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Municipal Politics

rake said:
Oshry and Krushell both responded in favor of pausing LRT expansion in the Taproot survey as well - Watson actually responded in favor of keeping the current expansion plan in the survey, before this little double-take.

It's an absolute deal breaker for me on all three counts.
Click to expand...

Well at least she had the integrity to announce this change in her position prior to the election as someone doing a change in platform on such a major issue after being elected , for example, is much more of a problem.

But based on info shared above, that just leaves Sohi advocating for expanded lrt - a pretty favorable position.

I have to say the large organization I work for in downtown Edmonton has pivoted several times in the last 18 months based on new information and emerging trends. The biggest change is we will be a company largely working from home but still a presence downtown with a couple hundred workers daily - a significant drop though in people commuting downtown (more than 43.6% cited from the stats can figure above).

I read from Iveson that one of the things cities will need to look at in the future is taxation and specifically city taxes on wages as a result of the shift away from downtown offices and therefore the reduction in property taxes. That's a pretty interesting.

I hope our new lrt is busy and lots of people need to come downtown for work, thereby using it on a daily basis. At least we have NAIT, MacEwan, Norquest, and UofA as major reasons people will use lrt even if it is less downtown office workers.

Does that info above suggesting the transition to full telework could significantly reduce downtown commutes cause a concern for anybody?
 
rake said:
Oshry and Krushell both responded in favor of pausing LRT expansion in the Taproot survey as well - Watson actually responded in favor of keeping the current expansion plan in the survey, before this little double-take.

It's an absolute deal breaker for me on all three counts.
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1443310341123764224

She is getting alot of backlash for this one.
Good to know she is psychic and knows all the ridership number 5-6 years down the road when the project is completed.
 
JaayJR said:
Good to know she is psychic and knows all the ridership number 5-6 years down the road when the project is completed.
Click to expand...
I literally laughed out loud when I got to that part of her thread. It basically boils down to "well, some people aren't going to use it for work, so why bother at all?" The fact that it's predicated on the belief that people only use transit for their downtown jobs is also hilariously bad.
 
_Citizen_Dane_ said:
I literally laughed out loud when I got to that part of her thread. It basically boils down to "well, some people aren't going to use it for work, so why bother at all?" The fact that it's predicated on the belief that people only use transit for their downtown jobs is also hilariously bad.
Click to expand...
Its terrible! I definitely intended on using the Valley Line west so I can go downtown and go home after a few drinks (ha!) because the option would now exist and its cheaper!

But naw "lets just cancel all the contracts, pay millions in penalties, and legal fees, pay millions to patch up the work that was done and put in BUSSES!!!! " Alright Cheryll 😒

The expansion is going to cost alot more if they pause it 🤦‍♀️
 
I'm so rattled by the lack of support for the west line...

Its design is actually better for a WFH, downtown commute reduced future.

Instead of spending billions more to have less stops, but faster service above or below ground (ideal for high volume commuter needs), we have a more daily trip focused model now. Helpful for getting to the grocery store, a friends house, the hospital, the mall.

I'm just confused at this point. I really didn't want to vote for sohi, but I think I'll have to now...
 
It feels as if these candidates believe that LRT is meant to ONLY bring people downtown.
What about people who work at WEM a major employment centre, or HCW at Misericordia, or people who want to go to grocery shopping along the route at Lewis or 149st.
West Edmonton is more than just a commute to downtown and lrt here is overdue.
 
Only 5 of 10 candidates showed up for the O-Day'min DECL/Oliver CL candidate forum tonight.

Gino Akbari
Gabrielle Battiste
Adrian Bruff
Anne Stevenson
Joshua Wolchansky

Enjoyable evening, thoughtful responses and more than a few good options for the ward.
 
i would be reasonably happy with 3 of the 5, happier with 2 of those 3, and thought there was 1 of those 2 that probably earned my vote this evening if we were voting this evening. i will continue to follow all of them until i cast my (early) ballot next week but it looks like o-day'min should have good representation after the 18th of october.
 
