Downtown

[kcantor]

Video cameras are needed to nab the vandals.

video cameras to catch the vandals? there are already more video cameras than you might think. reviewing the recordings and locating the vandals and arresting them only to see them back on the street 3 hours later is using police and court and private sector resources in one of the most inefficient manners possible.

not the answer...

the answer is to stop the behaviour in the first place. that means occupied storefronts, occupied residential spaces, occupied office spaces, pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks, vehicular traffic on the streets...

if we want people to respect the urban environment, it must be active and it must be well maintained. which means, in addition to the above, our streets and sidewalks should be in good repair, they should be well lit, they should be clean, the tree wells should be have live trees in them, park spaces should be maintained, public spaces shouldn’t be cluttered year round with temporary signs and pylons and barricades, our construction projects whether lrt or streets or buildings shouldn’t look like post ww 2 bomb sites...

if we want our public spaces to be treated with respect, we need to treat them with respect. we also need a constant and visible police presence that is a part of the community and we need to give them the support they need which includes not using our streets as a dumping ground for all of our social failures.

 

[IanO]

The Vietnamese place on RHW is now a generic burger/fries place

 

[IanO]

I believe that he was considering buying Yellowhead?!?!?!

Reference ID:	Job No 381413487-001
Description:	To operate a Minor Home Based Business - Administration Office for Brewing Company - (EDMONTON BREWING AND MALTING COMPANY).
Location:	10903 - 103 AVENUE NW Plan 0122575 Blk 9 Lot 1
Applicant:	JASON GOLD
Status:	Approved - NDPR
Create Date:	12/19/2020 1:58:04 PM
Neighbourhood:	DOWNTOWN

 

[IanO]

Sad to see the 'fine dining/restaurant' space in the SWC of the Federal Building now filled with cubicles...

The upper restaurant, lower lounge and large sheltered patio would have been amazing.

Alas...

 

[IanO]

From a few days ago now, but here is the general look, feel and attitude of Jasper Avenue these days.

 

[thommyjo]

We need to pull off something like this:

From the little I know of manchester, it seems like we could have some similar forces at play? Drastic change in traditional industries, a need to urbanize, a mid-sized city outside one of the most expensive cities in the world (london, for us van/tor).

If we can redevelop to be a "hub" for something and can attract young people from vancouver/toronto where home prices are now averaging over 1mil in both and condos ofter 600+ for non shoeboxes...then we could really do something cool. A ton of my friends from toronto say they are interested in moving to AB because of home prices and they'll be forced to leave toronto if they ever want to buy...and most are just tired of the commute and costs and suburban sprawl.

Anyone have thoughts on what industries we could really excel in competitively compared to other major NA cities?

 

[Avenuer]

We need to pull off something like this:

From the little I know of manchester, it seems like we could have some similar forces at play? Drastic change in traditional industries, a need to urbanize, a mid-sized city outside one of the most expensive cities in the world (london, for us van/tor).

If we can redevelop to be a "hub" for something and can attract young people from vancouver/toronto where home prices are now averaging over 1mil in both and condos ofter 600+ for non shoeboxes...then we could really do something cool. A ton of my friends from toronto say they are interested in moving to AB because of home prices and they'll be forced to leave toronto if they ever want to buy...and most are just tired of the commute and costs and suburban sprawl.

Anyone have thoughts on what industries we could really excel in competitively compared to other major NA cities?

Our affordability factor and higher wages should be advertised globally, but especially in our expensive domestic markets like the Lower Mainland and GTA. I could move back to Southern Ontario where I went to school and find a job relatively easily, but it would likely pay much less and I'd pay more for almost everything else (especially housing, which would be hard since we were able to purchase a home in Edmonton without too much stress).

 

[ChazYEG]

We need to pull off something like this:

From the little I know of manchester, it seems like we could have some similar forces at play? Drastic change in traditional industries, a need to urbanize, a mid-sized city outside one of the most expensive cities in the world (london, for us van/tor).

If we can redevelop to be a "hub" for something and can attract young people from vancouver/toronto where home prices are now averaging over 1mil in both and condos ofter 600+ for non shoeboxes...then we could really do something cool. A ton of my friends from toronto say they are interested in moving to AB because of home prices and they'll be forced to leave toronto if they ever want to buy...and most are just tired of the commute and costs and suburban sprawl.

Anyone have thoughts on what industries we could really excel in competitively compared to other major NA cities?

