#301 TURNing it up with Councillor Tang, Ward Karhiio

We talk with Edmonton City Councillor Keren Tang about what record rainfall reveals about stormwater capacity, flood response, and what residents can do before the next surge hits. We also connect everyday local issues in Ward Karhiio from schools and safety to transit operations, fireworks rules, disability policy anxiety, aging in place, and the realities of infill redevelopment. 

• How Edmonton’s drainage system works day to day and why surge events overwhelm it 
• Where residents can report flooding concerns and how the city and Epcor respond 
• Homeowner prep basics like sump pumps, downspouts, and clearing eavestroughs 
• What city council can and cannot do on school capacity and education policy 
• School zone safety limits after photo radar changes and what design can still do 
• Why a youth-focused violence prevention approach needs a community-wide lens 
• What constituents fear about the AISH to ADAP transition and why clarity matters 
• Why centralized fireworks shows reduce illegal backyard fireworks risks 
• How to enforce fireworks bylaws while pushing back on racist online narratives 
• Why the Valley Line Southeast operations change to ETS opens a chance to fine-tune signals 
• What aging in place looks like through transit, FCSS grants, and senior supports 
• How infill concerns break down and what the construction accountability program aims to fix 

Tune in weekly on Mondays & Thursdays to TURN it up with Ravia on 97.9 FM or live-stream at www.theuniversalradio.com

IG: @theuniversalradio

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome back to the Universal Radio Podcast. This is Ravia, and you'll be listening to a conversation with me and City Councillor Karen Tang from Edmonton Ward, Garagio. This conversation took place on June 25th, 2026. How's your morning? Good. Good. Making your way from the ward, which is not too far from here, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Uh yeah. Yeah. Although I was coming from a house. I I live actually just outside the ward. Uh but just getting the family ready to go for the day. And yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

That's awesome.

Stormwater Surges And Emergency Advisories

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Okay. Let's get into our recent kind of like things that are happening in Edmonton. I'm thinking about the recent storm weather, stormwater events. Everyone's thinking about that. We were told not to like take too long showers and not do too much laundry because there might have been sewage coming up through our systems. Like that was a little bit daunting for me because I was like, oh, this is scary. Me too. Right. So I'm curious, what do you think like Edmonton and Ward Currio's like stormwater and emergency preparedness looks like? Is there anything that we need to work on based on recent events?

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Yeah, no, great question. And of course, I think the storm is on everyone's mind. And actually, you know, we're anticipating another 30 to 60 millimeter of ring again this weekend. And I think combined, we're looking at a record high, breaking the record high that we've had in 112 years. So that's quite significant. Um, you know, I think overall, if you look at our our drainage system, uh, which is managed uh through Epcor, uh, you know, overall, I think it's actually quite strong. Uh, you know, we have a very uh we actually, I think we have one of the best water governance um uh approach to this issue uh in the province. Uh when we have a utility committee, which I chair that regulates uh drainage assets, um, water management, and then we have a utility advisor, and then we have the utility, which is Epcor, who reports on a regular basis of about their performance. And uh, and so we essentially regulate their performance. And that system is designed for uh kind of the day-to-day, you know, water use and wastewater and stormwater. When we have a surge event like that, yes, it it did overwhelm that system. Um, and so we issue, you know, the the the water, the emergency advisory working with our provincial counterparts. Um, and it was less than 24 hours, and then the system was back to normal. This is how things are supposed to go. And um, and you know, everybody plays a part uh any under 24 hours, so things were kind of back to to normal. And then this week, you know, the crews are working around the clock to respond to sort of um, you know, there's certainly still lots of issues here and there. But crews are responding to residents and businesses where there's some issues and then anticipating for the rain coming this weekend. And so we know just I think it's important to know that we have a system that deals well uh when it comes to stormwater on a day-to-day basis. When we have a surge event, it takes some extra capacity to kind of make sure, you know, our drainage has the capacity for everything. Uh, and it does take a little bit of time. It doesn't just happen magically. Uh, it takes everybody's effort. And that's what happened. That's why we issued the uh the advisory. Um, and then, you know, very quickly things kind of re-resumed. And right now we're kind of dealing with a bit of an aftermath of that.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

What does that aftermath look like? I'm specifically thinking about families or businesses that were maybe impacted by flooding or other risks from the rainwater. Is there any support that they can look to towards the city or other resources that you might have in mind?

