planning for bus-based mass transit, communication about snow and ice, and neighbourhood and alley renewal in Meyonohk.

• Mass Transit Equity Principles Survey — The City of Edmonton is planning the city's future bus-based mass transit system, including three city-wide bus rapid transit (BRT) routes. Residents can help the city create equity principles for bus-based mass transit by completing a short survey before April 2.
• Snow and Ice Communications Survey — The City of Edmonton is seeking feedback to inform its communications about snow and ice programs, including parking bans, live snow clearing, and parking status. An online survey will be available until April 8.
• Meyonohk Neighbourhood Renewal (explore) — The City of Edmonton has begun engagement about neighbourhood and alley renewal in the Meyonohk community in Mill Woods. Planners are organizing a community walk and a drop-in event on April 6. An online survey will be available March 27 until April 17.

More input opportunities

• Until March 31: Voter Engagement Initiative (City of Edmonton)
• Until April 1: Urban Centre Redevelopment Plan — Phase 2 (City of Leduc)
• Until April 4: Exploring Disc Golf Opportunities (City of St. Albert)
• Until April 7: Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy — Phase 3 (City of Edmonton)
• Until April 30: Sports Hall of Fame nominations (City of Leduc)

Photo: The city aims to expand its bus-based mass transit system, along with the LRT network, to support a population of about 1.25 million people within 10 to 15 years. (Mack Male/Flickr)

Here are some events happening over this long weekend in the Edmonton area.

• March 28: Guest Lecture — Looking Beyond the Temples: The People of Angkor starting at 6:30pm at the Royal Alberta Museum
• March 28: What is a Living Wage? starting at 7pm online
• March 28: Nerd Nite #79 Light, Lasers, and Psychedelics starting at 7:30pm at the Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• March 29: JANA Annual Fish Fry starting at 1pm at the Jamaica Association of Northern Alberta
• March 29: Good Friday with Pro Coro Canada starting at 7:30pm at the First Presbyterian Church
• March 30: Family Dip Dye Easter Eggs starting at 10am at The Carrot Community Arts CoffeeHouse
• March 30: Easter Egg Hunt at Magrath starting at 12pm at the Concordia University of Edmonton — Magrath Campus
• March 31: Griesbach Easter Egg Hunt starting at 10:30am at Roundel Lake

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 5: Pitch Up! Scale-up Category online
• April 9: Women Leading Social Impact Summit at Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute)
• April 14: Opening Reception of Probably, Plausibly, Possibly at the Art Gallery of Alberta

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.