[whattheheck]

I am so tempted to just only complain. But, instead, I would like to ask for solutions here.

Walking and driving around, one can't help notice the appalling deterioration of city infrastructure.

Examples:
- potholes everywhere (I know it's a situation related to our weather, but why do the outlying communities seem to have a better handle on this)
- the concrete in the median curbs in many locations is literally crumbling away (99st, north of 51st ave is an example)
- newly installed concrete for various infrastructure shows wear and tear within a couple of years of being put in and start crumbling and cracking away (the 97 street Jasper ave location next to Canada place)
- in many locations, the expensive city landscaping turns into garbage because weeds and overgrowth are allowed to take over
- I recently attended Rogers Place and various trees next to the building have taken a beating a while back and still have not been replaced
- the Valley line shelters in some locations are no go zones
- rust on seemingly every light pole
- the Jasper ave street lights are magnets for dirt and graffiti (did that not go through a proper CPTED lens?)

- etc etc

And why is it that 3 hours to the south, is just is so much better kept together?? Calgary also experiences four distinct seasons. But the wear and tear in their city IS far less significant/ seemingly better maintained.
They have significant sprawl, so please spare me the argument that that is the overarching factor here.

So, what's the solutions? Or are we being hosed with how our tax dollars are utilized compared to elsewhere? Why is the city fixated on building to much new nice-to-haves when city hall can't even maintain the what-we-haves?

Does not anyone at city hall or who works for the city sees this? Is there not anyone within that entity have any real solutions? With the next four year budget review coming up, I really hope maintenance and cleanliness are addressed. There is no sense of pride anymore. Just embarrassment.

 

[MacLac]

You should ask Ian, he’s been hard at work ratting YEG out as “Canada’s Filthiest City” on the SSP forum…..

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264472&page=2

Btw, don’t be so dramatic, this time of year does suck for our city, but once we start sweeping, getting rain and growing grass we’re back to normal……if you’ve spent 53 years in this city - you’d get it…..

 

[whattheheck]

See. The defensive posture you just took doesn't solve the issue. Why is calling out the challenges the city faces put some with their backs up?
And leaving it at 'good enough' or 'that's who we are' is not good enough. Edmonton is an affluent city in an affluent province in a G7 country. There is NO reason why the city should look like it does.

AND with the amount of expertise the city employs, is there not anyone within the organization, a city councillor etc, not looking to solve this? Or make this an issue for broader public debate?

 

[thommyjo]

In terms of your comparison to Calgary, a reason could be their significantly bigger budget thanks to less bedroom communities and higher office property taxes. I believe it’s 1.3 billion more? They of course have more residents, but I’d imagine that still gives more margin for downtown and Main Street investment to look prettier.

It’s worth noting all their catastrophic water main breaks are technically infrastructure maintenance…. So maybe we look grittier. But we thankfully aren’t having major water lines blow.

I agree though, we need more funding to maintain our most critical areas. Jasper ave should have been redone in entirety 10 years ago. Whyte ave needed a full rebuild 5 years ago. “End of life” shouldn’t be the same for our highest value streets as for random collector roads. They need quicker renewals.

 

[TAS]

I am so tempted to just only complain. But, instead, I would like to ask for solutions here.

Walking and driving around, one can't help notice the appalling deterioration of city infrastructure.

Examples:
- potholes everywhere (I know it's a situation related to our weather, but why do the outlying communities seem to have a better handle on this)
- the concrete in the median curbs in many locations is literally crumbling away (99st, north of 51st ave is an example)
- newly installed concrete for various infrastructure shows wear and tear within a couple of years of being put in and start crumbling and cracking away (the 97 street Jasper ave location next to Canada place)
- in many locations, the expensive city landscaping turns into garbage because weeds and overgrowth are allowed to take over
- I recently attended Rogers Place and various trees next to the building have taken a beating a while back and still have not been replaced
- the Valley line shelters in some locations are no go zones
- rust on seemingly every light pole
- the Jasper ave street lights are magnets for dirt and graffiti (did that not go through a proper CPTED lens?)

- etc etc

And why is it that 3 hours to the south, is just is so much better kept together?? Calgary also experiences four distinct seasons. But the wear and tear in their city IS far less significant/ seemingly better maintained.
They have significant sprawl, so please spare me the argument that that is the overarching factor here.

So, what's the solutions? Or are we being hosed with how our tax dollars are utilized compared to elsewhere? Why is the city fixated on building to much new nice-to-haves when city hall can't even maintain the what-we-haves?

Does not anyone at city hall or who works for the city sees this? Is there not anyone within that entity have any real solutions? With the next four year budget review coming up, I really hope maintenance and cleanliness are addressed. There is no sense of pride anymore. Just embarrassment.

I heard Coun. Paquette refer to this and shared the following (I'm paraphrasing):

In terms of city infrastructure maintenance (not including the Henday), it is used by everyone in the region, but is only funded by Edmonton tax dollars. It works out to 70% of the users (Edmontonians) are paying to maintain 100% of the costs so there is a 30% gap versus Calgary where 100% of that city's infrastructure costs are covered by 90% of that region's taxpayers (Calgary city residents) - leaving only a 10% gap.