Tag: edmonton

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #76

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Stephanie Barsby at LogiCON

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton’s downtown is being held hostage by the arena

Edmonton’s downtown hasn’t gotten its fair shake when it comes to capital funding over the last decade. There’s now a pretty pie chart that magically appeared to illustrate that (I’m not sure where the data comes from specifically, but it seems more or less accurate to me). I am totally on board with the idea that we should be putting our money where our mouths are. If downtown is so important to Edmonton, and I believe it is, we should be willing to back that up with dollars.

I think it’s fair to say I’m one of the biggest downtown supporters in the city. I talk about it all the time. I’ve organized plenty of events for downtown. I seeded the I ❤ YEGDT campaign. I built and operate the website. I work downtown. Sharon and I chose to live downtown and purchased a condo here.

With all of that said, I want to support what the newly formed Downtown Vibrancy Coalition is trying to do, but I’m finding it very difficult to get on board. Here’s what their backgrounder states:

“If we lose the arena – over a missing $55 million – approximately $3 billion in downtown revitalization projects will be shelved or scrapped. The arena represents only one-sixth of the proposed investment. But if the arena fails, Edmonton’s downtown will lose $2 billion of private investment in the related entertainment district – new hotels, office towers, retail shops, clubs – as well as downtown parks, a river valley promenade and Jasper Avenue streetscape enhancements.”

Every single time I read that, I can’t help but think: bullshit. Is downtown important or not?

This all stems from the August 2011 decision to make the proposed arena the centerpiece of the Community Revitalization Levy. I wrote in that post that I was worried we’d be doing more harm than good for downtown by tying the two together. Now, as we’re about the lose the arena, the impact of that decision is becoming clear. We’ve put all of our eggs in one basket, or at least that’s what it looks like.

But I see no reason why downtown revitalization has to die along with the arena. The notion that you need an anchor or catalyst project for a CRL to work is false (as proven by the existence of CRLs for The Quarters and Fort Road). Furthermore, we know that programs like housing incentives work and lead to the outcomes we want. There are ways to ensure downtown gets the funding it deserves with or without a shiny new arena. Why would everything need to be shelved or scrapped?

I would love to see a new arena built downtown, and I do agree that $55 million seems like a surmountable barrier. But I don’t like that MSI funding is being used to help pay for the arena and I really don’t like that our downtown is being held hostage by it.

Full disclosure: I’m a member of the Downtown Vibrancy Task Force and of ONEdmonton.

Edmonton Notes for 5/5/2013

I was thrilled to win a Yeggie in the Best in Edmonton category last night at the first ever Edmonton New Media Awards! It was truly an honor to be recognized alongside so many amazing Edmontonians. Congratulations to all of the other nominees and winners! Also, big props to Adam and the entire team that made the awards and event happen. It was a great evening!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Chinatown
Wonder how much longer phone booths like this will be around. Photo by Darren Kirby.

Here are some upcoming events:

Gibson Block
Nice shot of the Gibson Block by Tim Goos.

Recap: 2013 Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts

MCA 2013The 26th annual Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts took place on Monday night at the Winspear Centre. Talented artists being recognized for their efforts, highly entertaining performances in a variety of genres, and hundreds of local supporters of the arts – what’s not to love? I look forward to the event every year!

This year’s event supported Kids Up Front Edmonton, a very worthy organization which works to provide kids with the chance to experience arts, sports, and entertainment events. Since it was formed in 2003, Kids Up Front has donated 237,174 tickets valued at $5.8 million to local kids and families.

Here’s an excerpt of Mayor Mandel’s message in the program:

Arts and culture form the very heart and spirit of our city. The creativity of our vibrant arts community is a fitting complement to the innovative spirit of our business community. The Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts celebrates the best in local talent and each year I leave this evening of awards and performances feeling entertained, inspired and immensely grateful for the diverse, rich arts community that makes Edmonton such a great place to call home.