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, certainly there's have been a few phone numbers uh that we've been sharing uh and and places that people can turn to for some very specific questions regarding their property. Um I don't have it off of my hand, but I'll I'll give it to you after. Um, and people are reaching out to my office, we're connecting them with the right people. Uh, you know, I've had a, you know, I've had a few households that have reached out about their very specific basements. Some of it is more a private property with the way the parking lot is shaped and it kind of how the drainage is set up, not draining as effectively. And, you know, we gotta take a look at that. Um, you know, in the war, there's a major park in Jackie Parker Park. Uh so there's some kind of flooding on the roadways. We got to manage that as well and make sure golf course, for example, returns to operation as soon as possible. Um, so those are kind of the the places I'm I'm looking at that that you know that we're certainly receiving the alerts. The other thing I will say is in the last 10 years or so, Epcor has invested significantly in flood mitigation measures uh in War Gotta Heal. Um, and so again, you know, these flood mitigation typically manages what I'm talking about, that day-to-day system. Uh so again, when we have the surge event, you know, we anticipate, we do as much as we can, and then, you know, make sure that we have kind of the response measures in place, which is what's what's what uh which is what is happening right now.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yes, I do remember growing up, because I grew up in and around the ward that there were, when there was major rain events, there would be a lot more basement flooding. I do remember there was those huge kind of um along, was it 20 uh 23rd or the 34th? There was like a big tunnel put in to like mitigate rainwater in the year.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah, 91st. 91st is the one is a big one. And that's the Millborne uh flood mitigation. And in fact, we've had so one of the longest serving uh citizen advisory body for that project. Uh, we kind of wrapped it up a few a few years ago. And um, even a few years ago, we we also had a surge event, not quite as extreme as what we're experiencing this year, but um uh and that amount of rain was similar to kind of 13 years ago when you probably did see a lot of those flooding. Uh and you know, and it demonstrated actually the the mitigation efforts did, you know, work. They're working, yeah. That's really great to hear so now you know it's kind of another surge, and we gotta continue to kind of strengthen that system.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

So, what can we do to prepare for the upcoming surge that might be happening?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Uh, you know what? I think any official information will go out through through the proper channels, you know, follow kind of the advisory. I hope that we don't kind of go into another advisory mode. You know, this is something we're anticipating for. Um, and just make sure, especially if you're a homeowner, make sure your sump pump, your downspouse, they're all functioning properly, you know, you've cleared off your your eavesdrop. I had to do that with my house just so that, you know, you're directing all water away from the foundation of the house. Uh, so there's things that homeowners can do on their property as well. But, you know, if you have see anything out of the ordinary, you know, contact FCOR, contact 3101, contact my office if you need to. That's awesome. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Okay,

