Edmonton Minute: Transit Feedback, Gondola Project, and Papal Visit Concludes

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

This Week In Edmonton:

• It’s the last week of Council's summer break, and there will be just one short meeting at City Hall. The Agenda Review Committee will meet tomorrow at 9:00 am. Next week, Council business will resume in full.
  
  
• Starting on Thursday, Edmonton Folk Music Festival returns to Gallagher Park. Staffed by 2,500 dedicated volunteers, the festival offers eight stages with musical artists from around the world, as well as food and beverage vendors. Tickets are sold out, but the festival has partnered with Lyte, an official method of exchanging tickets, if you still need a ticket, or have one to sell.
  
  
• The City of Edmonton is looking for feedback on non-LRT mass transit approaches as part of its “Mass Transit: Implementing for 1.25 Million People” initiative. The City Plan lays out a vision where 50% of all trips within the city are made by transit or active transportation. Should the City really be dictating what method of transport people will use? We'd prefer to let people figure that out for themselves, and have the City focus on meeting demand, not trying to change it.

Last Week In Edmonton:

• K-Days wrapped up its 10-day run after returning for the first time since the pandemic. When the weather heated up, organizers had the Edmonton Ski Club’s snow gun at the ready to keep attendees cool. Although final attendance numbers haven’t been calculated yet, all signs point to a very successful festival.
  
  
• Pope Francis conducted the first Papal visit to Edmonton since 1984. The Pope was here on a “penitential pilgrimage” to apologize for the role the Catholic Church played in Canada’s residential schools. He delivered mass at Commonwealth Stadium and visited Lac Ste. Anne and Maskwacis during his tour of the area.
  
  
• Prairie Sky Gondola reached a milestone in its bid to launch a controversial gondola project in the River Valley. The company agreed to pay the City about $1.125 million a year to lease land and for a licence to operate the gondola, which they claim could be an important tourist attraction in addition to helping residents commute. First pitched in 2018, the project still needs to go through many regulatory steps, including rezoning lands, revising the river valley bylaw, and doing an environmental impact assessment. The company continues to claim that its plans don't require any taxpayer subsidy. We'll see...

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