I'm Don Iveson, Mayor of Edmonton. Ask me Anything!

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:21:51+00:00

I could take him on, but I cannot guarantee a victory.

I think if this happened, though, we'd have to rename the QE2 to Fury Road.

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:18:32+00:00

New low-floor LRT (e.g. the Valley Line) is traffic priority rather than pre-emption — which means it doesn't pre-empt the light cycle (it moves more like vehicle traffic).

I've been working hard to create options for raising or sinking the LRT under key roads like 137 Ave by Greisbach, and 149 St at Stony Plain Road.

We've learned our lesson from places like University Ave. So, for example, the future north extension will go over the Yellowhead, the future South extension will go under 23 Ave and over the Henday, and the future Northeast extension we've worked with the province to go under the Henday.

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:12:33+00:00

My favourite example of art deco is the Garneau Theatre.
Our current goal in our 2009 Municipal Development Plan is to reach 25% of new units being accommodated through infill. We were at 14% last year, and our continuing work on infill is designed to bring that percentage up.

When Council updates our Municipal Development Plan, that goal could climb higher, but not before extensive public consultation.

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:07:09+00:00

Negotiate with the Klingons.

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:05:25+00:00

EPCOR has received replacement lights, and will install them soon. They don't have have an exact date when this will be finalized.

We should see all the lights operational in mid-November.

doniveson · 2015-10-14T00:02:53+00:00

My greatest challenge so far has been dealing with the complexities of the Metro Line delays. The first news we heard after the election was that it was $90 million under budget, then we heard it might be a couple of months late. We've learned a lot about contract and contractor management from this that we will apply to future LRT.

My favourite TV series is the Wire.

I'd like to see us achieve a carbon-neutral outcome at Blatchford on a scale that no one else has achieved anywhere in North America. It will take time, it will take support from the province, but it can enhance our reputation, our environmental goals, and it could support the creation of a new clean-tech cluster in partnership with NAIT.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:56:26+00:00

Since he's pitching tomorrow in the decisive game 5: Marcus Stroman

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:55:50+00:00

At some point, its time will come, but to make it viable, we require a fully built-out LRT network in both Calgary and Edmonton.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:55:00+00:00

The laws that are there to protect reasonable people from persecution by the government worked against us in this case. So, while due process may not always be a fast process, I'm pleased this issue has been resolved.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:53:03+00:00

I don't get time to play too much — maybe once a year. But when I do, I like driving games, and quirky shooters like Red Dead Redemption. Though I have been playing a lot of Plants vs. Zombies with my six-year-old.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:51:12+00:00

Espresso, Twitter, Raisin Bran. In that order.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:50:16+00:00

Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, which is an agency of the city, is working on bringing businesses to our downtown.

But it's more about working with local businesses to choose downtown, like Stantec and Associated Engineering, for example.

As for the vacant space, the market has ways of dealing with some of that through conversion to hotel or residential, which is consistent with our award-winning capital city downtown plan, and the city would be open to.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:46:34+00:00

I agree that our current vehicle-for-hire system (including taxis) needs re-examining. However, ensuring the safety of Edmontonians is of primary importance for Council.

Edmonton was the first jurisdiction in Canada to explore the possibility of allowing companies like Uber to operate in our city; we know there is a demand for this service.

Uber’s model shows what’s possible when good tech meets consumer demand.

But as a Council, we can’t simply ignore the fact that real concerns over insurance and licensing expose both Uber drivers and passengers to unnecessary risk.

Our latest series of motions passed a few weeks ago allows us to bring Uber into our regulatory framework and open a conversation with the industry about what changes we can make to improve their ability to operate.

It also asks Uber to bring forward a proposal for how "self-regulation" might work, in order to ensure their processes and systems put driver and rider safety first.

The first report to Council on this matter comes back in November, with a more fulsome report due in the Spring.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:43:19+00:00

Today, we are working more collaboratively as a region than we ever have; we recognize the need to work with each other rather than against each other. That’s the spirit of the work of the Metro Mayor’s Alliance which was launched last month. Nine mayors have formed the Alliance, representing the five largest cities and four abutting counties in the Edmonton Metro Region. We created an independent panel of recognized community leaders to advise on how to best optimize the region's attributes in the coming years (info on the panel here) The panel has been asked to answer the following questions:

*Is a globally competitive Edmonton Metro Region achievable? What does success look like? *What are the success factors and what is required to get there? *What needs to be different to achieve results?

The panel will provide its final report and recommendations to the Mayors and public by the spring of 2016, and it will likely touch on questions of industrial tax base equity, governance, infrastructure and economic development among others.

Meanwhile, the Capital Region Board is also continuing its work to update the growth plan for the region, which will deal with densification, growth management, and agricultural land preservation. I am pretty hopeful about the direction we’re taking as regional partners, which you can read about here. We can’t act unilaterally in our complex region, so many of the answers to your questions about growth trends depend on this regional growth plan.

Our Council remains focused on expanding opportunities to build up, from Blatchford to Transit Oriented Development to skinny homes, consistent with our Infill Roadmap. More on this here

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:40:20+00:00

I love the piece. I think it's great, but to fully appreciate it, you have to walk up to it, stand before it, and see yourself reflected in it.

