EDACC A Project Edmonton Can Be Proud Of!



The Edmonton Downtown Academic and Cultural Center is slowly moving forward.

 

Nicknamed the "Galleria" information is slowly leaking out.

 

I am pleased to see that the city has approved moving ahead with this project. As a life long supporter of the Arts in Edmonton and as a graduate of the University of Alberta's School of Business, I am excited to see that the School may become part of a project that will transform downtown every bit as much as the arena will.

 

It is billed as a P4. A Philanthropic, not for Profit Public, Private Partnership.

 

Edmonton in 10 years will be unrecognizable.

 

Here is a starter picture of what it will affect:

 

Here is a list of spaces (proposed) taken from the http://www.edacc.ca/ website.

 

PROJECT COMPONENTS
The proposed location of The Galleria Project is north of 104 Avenue across from City
Hall. The 1.25M+ sq. ft. project is composed of:
A. A covered but not enclosed Galleria ringed with retail, restaurant and other
commercial space that ties together project elements and provides a downtown
gathering place for cultural and civic events.
B. 650,000 sq. ft. for a University of Alberta downtown campus that includes the School of Music, Department of Art and Design and a third school.
C. 300,000+ sq. ft. of performing arts theatre/rehearsal space. Includes:
i. a 1600 seat concert hall (for Opera, Ballet, Shumka, touring companies and others needing a large facility. Includes two rehearsal spaces, and incubation and administrative space).
ii. a 650 seat theatre/concert hall (split between the U of A and arts groups)
iii. a 200 seat ‘black box’ theatre (for arts groups)
iv. a 200 seat recital hall (dedicated to the U of A)
D. 300,000+ sq. ft. for a commercial office tower.
E. Stimulation of other development:
 An estimated 1.9M sq. ft. of additional downtown development by Qualico on Station Lands.
 In-fill and activation of 99th Street as part of the Civic Precinct Plan.
 Additional residential and commercial development.
 A repurposed Chancery Hall.

http://www.edacc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/E-DACC-Galleria-Project-Business-Case-April-22-13.pdf

 

 

This will bring more of the University of Alberta downtown, mixing Arts, Commerce and Education.

Maybe we should nickname it ACE... 

 

Buses to Millwoods from Lewis Estates

Short term solutions for the Lewis Estates to Mill Woods Line.

As you are all aware the SE (Millwoods) LRT line has been delayed while we wait for more money. Why don't we get the line going while we wait to find the money. Let's get 10 of the most energy efficient busses we can, and get the line running; build usage, move people, and reduce cars on the road in the short term.

Here is a picture of the planned line:

Here is the interactive map:
http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/ets/lrt_projects/se-w-lrt-interactive-map.aspx

Perhaps this is already being done. I hope so and if so, give credit where credit is due.

If not lets think about it. Start small and grow. But Start.

Bike Lanes: Good News/Congratulations

I would estimate that at least 50% of Edmonton drivers are unaware of the safety rules and expectations on bike lanes. Bike lanes are new (ish) and people are confused. So, just like in the outside world, the easiest solution to resolving disputes between two reasonable groups is education.

I am very happy to note that the city of Edmonton, that clearly feels the same way, is producing a series of remarkable videos that train people in the "rules of the road" involving bike paths.

Here is the first one.
Bike lanes at Intersections:

Here is one on Bike Boxes. They can be confusing so share the videos:

Here is a second video explaining Bike Boxes. The boxes are a great idea but new to so many people that we need to share this remarkable video with the world.

I can only say Bravo! Edmonton, and the city department in charge of this great idea.

And Bravo!to the creators at Jeff Allen Productions. This LOCAL team and their creativity deserve our accolades.
Here is a link: http://jeffallenvideo.com/about/

Traffic cutting in Ormsby and Lymburn

I was recently approached by a gentleman who was worried about speeding on Ormsby road, as people cut through the neighbourhood. I did not immediately contact him, but instead decided to investigate.

I contacted the City and discovered that they had, in fact, done a study and decided that there were no problems.

So, tonight, while campaigning Door to Door I visited Ormsby Road in Ormsby and 188 Street in Lymburn. I saw a few cars speeding by; I also saw a lot of children; and I heard a lot of complaints. Well, if the City feels there are no problems but the locals and my own eyes tell me otherwise, we need a solution.

I have an idea to get things rolling. But first a few graphics explaining the problem.

Here is the neighbourhood with the areas that feed the roads in light yellow.