School Capacity And Safety Concerns

SPEAKER_00 7:28

let's move to, I know we spoke briefly about uh just over email about like EPSB and how that's not really a thing that maybe city counselors have a huge role in. But I my question came up from that is what do you think a city counselor's role is in recent changes to schools and school capacities? Um are you hearing things from your constituents about the schools? Is there anything that people can go to to you for if they're experiencing something with the schools, or where should they go?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Yeah. Uh so schools is a really big topic, and there's lots going on when it comes to the education system. Um, that's why we have elected school board trustees, and you know, every school has a trustee, every neighborhood has a trustee, and that's if it's something happening within the school or school policy, uh, that's really who you should be turning to. When it comes to the broader education policy, the Minister of Education plays a key role. Um, you know, they also play a key role when it comes to budgeting and, you know, infrastructure approval. And when it comes to the city, you know, I will say a few things. Um, you know, school capacity is a huge issue. Um it's something that, you know, I've been advocating with uh the provincial government for just more schools and with our trustees for planning for particularly a high school in in the southern part of Garihillo. You know, there's lots of cating, but those kids grow up and they graduate, they guess to go somewhere. Um, and this is all happened before the announcement for uh the school accelerator uh fund that the the program that the province announced. So once with that announcement, you know, a number of schools have been identified. And the city's role is actually making sure we have a land for it where we had to make sure they're serviced uh so that the school board can work with the Ministry of Education to kind of really allocate the infrastructure, the infrastructure dollar needed to put an actual school on there. Um, so we play a big role in the planning of that. Uh, you know, the other piece I will say um something I do hear often about is around safety. Safety in terms of uh school zones and uh drop-off and pickup, uh speeding through school zones. Um and you know, the last few years I have been able to work with a few schools to kind of figure out what are some of those uh measures we can we can explore. Um unfortunately, cities uh I guess the capacity in this is significantly limited through provincial legislation changes with photo radar. We can no longer designate, you know, one of those radar trucks as uh easily as we can. There's much more limited places that that we can uh actually we no longer allow photo radar except for very few instances around uh intersection lights. Um, so the tours are much more limited. However, you know, this is just an ongoing conversation and we can only do what we can in terms of signage and and road design. And then the second piece of safety is around school violence. Um, and this is what prompted me a few years ago to uh, you know, direct administration to work with school board, work with law enforcement, work with healthcare, uh, to design a violence prevention action plan. You know, I think there are there can be things that happen at school, but when school is out, kids are in the community, in our neighborhood, in our streets, in their rec centers. If something happens, how do we know what is happening and how do we know what the support system is overall? And you know, you gotta take that kind of holistic systems approach to it. And that's what the violence prevention action plant is really focused on. I, you know, I would love to see it more focused around youth, and that has always been the conversation. Um, so that's something, you know, it's not directly within my jurisdiction, what happens on the school ground, but what happens in the school ground often trickles out, you know, especially on like transit centers. I've heard a lot of concerns. So, what can we do? And this is sort of my my role in that.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

That's awesome. Thank you so much for giving a little insight into that. Do you ever have like parents coming to you with questions about uh where to go or what to talk to? He spoke a little bit about that. Um, and he did speak a little bit about the issues that you're seeing. Um, are there any any other like things that you're seeing popping up when parents are coming to you about school capacity or other things? Or do you have anything to say to parents that are experiencing those issues?

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Yeah, I mean, like we can only advocate, we don't, we don't direct. And so typically I would recommend parents uh reach out to their trustees as a best place uh to start with. And you know, we'll continue to do what the city can do in terms of advocacy, in terms of planning and servicing land and get them ready for future schools. Um, you know, one of the things that uh the city has recently approved and that we're gonna be embarking on is a transit garage uh just on the south end of the ward. Um, and as part of that exercise, I had asked the administration to explore if there's suitable locations around there for a high school, just so that uh we can be a bit more proactive if the opportunity comes, you know, it's there. Uh and so, you know, that's kind of something I've also considered in terms of what I can do when people have questions about capacity. Um, and the final thing I'll just say is um, you know, one of the things I often hear from my residents, especially south of the Hyundai, is a lack of recreation or library or amenities. Um, and there's a lot of reason for that in terms of the way the city has grown outward, um in terms of resource constraint, in terms of how we approach kind of these district-level large-scale infrastructure projects. Uh, but one of the opportunities I think we could really explore is co-location with schools. So if you think about Dr. Anderson's school, that's a very good example of school and city working together. Um, so you know, whatever schools will be in my area, those are the opportunities I'll be looking at as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Awesome. Thank you so

AISH To ADAP Change Anxiety

SPEAKER_00 13:41

much. Um, one more question, just moving to the recent changes that are coming in effect on July 1st with the Age program to be changed to the Alberta Disability Assistance Program. Um, I know you made comments on this before, but I'm curious, like what are you hearing from your constituents? What are your concerns? What can the city do? How are you feeling about that?

