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Municipal Politics

Greenspace said:
Our biggest infrastructure line item now is transit, especially on the capital side. All our provincial money is going to LRT expansion.

The reality is bike commuting is about 2% of all commuters, give or take if there were a newer census done, maybe 5%. That's about what Councillor Salvador stated is being spent of road renewal as a percentage in a recent post yesterday and makes sense to me.

Like Downtown, bike infrastructure is a used as a pawn in political discussion, right or left leaning. I'm not a fan of that, just what makes good policy and good governance.
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Thanks - 2%, not 25%. There is a lot of concern among citizens facing big tax increases about how city money is being spent, it is a mistake to portray it just a left right thing.

There is also a general feeling, rightly or wrongly, that the amount being spent on bike infrastructure is out of line with the number of people who use or will use it. This is why it keeps getting brought up.
 
Gus Haynes said:
Hyrciw is definitely picking some provocative targets, but it's definitely emblematic of a real shitty hand that our city council has to deal with. Stakeholders are actively trying to rob Peter to pay Paul. I don't think it's going to turn out well.
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On one hand, it's easy to point out the shitty hand that Edmonton's council has to deal with.

On the other hand, it's worth remembering that Edmonton's council had been both dealer and pit boss in this game for a long time.
 
Breaking news - Sohi proposing 2% cut to tax increase with following spending cuts / budget adjustments below. Plus if province provides $80 million in lieu of property taxes it cut, then that would reduce another 0.7%. Or it would pay the extra $10 million a year Cartmell would like to see topped up for snow removal for the next 8 years.

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kcantor said:
On one hand, it's easy to point out the shitty hand that Edmonton's council has to deal with.

On the other hand, it's worth remembering that Edmonton's council had been both dealer and pit boss in this game for a long time.
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The current city council has been heavy handed and unresponsive to citizens on many things over the last few years and there have been some questionable decisions. If the incumbents expect citizens are going to suddenly rally to support them now that an election is coming up, well because of the big bad UCP, I feel they are sadly mistaken.

On the other hand attacking the Chamber of Commerce may play well to the populist UCP base, but the UCP is not going to stay in power without the support of enough former PC's.

For me, its not a left/right thing. I want to kick all the bums out now. We need better governments both in the city and in the province. I suspect a lot of Edmontonians feel the same way.
 
David A said:
The current city council has been heavy handed and unresponsive to citizens on many things over the last few years and there have been some questionable decisions. If the incumbents expect citizens are going to suddenly rally to support them now that an election is coming up, well because of the big bad UCP, I feel they are sadly mistaken.

On the other hand attacking the Chamber of Commerce may play well to the populist UCP base, but the UCP is not going to stay in power without the support of enough former PC's.

For me, its not a left/right thing. I want to kick all the bums out now. We need better governments both in the city and in the province. I suspect a lot of Edmontonians feel the same way.
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Daved A., I certainly wasn't disagreeing with youwhen I referenced Edmonton's council having been both dealer and pit boss in this game for a long time. Your noting that it is not a left/right thing either is perfectly correct. We have a left wing mayor now proposing to cut back on neighbourhood renewal that if not effectively ignored by right wing councils in the past in order for things to be cheaper here wouldn't be in the dire state it is today. On the other hand, many - most/all? - of the more recent renewals have been much more than rehabilitation and restoration, they have been complete rebuilds with a much different and much more expensive philosophical lens applied to them.

"... all the bums out now. We need better governments both in the city and in the province [and federally]" is a pretty good summary of their ongoing state of affairs.
 
This cut to Neighbourhood Renewal will make everyone mad and incumbent councillors, not the mayor, will be punished. He basically threw the rest of council under the bus to further his own ambition.
 
David A said:
Thanks - 2%, not 25%. There is a lot of concern among citizens facing big tax increases about how city money is being spent, it is a mistake to portray it just a left right thing.

There is also a general feeling, rightly or wrongly, that the amount being spent on bike infrastructure is out of line with the number of people who use or will use it. This is why it keeps getting brought up.
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Yeah, I’m just saying people are objectively wrong about the idea that there is disproportionate spending happening. The data locally, the research globally, the financials and the bigger picture urbanist benefits are all positive and supportive of what we are doing.

Do we want to be led by the misinformed and loud complainers? Or by the research?
 
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