Edmonton Minute: Financial Statements, Mosquitos Galore, and a New Pedestrian Bridge

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• On Monday at 9:30 am, there will be a Community and Public Services Committee meeting. The Committee will receive a report about the decriminalization of personal drug use. The report is a response to an earlier inquiry by Councillor Janz about following in the City of Toronto’s footsteps and implementing an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The Committee will also receive an update on the Problem Properties Initiative as well as discussing semi-annual speed limit updates, amongst other items.
  
  
• Tuesday will begin with an Agenda Review Committee meeting at 9:00 am, followed by an Urban Planning Committee meeting at 9:30 am to discuss traffic safety in Glenora amongst other issues. Finally, at 3:30 pm, the Special Audit Committee will meet to discuss the City of Edmonton 2021 Consolidated Financial Statements and the KPMG 2021 Audit Findings Report.
  
  
• With it being Easter weekend, City Hall will conclude business on Wednesday with an Executive Committee meeting from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. The Committee will receive a report on the upcoming rehabilitation of the High Level Bridge and several reports about making Edmonton more business-friendly, something we could get behind depending on how exactly the City plans to do this. Finally, at 5:30 pm, there will be a Non-Regular Meeting of City Council to discuss several annual reports and work plans for the year.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The City proposed a pedestrian bridge at McDougall Hill Road and 100 Street. There are three design options, a cable-stayed bridge, a timber bridge, and a suspended bridge, but a price tag has not yet been revealed for any of the options. This bridge will be in place of a crosswalk which the City considered, but ultimately decided against because of the difficulties vehicles would have starting and stopping on the hill's steep incline. Public consultation is ongoing until April 24th and more information is available on the City's website.
  
  
• The City decided to abandon its aerial mosquito spraying program. While this could have meant a cost saving of about $500,000, the City has instead decided to spend the money on other “biological controls.” We’re not sure what that means, and the report is vague, so we'll have to wait and see. It should be noted that during the height of COVID-19, parts of the program were rescinded to save costs, only to be brought back later.
  
  
• After several businesses along 118 Avenue raised concerns about potentially having to close permanently due to loss of revenue from ongoing construction, City Council considered a program that would have allowed certain businesses to receive compensation during construction. However, on Tuesday, Council decided that there would be no compensation. Businesses will just have to tough it out, which is easy to say when it’s not your business being affected, and if you need more money you can just hike everyone's taxes.

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