The next steps on Blatchford
When we closed the downtown airport in 2009, we made a deal with Edmontonians to do something special with these lands located in the heart of our city. That promise was Blatchford.
Today, City Council made a decision to further advance an important part of this development: how best to provide heat and hot water for Blatchford residents in a carbon neutral, 100% renewable way. The proven technology of a district energy system is a leading candidate to provide this source of heat, and the motion unanimously passed by Council allows us time to explore this option and strengthen this vision even further.
Council also directed administration to engage the city’s utility provider – EPCOR – to work through the utility model and explore the renewable energy solution that makes the most sense for Edmonton. Rather than trying to learn and build a utility model on the fly, we will work with the experts to arrive at the best solution.
Much of Council’s conversations on this topic revolved around the significant capital this system will require in order to be operational. Council agreed to advocate directly to the federal and provincial governments to support Blatchford – a development that embodies everything their climate goals are attempting to achieve. We likely cannot achieve the ambitious goals of this development without other orders of government partnering with us to achieve our vision.
All of this likely means a year’s delay for the Blatchford redevelopment project. While there are a few high profile delays that continue to frustrate Council, this is a delay that I am more than comfortable with. It allows us time for a more thorough review of the utility model and ensure we provide the builders who will ultimately work in Blatchford with absolute certainty. This work will only serve to strengthen the vision for Blatchford, and the case for climate leadership support from other orders of government.
Blatchford remains an ambitious vision, but it also demonstrates incredible leadership. And as leaders, this is what you expect of us.
Don,
Your leadership of the Council in accepting the delay to review the district energy system, while commendable if the delay delivers federal “green” funding for this massive project, should also extend to review the cost-cutting decisions in removing the recreational aspects the citizens were originally sold on for Blatchford.
The administration’s reasons for cancelling the recreational aspects of the lake were very shaky, and written to condemn behaviour to which transportation planners curse us. The dependence on automobiles within our city continues to be the reality for most, and the subsequent storage requirements (parking, garages) is bedeviling all proposed new development within the built core of Edmonton. Edmontonians deserve to all be proud of the Blatchford community we are building. It is a City effort, taxpayers and administration, and we should be planning for the utilization of public transit access to the site so the entire City can easily visit Blatchford and the originally proposed recreational lake and other amenities subsequently removed from the concept.
This Council has been inconsistent in approving public projects which will be of public benefit at low or no cost. A wasteful process of pursuing and abandoning the Hawrelak Splash Park (born from the EFCL’s original smaller proposal) is contrasted with the funicular, where we willingly assume the unknown operational costs for the project (originally proposed for Rossdale) because the funding would otherwise disappear. These projects’ scope and locations changed – the point is, it is not too late to go back and reconsider the decision to abandon the public recreation aspects of Blatchford.
I would hope the success of the new Victoria Skating Oval Pavilion with the new skating trails this winter would demonstrate the appetite in Edmonton for low cost public recreation in the city core.
The time is now to lobby on behalf of Edmonton for provincial and federal support of our proposed infrastructure projects like Blatchford, APPROVED bike lanes, LRT lines to the west and the airport. These projects can provide the carbon reduction solutions government policy is committing to, while also encouraging healthier urban lifestyles which can improve mental health in our cities and reduce costs to our health care budgets.
Best Regards
Please take measures to inform Edmontonians about each of the technologies that end up being used in this project, and how residents outside of Blatchford can look at adapting them to their own homes! I believe that many people are interested in seeking out greener and more sustainable utilities, however the lack of education on the options and the large personal expense are holding back the every day consumer from making serious changes.
Thank you,
Tim