 

Here is the route they take (red):

 

 

So here is my short term solution. We install four of these pole mounted speed cameras:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/Standard_radar_sign.jpg/333px-Standard_radar_sign.jpg

People living on Hemmingway road will be familiar with these types of units near Sister Annata Brockman school. 

We mount them in these four places

 

This does one of three things:

1. It shows drivers that might have not realized how fast they were going, how fast, in fact, they were going.

2. It shows drivers that refuse to believe that they might be a danger, how fast they are going.

3. It allows concerned residents to watch, and track how fast cars are going. A cell phone camera picture of a speeder does MUCH more to impress a bureaucrat than a phone call.

There you go. Not a permanent, long term solution but a simple, citizen driven, inexpensive start. If the situation improves we all win. If speeding is in fact as bad as some people say and we get proof, we can begin to resolve the issue.

People ask me why I am running

 

When the time came to renew the lease on Amber’s Brewing, we were unable to come to an agreement with the landlord, so we were forced to move.

We found a number of buildings but none of them had exactly the zoning required. Councillor Ben Henderson was of enormous assistance, trying to help us cut through the red tape. We finally decided upon one building, which, frankly appeared to have the correct zoning. It turns out that it did not – in fact there are no zones in the city that even mention “Microbreweries”. So we met with a number of city officials who proudly announced that, although it would normally take 24 months to rezone, they could rezone the building in 18 months. We had 18 days.

We were unable to move within city limits.

You can’t blame city staff. They have to follow the rules. You can’t blame council, Ben Henderson tried. So what is the problem? One hundred years of “tweeks” to zoning rules. We need to simplify those and all of the cities other rules. Here is a section of the cities zoning map so you can see how convoluted it is.

I want to simplify this map, and all our other laws. Life should be simple and it is council’s job to simplify, not make life more difficult.

If we make the city simpler, we save time and we save money. More jobs, more local content, more money in the pockets of our citizens, lower taxes, better roads. It is actually rather simple. 

Scapegoats, Policemen and Firemen

Scapegoats, Policemen and Firemen

Something strange happens when cities, towns, provinces and countries run out of money. They look for scapegoats.

I’ll get to that in a moment. First we have to tie together some seemingly disparate items.

Item one. We survived the 2008 debt crisis but we are on shaky ground. We are $2.7 billion in debt with carrying costs of over $200 Million per year. We have a new arena and a new museum to pay for, all with interest rates on the rise. Our carrying costs might rise dramatically in the next few years.

So, do we blame the American investment companies that caused this world wide near collapse? Partially, but we were, in fact, insulated by much more conservative Canadian banks – thank goodness.

Item Two. Edmonton police recently announced that they spend a large portion of their time in hospitals waiting with in-patients 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Edmonton+police+officers+spend+hundreds+hours+hospital+emergency+rooms+chief/8817606/story.html). Edmonton Ambulance attendants (EMT) also spend an enormous amount of time in hospitals with in-patients waiting for admittance.

Do we blame the Provincial government for cuts? Maybe. It would certainly help free up city resources if we were not hospital attendants as well as police and EMT.

Item Three: The Globe and Mail recently printed and article that I worry may become a common refrain. Please see:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/a-nation-of-100000-firefighters/article13647608/

According to this article, fire fighters are overpaid and under worked. I don’t know if that is true but I don’t like the feel of the article. It feels like scapegoating for municipalities that have lost control of their budgets.

So let’s tie these three together: Provinces and Municipalities are under economic pressure; Police and EMT, paid for by Edmonton, are doing work that should be paid for by the Province.  What I mean by this is that extremely long hospital emergency room wait times in Edmonton are tying up our front line EMT and Police officers to "babysit" while they wait with incoming emergencies.  The cost of this waiting is downloaded to Edmonton; we don’t see any simple answers because it took years to get into this financial mess and we want either i) quick solutions or ii) scapegoats. Since there are no simple answers we get scapegoats.

Scapegoating doesn't solve economic problems it creates anger and frustration and draws attention away from the real problems. Let’s try to avoid such feelings here in Edmonton by foreseeing what is coming and avoiding it the simplest of ways; lets balance the books and pay down our debt and work hand in hand with the province to get our police and EMT out on the roads. It is not as fast as blaming others people for our own mistakes, but it is how grown-ups solve problems. Solve the real issues without being distracted from them by knee jerk reactions.

What we need to do is elect people that know what they are doing; experienced people that can balance the budget.

Setting up Cycling to avoid the conflict on bridges- Ward 5 Specific.

 

As you likely are aware, the city of Edmonton has decided to build a series of bike lanes to try to decrease potentially dangerous interactions between cars and bicycles. Yet somehow the lanes have caused some tensions.

