The Pulse: June 3, 2025

About 10 years ago, while Michael Phair and other residents in Wîhkwêntôwin were pushing the city to build a bike lane in their neighbourhood, Anna Ho and Conrad Nobert were doing the same across the river in Strathcona. Eventually, the two sides teamed up to form Paths for People, which in the decade since has successfully advocated for Edmonton to build better options for people who walk, roll, and cycle.

Phair told Taproot that in Wîhkwêntôwin, formerly Oliver, about a dozen residents met regularly with the city and, generally, pushed for a bike lane that had three features: It should run along 102 Avenue, as there were more destinations there than on 103 Avenue (an alternative route some had suggested); it should cross busy 109 Street into downtown; and it should look nice. The group staged a temporary lane using flower pots along 102 Avenue and invited people to ride their bikes in it. The goal was to show the city that there was a demand for a protected bike route. The city listened. It built a two-kilometre protected bike lane in Wîhkwêntôwin that opened in late 2017.

“Well, it’s worked extremely well. I actually happen to live on 102 Avenue, and the number of people on bicycles, scooters, all kinds of vehicles, roller skating, skateboarding, is huge,” Phair said. Today, tens of thousands of cyclists use the path each summer, and a few thousand each month in the winter, according to a bike counter set up at 102 Avenue and 121 Street.

This summer marks 10 years since Phair, Ho, and Nobert teamed up to create a registered non-profit with a board of directors, and expand their focus to include all forms of active transportation, including walking, rolling, scooting, and biking. To celebrate its 10th birthday, Paths for People has a handful of events lined up.

The group is hosting an Open Streets event on June 7 adjacent to the Quarters LRT stop. And though Phair, Ho, and Nobert are no longer with Paths for People, Cheryl Villetard, current co-chair of the group, told Taproot there will be market vendors, food trucks, and family-friendly games. Just nearby, Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre will host an art market and Van Loc will hold its second annual VanBloc Party. Paths for People will reveal the results of its crowd-sourced Missing Links survey at the event.

The group will also kick off an eight-week fundraising campaign. The Government of Alberta will match 50% of every dollar donated through the Alberta Crowdfunding website. On July 17, Paths for People will host Ray Delahanty, content creator behind the YouTube channel CityNerd, for a panel about urbanism, housing, and transportation.

Paths for People has received the most attention for its lobbying for the downtown bike grid, installed in 2016 and 2017; the $100-million accelerated bike plan, approved in 2022 and currently under construction; and the Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy, which was finalized in 2024 and is partly underway.

But Villetard said it’s not just these bigger achievements she’s proud of. The group has also hosted community-based activations like car-free nights on Candy Cane Lane and open streets events, and has worked to educate people about how to cycle safely in Edmonton with webinars and mentorship programs. Paths for People even contributed to the pedestrian-only entertainment district on Rice Howard Way downtown.

The group is also asking Edmontonians about missing sidewalk links in their neighbourhoods and where the pedestrian experience can be improved downtown.

• The Edmonton Police Commission has begun the search for a new police chief to lead the Edmonton Police Service. The commission is emphasizing the importance of finding the right candidate. The commission aims to make a recommendation by October or November. Interim Chiefs Devin LaForce and Warren Driechel have been sharing the role since Dale McFee stepped down earlier this year.
• Edmonton city council is considering a proposal to increase fines for dog attacks and bites to better protect animals and people and encourage responsible pet ownership. Currently, the fine for a dog attack is $500, but the proposed bylaw would raise this to $2,000 if a dog seriously injures another pet and $3,000 if a dog seriously injures a person or kills another pet, with higher fines for repeat offences. Liza Sunley of the Edmonton Humane Society said the public expects accountability to increase with repeated incidents. The final version of the animal control bylaw will be presented to the council in August.
• A new report shows that the City of Edmonton faces a $1.5-billion shortfall in its 2023-2026 capital budget for infrastructure maintenance and renewal. Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said the City needs to establish a dedicated fund to address underfunding, while Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette expressed concern over provincial cuts to infrastructure funding. Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams stated the province is increasing funding to Edmonton, including a $10.5-million increase through the Grants in Place of Taxes program.
• According to LGBTQ2S+ group RaricaNow, the concerns that led to the cancellation of the 2019 Pride parade remain unresolved. The main issue involves how the Edmonton Police Service participates in the event. The group did not specify which actions would resolve its concerns, but the 2019 cancellation followed a dispute about uniformed officers marching in the parade.
• Alberta Health Services is alerting the public to a potential measles exposure at the University of Alberta Hospital on May 23 and May 28. The health authority advises anyone who visited the hospital on those dates to monitor for symptoms until June 19, and to call 811 if symptoms develop.
• Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners of the 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, recognizing the best in Canadian crime writing since 1984. Conor Kerr won The Miller-Martin Award for Best Crime Novel for Prairie Edge, which follows cousins in Edmonton who hatch a scheme to abduct a herd of bison and release them into a downtown Edmonton park.
• The West Edmonton Primary Care Network will officially open its clinic at Kickstand in West Edmonton Mall on June 4. Kickstand, in partnership with YMCA of Northern Alberta, will now offer youth aged 11 to 25 barrier-free access to mental health services, substance use counselling, and peer support under one roof.
• The University of Alberta increased the price of monthly parking permits by 20% on April 1, with prices on North Campus now ranging from $135 to $320 per month. Kevin Moffitt, director of retail operations at the university, said the decision was based on operational, maintenance, and capital improvement costs, as well as comparison to other parking providers.
• Greg Christenson of the Christenson Group of Companies, faces charges under Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act for allegedly failing to return life lease entrance fees within 180 days. The Christenson Group, which owns nine retirement homes in Edmonton and central Alberta, reportedly owed $75 million to more than 200 seniors or their families by the end of 2024. Christenson’s lawyers say the charges are without merit and that he intends to defend his contracts.
• Wildfires in northern Alberta have forced more than 4,000 Albertans to flee their homes and are believed to have destroyed critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, evacuation orders for Yellowhead County residents will be lifted on June 3 at noon, according to Mayor Wade Williams. Approximately 500 people were displaced from Mercoal, Robb, and Peers, all located roughly 180 to 280 kilometres west of Edmonton. Residents are urged to be cautious upon their return as crews continue to work in the area, and conditions may remain smoky.
• Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch provided updates on Connor McDavid and Connor Brown ahead of the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid will fully participate in practice on June 3, and Brown will play in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers after recovering from an injury that kept him out of the last two games of the Western Conference Final. Game 1 is scheduled for June 4.

