The Pulse
Aug. 21, 2026

This week's batch of calls for public engagement includes a paid research project about multi-modal transportation, an open house about a new neighbourhood in Fort Saskatchewan, and an invitation to join advisory boards in Beaumont.

The City of Edmonton is recruiting residents to understand how people combine different modes of transportation, such as bicycles and e-scooters, with rides on the Edmonton Transit Service. A recruitment survey is open until Aug. 28.

Selected participants will be asked to complete a one-on-one virtual interview. Depending on their travel habits, they may be asked to document a full multi-modal trip. If a transit rider doesn't normally use a bike or e-scooter, they may be asked to attempt a trip or explain the barriers that prevent them from doing so. Participants will receive up to $100 for their time.

The city says combining different modes of active transportation is "a great way and green way to get around the city."

Edmonton's LRT design policies require multi-modal connections. The city's urban LRT approach calls for stronger links to walking, cycling, and the broader transit network, while its sustainable urban integration principles include shared-use pathways, sidewalks, trails, bike lanes connected to the existing bike network, and pedestrian-friendly zones around stops and stations.

There is bike parking at many transit centres around the city. There is also a secure storage facility at Century Park Transit Centre that is only accessible with a scan card, along with storage lockers at the South Campus/Fort Edmonton Park and Leger transit centres.

It's also possible to take bikes with you on your journey. Every bus in the city — except for Route 560, Route 747, and On Demand Transit buses — has a bike rack on the front. Riders can also bring bikes and shared e-scooters and e-bikes on the LRT at any time.

Micromobility trips through apps such as Lime and Bird nearly tripled between 2022 and 2025, says a report that was presented to council's urban planning committee earlier in August. Administration said 20% of shared e-scooter and e-bike trips began or ended at a transit or LRT station.

• Edmonton city council will consider whether to resume broader use of calcium chloride for snow and ice control during November budget deliberations. The city discontinued the practice in 2020 over concerns about potential environmental impacts and vehicle rust. Upgrades to support its increased use would cost about $4.4 million upfront and $2.5 million annually.
• Construction of the new Chinatown Gate will close 97 Street to vehicles between Jasper Avenue and Okîsikow (Angel) Way for about two weeks starting Aug. 24. Pedestrian access will remain open on both sides of the street, but the same section will close overnight for about two more weeks in September while crews install scaffolding and hoarding. Construction of the new gate is expected to be completed in 2027.
• A 696-unit student housing development at the 1947 Massey Ferguson building downtown has been approved. Faction has been hired to design and build four six-storey mid-rise buildings around two courtyards and a central pedestrian pathway while keeping most of the existing building intact. The building, designated a municipal historic resource in 2025, most recently served as a Healy Ford showroom and warehouse until the dealership moved to Sherwood Park in 2011. The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in June 2028.
• Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Doug Griffiths said that nearly 20 downtown businesses have closed this year. A chamber survey found that 58% of respondents did not feel safe operating in Edmonton, while 44% had spent at least $500 repairing vandalism damage in the past year.
• Edmonton Public Schools said registrations for yellow-bus service in the upcoming school year remain near 17,000 despite a $20 monthly fee increase, which brings the cost to $70 per month.
• Higher insurance and operating costs are squeezing Edmonton festivals. Taste of Edmonton executive director Donovan Vienneau said its annual insurance bill has tripled to $15,000 since before the pandemic. Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival executive director Megan Dart said stagnant funding and rising costs have forced the festival to hold its size steady. Its donor campaign has grown from 34 monthly contributors to 840 and aims to reach 1,000.
• Valleyview IGA has reopened in the Parkview neighbourhood, replacing L'OCA Quality Market, which closed in March after opening in January 2025. Some former L'OCA employees have joined the new store. Andy Taschuk, who operated Andy's IGA for 59 years before retiring in 2024, was among dozens of people in line to visit the new store on opening day. "The community around this IGA store is the best community in Edmonton," Taschuk said. "They really appreciate the independent grocer."
• Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell has returned to track cycling at Edmonton's new velodrome inside the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, one of three UCI-sanctioned 250-metre indoor tracks in Canada. The Sherwood Park athlete, who won sprint gold at the Tokyo Olympics and competed in bobsled at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, said training close to home gave her the balance she needed to return. She plans to attempt the national standard time on Aug. 31 to rejoin Canada's team ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• The Edmonton Oilers will play two regular-season games in Cologne, Germany, during the 2027-28 season, bringing Leon Draisaitl to his native city. The games are part of an NHL and NHL Players' Association effort to grow hockey in Germany. The opponents have not been determined.
• The Alberta NDP pointed out that Albertans could be billed for non-emergency services if their integrated health cards expire. The province said it will send advance renewal notices and that urgent, medically necessary care will continue regardless of proof of insurance.
• Campaign groups on both sides of the separation-related question in Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum are shifting their focus from persuasion to turnout. The Alberta Prosperity Project plans an Aug. 29 legislature rally, while Let Alberta Decide is planning an Oct. 17 legislature rally and get-out-the-vote efforts focused on Calgary, Edmonton, and smaller cities. Pro-Canada groups Forever Canadian and Alberta's Voice are planning rallies, distributing signs, training volunteers, and courting undecided voters.

