'Back on Track' shadow budget calls for city to act on Blatchford, recreation centres and accelerate development to the south

Bob Walker lives near the Victoria Promenade. It makes him proud to see people strolling on the wide sidewalk overlooking the river valley. Walker, the former CEO of Ledcor, believes the promenade, on 100 Avenue between 117 Street and 121 Street, is just fine as it is.

He’s not happy that the city has a long-term plan to totally rebuild it. The city has 2026-28 pegged as a possible timeframe for construction, depending on budgets, but stated that the renewal “is where roads are repaved, curbs and sidewalks are added, upgrades are completed for accessibility, and street lights are replaced. It is also time to explore active mode connections like bike lanes and shared pathways and other landscaping opportunities such as low-impact development and open-space improvements.”

Walker thinks this is a prime example of the city spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent. He believes that all the promenade needs is a little maintenance, not to be razed and rebuilt.

“I’ve taken a picture of it just recently to show there’s nothing wrong with the promenade,” he said. “It doesn’t need anything.”

Walker’s story was part of the Chamber of Commerce’s “Back on Track” report, which beseeches city council to focus on civic priorities, put the brakes on building new infrastructure and instead focus on maintaining what the city already has. It asks that the city rekindle the abandoned plan to sell naming rights for recreation centres and other civic facilities. The report suggests that out-of-city residents should pay more to access recreation centres or city-owned attractions like the Valley Zoo. It said the city should seek out partners to help enliven the Blatchford development, which still features acres and acres of undeveloped dirt on the former City Centre Airport lands.

Chamber president Doug Griffiths said that he hopes city council will heed the business community.

“Every day is a new day, and we’re going to continue to talk to the public, talk to the business community, and raise the issues in here, especially into the fall debate in October and November when they’re deliberating the budget,” said Griffiths. “We’re going to make sure that our perspectives, our understanding, our information and our suggestions are in every single meeting that they have, and that all of the public in the business community is aware of it, so they won’t be able to ignore us.

“We’ll see how they address this report. We invested a lot of time and energy to try and advance this. I know that city council continues to say that they want to consult with people in this community, listen to people in this community. This business community is a significant part that contributes a lot of the tax base and a lot of the quality of life and economic prosperity. So I can only anticipate they’re going to take this incredibly seriously.”

Griffiths said that the city needs to reduce its spending in areas that are provincial responsibilities. Griffiths, a former Alberta municipal affairs minister, said municipalities across the province should be beseeching the province to put more resources into homelessness and fighting social disorder.

“I think we need a bit of a summit between the province and the cities who are dealing with big catchment areas that a lot of stuff comes to,” he said. “I’m not suggesting that the province has abdicated all responsibility. They are stepping up with new investments, particularly around safety and around mental health. I know that there’s still a lot of work to do, so perhaps the premier and the mayors can come together and talk about how we’re going to address this — because the challenge falls on the citizens and the businesses in our communities in dealing with crime, and spending more money trying to clean up the damage that’s been done and on added security.”

The report also asks for the city to better plan construction projects and ensure contractors provide access to businesses.

The press conference was held at Jasper Avenue and 120 Street, in the midst of the Imagine Jasper construction project, where six blocks of businesses on the south side of the avenue are cut off from the roadway.

Josh Wilhelm, the owner of Birch and Bear Pizza on Jasper Avenue, said he’s thankful to his loyal customers who are willing to try and get around the construction, but that two years of being cut off from Jasper Avenue is an issue.

“Obviously, the big thing for us as a business Downtown is access to our customers, and it is really difficult,” he said, “Some of these projects and the way that they’re planned have made it quite difficult, obviously, for customers to get to us. And it all becomes it comes down to planning. We know that infrastructure has to happen. We’re in a growing city. All of these things. It just would come from communication and, obviously, proper planning, so that we can maintain whether it be foot access, vehicle access.”

Cheryll Watson, the chair of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition said she understands that many people are sick of talking about Downtown’s chronic problems, from homelessness to construction issues to lack of cleanliness. But she said the city could do more to bring life back to the core, from better construction planning to more regular emptying of trash bins.

“For a small business, fewer people through the front door can be the difference between making payroll and closing their doors,” said Watson. “About 20 businesses have closed this year. They employed people. Many of those owners cited construction access as a major reason. It’s just been a death by 1,000 cuts. Now we have been told that the city has approved about 120 new business licences, and I hope that every single one of those businesses is a success. But a licence doesn’t tell us whether a business has opened, the type of business it is, or how many jobs it creates. It really doesn’t replace the businesses we’ve lost.”

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