Speaking Municipally

The new owners of Edmonton City Centre proposed strict security measures at each entrance of the downtown mall, and councillors endorsed changing the definition of public space. Plus, an American company has a vision to turn an industrial park in northeast Edmonton into one of the largest data centre campuses in North America.

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Public spaces bylaw

• Councillors endorse changes to public spaces bylaw
• City reviews public spaces bylaw amid concerns it unfairly targets homeless residents
• Proposed public spaces bylaw amendments, including the definition of municipal public space
• Parveen Parmar addresses councillors on bylaw fines (video)

Edmonton City Centre

• 50-storey towers, new security approach part of developer's plans for Edmonton City Centre
• City Centre security discussion on Instagram

Data centres

• Data centre campus proposed in northeast Edmonton
• Edmonton Energy and Technology Park AI data centre amendment — learn more and share feedback until Oct. 25
• Walton's proposed area structure plan amendment (PDF)
• Northeast Edmonton could become one of North America's largest data centre districts
• Mack's 2013 reflections on the Horse Hill area structure plan and sprawl

Transit app

• Executive committee agenda: ETS Transit App Single Source Procurement
• City report on the proposed Transit Royale and rider research agreement
• Transit Royale FAQ, including free community subscriptions for riders who cannot afford it

Support local news

• Become a Taproot Edmonton member

This episode is brought to you by Edmonton Startup Week. From Oct. 5 to 9, founders, innovators, investors, students, and big thinkers will come together for workshops, panels, showcases, social gatherings, and more. The week includes a kickoff showcasing this year's top 10 companies and a farm-inspired "Coming Home" launch party at Edmonton Unlimited on Oct. 8. Pick sessions that match your interests, and leave room for something unexpected. Explore the full calendar

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

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Stephanie is back! We chat about some of the big and small municipal news you might have missed in the past month. Plus, we hear all about Stephanie's travels and her fresh reflections on cities and how Edmonton stacks up.

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Europe through an Edmonton lens

• Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy
• Council decides against pause in patio fees
• Patios on Public Space
• Margaret Bridge refurbishment in Budapest
• High Level Bridge Rehabilitation
• Low Level Bridge Rehabilitation

Downtown Edmonton

• Former Edmonton mayors discuss downtown, homelessness, and the city budget
• Warehouse Park and surrounding street construction
• Imagine Jasper Avenue

Referendum

• Referendum information updates from Elections Alberta
• Referendum mail-in ballot requests surpass 610,000

Pit Tour

• Listen to the Pit Tour panel

This episode is brought to you by Shadow Theatre. Its 2026-27 season features four plays written by Canadians, with stories that are fearless, moving, and deeply human. New artistic director Lana Hughes has put together a season that reflects the country's humour, complexity, communities, and relationships. Subscribe today

This episode is also brought to you by Edmonton Community Foundation, which presents Wills Week from Oct. 5 to 9. Whether you're creating your first will or updating an existing one, free online and in-person sessions offer clear, expert guidance on wills, executorship, and estate planning. Learn more about Wills Week

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

This week, heritage advocate Andy Grabia talks about the fight to keep the University of Alberta's Casavant organ in Convocation Hall. We also look at Edmonton's uneasy relationship with its heritage and, a decade after Rogers Place opened, revisit the arena debate and the fate of Rexall Place.

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Andy Grabia

• Unite for the Pipes
• Why Downtown?

Memorial organ

• U of A response to the Summerby-Murray report
• Community members raise concerns about new home for U of A organ

Edmonton heritage

• Heritage Places Strategy
• Architecture bracket exposes history at risk
• Council moves to end seven advisory boards

Rogers Place at 10

• The agreement to build Rogers Place
• Downtown Community Revitalization Levy projects
• Rogers Place celebrates its 10th anniversary

This episode is brought to you by Life Sciences Week. From Sept. 21 to 25, industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, innovators, and students will come together for free, community-led events across Alberta. Explore cutting-edge breakthroughs, meet the people transforming bold ideas into real-world solutions, and help shape the future of Alberta's life sciences sector. Learn more

This episode is also brought to you by Edmonton Startup Week. From Oct. 5 to 9, Edmonton's founders, innovators, investors, students, and big thinkers will come together to learn, connect, and build momentum. Step in for candid panels and lunch-and-learns, step up through hands-on workshops and mentorship, and step forward at community meetups, Startup Crawl, Launch Party, and more. Wherever you are in your startup journey, there's a next step waiting for you. Learn more

