Road Maintenance.
2021 Fact: The City currently manages over 10,000 lane kilometers of roads and 5,568 kilometers of sidewalks.
The City of Edmonton first needs to protect the infrastructure investments that generations of taxpayers have made with adequate and timely repair and maintenance. Letting repairs slide only leads to bigger and more costly problems which show up fast in Edmonton’s harsh climate and underlying geography. This is actually costing taxpayers more in the long run.
We also need to address the fact that our residential roads are not built to accommodate the big trucks that are trafficking it.
Right now Edmonton has about 50 city employees working in road maintenance. This is not enough. The backlog is about 1.5 years right now. Instead of spending money on consultants and pet projects, we need to invest in an adequate road maintenance department.
Albertans and Edmontonians agree with the need for investing in roads. The Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association (ARHCA) recently commissioned a survey that showed 65 to 75 percent of Albertans think governments should do a better job maintaining roads, and that investing in roadwork will help rebuild our economy.
http://drivingimprovement.ca/fix-our-roads/
Edmontonians want infrastructure decisions based on a careful assessment of long-term needs, safety concerns, and strategic support of our economy.
As the new Edmonton City Council approaches the new budget planning season, I will advocate for improvements to road and infrastructure procurement practices.
I will advocate for consultation with the people that actually hold the answers to our infrastructure issues. The city of Edmonton employees, the ones that understand the issues and know what the solutions are because that is what they do, day in and day out.
If you want a City Councillor that will speak up about the importance of our transportation network, road quality, and maintenance, and demand that our council work on those public concerns and works to better fix our roads in a timely manner; I am that person.
We need to stop talking about the issues and actually start coming up with real, meaningful, and practical solutions.