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Headlines: Aug. 10, 2026

· The Pulse
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  • Edmonton recorded its worst year on record for overdose deaths in 2025, logging 770 fatal overdoses even as rates fell elsewhere. "It's incredibly disturbing to see that the trend elsewhere in the province — in the country — has been going down, but in our city (it) has been consistently going up," Coun. Keren Tang said. A city memo said that transit peace officers responded to 2,359 overdose-related events last year, using naloxone 522 times — a 41% increase since 2024.
  • Infill housing built in Edmonton from 2024 to 2026 could add $15 million a year in property tax revenue in perpetuity, estimates data scientist Jacob Dawang of Grow Together Edmonton. Coun. Michael Janz confirmed the math with the city manager and said the added supply has helped push rents down. "There are townhouses in Michener Park right now going in the ($300,000s)," Janz said. "That's unheard of. That's a price that you used to have to cross the Henday for."
  • Decades of altering natural creeks to make way for growth has led to urban creek syndrome, and it could be worsening flooding in areas like Mill Creek Ravine, according to Jillian Calvert of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance. The city is considering "daylighting," or uncovering, sections of Mill Creek as part of the Low Level Bridge rehabilitation, an option a decade-old feasibility study estimated could cost $80 million to $130 million. The city faces $30 million in flood cleanup costs this year alone due to heavy rainfall.
  • The City of Edmonton confirmed Dutch elm disease in one tree each in the Downtown and Delwood neighbourhoods, the 15th and 16th cases found in Edmonton since the disease was first detected in 2024. Both trees are being removed, and the city has established one-kilometre protocol zones with heightened monitoring around each site. Edmonton has about 90,000 elms, making up 22% of its open space and boulevard tree inventory.
  • CBC reviewed city data from Edmonton's nearly 50 cycling sensors and found total cycling traffic has risen every year since 2019, with almost 1.3 million trips recorded through the first seven months of 2026. Most activity is concentrated around downtown, the High Level Bridge, and the Garneau and Strathcona neighbourhoods, though suburban routes still see tens of thousands of trips a year.
  • The City of Edmonton has signed a contract for eight more high-floor light rail vehicles from Hyundai Rotem Company, expanding its order to 40 rail cars in a $368-million deal that will replace Siemens U2 trains dating to the 1978 Commonwealth Games. The new vehicles, expected to arrive between 2029 and 2030, will support the Metro Line Northwest and Capital Line South expansions. Deputy city manager Craig McKeown said one train, numbered 1001, has logged more than two million kilometres.
  • The City of Edmonton launched a pilot program allowing shared e-scooters and e-bikes in Mill Woods, restricting riding to Mill Woods Road and areas within 50 metres of the active transportation network. Riders must park devices in designated corrals located through the Bird and Lime apps or face ongoing per-minute charges. "Mill Woods was selected for the pilot because there was strong community interest and because it gives us a great opportunity to test new operating requirements," said Jordana Kulchar, the city's general supervisor of planning and permitting.
  • The Edmonton Elks reopened upper bowl seating at Commonwealth Stadium for the first time since 2023, drawing a season-high crowd of 31,757 for a 28-26 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Aug. 1. The Purolator Tackle Hunger drive collected $52,448 for Edmonton's Food Bank during the game.
  • The Edmonton Heritage Festival's return to Hawrelak Park drew an estimated 100,000 visitors on its busiest day, but the shuttle system got mixed reviews after parking filled up at the Edmonton Valley Zoo and Laurier Park. Coun. Michael Janz said the Edmonton Transit Service park-and-ride ran smoothly but was slowed by single-occupancy vehicles cutting into the shuttle lane. Parking enforcement issued 266 tickets and 43 tows during the festival, the city said. Roughly $50,000 and 18,000 kilograms of food were raised at the event for Edmonton's Food Bank.
  • Old Strathcona residents held a block party to renew their push for the long-planned Rollie Miles Recreation Centre near 70 Avenue and 105 Street, which would include a pool, gyms, fitness areas, an outdoor rink, and a tennis court. Design work on the facility, first proposed in 2021, is finished, but detailed design and construction remain unfunded pending council's next four-year budget cycle.
  • Wildlife researchers are asking Edmontonians to help track monarch butterflies for the 10th annual International Monarch Monitoring Blitz, running to Aug. 9, by photographing the butterflies and the milkweed plants they depend on using the iNaturalist or Mission Monarch apps. More than 9,000 volunteers took part across Canada last year, and organizers hope to more than double that participation this year.
  • The Edmonton Corn Maze opened on Aug. 5, three weeks later than planned after rain and a hailstorm slowed the corn's growth this summer, owner Jesse Kraay said. This year's design celebrates Alberta Motor Association's 100th anniversary, with the organization's logo and trivia cut into the maze.