Weekly Round-up (Jan 17-21, 2022)

Hello! Here is the first weekly round up for 2022! This week Council was back in session and had three committee meetings: Community and Public Services, Urban Planning Committee, and Executive Committee. Thursday was all about community connections - which is definitely the most energizing part of this role for me! Friday involved catching up on social posts (like this one) and prep for next week’s jam-packed Council meetings.

HERITAGE PRESERVATION

I’ve heard from several residents about their desire to ensure the city is preserving our historical buildings. Council received several reports related to heritage preservation i. I appreciated learning more about this important work and asking questions not only about the preservation of the built environment, but also preservation of cultural landscapes, as noted by the Edmonton Historical Board. Administration is planning on a New Historic Resource Management Plan that will support historic resource preservation and a more holistic and inclusive definition of historic sites. Council will ultimately decide on this unfunded service package for this plan development in the next 4 year budget.

For more information on Edmonton’s Inventory List and Register of Historic Resources, visit https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/historic-resources-inventory-register

BRIDGE RENEWAL PROGRAM

Did you know Edmonton has approximately 285 bridges? The Bridge Renewal Program oversees maintenance of our City’s bridges to assess for safety, rehabilitation and replacement. Council reviewed projects anticipated for the 2023-2026 budget cycle, with estimated costs at 170 million, which includes rehabilitation work on the iconic High Level Bridge and Low Level Bridges, as well as many other roadway and pedestrian bridges.

OPEN SPACES REPORT

This report was spurred by a surplus Edmonton Catholic School Board land sight within Inglewood (St. Andrew School site) and asked Administration to look holistically at how we ensure we are supporting park space preservation and opportunity acquisitions in mature neighbourboods. The goal is to align opportunities with the City Plan and expand the City’s green network. The report noted “many older neighbourhoods do not have the same amount of open space as newer communities… [and] created inequity in open space provision as older neighbourhoods undergo redevelopment and densification.” I made a motion to direct Administration to “assess and explore options for the possible purchase of the former St. Andrews School field site and report to Committee with overview of open spaces priorities for the Inglewood Neighbourhood and budget implications.” This motion passed and is due in April 2022.