Following a 7-7 vote, Edmonton City Council will test a plan to ban vehicles on a stretch of 102nd Avenue.
The idea is to make the downtown corridor from 99th Street to 103rd Street more “pedestrian-friendly” and municipal staff were asked to close the traffic lane “as soon as possible.”
The Council plans to test the initiative for the summer and may extend the closure with a future vote on a statute for a one-year pilot project.
“I understand the instinct to stick to what’s familiar,” Coun. Anne Stevenson said of her motion, which also states that the closure must “accommodate access to emergency services.”
“At the same time, I’m just listening so clearly to the residents who are excited about this idea and want a change and want a different way of being downtown.”
But some councilors were concerned that the change would be delayed, without proper consultation with local businesses that depend on customers arriving in vehicles.
“It’s not about whether it’s a good idea, it’s about the process of properly examining that idea, and that’s where I have some reservations,” Coun. said Tim Cartmell.
“Like many, I also agree that this is a great idea. I also agree that I would love to see it in the future. But I think it will come at a time when we have not warned the center’s stakeholders enough.” Coun. . said Erin Rutherford.
He noted that the road has just undergone a major redesign and reconstruction to include sidewalks, bike lanes and a single lane of traffic, as part of an LRT expansion.
The 102nd Avenue section has been closed for more than four years due to construction and is scheduled to reopen on June 30.
“Let’s see how this current design activates this space, of course,” Rutherford urged the council before the vote.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi voted in favor of the car-free zone, as well as a unanimously approved motion to study the city’s process of closing other urban roads to pedestrians in favor of pedestrians.
“I think we need to find ways to encourage these sites, and I agree with other colleagues that there are other places that we need to activate as well,” Sohi said.
An example used was 102 A Avenue directly in front of the town hall. An earlier council voted to close this space to cars to create a continuous car-free space from the entrance doors of the hall to the far end of Churchill Square.
“If you filed a motion to reopen this aisle today, how many of you would vote to reopen this aisle to vehicles? I guess probably none.” Coun. said Andrew Knack.
“It’s actually become one of our best venues, I think, because people get together. We do festivals there regularly.”
The idea for the 102nd Avenue corridor was first raised, and then promoted for months, by local advocacy group Paths For People.
“We thought this was a spectacular idea to really open up the space, to revitalize our core, especially when the Valley Line (LRT) is about to open,” President Stephen Raitz told CTV News Edmonton.
Councilors Tim Cartmell, Jennifer Rice, Sarah Hamilton, Erin Rutherford, Karen Principe and Keren Tang voted against the motion.