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

We speak with Mike Mellross of Alberta Ecotrust about Edmonton's updated climate priorities and the important decisions coming up during the four-year budget. We talk climate ambition, competing pots of funding, and why good city building might be climate action, too.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Mike Mellross

• Mike Mellross at Alberta Ecotrust
• Mike Mellross on LinkedIn
• The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler

Climate priorities

• 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities: Council agenda and attachments
• 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities council report
• City to debate $114.58 million in climate mitigation actions in four-year budget talks
• Report finds top 3, bottom 3 priorities for Edmontonians ahead of budget talks
• 2021: Countdown to 2050: Explaining Edmonton's carbon budget
• 2024: Report suggests Edmonton's emissions are decreasing too slowly

Alberta Ecotrust

• Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX)
• 2026 Alberta Municipalities Convention & Trade Show
• ENBIX three-year anniversary

This episode is brought to you by LitFest, Canada's original nonfiction festival, celebrating the power of true stories. From Oct. 14 to 18, downtown Edmonton becomes a creative hub for readers and writers. Discover your next favourite books and authors through readings, panel discussions, and workshops inspired by this year's theme: Nonfiction shows us who we are. Learn more and get tickets

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

We speak with Coun. Ashley Salvador and Aaron Budnick of the Edmonton Bike Coalition about Edmonton's slow bike-lane build-out and the province's threat to derail it. Plus, we hear about the confusing budget of it all and how funding decisions will determine where the network goes next.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Ashley Salvador

• AshleySalvador.com
• Ward Métis - Ashley Salvador

Aaron Budnick

• Aaron Budnick on LinkedIn
• Edmonton Bike Coalition

Active transportation

• Bike routes cancelled or put off despite council direction
• On the agenda: Bike lanes, climate resilience, Low Level Bridge
• Active Transportation Implementation Acceleration Program Update (PDF)
• Active Transportation Network Expansion
• Edmonton bike lane expansion to continue as planned
• Government of Alberta praises Ontario court ruling on bike lanes
• Episode 368: Everyone is mad for different reasons
• Week Without Bike Lanes
• 2027 Update - Climate Implementation Priorities council report

This episode is brought to you by Wellspring Alberta's Skyline Rush Challenge. On Saturday, Oct. 3, rappel 240 feet down the Courtyard Edmonton Downtown Hotel while raising funds for free programs and services for Albertans and families facing cancer. No rappelling experience is needed, and this year you can take on the challenge side-by-side with a friend. Learn more

This episode is also brought to you by Life Sciences Week, a free, community-led event that celebrates and advances Alberta's life sciences. It runs Sept. 21 to 25 with events across the province, beginning with a kickoff in Edmonton at 10am on Monday, Sept. 21. In this episode, Andrew MacIsaac, CEO of Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation, explains the sector's growth and potential in the Edmonton region. Learn more

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

This week, municipalities weigh in on new strategic and business plans from Edmonton Global. Gibbons and Beaumont are out, but Edmonton is all in. Plus, council pushes forward with the active transportation network expansion, and we get an update on the Edmonton Research Park.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Events Roundup

• Events Roundup
• Taproot Edmonton Calendar

Edmonton Global

• Knack's faith in Edmonton Global remains, despite departures
• Edmonton Global's refresh aims to lift 'veil of unhappiness'
• Episode 367: Working as a herd

Bike lanes

• Edmonton bike lane expansion to continue as planned
• Edmonton city council rejects proposed changes to remaining bike lane routes

Edmonton Research Park

• Edmonton Research Park
• Ahmad Jawad
• IASP North American Division Event
• March 2023: Edmonton Research Park businesses encouraged by city moves
• July 2024: Applied Pharma facility could open local doors while bridging national gap
• August 2026: API facility moves forward as Life Sciences Week approaches

Public toilets

• Does Edmonton have enough public washrooms?
• Public Washrooms
• City of Edmonton Public Washroom Strategy (PDF)

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

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City administration is bowing down to provincial bike lane legislation that doesn't even exist yet. Plus, council requested more information on how infill impacts surrounding property values, and we discuss the proposed LRT station fare gate pilot.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Municipal bike lanes