I hope major media picks up that Cheryl Watson is proposing to cancel the West LRT, rip up a contract that is already signed and throw away all that planning... and call her on it. This is so short sighted, and just anti-city. She loves Calgary...doesn't she understand that part of what they got right was building LRT like crazy? Does she realize Edmonton is now a city with a population of 1.5 million?
 
Regarding O'Day-min
If you think council needs to stick more to its mandate (municipal government act) then I think Battiste is your choice as she seems most adamant about that and she is not a fan of the city being involved in Blatchford. I feel like Battiste and Akbari are more aligned on LRT and that the city needs a pause in expansion for now while other bigger issues such as homelessness and Opioid crisis etc need more investment.
Opposite to their LRT position is Stevenson who thinks we should look at adding more stations to the west line because 1km apart may be too far for people and TOD. I don't think 500m to walk to lrt station (or even 10minutes) is unreasonable- especially for someone who advocates for 15 minute city concept like she does. But that is a barrier for some.
I think Bruff is on opposite side of police funding issue versus Battiste and Akbari.
Those are some differences I see on some issues.
 
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After finally doing some deeper research on our slate of mayoral candidates, I've gotta say I'm really disappointed with the group as a whole. At a glance it would seem like we've got a competitive field with at least one or two good platforms, but I was sorely underwhelmed when I did a bit more digging.

I would consider Sohi, Watson, Oshry, and Krushell serious candidates (I'll ignore nickel for this, cuz what's the point). The common theme that ties them all together is an utter lack of vision for the city.

Watson may have the best vision of the four - her downtown vision is somewhat worthwhile, though limited - but she has far too many fatal flaws in the rest of her platform. Her views on the valley line west and how to deal with homelessness/affordable housing in the city are unforgivable. Plus her "chief accountability officer" idea is worthless imo.

Michael Oshry's platform is so incredibly uninspiring and I honestly struggle to understand why he decided to run. He seemed pretty unenthusiastic on his way out from his council seat last election - I am confused as to why he thinks being in the mayor's seat will be any better. His focus on small infrastructure projects is totally contradicted by the fact that he supports huge road expansions like the yellowhead. His "priority based budgeting" approach sounds like an absolute disaster waiting to happen. The only worthwhile platform point he has contributed is his promise to get the city out of the developer's chair at Blatchford.

Krushell's platform is similarly uninspiring. I absolutely cringe whenever I see something like "core services and maintenance" as a key element of someone's platform. It absolutely screams "I have no vision". As well, her stance on transportation issues is an absolute deal breaker. I think hers might be the least inspired of the four. Really disappointing.

Sohi - though a more personable and likeable individual than the other three - still does not have a particularly strong vision imo. Though I do appreciate his platform's emphasis on environmental issues, he's not really bringing anything new that the council hadn't already proposed on that front. Overall, his platform doesn't include many new or visionary ideas - just more of the same. My one positive for him is that his connection to the federal Liberals will hopefully help divert a bit more federal funding Edmonton's way.

Overall, I am just incredibly disappointed.
 
I saw a couple more "pause the LRT expansion" mandates at the O'Day-min forum, which for me translates to "LRT expansion is cancelled until further notice" so that rules out Gabrielle and Gino.
Anne wants to tweak the West LRT to add more stops but otherwise she's a fan of LRT expansion.
Adrian wants to go full steam ahead on LRT expansion.
Joshua is also full steam ahead on LRT expansion, but when I met him a couple of weeks ago he advocated LRT on Whyte Ave which is a no-no in my books.
So I'd say Anne or Adrian.
 
I was able to get responses from Steele and Oshry about their stances on the West LRT, in which they are both in favor of the extension 🙏🏽

Mentioned their responses on the taproot survey and how west LRT is a touchy subject. But it was better to get response directly from them.

Steele actually mentioned that she doesn't want another Metro Line on our hand (I assume from the Kingsway crossing and the Thales controversy) then added, "I would like to review other LRT development to make sure we are doing it right so future generations don't have to fix our mistakes."
 
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