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Our Priorities
Transit & Mobility
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Great Cities have great transit. This means having a system that is safe, convenient, reliable and accessible for everyone. The City of Edmonton led the country in having the fastest return of ridership to pre-pandemic levels. With two transit stations in Ward Dene. Transit safety has been a top priority for me in Council.
To ensure this, I worked with Council to put forth our Enhanced Transit Safety Plan in addition to our Downtown Core and Transit System Safety Plan. These plans utilise proven strategies to prevent crime and connect those experiencing homelessness to housing options along with mental health and addiction support. One of the outcomes of this approach has been the creation of an Outreach and Transit Team (COTT). These teams provide a coordinated, integrated, multidisciplinary approach that involves the City, the Edmonton Police Service, and the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society to help improve transit safety and reduce harm. You can learn more here.
During the pandemic I hosted three public safety information sessions on Community Safety & Wellbeing in the Northeast in collaboration with Reach Edmonton to address safety concerns and provide residents with solutions on how we can work together to make our neighbourhoods safer.
Another crucial element of mobility is having safe streets for pedestrians, riders and drivers. Out of this commitment, the City decided to implement Vision Zero and the creation of the Safe Mobility Strategy to achieve the ultimate goal of zero traffic-related serious injuries by 2032. The City’s Vision Zero Street Labs was created to improve traffic safety in our communities for both pedestrians and drivers. You can view the work proposed on the Safe Streets Map as well as Safe Crossing Maps.
The City’s Towards 40 Program has been a result of these efforts to help reduce speeding and increase safety on the City streets by reducing speed limits to 40 km/h in residential areas. The City has created a Speed Limit Map. Our very own Hermitage Road and 40th Street have been selected to have adaptable safety measures placed to improve safety.
Budget
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My goal has been to ensure that Edmontonians get the most for their tax dollars. When you go outside your front door, you should see your tax dollars at work.
The City’s Operating Budget funds over 70 services including emergency services, parks, roads, trails, bridges, recreation centres, snow clearing, and transit that we rely on and use every day. It also funds our priorities related to community safety and vibrancy, transportation, climate, affordable housing and homelessness.
To learn more about how your tax dollars are spent, you can read my article here or for more detailed information on our current 2024 budget, follow the link here or visit the City of Edmonton’s budget breakdown here.
Safe, Vibrant and Healthy Communities
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Safe, Vibrant and Healthy communities are what make living in Edmonton great. Access to green space, the beautiful river valley, excellent public recreation centres and our amazing Libraries make communities in Edmonton such wonderful places to call home.
During my time as Councillor, we have seen the addition of the beautiful new Northeast River Valley Park, at 190 acres, it is one of the largest parks in the City! It has an event centre, playground and even a lake where you can enjoy canoeing or kayaking. Hermitage Park is another fantastic space right on the River Valley. It features off-leash dog parks, picnic sites, walking & cycling trails and even fishing!
The Clareview Community Recreation Centre provides a place for fitness, sport, learning and so much more for the residents of Ward Dene. The recreation centre features a gym, fitness classes, a running track, pools, basketball courts, daycare, ice rinks, an outdoor soccer field and a park for families to enjoy. There is also a multi-cultural centre to provide access to resources for new Canadians. Additionally, the centre features meeting rooms that you can use to host meetings or events. The centre also hosts the Clareview Library branch, which offers books, films, video games, music and so much more.
A key element of safe and vibrant communities is the need to make our Communities inviting and beautiful places to live. Understanding this I put forward a motion in Council that resulted in the Residential Boulevard Gardening Program. Which allows residents all across Edmonton to plant Gardens on City-owned boulevards to create diverse, colourful boulevardes that adds to our ecological diversity and climate resiliency. Another program that has been launched to promote biodiversity has been the creation of the Urban Beekeeping Program that allows Edmontonians to set up a beehive on their property and make their own honey! As well as the City Urban Hen Program that allows for residents of our City to raise hens on their property and have fresh eggs every morning. Additionally, I advocated for Pop-Up Community Gardens to help reduce barriers to growing fresh food locally. Since the program's implementation in 2020,114 Pop-Up gardens have been created with 1,419 planters distributed across the City!
We have created a Vibrant Streets program to provide patios and decorative crosswalks to improve mobility. The City has also created the Summer Streets program that allows for vehicle lanes to be converted for biking and walking in selected areas in the City.
Making our Communities Safe in the Northeast has been a major priority since I was first elected. During the pandemic, I hosted three online public safety information sessions on Community Safety & Wellbeing in the Northeast in collaboration with Reach Edmonton. These sessions were organised to address safety concerns and provide residents with solutions on how we can work together to make our neighbourhoods safer. You can find a link to those discussions here, and here.
Economic Development
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Economic development, especially in the NorthEast, has been a major priority during my time on Council. I am proud of the progress we have made, from the construction of new industrial plants to the revitalization of our communities. I will continue to work hard to ensure the NorthEast is not left behind as our city continues to grow.
Neighbourhood and Alley Renewal play a crucial role in our continued investment in communities. This is a long-term and cost-effective approach to rebuilding or renewing roads, sidewalks and street lights in our existing neighbourhoods. Currently, the communities of Hairsine, Bannerman, Fraser and Kirkness which are scheduled for completion this year. There is even a specific plan for the North East that you can learn more about here.
Key initiatives out of this commitment include the Belvedere revitalization program to revitalise parks and roads in the Belvedere Community. As well as the Station Pointe redevelopment project to build Multi-family housing in a transit-oriented community right here in Ward Dene.
The Fort Road Widening Project is nearly complete. This project will widen Fort Road to 6 lanes from Yellowhead Trail to 66 St. Additionally, a shared path being built on the west side of Fort Road and an improved sidewalk on the east side.
My commitment to Economic development in the Northeast expands to industry as well. In collaboration with the Federal and provincial governments, Air Products has built a new 1.6 billion dollar hydrogen plant right in our Ward. This investment has created 2,500 jobs during the construction of the plant. Once operational, it will produce 100, 0000 tonnes of Hydrogen a year and store up to 95% of the carbon dioxide generated underground. Positioning the Edmonton region as a leader in Hydrogen production.
Edmontonians have a strong entrepreneurial spirit and deep roots in Agriculture. In the Northeast, we are fortunate to have some of the best soil in the world. During my first term as Councillor, I championed building upon the work already done with the City’s Fresh Urban Agricultural Strategy, to put forward a motion for Food and Agri-Business Diversification. This work aims to both diversify our economy and enhance food security for Edmontonians. Food security is a priority for our climate, our economy and our families.