Happy Fall everyone! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. As we shift to the last few months of 2024, I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on Council activities. 

No New Projects without a New Management Approach 

At the end of August I held a press conference and wrote a blog about the City of Edmonton’s long decade of over-cost and over-budget capital projects. 

City Administration recently informed City Council on significant cost escalations on another major capital project, the south extension to the LRT Capital Line. This adds to the list of delays that occurred for the Walterdale Bridge, the Southeast LRT and the Northwest Police Campus, to name just a few.

Councilors cannot keep their heads in the sand any longer. We need to step up and take control of this problem. I fear that we’ve become complacent and paralyzed by failure. It’s our time to act. 

How are we going to turn the page away from project mismanagement and failure? I am proposing the following and will bring forward these new approaches to Council this fall for debate: 

• Put the brakes on all new project spending and focus on projects already underway.
• Work with the current and the next City Manager to overhaul our Integrated Infrastructure Services Department.
• Create a permanent Infrastructure Standing Committee. Similar to Audit Committee, this Committee would include external third-party experts who give us sound professional advice with a fresh set of eyes.
• That third-party expertise on the Infrastructure Standing Committee needs to report directly to Council - NOT to Administration.

Again, more can be found on this matter by reading my blog post. 

Transit Safety

Transit safety continues to be a topic of conversation for many Edmontonians. We all deserve to feel safe when commuting in our communities. 

Specifically, it is very easy to get on the LRT system without paying, and the City is doing very little to ensure all LRT riders are paying a fare. I have heard from many that because they see so many others not paying, and because they see very little enforcement of any of the rules, they are not inclined to pay a fare or buy an ARC card.

News reports from Vancouver reinforce this point. Once fare gates were installed on the Sky Train, revenue went up by 10.5% and enforcement tickets went down by one-third. You can see that report here: 1 year in, how are TransLink’s fare gates working out?  

Feedback from Edmontonians and all all of the above information lead me to bringing the following motion to Council in December 2023: 

That Administration provide a report outlining a detailed plan for a two-year trial for the use of fare gates at two transit facilities, including one LRT station with an underground platform, including a cost-benefit analysis, recommendation, evaluation plan, and detailed costing for the trial.

The report that is in response to my motion is scheduled to come to Urban Planning Committee on Tuesday September 17th. Essentially, the report says funding is not available within the existing Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) budget. If Council chooses to move forward with the two-year pilot, Council will need to identify a funding source for the pilot program. Permanent funding would need to be identified if the program was to be expanded at the end of the pilot.

You can review the report by clicking here and selecting item “7.1: Infrastructure Enhancement for City transit Facilities - ETS Fare Gates Pilot.” If you would like to share your feedback with all of Council regarding this topic please email [email protected]. 

Unfortunately, I am not an active voting member of Urban Planning Committee and cannot vote or pass motions directly related to this item. However, I will be in attendance to engage in this conversation next Tuesday as I know this matter is very important. Please follow my social media channels to see the outcome of the conversation next week. 

Traffic Concerns in the Ward

My office has received a number of complaints regarding congestion due to construction. I share your frustration, and I have asked City Administration to find ways to reduce congestion as much as possible. 

City Administration also advises, however, that new traffic patterns develop every September and it can take three to six weeks for new patterns to emerge. 

Following are more details on certain projects:

• • Terwillegar Drive and Bulyea Rd: This intersection will continue to be slow and congested until December 2025, when the Rainbow Valley Bridge work is complete. Drivers are strongly encouraged to be patient and not engage in illegal turns and speeding.
  • Landscaping along Terwillegar Drive: Responsibility for maintenance of the planted material, weed cutting, etc. is with the construction contractor. I have asked that the contractor be advised of the high level of dissatisfaction of residents with the condition of this landscaping.
  • Rainbow Valley Bridges: This work is on schedule, and the intent is to move traffic onto the new westbound bridge by the end of 2024. That will allow work to commence on the eastbound bridge early next spring. It all depends on when the winter weather hits.
  • Bus Lane Construction from 53rd Ave to 40th Ave:  Retaining wall construction will be completed later this Fall, which should dramatically reduce the amount of noise and dust in this area. Construction of the new lane and the sound wall at the top of the bank will likely start next Spring.
  • Rabbit Hill Road north and south of 23rd Ave: EPCOR is completing electrical service upgrades along the east side of Rabbit Hill Road from Terwillegar Boulevard to Leger Boulevard. This work will be completed later this fall.
  • Terwillegar Drive from Keswick to Henday: Nothing has changed in this area. Current congestion is most likely due to a combination of back to school traffic and new traffic patterns
  • 23rd Ave between 119th St and Saddleback Rd: Two left turn lanes have been maintained from 23rd ave to 119 street, so congestion here is again due to a combination of back to school traffic and new traffic patterns. City Administration will be adjusting the length of the left turn advance light to adjust to the new patterns. A new multi-use trail is being constructed along the north side of 23rd ave between 111 st and 119 st. which will result in some westbound lane closures in non-peak hours. This work will be complete later this fall.
  • Towne Centre Boulevard: This project will see the existing road pavement ground up, pulverized and recompacted to act as a new layer of road base. There are also areas where the utilities are too high and are being lowered. The road will be repaved when this work is completed. Repaving is scheduled for the end of October - but again, this work is weather dependent.

Community League Day 

Community League Day is on Saturday September 21st! Thank you to all the Community Leagues that work to bring our community together. 

Please see the below list of the events occurring in the Ward. If you see myself or my team at one of these events, please stop by and say hello! 

🎥 Terwillegar Community League: Movie night - Inside Out 2!: Saturday September 21st, 7:30 pm, South Terwillegar Park 

🐕 Riverbend Community League: Pets in the Park: Saturday September 21st, 1pm - 4pm, Ramsay Park 

🎵 Riverbend Community League: Concert at the Cage, featuring Ben Sures: Saturday September 21st, 6:00 pm - 8:00pm, Brander Community Garden 

🎈 Brookview Community League: Bouncy Castles, outdoor movie, balloon animals and more!: Saturday, September 21st, 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm, 280 Bulyea Road NW 

🚒 Terwillegar Fire Station Open House (Not community league day related): Saturday September 21st, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Station 24 - 131 Haddow Close 

Thank you and please feel free to contact my office should you have any municipal questions or concerns.