Edmonton adopts winter city strategy

 EDMONTON – Edmonton is plowing ahead with a strategy to make the capital a more attractive winter city.

The scheme, created by a volunteer think-tank, includes such goals as providing more opportunities for outdoor activity, improving life for cyclists and pedestrians, developing winter festivals and creating a year-round patio culture.

“This is about saying we need to look at our city differently and that chunk … that we have been under-investing in for many, many years,” Coun. Ben Henderson, who spearheaded the plan, said Wednesday.

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It also requires changing the attitude of residents toward the cold, such as telling them there are only 87 days in the typical year when the average temperature is below freezing, said think-tank chairman Simon O’Byrne.

His group consulted with more than 700 people to come up with its proposals.

Specific ideas include adding heated bus stops, looking at free public transit below a certain temperature and supporting enhanced shuttles to give street people access to warming shelters.

They also suggested educating developers, builders and property owners on greater use of colour in outdoor design and working with Edmonton’s fashion industry to promote smart winter dressing.

The administration will come up with recommendations for how to move ahead with the proposals by early next year.

It will also ask for $362,000 in the 2013 budget to hire a winter city co-ordinator, create an advisory council and set up community projects.

“For too long, this city has accepted good enough as the standard by which to measure things,” Mayor Stephen Mandel said.

“I think the committee has found the weather ain’t that bad … Winter is a beautiful time here.”