WEEKLY UPDATE - OCT 16

Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap Up! This week Zoning Bylaw Renewal is at Public Hearing - I encourage you to tune in or sign up to speak! Despite how exciting this week is, there was also lots of important business at Edmonton city council last week.

At Community and Public Services, we discussed how to allocate funding from the Community Safety and Well-being Fund. City staff recommended more funding for a number of grant programs as a way to get resources out to the community groups that are doing such great work.

I'm excited for the projects and collaboration efforts these funds will support. I also look forward to the continued evolution of this fund towards systemic outcomes, including improving how we measure success and maximising the positive impact in our city. More to come!

At Urban Planning, we heard from ETSAB about the importance of snow clearing at transit stops. I was happy to support a motion to provide additional funding for our snow removal at transit stops and the assisted snow program. This will help keep Edmonton accessible all year round!

We also heard the youth perspective on transit from Edmonton Youth Council. Youth make up close to 50% of our fare revenues on Edmonton Transit and are a critical part of the system. The report highlighted how investments in service levels, affordability and safety can keep youth riding!

We rounded off the week with a report on Blatchford at Executive Committee. An independent third-party assessment concluded that Blatchford is proceeding at a good pace, with pricing that is in line with comparable neighbourhoods.

The report highlighted process improvements that City staff have committed to pursuing. The report also suggested allowing single detached homes. While I'm skeptical this will help affordability or climate change, I look forward to seeing the completed analysis when it returns next year.

The report was a great opportunity to reflect on the exceptional progress that's been made in Blatchford, with just seven years between the last plane landing and the first residents moving in. I look forward to the momentum continuing to grow in this amazing neighbourhood!

Thanks for tuning in and catch you next week!