The Pulse: Jan. 23, 2026

"Your turn" is Taproot's weekly collection of public engagement opportunities in the Edmonton region. Watch this space every Friday for opportunities to make your views known.

The City of Edmonton is collecting feedback until Jan. 29 on proposed amendments to the zoning bylaw.

Last fall, city council asked administration to prepare potential amendments to maximum unit counts and building height in mature residential neighbourhoods, and to explore a way to protect trees on private property.

Changes are proposed to the small-scale residential (RS) and small-medium scale residential (RSM) zones. Administration suggests amending the RS zone, used in most residential neighbourhoods within Anthony Henday Drive, to reduce the maximum number of units on a mid-block site from eight to six. The previous city council narrowly voted in July 2025 to keep the unit cap at eight until more public consultation could be done. Administration is also proposing to increase the minimum lot area required per unit. That could have the effect of pushing the unit cap down further.

City staff is also looking for feedback on the maximum allowed height in the RS zone. The current RS zone allows buildings of 10.5 metres, or about three storeys. Administration considered three ways to reduce the impact of height on adjacent properties, but it said it doesn't recommend changing regulations.

Administration recommended against a bylaw to regulate trees on private property, a stance that it has held since at least 2023.

There are also proposed changes aimed at bigger infill projects outside of nodes and corridors, where administration is planning for the most growth. It recommends changing both the district policy and the RSM zone to limit where the zone would be supported. Rezoning applications for up to four storeys outside nodes and corridors would mainly be supported only at sites that are both near a mass transit station and along an arterial road, or on a corner site along an arterial road. City staff would also shift away from a strict checklist toward a more flexible set of factors for staff to use when evaluating rezoning applications.

Edmontonians are invited to provide feedback online until Jan. 29. A summary will be presented to councillors at an urban planning committee meeting on Feb. 10.

• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) Chief David Lazenby called for six new fire stations to address record demand and a rapidly growing population outside Anthony Henday Drive. He said he will request the stations for the west, southwest, and northeast in the upcoming four-year city budget cycle, starting in 2026. These areas are projected to add 120,000 residents by 2030. EFRS responded to 91,000 emergency incidents in 2025, a 68% increase over five years, raising concerns about critical response times.
• A former official with Civic Service Union 52, in letters from July 2025 obtained by Postmedia, wrote that the roughly 900 union members employed with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) face a systemic culture of workplace sexual assault, harassment, and violence. Brad Goertz, who was a labour relations officer with CSU 52 but is no longer employed by the union, said in the letters EPS management was aware but hasn't sufficiently addressed the issue. The City of Edmonton told Postmedia it lacks legal authority over EPS workplace safety for CSU 52 members and cannot investigate. EPS said it is committed to a safe environment, citing its respectful workplace department and an anonymous internal whistleblower line.
• More than 400 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees who work at NorQuest College ratified a new contract earlier this month. The agreement for the Edmonton-based community college is backdated to July 2024 and includes a 12% wage increase over four years. Among the changes are an increased starting wage of $23.56 per hour, an increased healthcare spending account, improved vacation for long-service employees, and the addition of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation as a paid day off.
• The driver of a cargo van fatally struck a woman in central Edmonton on Jan. 21. The Edmonton Police Service said the 78-year-old woman was crossing near 115 Street and 107 Avenue when she was hit. It was the city's first fatal traffic collision of the year.
• Edmonton and Calgary will co-host the 2027 International Indigenous Games & Gathering from July 25 to 31, 2027. This event replaces the previously planned 2027 North American Indigenous Games after Calgary's hosting rights were withdrawn. The gathering will feature sports, cultural showcases, youth programming, and an arts festival. Edmonton will host some sporting events and a powwow. Organizers anticipate thousands of participants.
• The province announced nearly $550,000 in additional funding for KidSport Alberta on Jan. 22. Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko made the announcement at the St. Francis Xavier Sport Centre in Edmonton. The funds, facilitated through the Every Kid Can Play program, will help an additional 1,500 children aged 18 or under to participate in organized sports, providing up to $350 per child for registration costs.
• Edmonton Police Service Chief Warren Driechel appeared on Edmonton AM to respond to a CBC News investigation into transit safety in Edmonton. "It's a high percentage of the same individuals that are involved in these incidents," he told host Tara McCarthy.
• Hundreds gathered in Stony Plain on Jan. 22 to sign a petition for a referendum on Alberta leaving Canada. Organized by Stay Free Alberta, the event saw people wait more than an hour to endorse the initiative. The province's chief electoral officer sanctioned the campaign, which aims to collect 178,000 signatures by May.

