THIS WEEK IN EDMONTON

• The Infrastructure Committee will meet on Monday, with one of the most significant items on its agenda being a major reassessment of what to do with the High Level Bridge. Administration is recommending Council scrap the previously approved $200 million rehabilitation plan and instead plan for full replacement - a strategic pivot triggered by updated cost estimates that came in at $380 million at the 30% design stage, nearly double the original figure. The bridge, built between 1910 and 1913, carries 24,000-27,000 vehicles per day and has an estimated remaining service life of only 10-15 years. The total cost of the broader central area bridge renewal program - encompassing the High Level Bridge, the Low Level Bridges, and Dawson Bridge - is estimated at approximately $1.3 billion. Because the High Level Bridge holds a Municipal Historic Resource designation, Council must formally repeal that designation before demolition can proceed. The construction and decommissioning timeline runs from 2031 to 2039, with debt servicing costs beginning at $6.6 million in 2033 and rising to $28 million annually by 2036.
• Also this week, the Council Services Committee will consider a request from Ward 10 (Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi) Councillor Jon Morgan for $3,000 from the Common Travel Budget to attend the Calgary Stampede from July 3rd to July 12th, 2026. The request reveals that Ward 9 (pihêsiwin) Councillor Michael Elliott and Ward 11 (Karhiio) Councillor Keren Tang had already received Stampede travel approvals of $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, earlier in the year. The total Common Travel Budget for 2026 is $73,002, and with $58,500 already approved or estimated for other travel this year, only $14,502 remains. The committee must decide whether to approve Morgan's additional request from that remaining balance.
• The Audit Committee meets on Wednesday, and among the items on its agenda is the City Auditor's follow-up dashboard on outstanding audit recommendations. Across all City departments, 35 audit recommendations remain unresolved and five are now overdue. The most delayed item is the Historic Resource Management Program recommendation, originally due December 31st, 2024, and now revised to June 30th, 2026, making it 16 months past its original deadline. A Fraud Risk Management recommendation is four months overdue and has been extended to June 30th, 2027, with Administration citing staffing challenges as the reason for the delay. A Cybersecurity recommendation is also four months past due, and two items in the Taxation, Assessment and Collection System category are one month overdue. Financial Services has the highest number of outstanding recommendations, at 9. The Audit Committee received administrative explanations for the delays, but those explanations rely on revised timelines rather than completed action.
• The Council Services Committee's agenda this week includes Administration's 2026 financial update for Councillors' offices. Each Councillor receives an individual ward office budget of $214,304, and the report provides a line-by-line breakdown of spending by councillor, allowing direct comparison of how individual ward budgets are being managed through the first four months of the year. The total approved budget for all Councillors' offices combined is $6.088 million for the year. As of April 30th, the combined offices carry a "net favourable variance" of $74,000, meaning they are running 3.1% under budget overall. Ward office budgets collectively are 9.3% under-spent, while the common budget is in a slight deficit of $6,000.
• Edmonton Police Service and Recovery Alberta are opening an Integrated Stabilization Centre designed to detain people causing public disorder who have not been charged with a criminal offence. The centre uses authority under the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act to hold intoxicated individuals for up to 24 hours without a criminal charge being laid. The facility is staffed by Recovery Alberta clinical workers rather than police officers, and is intended to divert individuals away from emergency departments and jail cells. The arrangement raises civil liberties questions, as individuals can be held for nearly a full day based on an administrative determination rather than a criminal process. However, supporters of the model argue that it connects people in crisis to addiction and mental health services more effectively than either an arrest or a hospital visit would.

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Stephanie Swensrude

Here are some key items on the agenda this week:

•   The High Level Bridge and Low Level Bridges will be decommissioned and replaced over the next 10 to 15 years, says a report to be presented to infrastructure committee. While the Low Level Bridges have been slated for demolition for some time, the city had planned to rehabilitate the High Level Bridge to extend its lifespan. But updated testing shows it could cost more than $1 billion to keep it in operation over the next 75 years. Mayor Andrew Knack acknowledged that the High Level Bridge is iconic, but said there comes a time when rehabilitation is no longer feasible. “We’ll have to think about how we rebuild it in a way that respects that heritage and legacy,” Knack told CTV Edmonton. The tentative timeline, pending budget deliberations in the fall, would see a new Low Level Bridge funded in the 2027-2030 budget cycle and a new High Level Bridge funded in the 2035-2039 budget cycle. Replacement bridges would be built before demolition, and the northbound Low Level Bridge would be maintained for active transportation
•   Administration has prepared amendments to the landscape securities program in the zoning bylaw, which it has put forward as an alternative to a private tree protection bylaw. The city collects a security from a developer when it gets a development permit and returns it when the developer plants the required trees and shrubs. If the landscaping isn’t done, the city uses that money to do it. The program is currently applied to large-scale residential, mixed-use, and non-residential developments, and the proposed amendments would add small-scale developments. The city recommends a phased approach starting in January 2027. If council approves the changes, administration estimates that the number of securities collected would increase from 300 to nearly 5,000 annually, with two more full-time employees and two seasonal employees required. The resources for the program would come from fees that developers pay to the city. Council will vote on the amendments to the zoning bylaw at a public hearing.
•   The ward budgets for the Office of the Councillors have a surplus of $74,000, in part because councillors are not fully using personnel budgets for executive assistants and council assistants. The common budget, which funds travel, office furniture, and salaries for councillors and administrative assistants, is in a deficit of $6,000 due to non-personnel costs.
•   Council will consider a rezoning application on a corner site in the Balwin neighbourhood that would allow the landowner to build a four-storey building. Administration said it supports the application because the property is near the 82 Street secondary corridor, and it would match the rest of the zoning on the property’s block. Some residents said they oppose the application because they feel a larger development would reduce available parking and increase crime.
•   A landowner has proposed consolidating two lots in the Belgravia neighbourhood at the corner of 80 Avenue and 119 Street NW and rezoning it to allow a building up to three storeys tall. Administration said it supports the application because the site is both large and surrounded by roadways and alleys on all sides, which would mitigate the impacts of a larger building. Some residents said they oppose the rezoning because it would increase traffic and parking congestion, and they feel there is already too much development happening in the neighbourhood.
•   Council services committee will consider a request from Coun. Jon Morgan to add $3,000 to the common travel and conferences budget to attend the Calgary Stampede.
•   Council will receive a private update on its strategic priorities.