Edmonton Notes for 8/28/2010

It’s the last weekend of August, and it certainly feels like it with the very cool wind. Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

The deadline for the City’s Apps4Edmonton competition was last night at midnight. Roughly 84 ideas and 323 apps were submitted at last count. Check them out!
Envision Edmonton delivered boxes of signed petitions [...]

Would you trust a citizen plumber to work on your toilet?

That’s one of the questions, referring to citizen journalism, that Edmonton Journal columnist Dan Barnes asked last week in this all-over-the-place piece. Was it rhetorical? Maybe, but I’ll bite anyway.
I know you’re not supposed to answer a question with a question, but I wonder what Dan meant by citizen plumber? Did he mean someone whose [...]

Recap: Tech·Ed North America 2010 Day 2

Full day of sessions at TechEd yesterday, though I did take some time in the morning to catch up on blogging, as I am doing today. Probably the most talked about topic at TechEd so far has been the breakfast! People are simply not happy with bagels, muffins, and scones. Either the breakfast or these [...]

Edmonton Notes for 5/8/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

One of the bigger stories this week was the Edmonton Arena District Open House, which I wrote about here. There’s a good roundup of articles at theedmontonian.com.
Thousands of Edmontonians showed up at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park last Sunday to help with the River Valley Cleanup!
A new winter festival [...]

Edmonton Notes for 4/17/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Edmonton Public School Board trustees voted to close five Edmonton schools this week. Parkdale, McCauley, Eastwood, Capilano, and Fulton Place will be closing at the end of June. Don’t miss Dave’s post on the decision.
You can read the full text of Mayor Stephen Mandel’s 2010 State of the City [...]

Edmonton Notes for 3/6/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Thanks to some fantastically warm weather, all City of Edmonton outdoor rinks and toboggan hills are now closed. Stay off thin ice!
It is still winter though, so be sure to answer the City’s Snow & Ice Control Survey.
As you know, the Dawson Bridge is closed for renovations. Here’s a great [...]

Edmonton’s Municipal Development Plan passes second reading

City Council passed the Municipal Development Plan in second reading tonight. Titled “The Way We Grow,” the document is Edmonton’s strategic growth and development plan, meant to shape urban form and guide future land use. It must now be approved by the Capital Region Board, after which it’ll return to Council for third reading (expected [...]

Edmonton Notes for 1/23/2010

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

I have to mention this: Jennifer Fong’s latest reason to love Edmonton is our engaged online communities! Very cool that ShareEdmonton, The Edmontonian, I Heart Edmonton, and others were mentioned!
A couple new recaps from me this week: Edmonton in 2009, and my State of the Edmonton Twittersphere – 2009 [...]

Edmonton in 2009

Last year I did a recap post called Edmonton in 2008. You can’t recap something as large as an entire city, but I did find the post useful to refer back to. I thought I’d do the same kind of post again this year, for the same reason. Over the last few weeks I’ve been [...]

Jasper Avenue New Vision – November 2009 Update

Back in May I attended the first open house for the Jasper Avenue New Vision project, an initiative that seeks to re-establish Jasper Avenue as the main street of Edmonton. Tonight another open house was held at Enterprise Square downtown, to provide an update on the project and a lot more detail on the plans [...]

West & Southeast Edmonton LRT Route Recommendations

This afternoon Edmonton Transit announced its recommended routes for West and Southeast LRT lines. The routes “work towards the Transportation Master Plan’s vision to expand LRT service to all sectors of the City of Edmonton by 2040.” Back in June, City Council approved the LRT Network Plan, which identifies how the LRT system will be [...]

U-Pass Facts & Figures for 2008

Last month, the City of Edmonton’s Office of the City Auditor completed a review of the Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) pilot program (PDF). They found that although costs for the program rose, ridership has increased. I took a look at the report, and thought I’d share some of the more interesting facts and figures [...]

UXCamp Edmonton – July 18th

Edmonton’s first UXCamp is being held on Saturday! Organized by Cam Linke of BarCamp fame, Jess McMullin from nForm, and Marc Brisbourne, an instructor with MacEwan’s Design Studies program, UXCamp is a free, one-day event taking place at MacEwan downtown. Here’s what it’s all about:
UXCamp is for people who want to learn and share [...]

Social Media and the City Centre Airport Debate

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
On Thursday morning Jeff Samsonow and I chatted about the City Centre Airport for a few minutes on CBC Radio. During the interview I was asked if I thought social media played a role in the debate. I answered, “absolutely”.
Also on Thursday, Graham Hicks mentioned the “rise of youth” in [...]

Edmonton City Centre Airport Decision: Phased Closure

City Council voted today to implement a phased closure of the City Centre Airport. The motion put forward by Councillor Gibbons described two phases and passed by a vote of 10-3. I’m happy with the decision that was made today, and I commend Council for taking a courageous step toward ensuring the City’s Vision [...]