WEEKLY UPDATE - JULY 10
Welcome back to the weekly wrap up! Last week included a heavy #yegcc agenda that had us in Chambers until 9pm on Tuesday and back for another full day Wednesday!
First, we had an update on the Transit and Downtown Safety Plan. It included some very promising numbers on crime severity in the Healthy Streets area, with a reduction from 114.7 in November 2022 to 85.8 in March 2023. Onsite paramedics also redirected 113 ambulance trips.
Transit Safety has been an ongoing area of focus for ETS and we also received their outline for future improvements, including more enhanced cleaning teams, improved bus service, as well as expanding outreach and security teams.
I continue to be really grateful for the collaboration that's happening between City of Edmonton, Edmonton Fire Rescue, Edmonton Police, Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, and other important agencies who are working together to make our communities safer for all.
We also heard an update on our Community Safety and Wellbeing (CSWB) framework. It highlighted the ongoing community conversations that are informing the work. We'll be checking in again this fall to hear spending recommendations on our CSWB fund.
The smoke this summer has been a stark reminder of the importance of a wildfire strategy. I was glad to see the City's grant application for the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta’s FireSafe Program to improve our wildfire response.
The Downtown District Energy plan is moving forward, which will connect several buildings downtown together so that their heating needs are shared locally. The plan has big potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and heating costs for some of downtown’s best attractions!
We also had 10 private reports, including the Commonwealth Games bid, Valley Line contract, Councillor Budget Review final report, and Edmonton Police Commission membership report. I'm grateful for the discussions we had and look forward to sharing more information.
That’s all for now, hope you have a great week!
