The Pulse
May 29, 2026

This week's batch of calls for public engagement includes a survey about the proposed redesign of part of Jasper Avenue's streetscape, feedback opportunities for street safety solutions, and the annual Edmonton business census.

The City of Edmonton released its proposed design for the next phase of the Jasper Avenue New Vision Project. Focusing on the sidewalks and LRT station entrances on the stretch between 102 Street and 109 Street, it's the first major refresh of this section in about 40 years. The project builds on past phases that removed some parking and widened sidewalks on Jasper Avenue east and west of the downtown core.

Administration is looking for feedback until June 10, and there will be a drop-in feedback session on June 3 at the Matrix Hotel from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. The downtown community revitalization levy is funding the planning and design, which is expected to be complete in 2029, the city told Taproot. There is no timeline for construction, and funding is expected to be considered in future budget cycles.

The city will consider improving and rehabilitating nine LRT station entrances — five for Corona Station and four for Bay/Enterprise Square Station. The stations would be redesigned to maximize visibility into stairwells and exposure to sunlight, and use materials that are durable and easily replaced, the plans say. Business leaders and downtown advocacy groups have been calling for the station entrances to be redesigned to be more welcoming and inviting.

Four lanes of vehicle travel, as well as dedicated left-turn lanes, are maintained in the proposed design along this portion of Jasper Avenue. The city is aiming to remove many parking spots along the avenue and allocate the space to landscaping and benches.

The proposed design would relocate some bus stops and remove one westbound stop. Bus stops would be redesigned so that buses no longer have to pull out of and into traffic, similar to plans for parts of Whyte Avenue as part of the transit priority measures project.

There is also a separate design booklet for 107 Street between 99 Avenue and Jasper. Funding for 107 Street will be debated in the 2027-2030 budget cycle. The city proposes converting the bi-directional bike lane between 99 and 100 Avenues to one-way lanes on either side of the street. The booklet says most on-street parking will be removed for landscaping and seating areas. The two northbound bus stops will be consolidated, and the bus bays will also be removed.

The survey asks what the city should consider as it finalizes the designs for the renewal. Feedback will be used to help inform, shape, and refine the plans, the city said.