One of the reasons that Bike lanes have caused some tensions is because they are changing existing lane structure. Since people are creatures of habit, I understand how these changes make them uncomfortable. So, to avoid that in Ward 5, I would like to set up as many bike lanes as possible, as early as possible so that we have the lanes in the far west as early as we have the roads.

I want to avoid leaving for work with a parking spot and arriving home without.

Since a large portion of 5 is West of Henday, if we want cyclists we have to deal with the main bridges.

So this is the city’s map for Bicycle paths:

A closer look at Ward five will show that the few planned bike path plans are reserved for major roads:

The problem here involves bridges at Callingwood Road and at Lessard Road connecting Kymburn, Ormsby and Jamieson with Glastonbury and the Hamptons on the West side.

So let’s get these lanes in NOW. And prepare everyone for the growth West of Henday. I think we need the bridges to look like this:

Before we do anything else.

Images excerpted from http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/Bike_Lane_brochure.pdf

And http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/Council_Presentation_2013-03-13_v3.pdf

Why Not Solar/Geothermal/Cold Fusion

This is the original for this week, which was overridden based on a door to door conversation... 

Why Not Solar/Geothermal/Cold Fusion etc.

 

Those of you that know me know how much I love Our Heritage Festival. This year was an unprecedented success:

“Our estimated numbers for Saturday are 108,000. Sunday we estimate 134,000 attended. We had our best Monday ever — up 13 per cent from last year — with an estimated 142,000.” Jack Little, executive director of the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association, said in a news release."

and 

"The Edmonton Food Bank, which collects donations at the entrance, greatly benefited from the festival. Visitors dropped off about 53,000 kilograms of packaged food at bins scattered throughout the festival site. “It’s filling in the holes in our stocks right now and it’s greatly appreciated,” said Tamison Bencz-Knight, the manager of strategic relationships and partnerships for the Food Bank."

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Heritage+Festival+says+smashed+attendance+records/8759511/story.html

As you know I am a director of the festival and I am very proud of spear-heading the development and implementation of our Map/App that will slowly decrease the maps printed each year decreasing costs and paper usage. I was adamant that the apps be resident because the wireless coverage in the valley is poor at best and they were virtually flawlessly under those constraints. A few small additions and I hope we can get rid of a substantial portion of our maps next year. 

 

Our biggest problem this year? Our own growth. More fridges, more heaters, more cooking units all add to the electricity requirements. We were very strict and all of the pavilions were awesome at helping us to monitor unneeded use, but it is reaching critical mass. We cannot grow anymore based on old fashioned power use.

 

So here are my thoughts. We need to build new energy infrastructure into the festival. Solar? Geothermal from the North Saskatchewan? Burn all the Canadian Goose Droppings (an unlimited source at Hawrelack Park believe me) for energy?

 

You have my ear and I have a very open mind....

 

Don't Say WHY? Say WHYNOT!!!

Freezing taxes for Seniors

Connie has worked hard her whole life, here in Edmonton. She is 65 soon and was looking forward to her retirement but is now worried that she will have to move because she cannot afford her city taxes. So I thought I would look into it.

 

By the way, I firmly believe that Civic taxes should be frozen when taxpayers reach 65. In order to do that we need our fiscal house in order...  Anyway, back to the information.

 

I have compiled a chart of local tax rates, known as the "Mill Rates". These rates are the multiplier used to decide how much tax you pay. In this region Fort Sask pays the lowest, Thorsby the highest.

 

Municipality	Residential tax rate for 2012
Fort Saskatchewan	0.004470	16
Sherwood Park	0.004520	15
Stony Plain	0.004790	14
Edmonton	0.005010	13
Gibbons	0.005090	12
Devon	0.005360	11
Spruce Grove	0.005640	10
Beaumont	0.005950	9
Morinville	0.006600	8
Leduc	0.006620	7
Redwater	0.007200	6
St. Albert	0.007630	5
Bon Accord	0.008540	4
Calmar	0.009030	3
Lamont	0.009310	2
Thorsby	0.011670	1

 

This is reformatted from Information taken from: 

http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/04/25/how-do-your-taxes-compare-tax-rates-across-the-region/

 

Did you notice that areas surrounding Edmonton, that have the largest industrial tax bases have the lowest civic tax rates? 

It is time for Edmonton to get a proper share of those revenues. This would take the pressure off the city and allow us to maintain, if not lower taxes.

 

As a point of Interest Calgary's 2012 Mill Rate was 0.0034565 a full 32% lower. 