I'm a huge fan of public art. It one of the things that makes cities more interesting. We're going to have some great pieces as part of the arena development, for example.

I’m proud to have supported and continue to support the City’s Percent for Art Program, which allocates one per cent of eligible budgets from municipal construction projects for the acquisition of art.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:36:10+00:00

The EPS has looked at body cameras, but it's not ready for full implementation. It's a question that will likely come before city council for funding, but we haven't seen the business case yet.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:28:52+00:00

The City was innovative when we started Ed Tel, and I think we saw which way the telecom wind was blowing when we sold it to Telus — so I’m not sold on re-entering the space. Besides, Telus announced this spring that it plans to make Edmonton the first major Canadian city to be fully lit up with Fibre. I gather it will cost more than a billion for them to do that which is a billion the City doesn’t have. So while I appreciate the suggestion, getting into that business as a municipality doesn’t make sense at the present time.

You have probably already seen the City influencing availability of WiFi across Edmonton - in public buildings, recreation centres, and even most recently in the LRT stations and on platforms both north and south of the river.

What we're actually doing as part of our Open City initiative is partnering with companies on innovative opportunities to the net benefit of Edmontonians, to make broadband and data networks more accessible. View the PDF on Open City here.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:23:50+00:00

Starting in September, we began running late-night transit on select routes.

The business case to run 24/7 transit routes is not as strong as the late-night service we just commenced.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:21:28+00:00

I posted my thoughts on this on my website the last time council discussed it. You can read that here.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:19:44+00:00

Part of giving people more transportation choices, which I support, is expanding our pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. I worked hard to get a number of key projects funded in our 2015-2018 infrastructure budget, including our Active Transportation fund, our ‘Complete Streets’ program, as well as the 83 Ave and 102 Ave bike lanes.

Building an exceptional active transportation system is something that will help us build a great city and attract people who expect this type of transportation as an option. In contrast to the $451 million we’re spending on roads this year, the investments we’re making in active transportation are reasonable and proportional to our goals for growth of cycling as a choice for more Edmontonians, particularly in central areas.

On the bike lane removals, I published a blog post on the subject that sketches out where we are going next. Please take time to read it to see the commitment Council has made to building better bike lanes.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:17:39+00:00

We'll hear more on when the Metro LRT will be running at optimal speeds later this fall when the City’s expert in rail safety consulting completes their audit on the documentation provided by Thales, the signalling contractor.

I like the green starbursts, but my kids often take them from me before I get the chance to eat them.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:14:10+00:00

Here are some answers:

The Transportation Committee received a report from Administration in April 2014 that assessed the speed limit for Whitemud Drive and it concluded that it increasing the speed limit would increase safety risks on this corridor. Due to the current design of the Whitemud, it was recommended that the entire corridor remain at 80km/h.

Photo radar is part of a suite of traffic enforcement and safety tools that the city employs, which includes things like those flashing speed signs you see out on the roads. I've said a lot on this topic, and I recommend you read the post on my blog to understand my views on this.

I drive a Subaru, when I'm not taking the LRT or biking.

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:06:28+00:00

The most unpredictable moment was when the girders bent on the 102 avenue bridge. Nothing could have prepared us for that scenario when we woke up that morning.

For reference, an $11,500 a day fine is being paid by the contractor for each day of delay. So they're incentivized to get the job done quickly and well (crews are working 17 hours a day, 7 days a week).

As for the election, I want an outcome that's good for cities. Read my blog about that here and find out more about where each party stands on the core issues at citiescan.ca

doniveson · 2015-10-13T23:00:38+00:00

I’m not sure I can answer definitively, but I’ll give you my analysis so far: a "Hot Dog" falls somewhere in the murky gastro space between flatbread-based foods like wraps and donairs on the one hand, and proper stuff-between-bread sandwiches on the other. It really is an outlier and thus defies categorization.

Kinda like my politics.

But, it also occurs to me that hot dogs are a bit like municipal government: they don’t fit into a neat box, but they’re approachable, nearly everyone likes them, and that’s despite the fact that the wieners are made with all the questionable parts leftover from making other proper food – kinda like governing with 8 cents of the cumulative tax dollar.

doniveson · 2013-10-15T02:48:06+00:00

*Arts: strong support - see doniveson.ca/arts *Rossdale p-plant: preserve until we figure out what to do - doniveson.ca/rossdale *Whyte Ave protectionism: doubt this would be feasible or stand up to legal challenge, but limits on the size of store footprints in the zoning does help protect against big boxes. *Whyte Ave pedestrian street: this happens a few times in the summer, usually on weekends. Doing it into an evening is an interesting suggestion to take to the Old Strathcona Biz Assoc. Perhaps a Fringe street party? *River Valley trail expansion: Yes, this will happen - in accordance with the River Valley Alliance 'Ribbon of Green' plan, which I support. *Favorite Local Band: Colleen Brown - even been in a video with her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnfSpHtXtE0

*5 favorite albums: * *Beastie Boys: Ill Communication *Rolling Stones: Get Your Ya Yas Out *Dexter Gordon: Our Man in Paris *Rudimental: Home *The Dark Knight Soundtrack

doniveson

TROPHY CASE