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Yeah, so late last year, um uh I think last fall is kind of when this conversation really started, uh, with a bit of a timeline introduced. Um, so I serve on the city's accessibility advisory committee, uh, which is a citizen body with very diverse experiences. Um, and I'm the council rep on that. And one of the things that the committee really reflected to me is that this is a major provincial legislation change. And there is a lot of questions, um, there is a lot of concerns, there's a lot of fear and anxiety within the community. And while it's not a city issue, um, they want a city council to advocate for it. So that's why, you know, in January I had a motion uh around uh, you know, the mayor talking to the minister uh about pausing this row out and re-engage with the community. The the entire engagement process, you know, from why what I understand left still lots of questions unanswered. Um, and uh, you know, there's a lot of questions about the appeal process in terms of uh if you if you're labeled as you're capable of working, uh, but there's some circumstances around that. The appeal process for that is was really unclear. And for people who have been on age for a very long time, this is a significant change. Um, and so that motion actually snowballed into many other municipalities. And you know, by at this point, I think we're up to municipalities that represent over 70% of the population in Alberta for the same call. Let's take an evidence approach, uh-based approach to this issue. Let's pause, let's re-engage, let's just check in with the community about where they're at, which I don't think is unreasonable. Um, and so regardless, the province moved ahead. People are starting to receive their letter about are you staying on age? Are you transitioning to ADAP? I also understand um, no, the criteria isn't very clear to people. Again, this is not my expertise. I I only hear what I hear from the community, from these advisory bodies, but the criteria isn't unclear. And so people have no idea. They're everyone just kind of waiting for something to land in their mailbox and hope that you know they're not being transitioned. Um, and so now we there is a new minister, and I'm hoping it's a bit of an opportunity to reset uh this conversation. And, you know, if there is a misunderstanding of how the policy is supposed to work, please educate us. Please raise awareness with a community. Uh, please hear communities' questions out, right? Um, why are people so worried about it? Um, this is affecting, you know, people with disabilities across the province. I've talked to small towns where majority of folks are senior or there are people with disabilities. So it has a huge impact on people's livelihood and quality of life.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Absolutely. No, thank you for that insight into what that looks like for Albertans and Edmontonians. That is really helpful. And I really hope there is more clarity because not having clarity on where or what your life is going to look like, because that's essentially what it means for a lot of people, yeah, is very destabilizing.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Yeah, you know, I um I remain hopeful that with the current minister there can be a bit of a dialogue about this, whereas previously there really wasn't. We did receive a response back from the last minister who just essentially says cities should stay in cities laying and not interfere. Um, and you know, we when provincial legislation have a huge impact on municipal services. Um, and with this particular legislation, like I think it will have an impact absolutely on services like, you know, um in this case, you know, he specifically referenced transit and snow removal, like it will have an impact on all of that. We're doing what we can. Our resource and oftentimes decision-making and autonomy is being taken away by the province, but we'll and we'll continue to deliver what we can. But we also think it's a huge important message that provincial legislation um has an impact on municipalities, and this is where we're we can impact around advocacy, and we will continue to do so. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Um, speaking to more about um just things that are happening in July.

Fireworks Rules And Safer Celebrations

SPEAKER_00 18:37

I we I know you wanted to talk about fireworks regulations in coming for July 1st for Canada Day. Um, and that that is definitely a municipal thing that we get to talk about. Absolutely. So tell me more about what you have to say on that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Yeah. So July 1st, there's gonna be a really major fireworks show in Millwiss Park. Uh, it's gonna be spectacular. I think it's the best uh fireworks show in the city, uh, put on by the Millwest Presence Council, who's been doing it for the last few decades. Um, it's a huge draw for crowds on the south side. And centralized firework shows like that is so important, uh, not just for the enjoyment of the community, but it also, you know, serves as a platform to say, hey, we want to celebrate with fireworks. Here's a central platform. Let's all enjoy safely so that you don't have to set off fireworks uh in your backyard or in your front driveway. And this is an issue we've been seeing kind of escalating over the last few years. Um, you know, yes, fireworks happen throughout the year, but I think we definitely see a surge around Diwali time and it's a very sacred time for the community. People want to use fire and sparklers um to really celebrate, you know, the notion of light over darkness. And I think, you know, that's really important. Um, but what has been happening is um a few years ago, we actually banned uh fireworks in residential area. Essentially, you can't uh set it off in your urban setting because of the density, because of safety of all those reasons. But people are still setting it off. So much so that a few years ago it caused a number of grass fires. We had to deploy uh fire services, first responders, lots of emergency management um resources to that. And then last year, a couple houses got burnt down. Um, and I think we were going to stress that illegal fireworks is not okay. At the same time, this was happening uh because so much of it was happening around Diwali, we also see the kind of the societal narrative around this, particularly on social media, really take a very negative turn. Uh, and a lot of it is around anti-South Asian like discrimination and racism. Um, and you know, you're turning something that's quite sacred into uh something that's a nuisance, uh, and you know, and then you're veering towards this very racist dialogue. And so the the South Asian community approached the city uh this past year um to say, how can we work together? And so I had introduced the motion to direct administration to say, how do we up our game on fireworks, ill legal fireworks regulation? Uh, you know, what are the different elements we can do, uh, specifically around a uh more stronger, proactive communication? Uh, can we close the loops in our in our bylaws? Uh, can we revisit this notion around sale of fireworks? Because it's one thing to buy in a fireworks store, but it's another to buy in convenience stores, grocery stores, and all that. Um, and the third piece is like how do we work with the community for a more centralized celebration during Diwali to celebrate safely? And so the community actually formed their own stewardship group and have been working pretty diligently with the administration on this report that we'll be discussing next week. Um and I know I have given a lot of credit to the Safarish Network for. Bring people together and facilitating some of those conversations. There's some really great recommendations building on learnings from other jurisdictions like Rampton, for example, that you know I'm looking forward to that discussion.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