The full list of nominees is available at the PACE website. Here are the winners:

Mayor’s Award for Sustained Support of the Arts
City Lumber, Robert Rosen, nominated by Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

John Poole Award for Promotion of the Arts
Fish Griwkowsky, nominated by Elizabeth Withey

Mayor’s Award for Innovative Support of the Arts by a Business
Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation (RAHF), nominated by Susan Pointe

Robert Koetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize
I see my love more clearly from a distance by Nora Gould, Brick Books

CN Youth Artist Award
Timothy Dowler-Coltman, nominated by Natalie Witte

Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist
Omar Mouallem, nominated by Lisa Baroldi

DIALOG Award for Excellence in Artistic Direction
Trevor Schmidt, Northern Light Theatre, nominated by Ellen Chorley

TELUS Courage to Innovate Award
Shawn Pinchbeck, nominated by Gene Kosowan

Syncrude Award for Excellence in Arts Management
Tom McFall, nominated by James Lavoie

ATCO Gas Lifetime Achievement Award
John Mahon, nominated by Edmonton Community Foundation

ATB Financial Ambassador of the Arts Award
Corb Lund, nominated by Todd Crawshaw

John Mahon joined the Edmonton Arts Council (EAC) in 1996 as Grant Director and took over as Executive Director in 1998. He excels at both the clarinet and the political game required to be successful in a position like ED of the EAC. Thanks to his guidance and his positive relationship with the mayor and council, funding for the arts in Edmonton has grown steadily over the years (to $11.5 million in the 2013 budget). John will be moving on from the EAC in June, so I was very happy to see him recognized at the event. Congrats John!

2013 Mayor's Celebration of the Arts

The evening’s performances included:

One of my favorite things about the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts is the cross-section of talent that is on display. From the high energy Irish dancing that opened the show to Corb Lund’s awesome closing set, there was never a dull moment. I really enjoyed the improv performance. Belinda and Mark got Mayor Mandel on stage and used some information from him to re-enact a day in the life of our mayor. With digs at his chief of staff and Councillor Batty, it was pretty funny. The best part? Peter Brown, who acted the part of the mayor, whimpering every time the arena was mentioned.

2013 Mayor's Celebration of the Arts

Only Mayor Mandel knows for sure if this was his final Celebration of the Arts or not, but just in case I want to highlight that he’s the reason it exists. The event moved to an evening format in 2005 at his request. Prior to that, the event was known as the Mayor’s Luncheon for Arts and Business and attendance was by invitation only. It was a smaller event with awards and speeches, but no performances. Mayor Mandel recognized the opportunity and transformed it into an event with profile. I’m glad he did.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! You can read last year’s recap here. See you at the 2014 Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts!

This was my second year on the Steering Committee for the event. While I take absolutely no credit for the incredible evening, I did make some behind-the-scenes contributions. In addition to building the microsite, I digitized the nomination forms and process this year. There are a few wrinkles to iron out, but for the most part I think it worked really well! If you nominated someone and have feedback on how to improve it further, please let me know!

Media Monday Edmonton: The Wanderer

Edmonton’s online coverage got a little bit richer last July when The Wanderer officially launched. Described as “Edmonton’s premier daily online magazine,” The Wanderer was born at the University of Alberta but aims to reach beyond campus by highlighting local politics, culture, science, sports, and more. I sat down recently with Emerson Csorba, one of the site’s founders, to learn more.

Emerson is entering his fourth year of Sciences Politiques at Campus Saint-Jean after spending a year working for the Students’ Union. Last spring he started throwing around the idea of starting a newspaper or magazine with some friends. “We wanted to highlight Edmonton a little differently,” he said, citing influences such as The Atlantic, Gawker, and GOOD. The wanted to provide an alternative to The Gateway, but also didn’t want to be restricted to covering university-related news. The other founders included Sansitny Ruth, Dongwoo Kim, Katrina Regino, Skye Oleson-Cormack, and Sydney Rudko. In the summer they decided to make it happen.

Emerson Csorba

Emerson and the team recruited about 20 writers and started posting content, with the site officially launching on July 5, 2012. Today they’re up to about 70 contributors, 20 of whom contribute regularly. All are volunteers. “We run off gratitude,” Emerson told me. “Thanks for contributing!” Emerson is hoping to have some professors start writing for the site consistently too, perhaps talking about their research. And another challenge is to find a core group of younger students who can contribute. “We want to have a reunion 20 years from now!”

The goal is to publish something new every day. Contributors have quite a bit of autonomy, though usually a piece will get bounced off at least one other person before going live. The site runs on WordPress and contributors are granted “editor” privileges. For the most part this works well, though it can backfire occasionally. The satirical paragraph about northsiders in this piece didn’t come off well, Emerson told me (nor did his piece on Plastiq). Still, they didn’t take it down. As of April 15, a total of 847 articles had been published on a variety of topics.

