Edmonton Minute: Committees Return, Construction Woes, and Speed Limits Reduced

Edmonton Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Edmonton politics

This Week In Edmonton:

• City Hall is back in full swing this week, starting today at 9:30 am with an Executive Committee meeting. The Committee will discuss moving the City's Percent for Art system to a more continuous funding model with an "Art Reserve Fund". Instead of debating *how* to spend taxpayers' money on art, how about the City leaves this to the private sector and saves the cash?
  
  
• Tuesday at 9:00 am there will be an Agenda Review Committee, followed at 9:30 am by an Urban Planning Committee meeting where the Committee will discuss, among other items, the mess that is Edmonton Business Licensing. In case you missed it, earlier in the year we did a rundown of the system where we recommended abolishing the whole thing or, at least, reducing the cost. We are pleased to see that the new proposal should actually reduce and simplify this process for businesses.
  
  
• On Wednesday at 9:30 am, there will be a Community and Public Services Committee meeting that will discuss a snow and ice control policy refresh. Hey, we've covered this item too and heartily agree it's time for a refresh; maybe there could even be performance measures! Finally, on Thursday at 1:30 pm, there will be an Emergency Advisory Committee meeting - to discuss COVID, of course.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The day finally came. Speed limit reductions came into effect in various areas throughout the City, including in the downtown and in certain neighbourhoods. Now, if a road in Edmonton is unsigned, the default speed limit is 40 km/h.
  
  
• After a year and a half away, the newly-renamed Edmonton Elks kicked off their season on Saturday losing 16-12 to the Ottawa RedBlacks. Did you attend?
  
  
• Lastly, the Downtown Business Association has raised the alarm about the constant construction in and around downtown Edmonton (looking at you, Jasper Ave!!). The work has caused further business woes in an already tough year when business was way way down thanks to the pandemic, remote work, and people saving their money.

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