Happy Mother’s Day! Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:
Headlines
- The PATH (Providing Accessible Transit Here) program will offer Edmonton’s most vulnerable “better access to education, employment opportunities, and various social services” by providing free transit passes. This is a big deal, as transportation can be extremely costly.
- ETS reallocated over 50,00 hours in the fall of 2016, changes that “improved on-time bus performance” and contributed to better customer service. They are gearing up to make another big change this fall. You can see the full list of changes in PDF here. The other thing ETS is highlighting right now is “major improvements” coming to several transit centre locations, including the replacement of three of the oldest bus transit buildings at Belvedere, Castle Downs, and Jasper Place.
- I can’t believe the “City of Champions” debate is going to come up again, but some people just can’t let it go. “In the end, the Oilers didn’t win. But Edmonton sure did,” wrote Terry Jones. While that’s a fair statement, we don’t need some ridiculously nostalgic signs to celebrate that. Here’s what I wrote about the debate back in 2015. The Journal’s latest editorial gets it right: “to outsiders and residents alike, it’s the endless bickering about whether Edmonton should be called the City of Champions that says more about the place than any slogan ever could.”
- City Council has approved “an ambitious Sustainable Buildings Policy”. The policy sets a standard for energy efficiency that is “the most ambitious for a major Canadian city with a carbon intensive electricity grid like Edmonton and second only to Vancouver.”
- Edmonton’s office vacancy rate has nearly doubled in the past year, to more than 15%. Some predict it could rise to 20% in the next year as more new office towers come online. That’s still below Calgary, but it’s not great. It may create an opportunity, though. Calgary’s Strategic Group wants to convert the Harley Court building to rental apartment suites.
- Ward 5 Councillor Michael Oshry announced this week that he will not seek another term. “It has been my pleasure to serve the citizens of the ward and the City of Edmonton,” he tweeted.
- I am excited to see the new bike lanes downtown! While the public launch is slated for the end of August, I’ve already seen some of them in use. The city is running a survey right now to collect feedback.
- According to Edmonton’s 2016 Motor Vehicle Collisions Report, “collision injury rates in 2016 dropped to their lowest level in 15 years.” That’s great news, but we still have a long way to go to realize Vision Zero.
- The City recognized the contributions that community members made to the Council Initiative on Public Engagement at a special ceremony on Wednesday. You can meet some of them at the new Engaging Edmonton site. My profile is here.
- The Oilers are out of the playoffs after a great run! Here’s a recap video from the team. Two of my favorite Oilers stories from the past week: Meet the Oilers fan who celebrated with Zack Kassian and Tweet showing Alberta boy goes viral during Oilers game. Our fans are great!
- From OilersNation: Edmonton Oilers’ championship hopes for the next decade may rest on Leon Draisaitl.
- It sounds like Alexander Prior, the new ESO conductor, is off to a great start, even though he doesn’t fully takeover until September.
- Today was our kickoff to the food truck season in Edmonton! Here’s coverage from CBC and from Global.
- For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.
Edmonton at Night, photo by Andrew Kennedy
Upcoming Events
- Hip Hop on the Park is back for another year and kicks off on Monday!
- Head over to Startup Edmonton on Tuesday evening for PanEx 2017. I am excited to be showing off Taproot Edmonton!
- Evolving Infill is holding a series of public engagement events this week.
- Thoroughbred Racing is on once again at Northlands!
- The Edmonton Jewish Film Festival starts on Wednesday at Landmark Cinemas in Edmonton City Centre.
- The Downtown Business Association’s spring luncheon takes place on Thursday at The Westin with a discussion on our new bike lanes!
- Get the lowdown on moving downtown on Thursday evening as a panel hosted by FRAMS discusses the new Royal Alberta Museum.
- The next Dark Matters event at the TELUS World of Science is coming up on Thursday evening.
- EPL is holding the Capital City Press Festival celebrating Albertan writing on Saturday at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre.
- Save the date: the 2017 Mayor’s State of the City Address is coming up on May 24.
- Be sure to bookmark Taproot Edmonton’s guide to summer festivals and events in Edmonton for 2017! There’s something happening every weekend!
- For more upcoming events, check out ShareEdmonton.
Oilers Bronze, photo by Jeff Wallace
MasterMaq's Blog 