The Pulse: July 26, 2024

The Edmonton Transit Service is doing qualitative research with young Edmontonians because their opinions are underrepresented in research, even though they make up at least 40% of ridership, says the service's branch manager.

"Youth riders are a really important rider group for us," Carrie Hotton-MacDonald told Taproot. "Transit is really an essential service for lots of young riders — and I used to be one of them — and we want them to be able to rely on transit to meet their needs, but (to also) build that future rider."

The research consists of in-person and virtual focus groups plus one-on-one interviews with youth aged 12 to 24 in early August, a City of Edmonton survey said. Pivotal Research will manage the process on behalf of the city. This is one element of the city's "comprehensive rider research program," which is where Hotton-MacDonald says youth feedback is insufficient.

"That might end up being some of the barriers we uncover, is how do we further engage and reach out and get youth participants?" Hotton-MacDonald said. "We're also trying to do more outreach with the City of Edmonton Youth Council. We're approaching them and talking to them about, let's say, council reports, but we think we can go beyond that and also look at targeted opportunities to collect their feedback."

Hotton-MacDonald said the youth council has surfaced concerns about transit frequency, safety and security, and the option to make fare payments via smartphone, for example. (Arc cards can be topped up with a smartphone, but there's no direct smartphone-to-validator service yet.)

ETS has "made some important improvements" regarding frequency and safety, but the department is "ready to dig into" more based on what it learns from younger riders, Hotton-MacDonald said.

About 40% of transit users pay the youth fare, which is available to riders under the age of 24, Hotton-MacDonald said. The actual percentage of young riders is undoubtedly higher given the U-Pass for post-secondary students is its own fare tier and kids 12 and under ride for free if accompanied by a fare-paying rider. (Council considered waiving the accompaniment rule but ultimately chose not to on Oct. 13 of last year.)

Why should Edmontonians older than 24, or who don't have kids, care what youth riders have to say? "Similar to accessibility, when you improve things for one group, it really improves it for everybody," Hotton-MacDonald said. "So, for all of us using transit, it can lead to further improvements."

Up to 600 additional young Arc users could come aboard the smart-fare service this fall when Elk Island Catholic Schools offers its students the cards for the first time. Also this fall, Hotton-MacDonald plans to further connect with youth through engagement work by ETS with students' unions and student associations at post-secondary schools.

Photo: An Edmonton Transit Bus at MacDonald Drive and 102 Street NW. (Mack Male/Flickr)

• Provincial officials said wildfires in Jasper National Park may have burned 30-50% of Jasper's structures, according to preliminary estimates, but the full extent of the damage remains unknown. A video from the townsite shows large areas of destroyed buildings, cars, and trees. The most significant damage is in west Jasper, while east Jasper appears to be less affected. Several bridges burned, but all critical infrastructure was protected, including the hospital, emergency services, schools, and a wastewater treatment plant. The Jasper Park Lodge confirmed the hotel was damaged by fire, but most buildings on the property remain intact. The fight to get the flames under control could last weeks, a spokesperson for Parks Canada said.
• By the afternoon of July 25, 436 wildfire evacuees from Jasper had registered at Edmonton's support centre, with more expected to arrive in the coming days. An estimated 25,000 people, including residents and visitors, have fled the Jasper area. Many are mourning the loss of their homes and businesses. Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, which is home to about 5,200 people, has also been under a mandatory evacuation order since July 20, with some evacuees sheltering in Edmonton. Daily evacuation updates from across Alberta are posted to the province's website.
• The City of Edmonton extended its extreme weather response for poor air quality until July 26 and may continue extending it if poor air quality persists. Various city facilities are open to provide respite from the smoke and are distributing N95 masks. Smoke caused "very high risk" air quality levels across most of Alberta on July 25, according to Environment Canada's index.
• Strathcona County announced a series of changes to Strathcona County Transit service to Edmonton that will take effect Sept. 3. The changes are in response to Valley Line LRT construction, which has regularly slowed down and detoured routes over the past 18 months, the county said. Routes 401 and 411 will stop at 105 Street instead of going to 109 Street. Route 413 will no longer travel north beyond Jasper Avenue, affecting service to NorQuest College and NAIT. More details about the changes are available on Strathcona County's website.
• Edmonton's real estate market will likely see large sales growth in coming months, a trend driven by relative affordability, said John Carter with RE/MAX River City. Edmonton was ahead of all major Canadian markets for sales growth in June, year over year, despite a slow start to 2024. The benchmark selling price for homes in Edmonton was $408,200 in June, compared to $608,000 in Calgary, which is "pricing people out" and pushing some to Edmonton instead, said Carter.
• Many fans and commentators responded to the Edmonton Oilers hiring former Chicago Blackhawks executive Stan Bowman as general manager after he was suspended from the NHL for two years for mishandling a sexual assault allegation. Postmedia writer Gerry Moddejonge suggested the Oilers took a "calculated risk" with the hire, noting that Bowman's role will involve contributing to team culture. Daniel Nugent-Bowman with The Athletic wrote that Bowman should be "under immense scrutiny" and hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt. Allan Mitchell with The Athletic wrote that there is "at least some evidence" the Oilers did not follow best practices in hiring Bowman, making him a "Daryl Katz hire." An online petition against Bowman's hiring has garnered more than 5,900 signatures, and another petition to fire Bowman has more than 2,500.
• Edmonton Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was fined by the CFL for publicly criticizing the league. Earlier this season, Bethel-Thompson took issue with the CFL's decision to schedule Elks games with only five rest days in between, a sentiment he repeated after Edmonton lost to Ottawa on July 19.

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

• July 26: Date Night at the Farm starting at 5:30pm at Prairie Garden and Adventure Farm
• July 26: Friday Nite Live — Abraham Lake Singers starting at 7pm at the Carrot Coffee House
• July 26: Opening Reception: with & of (Becoming Rock) and Breath Scaling starting at 7pm at Harcourt House
• July 26: I'll Call You Tomorrow Presents: Blk Cory starting at 9pm at 10432 Jasper Avenue NW
• July 27: Ice Cream Run starting at 9:30am at Kinsmen Park
• July 27: Google I/O Extended Edmonton starting at 10am online
• July 27: Open House Vol. 3 starting at 12pm at Newlife Clothing
• July 27: Pet Prowl starting at 2pm at SouthBARK on Whyte
• July 27: Potluck: Artists from the Nina Collective starting at 2pm at Alberta Craft Council
• July 27-28: Moose Hide Teachings with Jess Sanderson-Barry at the Royal Alberta Museum
• July 28: FARRM Family Festival starting at 11am east of Wetaskiwin
• July 28: Soul Speak Poetry Night starting at 8pm at the Grindstone Comedy Theatre and Bistro

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 5-10: Hlinka Gretzky Cup at Rogers Place
• Aug. 6-10: Rock'n August at St. Albert Place
• Aug. 8-11: Fragapalooza at the Leduc Recreation Centre
• Aug. 8-11: Edmonton Folk Music Festival at Gallagher Park
• Aug. 9-11: Animethon 2024 at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• Aug. 9-11: Cariwest
• Aug. 10-11: Punk in Drublic at Fan Park

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