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How about we start by having folks (including the City) bring people back to work 4-5 days a week like we used to do... that in itself would do A LOT to right this ship.

Lorne is short-sighted, but not necessarily wrong. He represents the opinions of A LOT of typical Edmontonians who don't understand the need for a vibrant Downtown, don't visit it much and only read about the issues its facing.

What we need is a concerted effort from all parties/groups both public and private sector to commit to a safer, more beautiful and more investable Downtown core.

I've yet to see a capital city that seems to be ok with a bar so low, but that also means there is A LOT of potential to raise said bar and that's what i'm betting on.
 
IanO said:
How about we start by having folks (including the City) bring people back to work 4-5 days a week like we used to do... that in itself would do A LOT to right this ship.
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Counterpoint: We should not make people miserable by taking away their autonomy to work where they want in a way that meets their personal needs. Employers and employees should be unfettered to decide and agree upon their unique operational needs free from external politicking from commercial landlord or developer special interests.
 
Turns out there is a converted warehouse turned into 1000’s of cubicles on the Southside for FED workers coming back to work. So they have a choice of either going back to Canada Place or this place…..grrrrrr!
 
Counter-counterpoint - make the Downtown a great place to work, enjoy, shop, go out for lunch with colleagues/friends. My partner used to love working Downtown because of that, but now works from home 2 days a week and enjoys it partially because the core has slipped so much. She'd happily return 5 days if things were improved.

Just because you choose to live an hr away and dislike your commute, prefer the ease of WFH, is not your employers problem. Get back into work.
 
I've been working from home 100% since COVID hit, but I still support downtown by going to the gym, having a drink, dining, shopping, medical services, personal services, attending a hockey game or concert, partaking in festivals such as Taste of Edmonton, visiting the RAM, visiting the AGA, checking out the farmer's market, hopping aboard an LRT train, or just going for a walk.
 
The genie's out of the bottle and I don't think we're going to see movement towards 4-5 days a week for in person work in public sector organizations for a bit. Workforce doesn't have the appetite for that right now too. Private sector is a different story. I do agree that Gunter's opinion regarding downtown is representative of people who don't visit the core often or use public transit. There's enough misinformation about those that needs to be addressed.

"Oh nobody uses the LRT" - "There's at least 110,000 people who use it on an average weekday"
"There's no parking downtown" - "There's thousands of stalls, you're just cheap and don't want to pay"
"Nobody works downtown anymore" - "There's 70,000 people who work downtown"
 
Gus Haynes said:
Counterpoint: We should not make people miserable by taking away their autonomy to work where they want in a way that meets their personal needs. Employers and employees should be unfettered to decide and agree upon their unique operational needs free from external politicking from commercial landlord or developer special interests.
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Correct
 
policyenthusiast said:
He makes one good point.

"The solution would be making Downtown a low-tax or no-tax zone, scrubbing municipal development fees and reducing red tape, so that there is a discount for buying in a less desirable neighbourhood."

This is something most people want IMO. Spending taxpayer money on "information campaigns" that don't work is increasingly frustrating, and people would rather subsidize the revenue lost from lowering development charges. Without a financial incentive to do so, building around Alberta Avenue or Downtown will continue to dwindle in favor of suburban infill with its demonstrable history of returns.
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The challenge will always be where you draw the dividing lines. But I do think we should have a way to make people pay less taxes to live centrally. Property taxes being 50% lower for condos downtown would be awesome.
 
Gus Haynes said:
Counterpoint: We should not make people miserable by taking away their autonomy to work where they want in a way that meets their personal needs. Employers and employees should be unfettered to decide and agree upon their unique operational needs free from external politicking from commercial landlord or developer special interests.
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I wouldn't call the 23% DT commercial vacancy rate "politicking". Commuting sucks, but office-to-residential conversions are a bandaid fix to the dwindling commercial tax base.
 
What we heard from Cartmell (that I loved) was to immediately look at reducing taxes for apartment/condo dwellers in central communities given the existing infrastructure and lower overall impact to city services vis a vis new/greenfield communities. Curious to hear more about this, but it certainly makes sense and would incentivize more multi-fam.
 
IanO said:
What we heard from Cartmell (that I loved) was to immediately look at reducing taxes for apartment/condo dwellers in central communities given the existing infrastructure and lower overall impact to city services vis a vis new/greenfield communities. Curious to hear more about this, but it certainly makes sense and would incentivize more multi-fam.
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This is an interesting take. I imagine some people would be livid that the boundary line just barely doesn't reach them in Wihkwentowin/Prince Rupert/Alberta Ave etc.

Either way, suburban greenfield developments disproportionately increase the cost of municipal services and it makes sense that they should carry more of the property tax burden.
 
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