• Province seeks input on bikes lanes, cyclists push back
• Edmonton council votes to keep parking while building bike lanes along 50th Street
• Alberta monitoring debate over bike lanes in Ontario, considering similar legislation
• Government of Alberta praises Ontario court ruling on bike lanes

Fare gate pilot

• Edmonton city council to vote on fare gate pilot project in November
• September 2024: Fare gate pilot could fail, podcast hosts suggest
• Episode 277 | A fair shake for fare gates faces delay

Infill impacts

• Edmonton councillor seeks study on infill property values
• Jacob Dawang: Edmonton's $15M infill property tax dividend

Movers & Shakers

• Andrew Knack's LinkedIn post
• Gerein: Blake Desjarlais's hiring at Edmonton city hall was a puzzler. So is his exit after just 90 days.
• Rajah Maggay's LinkedIn post
• Aileen Giesbrecht's LinkedIn post

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

We speak with Edmonton Global CEO Daryn Edgar and Spruce Grove Mayor Jeff Acker about Edmonton Global's new strategic plan and how shareholders are feeling about the organization these days. Plus, we bring you an update on Gibbons, the best little town in the northeast.

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Guests

• Daryn Edgar
• Edmonton Global's incoming CEO aims to refresh relationships and drive scale
• Meet Daryn Edgar, Edmonton Global's new CEO
• Mayor Jeff Acker
• City of Spruce Grove: Mayor Jeff Acker

Gibbons

• Gibbons viability review raises concerns in Sturgeon County
• Concern over Bill 28's proposed changes to viability review
• Collaboration talks between Gibbons and Sturgeon County stall
• Viability review report reveals how Gibbons reached financial crisis
• Gibbons council rejects province's viability review findings
• Gibbons votes to remain a town

This episode is brought to you by the Food Roundup. Published every Tuesday morning, the Food Roundup is an email newsletter that provides you with the latest openings, closings, headlines, and happenings in the world of food across the Edmonton region. If you're looking to reach the kind of people who read the Food Roundup (and you should because they're awesome!) then get in touch.

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

We're joined by an archeology expert and an advocate with experience in Indigenous relations for a deep dive on Indigenous engagement in Rossdale, and across the river valley.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Restaurant closures

• July 21, 2026 Food Roundup
• String of restaurant closures in downtown Edmonton has business owners talking about challenges

Rossdale engagement

• Rossdale debate reflects differing worldviews and capacities, advocates say
• Treaty 6 nations aim to redevelop contentious Rossdale lots
• Miranda Jimmy: Legal, Ethical, and Moral Obligations to the Treaty Relationship
• Métis archaeologist transforms her field from 'grave robber' to 'grave finder'
• River Cross Business Plan (PDF)

Guests

• Kisha Supernant
• Miranda Jimmy

Scramble update

• Edmonton delays removal of Whyte Avenue scramble crosswalks until 2027

This episode is brought to you by Edmonton Opera. Tickets are on sale now for Opera al Fresco, Edmonton Opera's cherished summer tradition at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden. Hear favourite arias and choruses amid the flowers and greenery, with a charcuterie box to nibble on throughout. Don't miss out! Get your tickets today

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!

We're joined by Ward Nakota Isga Coun. Reed Clarke for a conversation about the upcoming four-year budget. We talk about the struggle to keep businesses in Edmonton, the need for better bylaw enforcement, and how infill has impacted the tax situation.

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Here are the relevant links for this episode:

Reed Clarke

• ReedClarke.ca
• Ward Nakota Isga - Reed Clarke

Budget

• Budget and Finances
• 2027-2030 Budget Engagement
• Taproot's budget coverage

This episode is brought to you by the Edmonton City as Museum Project. Join ECAMP for two immersive walking experiences this summer! Explore Edmonton's history through the Labour History Tour and Children of the Flats, and dive into the stories that shaped our city — past and present. Tours are at $15 (2‑hour) or $10 (1‑hour) per person, with kids 12 & under FREE — an accessible and engaging way to experience the city. Learn more

Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton. We deliver reliable intelligence about the Edmonton region. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!

Want to reach the smartest, most-engaged people in the Edmonton region? Learn more about advertising with Taproot Edmonton!