• T.rex AI, a company that seeks to make electrical grids more efficient and reliable, won the finale of Startup TNT's Edmonton investment summit on May 28. It beat out Fairly Staffing, a company that manages temp work for dental hygienists and eventually other professionals; Innovative Coating Technology Systems, which manufactures surfaces made of diamonds for high durability; hi finance, which helps students secure grants, scholarships, and bursaries; and RNARevive, a biotech company developing reprogrammable RNA therapeutics.
• The City of Edmonton says Dawson Bridge rehabilitation work is now expected to finish this summer after delays caused by spring weather and construction complexity. Starting June 1, the bridge will be reduced to a single lane for about two weeks, controlled by temporary traffic signals, while pedestrian access remains open. Several overnight and weekend full closures are also scheduled between May 29 and June 29. Route 1A/B will be detoured during closures, and a courtesy taxi service will operate outside On Demand Transit hours.
• The Court of King's Bench has ruled in favour of allowing a judicial review of an approval to relocate a casino from Camrose to Edmonton. The Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission allowed the casino to move to Edmonton while still sending its proceeds to rural Alberta, and construction has begun on the project on Parsons Road. But two other casino companies asked for a judicial review of the decision, which Justice Nathan Whitling granted earlier this month. Coun. Keren Tang told Global News that the project will put pressure on municipal infrastructure in addition to affecting Edmonton non-profits' share of gambling revenue.
• Edmonton Coun. Aaron Paquette is proposing a motion for Edmonton to consider plans for remaining part of Canada if Alberta secedes from the country. Paquette's proposal includes researching economic protections and exploring how Edmonton, in collaboration with Treaty 6 partners and Enoch Cree Nation, can assert autonomy from provincial control.
• In a column for Postmedia, Coun. Erin Rutherford argued that Edmonton must make fire services a top budget priority as emergency response times grow longer in areas outside Anthony Henday Drive. She said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services faced record demand last year, responding to more than 91,000 calls, while the city's rapid population growth has outpaced investment in fire infrastructure. Rutherford pointed to wildfire risks and recent grass fires as examples of why the City needs to better prepare for emergencies. She called for funding for six new fire halls over the next four years, along with additional fire trucks and rescue units.
• The 2026 Edmonton Folk Music Festival will take place from Aug. 6 to 9 at Gallagher Park, featuring headline acts Nathaniel Rateliff, Of Monsters and Men, and Cat Power. Other artists include Corb Lund, Arrested Development, and newcomers like Dove Ellis and SYML. Tickets, including full passes and single-day options, will be available online starting June 6. Single-day prices have not increased, but full adult passes cost $10 more.
• ATCO is said to be in the final approval stage for a 235-kilometre natural gas pipeline from Peers to Fort Saskatchewan, CBC reported. Construction on the $2.9-billion project could start as early as September, pending a decision expected soon from the Alberta Utilities Commission, Yellowhead County council heard. The pipeline would move gas from Peers through Lac Ste. Anne County, Sturgeon County, and Parkland County on its way to Alberta's Industrial Heartland.
• The City of Edmonton has won the 2026 Municipal Inspiring Workplace Award from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators for its Corporate Employee Recognition and Appreciation Framework. The framework promotes employee recognition through formal awards and day-to-day appreciation initiatives across the organization. City officials say the program has helped unify workplace recognition efforts and generated high employee engagement, including more than 30,000 peer-to-peer acts of gratitude through its e-card program.
• The Alberta government has allocated $8 million to combat organized crime. A portion targets crime in South Asian communities, which has recently been affected by a rise in extortion incidents. The funding also supports acquiring technology to keep up with advanced tools used by criminals.
• Premier Danielle Smith and her Cabinet formalized the wording of Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum separation question. Voters will decide whether Alberta should pursue a binding referendum on separation from Canada. The ballot features a choice between maintaining Alberta as a province or commencing legal steps for separation.
• The Alberta government suddenly slashed $1 million in funding to rural women's shelters, affecting services for abused women in a dozen communities. Cat Champagne, executive director of the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters, said the "cuts are a shock" and will have "devastating consequences." Statistics show rural communities experience higher rates and severity of domestic violence.
• A wildfire in Barrhead County northwest of Edmonton prompted evacuation orders and a state of local emergency on May 28. Residents in the Summerlea and Thunder Lake subdivisions were told to leave, though the Summerlea order was later lifted while Thunder Lake remained under evacuation overnight. Officials said the fire was contained by evening, but crews continued dealing with hot spots and assessing utility damage. Barrhead County said about eight cabins and roughly 30 outbuildings were affected by the blaze.
• The Edmonton Oilers have announced several promotions in the team's hockey operations. Michael Parkatti is now vice president, analytics and technology, and has expanded his team with Hassaan Inayatali, Jordan Vani, and CJ Gilroy. Kirt Hill, former president of the Edmonton Oil Kings, becomes assistant general manager, player procurement. Kalle Larsson, Toby Salmelainen, and Andreas Karlsson will take on roles focusing on player development and European operations.

On this day in 1931, the city's oldest hotel was hoping to lure visiting sports teams to enjoy its hot and cold running water.

The Alberta Hotel might bear the name of the province, but it is actually the older of the two by a couple of decades. Not as a place to sleep, but rather a place to grab a drink. Luke Kelly opened his one-storey saloon on Jasper Avenue in 1883. Four years later, he added a second floor and started to rent out rooms, renaming his establishment the Alberta Hotel, the first of its kind in the province.

He would continue to run the hotel out of that two-storey wooden building until 1903, when the more famous structure of stone and brick was built on the same spot. Architect James E. Wize designed the new hotel, including the five-storey tower that rose to a small observation room lined with stained-glass windows. The original wooden building was moved north and attached to the side of the new hotel.