That's really exciting. That's great to hear. I feel like having multiple fireworks shows in the woods or in Edmonton is always exciting. And yeah, it is that is that seems like something to look forward to. This is coming out next week.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

This is coming out next week. So, like I mentioned, there were three parts to this work, this body of work. So next week, we're looking at the first two parts. One is communication. Um, and so administration will talk about, you know, in the past, we've kind of relied on roadside signage. We've had materials like website translating to different languages. Uh, there have been visits to institutions like Munders or um community leaks, for example. But this time I think we'll kind of up that game and leverage social media, grassroots media. Um, so you know, I encourage your station to really tune into that as well. Um, and then the second piece is around how do we get to this centralized celebration? You know, there there is a goal uh for November 8th at Millwood Park, uh, but it does take resource and there's an element of um cost share between the city and uh the community and the business community. Uh we're not quite there yet. Um, and so I think the discussion will really aim at how do we make a plan to work towards that. If not this year, then next year, what would it look like? Yeah. Yeah. Will it be snowing? What is that gonna look like, right? Like we feel like that's what I'm thinking of. Yeah, I think this is later than last year, for example. And then come fall is when we talk about the regulation and the bylaw. We're looking at loopholes in four different bylaws that's got to be coordinated also with some of the provincial legislation as well. Um, so there's still quite a bit of work left to be done. Uh, and and we'll we'll focus on that in the in the fall.

Valley Line LRT Operations And Signals

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Thank you. That sounds like an exciting development. Um, one more thing we'll talk about this morning is talking about the southeast stretch of the LRT and the recent decision from change from trans-ed to ETS. And you were also working on some signal adjustment work on the LRT. What does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah, um, so you know, the the tri the valley line southeast, which you know stretches from downtown all the way to Midwest Town Center, um, I can tell you has been a really important addition to War Gardi Hill. Lots of residents who now take it um have mentioned that you know it's been a huge addition to their life, um, which is and how easy it is to use. As a regular uh LRT user myself, I really appreciate the service that TranZ has provided. Um, you know, so overall, you know, as we continue to build out our LRT system and as it continues to extend westward, we have to think about long-term operation uh and how do you kind of bring all of that under one operator? Um, in any case, you know, we did a call out to kind of look at all the options, including TRENZ, and ultimately made the decision to transition that operation to ETS. Uh, we felt that was the most, I guess being for the buck for the taxpayers' dollars, um, and has nothing to do with, you know, the service uh performance, uh, which has they've been the great partner to work with. Um, so with that transition and bringing things uh under the city, all under one roof, I wonder if there's an opportunity here to do some fine-tuning. Um one of the things I hear a lot about from residents in many neighborhoods along the line is around the signals at intersections where the LRT kind of crosses. Um, and you know, we've always encouraged people to report to three-on-one, reach out to our office, so we can we're constantly making those fine-tuning, and there has been actually a number of adjustments made. Um, but I but I feel like there needs to be a bit of a wholesale review of the line. And so, you know, last week um I went on a visit with some of the you know city engineers, uh, signal uh staff um at ETS to go from Millwood's town center and we would drive up and stop more or less at every uh station. Um, but then there's a couple of locations that's not a station, it's just an intersection. And I would talk about the feedback I've been getting from residents. I would print those out. I will I will share those feedback and just some lived experience for myself around the challenges. Um, and so there's lots of notes made. Uh, you know, hopefully some of those can be made um sooner than later. Uh, because it, you know, once again, we're talking about wholesale. It is a fairly significant review. Um, and and and that that will take a bit of time and resources. So this is kind of the homework to prepare for the homework for that transition when that happens, um, and to to to see really like what more we can do. But some of those pieces I think we can hopefully get to sooner than later. And the idea here is to make sure that the LRT is fitting in seamlessly within the broader transportation system. Um, you know, these feedback I'm getting not just from drivers, but also from pedestrians, um, cyclists, and so just wanting to make sure it's it's seamless, it's safe. I think safety is really paramount. Um, and you know, it could it's it's accessible. The transportation system is accessible for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Awesome. I'm a big Valley Line Vines fan, so I'm excited to see what changes are to come. Um

