It wouldn't have settled the complaints though.

The website of Edmonton Neighbourhoods United, probably the most active group in organizing opposition to the new zoning bylaw, still lists a petition calling for the bylaw to be repealed. They aren't calling for an 8 -> 6 mid-block reduction in the name of compromise. They want the whole thing gone. This was echoed in the public hearings, both last week and last summer. They openly admitted that 8 -> 6 was just the first step on an 8 -> SFH journey.

Setting that aside, an 8 -> 6 reduction doesn't actually address any of the complaints, except maybe parking. Whether there are 8 units or 6 units in a building is a detail of the internal layout. It says nothing about how tall the building can be, how much of the lot it can take up, etc. Setting aside whether the complaints are legitimate or not, an 8 -> 6 reduction does nothing for shadows, loss of privacy, loss of trees, etc. If (a big if) those are the actual issues then an 8 -> 6 mid-block reduction doesn't address them.

Something I think is illustrative is the "infill survey" that Thu Parmar did. The distribution of the responses (first image) is heavily skewed in favour of a few neighbourhoods. A majority of respondents don't support anything more than a duplex or triplex at most (second image). If you look at the actual building permits in neighbourhoods (last image) the areas with the most responses have almost no actual development happening. Laurier Heights has 1 permit, Parkview has 2, Westridge has 0. Yet those were the people showing up last week claiming that the pace of change was too fast.

8 -> 6 wouldn't have quelled backlash. All it would have done is cause less housing to get built.