Speaking Municipally

Recent stories about speaking municipally


A photo from 2013 of the city hall council chambers, showing empty desks for councillors without glass partitions between them.
city council podcast

A council that can't meet adds to its to-do list

While security questions following the Jan. 23 shooting attack at city hall are obvious, the effects will be felt in other ways, too, co-hosts Mack Male and Troy Pavlek observed in Episode 248 of Speaking Municipally.

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City Councillors sit in a semicircle at the front of the council chambers in Edmonton.
city council podcast

Council passes budget without playing chicken

Edmonton city councillors last week voted 12 to one to increase property taxes by 6.6% during the 2023-2026 budget adjustment, an outcome that spurred some to explain why they had an apparent change of heart from the last time they debated a budget.

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Vehicles travel along Anthony Henday Drive under a bleak sky.
podcast photo radar

UCP bans ring-road radar in Edmonton

The Alberta government is banning photo radar use on ring roads in Edmonton and Calgary, a decision that contradicts policy it previously rolled out for traffic safety.

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Three people cross a street in downtown Edmonton
city council vision zero

Dallas reporters walk Edmonton for street safety tips

Reporters from Dallas, Texas, recently visited Edmonton to learn about the city's Vision Zero efforts and feature them as an example their city can learn from.

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Several people hold podcasting microphones while riding the Valley Line Southeast LRT.
city council transit

Valley Line opening means resources could be redeployed, transit director says

The opening of the Valley Line Southeast LRT has the potential to improve transit elsewhere in the city, the Edmonton Transit Service's director suggested during a trip on the train with a crew from Speaking Municipally.

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A sunset casts colourful reflections on the glass high-rises of downtown Edmonton
city council downtown

Using CRL to fund office conversions seen as a gamble

City council's urban planning committee has signalled an interest in using the downtown community revitalization levy to subsidize office tower conversions, a suggestion Taproot's city hall watchers expressed concerns about on Speaking Municipally.

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An LRT train runs along a track through a grassy field in the fall, with Edmonton's skyline in the background
city council transit

Citizens assemble to celebrate Valley Line Southeast LRT opening

The Valley Line Southeast LRT is scheduled to begin passenger service on Nov. 4 at 5:15am, and that's cause for celebration, say the hosts of Speaking Municipally.

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An Edmonton Transit Service bus enters an intersection on 107 Street
city council transit

No free rides: Council sends message to focus on transit quality

A decision not to waive transit fares for unaccompanied riders under 12 surprised Speaking Municipally's city hall watchers but struck them as a message that council wants more focus on making transit better.

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A large green box reads "SAND BOX IF EMPTY CALL 311."
city council winter

Edmonton cuts community sandboxes to beef up other snow control measures

The City of Edmonton's plan to reduce the number of community sandboxes from 770 to 100 over two years could dismay residents, say the hosts of Speaking Municipally.

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