Aging In Place And Senior Supports

SPEAKER_00 27:48

I just wanna I had one more thing that was talking about aging in place at Millwoods, and like if you want to talk a little bit about that, how because a lot of these things actually, like when we talk about okay, the rain, the LRT changes, changes to age, even the fireworks, they all have like these impacts on seniors in in the ward and in Millwoods in general, or even other neighborhoods, because you do cover those. But what is that, what does that look like in in our ward, and how does that, how is that supported through city infrastructure?

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Yeah. Um, when it comes to senior support, I will maybe I think about it in a few different ways. Um, you know, certainly when it comes to uh seniors' benefits, uh, like seniors um services, a lot of it does is funded through the provincial government. There is a whole ministry dedicated to this. Um and you know, with some of the recent changes, senior benefits are being reduced, you know, I know there's a lot of concerns about that, and getting emails about this as well. Um, what the city tries to do is kind of create an environment in which seniors are living, are playing, you know, uh are interacting and socializing with others. Uh, one is through our FCSS or uh family and community social services uh grants. Um there's actually a dedicated um stream for senior centers uh and for the seniors coordinating council that does some of the direct uh service provision for seniors. Um, you know, we've amended a number of things when it comes to um city service like uh waste removal and snow removal. Uh the assisted program is meant to respond to some of the challenges we've heard from seniors. Um as seniors age, less uh less uh more and more of them uh are no longer driving, and so we have to make sure transit is a is a is a pretty robust conversation. I think improving some of these services actually benefits everybody. So it's not just that we're doing this for one population. It's actually it actually benefits everyone. I think transit service, you know, it's a it's a very ongoing conversation about we need more buses, we need more garage to house the buses. And once we do that, we can increase our service level. Um, so that's kind of the the the city service side. There is the, you know, I guess programming side of things when it comes to senior centers and supporting that. Um, and I think the other piece around aging in place is as someone gets older in their neighborhood, oftentimes people probably want to stay where they are at. But if you're living in a single family home, um it's probably becoming harder and harder for someone to take care of um their property. Because there's a lot that goes into it, right? And you know, I think what's what's um been a bit of a missing part in the current conversation around infill redevelopment is that when we do infill redevelopment, you're actually creating more options, more housing options in the community. Um so that as someone ages, they don't have to look too far for an alternative. Uh, maybe they want to downsize right next door. Um, and so that that's actually a huge part of this conversation as well. But I think it's getting a little bit lost. Um you know, I think that choice piece is really critical. Uh, we often talk about young young people uh getting their head start on home ownership. Um, but it's not just for young people as well, it's for seniors as well. So that's another critical policy and in, you know, and infrastructure that we had to think about to to I guess support seniors aging in

Infill Redevelopment Facts And Accountability

SPEAKER_01 31:32

place.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

That's really great to hear. Are there just one last question? Because we we are just briefly touching on it, is how is the infill kind of politics situations changes uh impacting your work? Is it coming up a lot in the work you do in in your ward? How does that work?