On this day in 1968, there were questions about what would happen to the "wasteland" of railroad right-of-ways that snaked through downtown Edmonton.

The history of Edmonton is intimately tied to the steel rails that once ran through the city's core. Edmonton's first railway was the tiny EY&P Railway, which connected it to Strathcona via the Low Level Bridge in 1902. But the city's first major connection to the rest of Canada came in 1905 with the arrival of the Canadian Northern Railway (which later became CN Rail). When the company connected Edmonton to its transcontinental line, it laid tracks along the north side of 104 Avenue, leading to a two-storey station at 100 Street.

That station would become a hub of both passenger and freight travel for the growing city. Brick warehouses began to spring up on the western edge of downtown as manufacturers, textile companies, and other industries took advantage of easy access to the railway. This only accelerated when the competing Canadian Pacific Railway opened a station on the edge of downtown, near Jasper Avenue and 109 Street.

All that industrial growth meant more freight cars, which led to more rails to carry them. It wasn't long before the CN railyard along 104 Street grew to massive proportions, with nearly two dozen sets of tracks threading through downtown and stretching to 121 Street.

The CN railway supercharged the growth of downtown Edmonton, but it also put limits on it. Crossing the thick cord of tracks was difficult, and the railyard created a clear divide between downtown and the northern parts of the city.

In 1927, the city built a two-lane tunnel under the 22 CN tracks that crossed 109 Street near 104 Avenue. Officially, the crossing was dubbed 109th Street Subway, but Edmontonians would eventually give it a not-so-affectionate nickname: The Rathole. The tunnel was infamous for being narrow and frequently flooding in the spring, and it would become the site of many accidents.

CN's original 1905 station was replaced by a new building in 1928. That station would be demolished a couple of decades later to make way for the CN Tower, which opened in 1966. In 1968, when this photograph was published, CN revealed that it was "prepared to lease the air rights over the tracks to private developers for construction of office and apartment towers, a coliseum and trade centre, transportation centre, 820-foot pylon, heliport and hotel between the CN Tower and 116th Street," the Edmonton Journal reported. The accompanying story said CN also offered tracks and equipment to "start operating a rapid transit system for Edmonton if the city will pick up any annual loss on operation." That didn't happen.

The tracks that shaped downtown remained in place for a surprisingly long time. They were in operation until 1988, and the rails and associated infrastructure survived until the late '90s. When the trainyard and its associated tracks were eventually pulled up, it opened up a massive amount of land in the city's core. CN donated some of it to the college that eventually became MacEwan University to build its main downtown campus. Now, Rogers Place, the Royal Alberta Museum, and many other commercial and residential buildings sit on what was once railway tracks.

Three decades after the tracks were removed, that work still continues. The Station Lands, a major mixed-use development, is underway near 101 Street and 105 Avenue on the site of the old railyard. The recently opened Roundhouse Park at the property was highlighted by Edmonton's annual design awards in November.

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

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

• Jan. 23: Perogies Cooking Class starting at 5pm at DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen (Fort Road)
• Jan. 23: STARFest presents Premee Mohamed starting at 7pm at St. Albert Public Library (Downtown)
• Jan. 23: LPW 44: Great Scott! starting at 7pm at The Rec Room (South Common)
• Jan. 24: Family Fun Feast starting at 11am at Strathcona County Library
• Jan. 24: Artist Reception: Being and Becoming by Garfield Morgan and Tere Cuellar starting at 1pm at Gallery@501
• Jan. 24: A Writerly Welcome - 2026 Writers-in-Residence Kick-Off starting at 1pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Jan. 24: Sensory Constellations: An Art and Scent Workshop starting at 4pm at Art Gallery of Alberta
• Jan. 24: Chamber Ball 2026 starting at 5pm at Edmonton Convention Centre
• Jan. 25: Edmonton Chapter of the Council of Canadians Annual General Meeting starting at 2pm at Ukrainian Centre
• Jan. 25: Holubtsi Cabbage Rolls Cooking Class starting at 3pm at DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen (Fort Road)
• Jan. 25: January Sunday Spirit Club starting at 4pm at Chartier
• Jan. 25: Sunday Supper Club starting at 6pm at The Marc

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Jan. 30: A Soirée for Creators and Entrepreneurs at ArtsHub Ortona
• Feb. 3: The Great Canadian Baking Show Auditions at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton-International Airport
• Feb. 6-16: Silver Skate Festival at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park

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

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