The name of the site was a suggestion from Sansitny. “At first I didn’t like it,” Emerson admitted, adding that it has grown on him since. It’s meant to capture the idea that students are wanderers, experimenting as they work to find their path. Other names that were considered included “Butterdome Republic” and “Rutherford Post”.

I have really been enjoying the content at The Wanderer, especially lately. Interviews with Omar Mouallem, Edmonton Opera’s CEO Sandra Gajic, and Mayor Mandel have all been great reads. An earlier project that received a lot of attention was The Wanderer’s list of the Top 100 Undergrads. I asked Emerson if he considers himself a journalist, but he shunned the label. “We want people to write about things they’re involved in and passionate about,” he told me.

The Wanderer

As for what’s next for the site, Emerson says “consistency is the goal,” at least in terms of posting content. Watch for podcasts and videos in the future, as well as enhanced visual arts coverage. Emerson is also hoping to have The Wanderer branch out into events. “Maybe we can do a half day conference on education,” he mused. “Tie all the levels of education together.” Another area of interest is community leagues, and how to engage more youth (Emerson served as president of the Parkallen Community League for a year, so he knows a thing or two about that!) There’s clearly a lot of energy and ideas flowing. I think their recent “Thank you, readers” post captures the possibilities well:

The Wanderer honestly doesn’t have an end-point in mind; we evolve based on our writers’ ideas. We provide autonomy to our writers and tell them to basically “go for it.”

The Wanderer is off to a great start, with a Yeggie nomination in the “Best in Edmonton” category (if that wasn’t proof enough that The Wanderer is on to something, a website called Ualberta Green Onion poked fun at them recently), and more than 60,000 unique visitors and 200,000 page views since launch. Add to that a large team of contributors producing quality content, and you’ve got a local site to keep an eye on!

Edmonton Notes for 4/28/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

EPL Parkade
Lovely shot of the EPL Parkade ramp by Ian McKenzie.

Here are some upcoming events:

Edmonton 124St
I love street art. This is somewhere near 124 Street, photo by Alina Strandberg.

Potholes in Edmonton: A closer look at 100 Avenue

Every Sunday for the last couple of months I have driven down 100 Avenue, so I know firsthand just how bad the potholes on that street are. Every week they seem to get worse, but not evenly across the street. Some places are far worse than others. It got me thinking – why are some areas of 100 Avenue so rough while others are smooth?

100 Avenue

I considered the section road from 170 Street east to 149 Street. Closer to 170 Street there definitely seem to be few, if any, potholes – for the most part the road is smooth. Right around 163 Street, the potholes get really bad. For a while there was a pothole big enough that I’d describe it as a crater! As you approach 149 Street there seem to be less, but still more than the section closest to 170 Street. Why aren’t there potholes along the entire route?

My first thought was that perhaps the traffic volumes are significantly different for each part of the street. Fortunately, the Open Data Catalogue contains average annual weekday traffic volumes for the period 2006-2011, so we can find out. Here’s the result:

Unfortunately there isn’t data for the part of the street closer to 149 Street, but I can’t think of a reason it would be much different (especially since there is nowhere to go but north or east once between 149 Street and 156 Street, more on that in a minute). So it doesn’t appear that traffic volumes would have had much of an impact on the number of potholes.

My next thought was around the maintenance of the street – maybe sections were repaved at different times. I asked the City of Edmonton on Twitter, and was very happy to receive a response:

That actually aligns really well with my empirical evidence! The newest section of road, from 163 Street to 170 Street, is in good shape. The oldest section of road, from 156 Street to 163 Street, is in really rough shape. And the middle-aged section, from 149 Street to 156 Street, is a bit better. Clearly there seems to be a connection between the age of the street and the number of potholes it contains, at least in this example.

Remember that crater I mentioned? It was located right around 161 Street. Here’s what it looked like on April 16, 2013:

100 Avenue

And here’s what it looked like in May 2012, courtesy of Google Street View:

Looks like this is one of those potholes the City patches every year! Given that the street hasn’t been repaved in nearly 20 years, perhaps it’s time?