SPEAKER_01 31:48

All the time. Yeah, absolutely. And I think in my ward is definitely starting to pick up. Um, and I think part of it is that for a very long time, City has been on an infill journey for the last 15 years. Um, there has been incremental changes. You know, if you think back to um 2005, I want to say, when the the loss splitting conversation first started, to I think the last big thing was back in 2020 uh with previous council around removing the parking minimum requirement. Um and so all that's part of this info journey. Uh, and during that time, there hasn't been a lot of redevelopment in in Millwoods. Um, it's an older neighborhood. Uh, I mean, it's not that it's not not that old, but from the 70s. Yeah. But it's but info has been affecting uh central neighborhoods by and large. But now we have an RRT. I think we have huge growth um, you know, south of the Hyundai is creating different opportunities right now in an established neighborhood like Millwoods. So we are starting to see redevelopment happen. And when that happens, you know, in some cases it's a one-for-one replacement, and there are these giant mansions that I've uh you know, doorknocked on. In some cases, it is multiplexus, and you know, it raises a lot of concerns about waste removal, about parking, about, you know, character of the neighborhood, etc. Um, and so there's lots, so I get emails on a regular basis, and I know there's uh, you know, certainly a movement uh out there. Uh people are having these conversations. Um and I think the best thing that I can do is to make sure that we put out facts and we put out the best information that I have. City is changing and maintaining neighborhood status quo is quite frankly not ideal. Um we have, you know, we've seen over 200,000 people move in the last few years. Uh, so a lot of these changes is to support that growth. And we are still building on the outside on the outskirts, uh, which is means more inventory for the city to service and maintain. It does become more expensive. Um, and so it's no one is neglecting the outskirts, the suburban, so that is still happening, but we have to think about redevelopment. Um, and so, you know, I'm uh me and my office were contemplating developing a bit of a uh information series around just in film. How do we get here? And I can tell you, we've had multiple public hearings where um, no, the first one over 200 people came out. It was a fairly 50 split in terms of where people stood on this issue. Um, and then since then, we've made a number of amendments to the zoning bylaw um to address some of those concerns. I, you know, I always say I hear about essentially three pieces, three buckets of concerns. The first bucket is um this change is too drastic. We want it to be rolled back entirely. Um and then, you know, a second bucket is, you know, I don't like how they look. They're too big, too tall, too close, you know, to the property line. So that's so a lot of the amendments have been focused around those concerns. And then the third piece, a third piece is around because the construction is creating an unsafe environment next door. Uh, the builder is not responding to our questions, that they are being disrespectful or or et cetera, et cetera. Um, and that's why this past year we've also launched the city's construction accountability program. Uh, we've increased our capacity to infill liaison and infill compliance teams so that, you know, when there is a concern that comes in, there is somebody to respond to. Uh, there is a team dedicated, you know, to go out and investigate. Um, and for those builders that are just bad builders, you know, what can we do to hold them accountable? So adding more measures to that. So I would say it's a it's a huge conversation, absolutely, not too different from you know many other infill conversations we've had um years ago. Uh, and so now we're working with, you know, lots of new factors, and I think people need to have the best information that they can have, and that is what I hope to achieve.

Flood Reporting Tips And Closing

SPEAKER_00 35:55

Wow, thank you. That was uh great. We talked about so much this morning. So I really appreciate all of your the candid conversation and all the information that you're able to share. So I really appreciate that. Any last words you wanted to share with us?

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Uh, you know, I think uh grassroots media is really important, and I thank you all for doing what you do. Uh, I see you at a lot of different events and capturing community spirit uh in a really excellent way, and I just keep up the great work. Thank you. I hope you have a great day. Thank you so much for coming. No problem.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening to my conversation with the city councilor Karen Tang. If you are experiencing any basement flooding, please call 780-412-4500 to report flooding in your basement. This is an Epcor number. And of course, if you're living in Edmonton, go look at the Epcor website, give Epcor a call to get more information on basement flooding and water management. If your home vehicle business has been severely damaged by severe weather or any damage at all, you are encouraged to document the damage and contact your insurance company for further instructions. And please report any downed power lines to 911. Never touch a downed power line and stay at least 10 meters or 33 feet away from the wires or anything in contact with the wires. Thanks for listening to this podcast, and I hope this was informative for you if you're living in Edmonton in Canada, especially if you're living in Ward Harry. This is Ravia. Give me a follow at DJ Robber Ravia, give us a follow at the Universal Radio, and check out our website www.theuniversal radio.com.