Edmonton urban planning committee recommends Downtown Action Plan

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Edmonton’s urban planning committee is recommending that city council give the recently released Downtown Action Plan approvals next week, but part of the plan’s recommendations are already underway with an expansion of Downtown’s entertainment districts.

At the urban planning committee meeting Tuesday, Edmonton city council requested that the Downtown Action Plan be brought to council next week after a thorough review. Although it will be examined by council, the committee took a step further with one element within the plan, which was to recommend the expansion of the Rice Howard Way entertainment district, which started last year, to 104 Street.

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Edmonton’s director of downtown economy, Tom Girvan, said the entertainment district is just one of a few ways they’re looking to take action quickly.

“I think it’s just representative of our desire to start,” said Girvan. “There’s other actions that are going to have more significant impact on the goals that we’ve identified, but really signalling to our partners and to Edmontonians that we’re focused on action.”

The motion to recommend an amendment to the public spaces bylaw to include 104 Street was supported unanimously by councillors Michael Janz, Andrew Knack, Anne Stevenson, Jo-Anne Wright and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

While the 104 Street Entertainment District took the top spot for fast action in the Downtown plan, Girvan also pointed to accelerating maintenance repairs in Downtown, activating public spaces with more programming in parks and places like Churchill Square as two other rapid starts for the plan to get things moving. On the whole, Girvan said the lion’s share of the plan’s actions would start immediately, with various timelines depending on the scope of the action.

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“We’ve identified and reflected what we feel are priority actions in our Downtown and we’re working on implementing them in the quickest way possible to accelerate their impact.”

With almost a dozen speakers, Tuesday’s meeting included a variety of input and support for the plan. Jason Syvixay, vice-president of strategy and operations for BILD Edmonton Metro, reaffirmed BILD’s support for the project after having been consulted during its development.

“This alignment signals a growing unity across sectors and shared commitment to placing Downtown at the forefront of city-building efforts,” said Syvixay.

Edmonton Downtown Business Association executive director Puneeta McBryan, also spoke in support of the plan, saying she is “very happy to see this plan come to life.” However, she highlighted some things that it missed, noting the need to formalize a partnership with the business association, prioritize public-private partnerships, evolve management of parks and public spaces, and strengthen governance and accountability for the Downtown leadership table. McBryan also noted that the plan made no mention of the core patrol program, which she said put out 27 fires last month. The business association currently funds that program, she said, but would like to see some city dollars supporting its work.

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Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s Christopher Martin also spoke highly of the plan, urging the committee on behalf of the chamber to fund the plan and allow the work to get started.

“This is the kind of ambitious, co-ordinated action that our members have been calling for, and it’s long overdue,” said Martin.

“Reviving Downtown is not just a civic priority, it’s an economic necessity,” he said.

The support for the plan seemed nearly unanimous from those who spoke, but often came with amendments or suggested additions. Erick Estrada of the Alberta Avenue Business Association (AABA), who didn’t support the plan, said he isn’t against it.

“(The Alberta Avenue Business Association) is not in support of this plan, but we are also not in opposition to it. We are just disappointed that there are only plans for Downtown and not for the rest of the city,” he said.

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Estrada questioned whether the money being requested for the Downtown plan mightn’t be better used elsewhere in the city.

“The Alberta Avenue Community League, for example, has 6,000 residents. I can’t help but wonder what can they do with half of the investment that goes to Downtown,” he said.

Girvan said that from the city’s perspective, Downtown can offer an important tax base, which is part of what makes it a strategically important investment for the long-term.

“We made it clear the importance of the Downtown tax base from a fiscal sustainability perspective as it relates to the city, but as importantly, potentially more importantly, downtowns are an element of a big city,” said Girvan.

“As we grow from a small-big city to a big-big city, as we approach two million people we are seeing really exponential growth as we welcome more people to Edmonton. Downtowns matter,” he said.

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Girvan argued that the benefits of a revitalized Downtown is both economical and civically vital.

While the committee asked about the financing of the plan, the immediate main hurdles are council approval next week and then the extension of the Community Revitalization Levy, which is central to funding the majority of the actions outlined in the plan.

zdelaney@postmedia.com

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