 

 

 

Here is David Staples views on the issues.  You can see the original here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Staples+Time+industrial+Edmonton+region/8755371/story.html

 

EDMONTON - The rural ripoff of industrial taxes has got to end.

This tax grab is damaging to the vast majority of the Alberta’s villages, towns and cities. It also threatens the prosperity and competitiveness of the Edmonton region.

The issue has become so hot that two councillors running for mayor in Edmonton, Don Iveson and Karen Leibovici, are positioning themselves as champions for urban Alberta on working out a fairer deal.

In a recent blog post about the need to annex the land around the International airport, Leibovici focuses on Edmonton’s raw deal when it comes to paying for the region’s costs, while lacking a proper industrial tax base. “We all know that someone always pays, and in the case of our region, it is more often the taxpayers of Edmonton who foot the bill.”

Iveson is even more blunt. “It’s my top priority, if elected mayor, to get a fair share for urban areas and build a stronger city and a stronger region.”

How does the rural ripoff play out?

Towns and cities like Devon, Morinville, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Stony Plain, Beaumont, Spruce Grove and Edmonton are full of men and women who work in the oilpatch. They build, maintain and operate pipelines and refineries, or work for oilpatch related businesses. Yet when it comes to sharing the wealth created in the Edmonton region from industrial taxes on oilfield equipment, machinery and pipelines, the towns and cities get a pittance compared to what the rural counties rake in.

Across the province, industrial taxes pulled in $1.5 billion in 2011 alone, but $1.4 billion of that went to a lucky handful of rural counties, representing just 13 per cent of Alberta’s population.

A new study by Don Good, a Peace River businessman and town councillor from 1998 to 2010 who has become an expert on the rural ripoff, shows that $137 million in industrial taxes was collected in 2011 in the Edmonton region. Four rural counties got to keep 70 per cent, while Edmonton and all the surrounding towns (save for Sherwood Park, which has a sweet deal because it’s part of a county) got 30 per cent.

Stated another way, county populations in the Edmonton region that represent 13.5 per cent of the total population got $96 million in industrial taxes in 2011, while towns and cities that represent 86.5 per cent of the population got $41 million.

“It’s really important data to inform our case to the province,” Iveson says of Good’s study.

But Iveson says that’s only half the issue here, the other half being that city and town taxpayers and developers pay for all arterial roads, while in rural counties the province pays for all secondary highways. “And all of us pay for them through our provincial taxes. So it’s not just that the counties are collecting more revenue, they also have lower costs because they’re piggybacking on provincial infrastructure.”

The Progressive Conservatives have had 40 years to deal with this inequity, but the problem has only got worse. Municipal Affairs minister Doug Griffiths is now telling the various players in the Edmonton region to work out a solution, but Good says only the province can solve the issue, as it makes the rules.

 

It’s crucial to note that there’s no shifty dealing or bad faith on the part of the counties here. This ripoff is the fault of the province, not the counties. They’re just playing by the province’s archaic and nonsensical rules.

But, for now, the counties have little incentive to deal fairly with the towns and cities, Good says. “Do you think the rural municipalities are going to wake up one morning and go, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re right! Yeah sure. That’s really unjust. We’ll give you 50 per cent of our industrial assessment. Tomorrow, man! Absolutely!

“I don’t know why, maybe I’m just a cynic, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. The province has not given people equitable bargaining power and therefore the rurals get what they want.”

Instead, the province has to step up and change boundaries, amalgamating cities and towns with rural counties, Good says.

This suggestion makes sense, but it’s worth noting that neither Iveson, Leibovici nor Coun. Kerry Diotte, the three councillors fighting to be mayor, are pushing for the province to impose such a solution, at least not right now. In my next column, I’ll detail their arguments about how best to proceed to create a region that works for Edmonton and the towns, and not just for the counties.

 

dstaples@edmontonjournal.com

 

Extend the High Level Bridge Streetcar to Whyte Avenue

This is the first of my Why Not? Weekly.

Part of what makes Edmonton great is the people who have said Why not, when others have asked why.

Here are some of my why not? ideas.

 

Now

 

 

This is a google earth image of Whyte Avenue and Gateway.

If you look closely you will see the final destination for the Trolley that runs across the high level bridge.

 

WhyNot?

 

Extend the track the 100 meters it would take to connect it to the southbound track still in place.

 

Services

Build a small station next to the washroom on 82 Avenue.

 

Build a small station north of the high level bridge to connect the line to Grandin Station (It already runs there).

 

You would connect 82 avenue, including East Whyte, to the remainder of the LRT system for almost no money.

 

This track goes right past the airport....  hmmm