There are a few other interesting things to note about 100 Avenue. If you haven’t driven down there in a while, take a gander on Google Street View. Here’s a quick summary:

  • From 170 Street to 163 Street, there are four lanes of one-way traffic (east). For most of this section, there are sidewalks and commercial property on either side of the street.
  • From 163 Street to 156 Street, there are two lanes heading east, one lane heading west, and one lane of parking on the north side. There is residential on either side of the street, with a sidewalk on the north and a sidewalk separated by a landscaped buffer strip on the south. Traffic is restricted from turning south.
  • From 156 Street to 149 Street, there are two lanes in either direction (though in some places the west-direction is down to one lane). There is residential on either side of the street (except for a few strip malls on the north), with a sidewalk on the north and a sidewalk separated by a landscaped buffer strip on the south. Traffic is restricted from turning south.

One of the things you’ll notice as you drive down the street is that all the potholes seem to be on the south lanes where traffic is going east. No doubt this is due in part to traffic volumes (there’s a lot less traffic heading west). But I have a hunch that there’s more to it than that. I think there are two key features that contribute to the potholes, especially for the section between 163 Street and 156 Street.

First, I think the lane of parking on the north prevents potholes from forming there. Remember that you need water and traffic to create potholes. Even if the water drains toward the sidewalk as expected, the parking lane prevents the vast majority of traffic from causing potholes. Second, I think the landscaped buffer on the south encourages more water pooling. With less sun to melt the snow, more soil to hold the moisture, and more traffic, it’s no wonder that more potholes appear there. It seems there is so much water, in fact, that it overwhelms the drains in the area.

100 Avenue

I read the consolidated 100 Avenue Planning Study, and discovered there were good reasons for that landscaped buffer strip:

A number of concerns have been identified with respect to the impact of the 100 Avenue roadway improvements on the neighbourhoods of Jasper Place and Glenwood. These include traffic noise, speeding, pedestrian safety, and the possibility of traffic shortcutting, north-south between 95 Avenueand 100 Avenue.

The Stony Plain Road/100 Avenue Facility Planning Study, approved by Council on January 8, 1985,  recommended that these problems be dealt with by the installation of pedestrian crossings, the closure of some local streets south of 100 Avenue, and the development of a landscaped buffer strip along  the south side of 100 Avenue.

The study did mention that the existing stormwater system was “inadequate” but I’m not sure if or when that was originally addressed. I’m sure the authors of the study weren’t thinking about the possible impact of the design on potholes, but we can see the effects today.

All of this just reaffirms to me the complexity of the problem! Solving the pothole problem will have an impact not just on the way we maintain streets, but how we design them too.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #75

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

  • The rumors were true: Dave Rutherford announced his long-running and highly-rated Rutherford Show will retire this summer. “I think that the broadcast news industry, for lack of a better term, is dumbing down,” Rutherford told the Calgary Herald. On Twitter he said “the number one Alberta talk show is retiring” but added “Dave is not, opportunity awaits.” Here’s what his website looked like today:

  • A year ago, the 630 CHED tagline was still “Alberta’s Information Superstation”. I didn’t notice it until recently, but in March of this year they changed it to “Edmonton’s Breaking News & Conversation Station”. Anyone know the story behind that?
  • Well what do you know, the Edmonton Police Service has decided to jump into web video with The Squad, “a gritty, hard-hitting look at policing in Edmonton.” There’s apparently going to be weekly episodes of the reality-TV-like web series. You can check out the stars here.
  • I meant to link to this last week. The local sports media have a bit of a reputation for going easy on the Oilers, but they certainly put Kevin Lowe on the hot seat after he announced the firing of Tambellini. Peter Adler argued they shouldn’t have done so, but the core of his argument is that there’s actually a view from nowhere that journalists are supposed to uphold. “A journalist’s job is to inform as fully and as truthfully as possible,” he wrote. So let’s put the blinders on and ignore the fact that the guys and gals covering the Oilers are big fans? No thanks.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Boston Marathon bombings and the replacement of Tambellini by MacTavish dominated online traffic at the Journal last week.
  • Gawker has launched a new design with an interesting take on comments called Kinja. “It’s a free thing you can use to say dumb stuff. Go for it.”

