The co-hosts of Episode 318 of Speaking Municipally explored how the city has intentionally reduced the residential parking despite more infill coming to neighbourhoods, how the Edmonton mayoral race currently lacks a frontrunner, and the City of Edmonton's new lawn map. Here's a quick snapshot.
1. Less parking on purpose
A CityNews story that reported on new data from the city tracking the number of parking spots allotted in multi-unit housing development permits in 2024 caught the eye of co-hosts Stephanie Swensrude and Mack Male. The story noted the concerns of some residents in areas with recent infill housing developments, and Coun. Erin Rutherford's plans to table a motion to return parking minimums for new homes built in areas that lack robust transit options. The data shows that one parking stall was added for every two new housing units in Crestwood last year, for example.
But fewer parking spots than new housing units is a feature, not a bug, of city policy, both Swensrude and Male said, noting it is the culmination of Edmonton's decision to remove parking minimums in 2020 and the zoning bylaw renewal in 2023. Swensrude said developers like the absence of parking minimums because they can maximize the number of units on a lot without having to include space for parking. "They do include some parking, but at the same time, that will take away the amount of housing that they can provide on a lot, and it will therefore increase the cost of the housing," Swensrude said. "(Developers say that newcomers) are choosing not to buy a car once they get here, because car ownership is so expensive."
2. The horses are racing — slowly
A recent Keith Gerein column published by Postmedia caught the eye of the co-hosts, too. Gerein examined the campaign performances of those running for mayor — current councillors Tim Cartmell and Andrew Knack, former councillors Michael Walters and Tony Caterina, and former MP Rahim Jaffer, concluding that the race does not have a frontrunner. Both co-hosts agreed, noting that the two sitting councillors running for the job have very different approaches on the campaign trail.
Swensrude noted that Cartmell's campaign headquarters are emblazoned with the slogan "get shit done," and said Cartmell has courted attention in the news far more than Knack.
Male, meanwhile, said candidates need to be clearer about what sets them apart to convince voters they are the right person for the job. "Maybe some of the work that needs to happen here is for those candidates to better differentiate themselves from one another," Male said. "You do have some other really interesting folks in the mayoral race, Rahim Jaffer and Tony Caterina … (but) I feel like they haven't been in the same box as (Cartmell, Knack, and Walters) because (that group has) had the more recent experience on council."
3. Mowing now mapped
The City of Edmonton has launched a public map and schedule for the grass it mows, similar to its snow and ice clearing map. The map shows that service A level areas are mowed every eight days, service B level areas are mowed every 10 to 18 days, and service C level areas are mowed up to three times per year.
But Swensrude noted that she had been to a park on a Friday that the map showed was mowed on Tuesday of that week, yet some of the grass and weeds came up to her knees. However, she noted that parts of the park are under construction, and that fact may be why some areas were not mowed.
Male, meanwhile, noted the absence of any details about the downtown Alex Decoteau Park. Still, he said, the map serves some public good. "Anything we can do to provide people with greater confidence in the work that administration is doing and where their tax dollars are going, I think that's a good thing. Making those different service levels and that information available to people, I think, is a useful bit of education."
The Aug. 8 episode also includes discussion of the push for more residential development in downtown St. Albert, construction progress at Hawrelak Park, and Taproot's election project. Listening and subscription options are all right here.