On this day in 1926, one of Edmonton's newest funeral homes was advertising its services.

Funeral services are now a big business. But in the early days of Edmonton, death was a smaller, more private affair. Before the 20th century, the deceased's body would be prepared at home, where the visitation and funeral would be held. A coffin would be purchased from a cabinetmaker or carpenter, and the body would be taken to the cemetery by wagon.

In 1908, Connelly-McKinley Funeral Home became the first such establishment in the city — and the province. The Andrews Brothers opened their own funeral business in the same year. These early funeral companies were run out of commercial storefronts downtown, mixed in with general stores and other retail shops. In addition to providing embalming services, these businesses would also handle transporting the body to the burial site using dedicated horse-drawn hearse wagons (or, during the winter months, hearse sleighs).

As the city's population grew, more funeral homes opened to address the demand. And that demand was higher in some years than others. Funeral services and cemeteries were overwhelmed in 1918, when a flu epidemic led to many deaths, leading to accusations of price gouging among some Alberta coffin builders.

The 1920s and '30s saw some big shifts in Edmonton's death industry. More funeral homes opened, including Howard and McBride in 1921. The industry was moving away from horse-powered hearses and into automobiles. (Many of which were also used as ambulances, meaning some people would get two rides in short order.)

Edmonton's funeral homes also began moving away from their storefronts on Jasper Avenue, creating stand-alone chapels and parlours meant to provide a quiet, more sombre atmosphere for viewings. Connelly-McKinley and Howard and McBride both moved to new buildings on 109 Street just south of Jasper, with the latter building a 135-seat, air-conditioned chapel.

Some of the city's original funeral homes are still operating, while others have closed or been bought up. The Howard and McBride chapel at 10045 109 Street NW closed down in 1988; the building housed several restaurants and bars until it was torn down in 2009.

The way Edmontonians choose to be remembered has changed. Cremations have become much more popular, with the vast majority of people in the city choosing that option instead of a casket burial in 2025. Interest in green burials has also risen, which allows bodies to decompose without embalming or grave liners. The city currently offers green burials at the Northern Lights Cemetery. The Royal Alberta Museum has much more to say about funeral practices in its Death: Life's Greatest Mystery exhibit, which runs until Sept. 7.

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.

• Aug. 21: Decades Night Market starting at 6pm at OEX 2
• Aug. 21: Arts, Storytelling & Public Imagination Lab — Artivist Roundtable starting at 6pm at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• Aug. 21: Juicy Moon Presents - Rainbow Rager - Pride Party starting at 10pm at 9910
• Aug. 21-23: Edmonton Dragon Festival at Kinistinâw Park
• Aug. 22: EDGA Disc Golf Tournament starting at 9am at The Niska Paskwahk Disc Golf Course
• Aug. 22: Playdate: MOTHRA starting at 10am at Allard Hall
• Aug. 22: Edmonton Pride Parade and Trans March starting at 1pm
• Aug. 22: Fulton Place Summer Music Concert Series: Adrienne Levay starting at 8pm at Fulton Drive Bowl
• Aug. 22-23: Garden Games and Garden Days at Rutherford House
• Aug. 23: Sunday High Tea starting at 11am at The Red Door by The Art of Cake
• Aug. 23: Indigenous Pride starting at 12pm at Fan Park
• Aug. 23: Alegría! Latin American Cultures starting at 2pm at University of Alberta Botanic Garden

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 29: Cloud Party at O-day'min Park Pavilion
• Sept. 5: Edmonton Bike Park Grand Opening at Queen Elizabeth Park
• Sept. 23-25: Lab2Market Summit at University of Alberta

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

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

This week's puzzles were constructed by Jeff Nachtigall, a longtime friend of Taproot. If you missed any, find them in the archive.