Edmonton Minute: Papal Visit, Train Crossings, and Big Island Park

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• It’s quiet at City Hall this week with only two meetings scheduled. This morning, at 9:30 am, there will be a Community and Public Services Committee meeting. On the agenda is a report about the Downtown Core and Transit System Safety Plan and an update on the Affordable Housing Investment Plan. The Committee will also hear options to enhance the Snow and Ice Control program and discuss an amendment to the Vehicle for Hire Bylaw that involves applying the addition of an optional fuel surcharge to all base fares.
  
  
• There will be a meeting of the Executive Committee at 9:30 am on Wednesday to discuss the annual reports of several Business Improvement Areas as well as how to support small businesses that are outside of these areas. The Committee will also address the City’s current policies for procurement and discuss an Indigenous Procurement Framework.
  
  
• The Province is continuing its consultation for the proposed establishment of Big Island Provincial Park. The proposed park is located on a 68-hectare parcel of Crown land in southwest Edmonton along the North Saskatchewan River. If established, the park would be managed jointly by the provincial government, the City of Edmonton, and Enoch Cree Nation. An online survey is available on the Government of Alberta’s website. Be sure to have your say.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• The schedule for the Papal visit to Edmonton was announced. The Pope will arrive in Edmonton on July 24th. The following day, he will preside over the reopening of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples as well as travel to Maskwacis to visit the former site of a residential school. On July 26th, the Pope will hold Mass at Commonwealth Stadium and visit a pilgrimage site at Lac Ste. Anne.
  
  
• The City and TransEd launched a safety campaign to remind Edmontonians that the Valley Line Southeast LRT route is opening this summer. Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists need to prepare for the presence of trains. Unlike existing LRT lines, there will be no gates, crossing arms, or bells, and some parts of the train route run alongside traffic. TransEd says the system has been safety tested and they are mitigating the risk of hazards.
  
  
• The Addiction Recovery Centre completed its temporary move from downtown Edmonton to Alberta Hospital in the far northeast of the city. Work on the new LRT line led to the move as AHS noted that the construction would limit the quality of patient care the Centre could provide if it were to remain in its downtown location. The northeast location would require about an hour of travel and several transfers for someone to travel by transit from downtown to the new location. A permanent site has not been determined and there is no timeline to do so.

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