'Thriving and vibrant': Mayoral candidates throw final pitches to improve downtown
The frontrunner candidates for mayor all agree downtown Edmonton still needs work as they placed bets on how best to improve the core in the final week before the vote.
“I just can’t imagine a thriving Edmonton without a thriving and vibrant downtown,” candidate Amarjeet Sohi said.
Sohi wants to make sure every citizen has a park within a 10-minute walk. He‘s also proposing designating the river valley as an urban national park, and pitching a plan to activate unused space in the core.
“Festivals are so critical, that’s why animating our back alleys and empty parking lots are so critical, and that’s why safety is so critical,” he said.
Candidate Mike Nickel stirred controversy early in his campaign by issuing a “downtown travel advisory.” He insists downtown is not as safe as it should be.
“Everyone knows that if you’re downtown, you have to watch out. If you don’t have safety, you can’t have a marketplace, if you don’t have a marketplace you can’t do business,” he said.
Candidate Kim Krushell released a plan to reduce the concentration of supervised injection sites north of downtown and believes red tape for businesses is also hurting the core.
“One of the things that I would do is obviously reduce on the permitting side so that businesses can have more outdoor space options,” she promised.
Krushell supports a day pass for downtown attractions like the museum, art gallery and theatres to help increase traffic and vibrancy.
That’s the goal of candidate Cheryll Watson’s “central business neighbourhood” concept - which offers public WiFi, phone charging stations, and free transit downtown.
“Without a thriving downtown, and its enormous impact to the entire region and province, we are in for years of economic hardships, and we risk losing the incredible gains we’ve made in developing our city core,” her website read.
Candidate Micheal Oshry supports the $5 million “downtown vibrancy strategy” the outgoing council passed in June and he wants to redevelop the Rossdale Power Plant.
“I think we need to have a meeting place in the heart of the city where people can have a glass of wine or a coffee in the river valley and do something cool with that building,” he proposed.
Edmonton’s election is on Monday, Oct. 18.
A complete list of candidates for mayor is available on the City of Edmonton website.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.