WEEKLY UPDATE - MAR 4

Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap Up. We were busy in our Council meetings last week.

At Public Hearing, there was a small but very exciting rezoning for Downtown - the Clock Tower outside of the Westin was rezoned to park space! This rezoning will support the reimagining and upgrading of this space into a welcoming open space in the heart of our city.

At Council, we had a report on what tariffs will mean for Edmonton. We heard about the robust steps staff are taking to mitigate the City’s risks and how we’re collaborating with partners like Edmonton Global and the Chamber of Commerce to support businesses and residents in these uncertain times. While tariffs will bring challenges to our community, they are also highlighting the great work already underway to strengthen our resiliency and the wealth of amazing local businesses we have in our region. By focusing on how we can work together, we’ll get through this even stronger than before.

Council also received an update on bridge construction in the downtown and got clarity on what’s actually planned. We confirmed that there will not be full closures of multiple bridges at the same time, thanks to the work of City staff to rephase and rescope a number of construction projects. Bridge closures will be staggered and only the Wellington Bridge on 102 Ave will be fully closed starting in Q4 of this year. Staff will also be closely coordinating between bridge and other construction projects to make sure one doesn’t start before another one is complete.

While delays have been minimized as much as possible, there are also great alternatives for those who want to avoid them all together. There are thousands of existing park and ride spaces at Davies, South Campus, and Heritage Valley stations and can ensure a smooth ride to downtown.

Moving forward, Council is looking to take a more strategic approach to our construction projects. As part of these efforts, we approved the creation of a new Infrastructure Committee that will review these projects going forward. This focus will help manage the essential work happening to keep our city moving.

A final update at Council was the passing of the Public Spaces Bylaw. We worked hard to balance the range of perspectives and I’m grateful to everyone who shared their perspectives on this bylaw. As the bylaw moves to implementation in May 2025, ongoing evaluation and adjustment will be essential.

I was pleased to support a motion from the Mayor to ensure ongoing monitoring of the bylaw. A one year report back will look at the effectiveness of fines and how often they’re issued. This can help ensure the bylaw is maintaining a balance between the different safety needs in our community. I also moved a motion for Peace Officers to get training from mutual aid societies to improve best practices for Peace Officers interacting with folks using drugs in public spaces through the sharing of lived experience and other perspectives.

The other motion I passed was for staff to come back with options for regulating amplification on sidewalks. The hope is to find approaches that allow the use of amplification for gatherings while reducing nuisances created by individuals in our community.

Managing how we interact with each other in public space is ongoing work and I look forward to continuing to hear from many in this important discussion.

That’s all for this week from City Hall, hope you’re enjoying this teaser of warmer weather!