My best bet would be on AI, Robotics and Biomedicine/Biotech, all of which have substantial workforce output from the U of A. If we want to get a little bit "wilder", I think we have enormous potential in the Clean Energy area, considering how many hours of sunlight we get and wind potential in the Prairies, as a whole.

Another thing in which Edmonton has a lot of potential is Arts and Culture, as a whole, although I think this would be a long-term game, given this industry`s profile. It could boost our image and help to market the city as trendy and attractive, especially for younger adults.

 

[ChazYEG]

From a few days ago now, but here is the general look, feel and attitude of Jasper Avenue these days.

View attachment 292651

The one thing I feel the most, when walking/driving downtown, is the lack of Police patrolling on foot. Frankly, I think tax-payer money would be better spend increasing the force, if need be, having more officers on foot, especially in Downtown, than in SWAT armored vehicles.

 

[IanO]

^don't get me started on EPS Beats.

We had 66 as of 2017 and went down to a dozen or so by 2019 and I was furious about it. Apparently those budget resources (from a specific Council directive/motion for Downtown) were redirected city-wide. I must have had 10-15 meetings with the Chief, Superintendents, Staff Sgts etc. about the absolute importance of them. I took this as far as a meeting with the Mayor, Chief, Superintendents, REACH Edmonton, Homeward Trust and McKeen to say enough is enough.

At one point I was honestly told that EPS was limiting Beats due to its negative impact/PTSD for those on our streets/marginalized. While I can certainly see that perspective and policing/supportive services needs to shift, it infuriated me that the general public was being now pushed away or put at risk.

It got us another 10-12 members for 97-105st from Jasper-107ave.

Visible police presence in Paris, NYC, Boston, Portland, etc. etc. is something you expect and want.

 

[Daveography]

BIPOC people would disagree.

 

[IanO]

That's a wide brush.

Having spoken with dozens if not hundreds of business people, visitors, residents and investors of all backgrounds, creeds, races, religions and affinities, I can tell you matter of fact that many BIPOC people were some of the strongest supporters of more police presence, beats, supportive services, mental health initiatives and the like.

 

[ChazYEG]

BIPOC people would disagree.

Dave, I integrate this group and, as anecdotal as it is, I frankly believe that having a stronger police presence on the streets makes me feel safer. The issue is not the police presence, but how are they trained to approach people and do their jobs.
We need to reform police training to end racial profiling, to have officers that are equipped to de-escalate situations involving people with psychological illness, instead of treat them as criminals right off the bat, etc... They need to be trained in how to deal with people under drug influence (and those are different from the dealers... these are scum and should be treated as such, both for breaking the law and for taking advantage of people in really fragile situations).

On that note, I`d also like to add that, while I understand that there's a relevant portion of the population which might feel over pressured and unjustly profiled, as well as there's a fair share of police abuse of power towards BIPOC people in general, I agree with @IanO on that: if they`re considering the "PTSD" of the people in the streets/marginalized, they should also consider the impacts on the victims of robberies, assaults, etc... Isn`t it traumatizing to be mugged? To be assaulted because you didn`t have change to spare and give to a drug addict?

I know that there's no easy solution, but I still believe that the overall impact of removing beat cops from the streets is negative for a large majority of the population and, while the minorities NEED to be treated with the same respect and dignity as the aforementioned majority, there has to be some compromise, at least, in terms of acknowledging that we have a problem without a short term solution and, if we can't get a cure, we at least need to treat the symptoms as well as possible.

As a matter of fact, any candidate for the city council and for mayor that supports reforming the police to address this issue and make Edmonton a safer city for everyone, has my undisputed support, even though I cannot vote yet.

 

[Daveography]

My point is that we keep wanting to throw money and resources at policing, but policing doesn't solve the underlying issues, it just makes us relatively privileged people (regardless of colour) feel safer while doing very little to actually make us safer, and it certainly does nothing to help the people who need it the most (of whom BIPOC make up a large part).

 

[tkoe_]

That's a wide brush.

Having spoken with dozens if not hundreds of business people, visitors, residents and investors of all backgrounds, creeds, races, religions and affinities, I can tell you matter of fact that many BIPOC people were some of the strongest supporters of more police presence, beats, supportive services, mental health initiatives and the like.

Instead of having police at every corner, why doesn't the city start with cleaning up the graffiti immediately? That would be cheaper and a better place to start rather than trying to arrest/fine our way to a clean downtown.