The good news is that we are completing pothole and roadway repairs more quickly and efficiently than previous years. The bad news, is that unless we curb urban sprawl, we're only going to be adding more roads and making our pothole problems worse.

Potholes and Blocked Drains:

• Pothole repair is part of the City of Edmonton’s effort to ensure people have safe, reliable and accessible roads to travel. Edmonton is a northern city and experiences a number of freeze/thaw cycles which increase the amount of water that gets into roads and weakens pavement. Potholes form due to those cycles, when water enters into the surface of the pavement; as cars drive over that area, potholes form.

• The City has dedicated crews that do pothole repairs year-round. The City inspects all 311 reports received and prioritizes repairs based on size, severity and location.
• We encourage Edmontonians to report any potholes they see either by calling 311, using the 311 app or at edmonton.ca/ReportAPothole

• City crews are inspecting all reported locations, and, in most instances, snow that covers catch basins or blocking gutters is not removed but relocated or reset to promote proper water flow.

Edmontonians are encouraged to sign up for Service Notifications from the City to receive alerts on parking bans and other related information at edmonton.ca/SafeTravels.

Road and Renewal Budget:

Every year our capital budget spends almost $300 million per year on renewing our road network and also an additional $166 million a year in annual operating expenses on our roadways.

As of year-end 2022, the City had a total asset replacement value of $34.7 billion. 

The largest asset category was roads and related infrastructure, with an asset replacement value of $14.2 billion, 41% of all City infrastructure.

The average annual capital renewal requirements over 2024 to 2032 to maintain the City’s road network is $296.5 million. 

Additionally, the annual operating expenditures required to service Edmonton’s roadway network in 2023, including bridge and road maintenance, snow and ice control, street cleaning, traffic control, on-street parking and traffic safety was $165.6 million. 

 

Regional Road Users (The Free Rider Problem):

The City of Edmonton estimates that 9.1% of per-capita vehicle kilometres traveled (VKT) on regional roadways is from Edmonton residents, while 90.9% of per-capita VKT on regional roadways is from regional residents. These figures demonstrate a disproportionate use of City roadways by regional residents. 

The City provides a road network capacity that accommodates the demands of the Edmonton metropolitan area population, but generates property tax to support these services only from Edmonton-based properties. 

It could be argued that there is an over provision of road network infrastructure by the City of Edmonton to accommodate a broader metropolitan population: in order to accommodate the VKTs of regional road users, the City’s road network is oversized by 47%.

Put another way, if Edmonton did not have a large regional population, its road network would be significantly smaller, with lower operating and renewal costs.

My family uses public transit multiple times a day. I'm working to help build a city where public transit can be the first choice when we need to get to our destinations. From the LRT expansion, to the Bus Rapid Transit Expansion, to the Bus Network Redesign, we've worked to add more service, more often, in the places where people are most likely to use transit. The result is higher ridership and less traffic on our roads.

We've also made the on demand service permanent and reversed years of transit neglect that has seen a static funding per person. But like big highways or other infrastructure projects, more funding and support is needed from the Provincial and Federal government, including permanent, dedicated, operating funding.

We've made investments in transit safety that you can read about at michaeljanz.ca/safety

You can sign my petition for better transit at: michaeljanz.ca/bettertransit

If you see me on the bus or LRT, please say hello!

In 2023, I convened a public transit conference at the University of Alberta about the future of Edmonton Transit. Here are the speaker presentations:

 

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Together, we can build a better public transportation system for everyone.

You are invited to be a part of a community conversation learning about the challenges and opportunities facing public transit in Edmonton.

There have been major changes over the past year to public transit. How are we doing?

• Has the Bus Network Redesign proved successful?
• Are people returning to public transit post-covid?
• How are safety concerns on the LRT being addressed?
• How can we grow public transit ridership, reduce traffic, and meet our climate goals?
• What investments were made in the 2023 municipal budget?
• Is there a future for public transit in the age of Uber, Google and Elon Musk?

We expect that these learnings will be an opportunity to learn, connect, and advocate with other public transit users. Our goal is to get organized and build a better transit system for all riders! Raise your voice!

Convened by Ward papastew City Councillor Michael Janz, in partnership with many others including ATU 569, University of Alberta Sustainability Council, Climate Justice Edmonton, Migrante, Working Families Edmonton, Edmonton District Labour Council, the Parkland Institute and many more.

Did you know that one car share vehicle takes nearly 7 cars off the road, making traffic better for everyone!? Come along for a ride with Councillor Janz and Communauto as we chat about traffic and how we are going to handle thousands of cars on our streets. We need more options for transportation as car ownership becomes more unaffordable.

A bike-friendly City is more affordable for residents—who can save thousands of dollars every year if they have the option to bike instead of drive. It also builds healthier communities, both financially and physically. A bike-friendly City is also more affordable for the whole community.

Bike infrastructure is far cheaper to maintain than car infrastructure and results in more financially productive places—not to mention healthier, safer citizens (including drivers).

Learn more at michaeljanz.ca/bikeplan