Edmonton Notes for April 8, 2018

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

• Edmonton will receive $878 million for transit projects thanks to phase 2 of the infrastructure fund promised in the 2015 federal election. “It’s enough to get Edmonton’s west LRT built, plus contribute to other transit priorities.”
• The City has decided to end the Dogwood Cafe’s lease at the Victoria Golf Course and is replacing it with a multinational chain. So much for fresh!
• The first phase of the city charter with the Province is now complete. “This is a first step in the right direction,” Mayor Don Iveson said Friday.
• Candidates raised more than $1.2 million during the last municipal election. “Mayor Don Iveson raised a war chest of nearly $397,000 for his re-election bid, even though he was running against a crowed field of little-known challengers.”
• There are now 407 playground zones in Edmonton with 30 km/h speed limits and all school zones have been replaced. “Some school zones did not include the area in front of play equipment or sports fields. The new playground zones includes these areas, and are in effect every day from 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m.”
• I am really happy to see that you can now take Uber from the airport! There’s an area outside Door 10 on the arrivals level for pickups.
• The City has released its annual progress report on the Energy Transition Strategy. “The City is updating its greenhouse gas management plan to meet its 2035 reduction targets and will provide detailed emissions data and future emission projections to Council in May.” That’s because Edmonton is not close to reaching its targets.
• A group called Waste Free Edmonton is trying to eliminate single-use items like plastic bags and now has more than 6,000 signatories to a petition supporting its push.
• The unemployment rate in Edmonton was down to 6.7% in March from 6.9% in February.
• According to the City Auditor, the City wasted up to $8.5 million in a failed attempt to put building permit applications online.
• Nine non-profit organizations have been selected to move into The Orange Hub, the former West MacEwan Campus. You can learn more about the building here.
• The proposed overhaul of the bus route network would reduce the number of main routes from 200 to 100. “Besides improving service, the main reason behind the redesign to get more people to take transit.” You can see all the details and provide your feedback here.
  The City’s Infill Compliance Team conducted 1,654 inspections in 2017 according to the second annual report on infill construction site enforcement.
• Automated noise traps to enforce “vehicle volume the same way photo radar catches speeders” sounds amazing to me. The super loud motorcycles and trucks downtown are so annoying.
• The Oilers won their final game and Connor McDavid won the scoring race, a positive end to a dismal season.
• For more recent headlines, check out ShareEdmonton.

Sunday Afternoon, photo by Kurt Bauschardt

Upcoming Events

• The California Wine Fair is taking place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Tuesday.
• ECVO is hosting The Cannabis Quagmire: Accommodations for 2018 & Beyond on Thursday morning at the Santa Maria Goretti Centre.
• The 2018 Edmonton Motorshow takes place at the Edmonton Expo Centre from Thursday to Sunday.
• Rapid Fire Theatre’s Bonfire Festival takes place April 12-14 and 19-21.
• New Music Edmonton’s Sonic Play School takes place on Thursday evening at the McLuhan House.
• The University of Alberta’s School of Business is holding an information session on Thursday evening to provide an overview of the MBA program.
• The 2018 Edmonton International BeerFest takes place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Friday and Saturday.
• Cannabis Con is also taking place at the Shaw Conference Centre on Friday and Saturday.
• DJ Jazzy Jeff is at The Common on Friday night.
• The 8th annual Edmonton Volunteer Fair takes place on Saturday at West Edmonton Mall.
• The 7th annual Culinary Cook-Off & Auction supporting the arts core programming at Mount Royal Elementary School takes place on Saturday at the school.
• Celebrate Fruit Loop’s 5th birthday on Saturday night at Denizen Hall and Crash Hotel.
• Save the dates! What the Truck?! has announced its 2018 season. Please RSVP on Facebook!

Projects to build prosperous communities, photo by Government of Alberta