Downtown Edmonton businesses in crisis as mayor says city recovery work has begun

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said Tuesday that more work is needed to support downtown businesses during a construction period marked by multiple high-profile closures. But he insists the city has already begun addressing the problems.

"We've got more work coming, and we're not done by any stretch," Knack said. "These recent investments are positive, but they should not be seen as the end. They should be seen really as the start of what needs to be continuous and ongoing work."

The city began exploring close-to-24-hour construction schedules last year in certain locations to expedite projects. Work near 104 Street and 102 Avenue, which used a faster schedule, reopened two weeks early. The city has also hired 30 additional transit peace officers to work mainly downtown and is working with the province on mental health and addiction support.

Knack said getting more people living downtown is another priority, citing projects like O'day-min Park and nearby apartment buildings as tools to bring population back into the core.

But Cheryll Watson, chairwoman of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, said the situation has escalated beyond what leaders seem to grasp. "This is now becoming a pattern of evidence. I think we're well past the point of leaders talking about what they've done in the past, and I think that the situation should be treated as a crisis."

Watson called for city council to forgo its summer break and direct administration to make immediate changes to construction schedules. Greta owner Chris DeCock cited construction impacts and access barriers as the biggest obstacles to success, but also described a broader squeeze: "death by a thousand cuts" from paid parking, patio fees, higher taxes, and rising operating costs.