Names for recreation centres and sports teams, as well cops and city council mending their fence, were top of mind for the hosts of Episode 310 of Speaking Municipally. Here’s a quick glimpse:

1. Edmonton won’t sell full facility names to corporations

On May 23, city council voted to scale back Edmonton’s corporate naming policy for city-owned facilities. Council made the decision to sell naming rights to pieces of city-owned gathering places but not the entire facility, after naming rights for amenities like the Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Terwillegar went forward in August. This means rec centre names will feature the names of the communities they reside in. The co-hosts of Speaking Municipally noted council identified “community spirit and pride” among the reasons for scaling back the policy. But the co-hosts also said council may be turning away money to deal with Edmonton’s “fiscal gap,” as Mayor Amarjeet Sohi called it.

“Twenty million (dollars) is $20 million,” co-host Mack Male said of the projected revenue that the decision could leave on the table. “It doesn’t close the gap, but it does help to address it — does it not?”

2. Elks embrace ‘bigoted’ history in the locker room

Speaking of names, Commonwealth Stadium’s signature football field is now called the Play Alberta field thanks to a rights sale that happened before the latest version of the naming policy. The field’s naming rights were sold to Alberta’s own online gambling platform for an undisclosed sum. The Edmonton Elks, who play at Commonwealth, did share that Play Alberta generated $270 million in sales its 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Yet it’s an old name for the Elks, not the field, that drew the attention of the podcast hosts. The Elks were formerly known as the Edmonton Eskimos, but changed that name due to racism in 2021. But Elks president and CEO Chris Morris said the team will now embrace the old name by re-hanging an old sign that features it in the locker room — all while announcing a returning equipment manager. The old sign reads, ‘Once an Eskimo, Always an Eskimo,’ and Morris said this was “never just a slogan it was a brotherhood, a way of life.”

Both the podcast co-hosts found the choice to double down on the name while announcing an equipment manager to be puzzling. “To change the name (to the Elks), but not accept the name change, that means your organization is bigoted, and that’s just a worse look overall,” Pavlek said.

3. Police and city play nice, for now

Mayor Sohi and some councillors offered effusive praise for the Edmonton Police Service’s annual report last week. Both Male and Pavlek suggested this is a marked change from the way council dealt with the police service under the leadership of ex-chief Dale McFee, who is now one of the top-ranking public servants. While Pavlek called this a departure from the previous “toxic” relationship between council and the police, Male said he’s not holding his breath.

“Any progress that feels like it might have been made since McFee left in February feels pretty tenuous to me,” he said. “The other thing is, when you have co-chiefs, in a way, you essentially have nobody making a decision.”

The EPS co-chiefs as of June 2 are Devin Laforce and Warren Driechel. CityNews reported the same day that a job posting for a permanent, solo chief is now open.

The May 30 episode of Taproot’s civic affairs podcast also included discussion on upzoning and speed enforcement for drivers. Speaking Municipally comes out on Fridays. Listening and subscription options are all right here.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Health and Wellness Fair starting at 10am at North Edmonton Seniors Association
• Lunch and Learn: Strengthen Your Cyber Resilience with IBM starting at 11am at IBM Edmonton
• Senior’s Week - Welcoming Event starting at 11am at Royal Alberta Museum
• Dentons Workshop Series – A Startup’s Crown Jewels: Intellectual Property starting at 6pm at Edmonton Unlimited
• Victoria Harbourcats vs. Edmonton Riverhawks starting at 7:05pm at Re/Max Field
• Seniors’ Week at Royal Alberta Museum (until June 8)

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• June 7: Open Streets: Paths for People’s 10th Anniversary Street Fest at The Armature
• June 9-11: Canadian Operational Research Society conference at Westin Edmonton
• June 12: CAFÉ bicyclette Patio Concert Series: Brandon Baker at La Cite Francophone

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