There has been some really interesting discussion this week about “online vigilantism” related to the Boston Marathon bombings. Here are a few related links I found interesting:

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 4/21/2013

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

4/20 Edmonton
4/20 Edmonton, photo by Hugh Lee.

Here are some upcoming events:

19th April 2013
Post-It Notes at Churchill LRT Station, part of the Ideas for Edmonton competition! Photo by Funmi Omotade-Tan.

Recap: Intersect – a collision of artists and geeks!

Sharon and I walked down the street to Startup Edmonton for the first ever Intersect event on Friday evening. I had heard Ken talk about the concept in the past, so I had some idea of what to expect. Think DemoCamp, but with artists showcasing their work rather than software developers! Here’s how the event was officially described:

A collision of technical and creative minds, Intersect is a new event that puts geeks and artists on stage to show off projects that merge the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, and other creative fields. A fun way to support artists and creators in our community, Intersect will inspire constructive conversations and interactions around concepts, demos, samples and prototypes being created in Edmonton.

Intersect

We arrived shortly after the advertised start time of 7pm and found the third floor of the Mercer Warehouse buzzing. A couple dozen people were enjoying the DJ and the bar and we could see projects setup all around the room. Startup Edmonton teamed up with Megan & Beth Dart, the sister duo behind Catch the Keys Productions, to curate projects for the event. They ended up with five, in order of introduction:

  • Scott Smallwood

    Scott Smallwood is a sound artist, composer, and sound performer who creates works inspired by discovered textures and forms, through a practice of listening, field recording, and sonic improvisation. He also designs experimental electronic instruments and software, as well as sound installations and site-specific performance scenarios. Scott has been active as an educator for over 15 years, teaching composition, improvisation, and electroacoustic music at the University of Alberta.

  • Good Women Dance Society 

    Good Women Dance Society is a creation-based company that is committed to helping create a vibrant and sustainable contemporary dance community in Edmonton. The society’s artistic focus is on creating and producing innovative new works with integrity and conviction.

  • Owen Brierley, GURU Digital Arts Collective

    Owen is the Executive Director of Guru Digital Arts College. Over the past 14 years Owen has worked with, taught and worked for many of Edmonton’s top talent in digital media. From Project Director for a Serious Game in the oil and gas sector to Lego trivia interactives for the Telus World of Science, Owen has had the pleasure of exploring almost every form of interactive digital media production.

  • Technitone 

    Built by local interactive firm gskinner.com to showcase Google Chrome, Technitone is an interactive web audio experience that lets you join other creators to plot tones on a grid, construct melodies, and modify the output with a robust toolset of effects. Technitone packs a few neat extras, too, such as a solo mode for those who like more control, and a gallery where you can publish your masterpieces, whether made on your own or with a group.

  • ShowStages Collective 

    ShowStages is a video and design collective. We build narratives through projected media and interactive audio-visual experiences. We work in theatre and new media.

Though it felt like a mixer at first, we soon discovered there was a program for the event! Hosts Omar Mouallem and Julian Faid introduced each project, and then the artist behind it had a few minutes to talk about it. We went around the room from one project to the next, which was a nice change from the stay-seated approach of DemoCamp. After each project had been showcased, the event reverted back to the mixer-like atmosphere and attendees were free to seek out more information from the artists.

Intersect

I had already seen Technitone – Grant had demoed it a year ago at DemoCamp Edmonton 18 – but it was neat to see it again with big displays. The performance by GWDS was really impressive and utilized FaceTime (I think) to incorporate an interesting visual perspective. At one point the dancer, I believe it was Ainsley Hillyard, created a sort of infinity effect (like you might do with mirrors).

Intersect

Intersect

I thought Owen’s project, which if I understand correctly involved positioning video displays using software, was pretty neat. You could create some pretty cool installations with the approach! Scott’s work with sound was fascinating to learn about. I’m not sure if it is still active, but I can totally understand why Scott would be the guy behind Dorkbot Edmonton. Unfortunately Elijah had a few technical difficulties, but he still did a good job of demoing what ShowStages can do. I love that they use a Kinect plugged into a MacBook!

Intersect

I really enjoyed Intersect, and I do hope it becomes a regular series! I’m sure there are many more interesting collisions of art and technology taking place in our city. Kudos to Startup Edmonton and Catch the Keys on a successful first event!

Intersect

You can see the rest of my photos from the evening here.