Category: A functional city

CANU8 Summit Remarks

Today I was happy to welcome attendees of the Canadian Urbanism Planning Summit (CanU8) to Edmonton and share the City’s agenda for Urban Shift. Edmonton is undergoing significant physical and cultural changes as we shift from being a “big small town” to one of Canada’s leading big cities.  With our population closing in on a million… Read More

Delivering an open and effective local government

A few weeks back, while City Council was in the throes of its discussions over Uber and how best to regulate our vehicle-for-hire industry, a quiet but transformational series of structural changes was unfolding within city administration. The news was overshadowed by our Vehicle-for-Hire decision, so I wanted to highlight the changes – and how… Read More

A new era in getting from A to B

Yesterday, Edmonton became the first municipality in Canada to allow ‘Transportation Network Companies’ like Uber to operate legally. We didn’t set out to be the first, but after more than a year of analysis and consultation, it was time to end the uncertainty. This new bylaw represents significant reform for our vehicle-for-hire industry, one that… Read More

A new approach to police budgets

We are now deep into budget discussions for the City’s 2016-2018 Operating Budget and there are still difficult decisions ahead over which initiatives to fund and which ones we can reduce to get closer to a reasonable tax increase. This year – as in the past – police funding draws a significant amount of attention. On… Read More

Taxis meet technology: Edmonton’s proposed ‘vehicle for hire’ bylaw changes

Edmonton has a long and proud history of pioneering new things. From starting the first community league to envisioning and building Canada’s first food bank to becoming one of the first big cities to implement curbside recycling, this city is not afraid to take the lead. Today we become one of the first municipalities in… Read More