At the time, the Alberta Hotel was one of the finer accommodations in western Canada, and it introduced a long list of luxuries not yet seen in the province. It was the first hotel in Alberta to be equipped with telephones and a call system to reach the front desk. It boasted shower baths and Alberta's first passenger elevator. The Alberta Hotel became the place to stay for wealthy and influential visitors to Edmonton, including then-prime minister Wilfrid Laurier, who stayed there the night before he officially inaugurated Alberta as a province in 1905.

The hotel saw a few expansions and renovations over the next couple of decades as the city grew and the number of travellers increased. The original wooden structure was lost to fire in 1934, but the hotel would remain on Jasper Avenue for more than 75 years. During the 1970s, it hit uncertain times. There was an attempt to demolish it in 1977, which was scrapped after a public outcry. But it was a short reprieve. The building was demolished in 1984 to make way for Canada Place.

But, unlike many of Edmonton's early hotels, it didn't disappear. During the demolition, great care was taken to carefully preserve and number the 5,000 sandstone bricks that made up the hotel's exterior. There was a strong desire to save parts of the hotel, but no clear plan for what exactly to do with them. So they were packed away and stored in a city facility.

There they sat for nearly 30 years, until architect Gene Dub made a plan to resurrect the Alberta Hotel — or at least the outside of it. The idea was for a new Alberta Hotel built with modern materials, clad in the original bricks. But the plan hit an unexpected problem. While in storage, moisture had washed away the numbers on the bricks, leaving little clue as to how the whole thing fit together. Even worse, some of the original bricks had gone missing. Dub had to rent a warehouse to solve the problem, turning the 5,000-ish bricks into a giant sandstone jigsaw puzzle that stonemasons pieced together.

It worked. The reconstructed Alberta Hotel was finished in 2010, a sandstone's throw away from its original location. It is now the home of another Alberta institution, CKUA, which owns the building. At the end of last year, the non-profit broadcaster received $10.9 million in funding from the federal government. Some of those funds are earmarked for renovating and modernizing parts of the Alberta Hotel building.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.

Here are some events happening this weekend in the Edmonton area.

• May 29: Day of Protest starting at 11:15am at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• May 29: Edmonton Riverhawks vs Wenatchee AppleSox: Home Opener and Indigenous Celebration starting at 7pm at Re/Max Field
• May 29: Love Pro Wrestling 48: Where Everybody Knows Your Name starting at 7pm at The Rec Room (South Common)
• May 29-31: Riser New Works Festival at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• May 29-31: Edmonton Drag Festival at Churchill Square
• May 30: YEG Bike Party starting at 10am at Edmonton Downtown Farmers Market
• May 30: West Ritchie Garden Block Party starting at 11am at West Ritchie Community Gardens
• May 30: Grand Reopening of William Hawrelak Park starting at 11am at William Hawrelak Park
• May 30: Grown-Up Book Fair starting at 1pm at Bent Stick Brewing
• May 31: Edmonton International Cat Festival Finale (Our Big Pawty!) starting at 10am at MacEwan University (Robbins Health Learning Centre)
• May 31: Ellie Heath Album Release with Success 5000 starting at 2pm at The Aviary
• May 31: Art, Story & Circle: An Indigenous Art Park Gathering starting at 11am at ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Indigenous Art Park
• May 31: Official Launch of Bikeology Guild of Canada starting at 12:30pm at Garneau Theatre
• May 31: Siegfried starting at 2pm at Citadel Theatre
• May 31: Ice: Voices for a Frozen World starting at 3pm at St. Basil's Cultural Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• June 6: Fruit Loop's Pride Block Party at Grindstone Theatre
• June 7: Reconnect Event: To the land and one another at Alfred H. Savage Centre
• June 13: Housing Is A Human Right: Celebrating 40 years of ECOHH at Alberta Avenue Community Centre

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

Test your crossword prowess and deploy a little of your Edmonton knowledge. Complete the puzzle.

Need a hint for 7-Across? Here's the story.