Results from the community meeting at Ritchie Hall
The neighbourhood turned out in a big way!
Wow! What a turnout!
The first community feedback session at the Ritchie Community League Hall saw hundreds of people showing up and making their voices heard. We were pleased to see the breadth and depth of the support for making 76 Avenue better for biking, walking, and accessibility. Here are some observations and comments about the event:
We observed 75-80% support for making 76 Avenue “better” (that is, better from our point of view), but a notable 20-25% comments about parking.
The questions from the city weren’t all that clear. We would have liked to see more dream/vision elicitation, and perhaps a listing of the city’s goals (they have some) and then questions about how they align with people’s vision for the avenue.
Staff at the meeting mentioned that responses to the survey had already reached in excess of 500 responses!
We introduced ourselves to the project manager Chris and reiterated our vision for the avenue to him. We let him know that we gained over 80 subscribers to our email list (!) in a few days, and that we expect big things from him and his team.
There were some heated conversations at the meeting. As always, the issue of reallocating public space elicits passionate opinions. This is especially true of 76 Avenue, which experienced a “painted bike lane false start” attempt in 2013. Given Edmonton’s long history of car-centric design, there are bound to be people who feel outrage at the thought of losing free parking spots in front of their houses or having to drive a bit more slowly along the avenue.
We will focus on “good vibes” advocacy - going back to our vision of 76 Avenue as inclusive and safe, a community-building asset that connects. And we encourage you to do the same when talking to your friends and neighbours.
What’s Next
Did you have any thoughts about the engagement process and what you’d like to see from future engagement? Feel free to let us know in a reply and we can share feedback with project managers.
Connect 76 is just getting started - we’ll be organizing a public event (maybe a bike/walk tour of 76th that ends at Odd Company? - reply to this email with ideas!) and keeping our eye on opportunities to further participate in the city’s process.
Please fill out the online survey if you haven’t yet and tell your friends about it. It closes on March 3.
Help us grow! Please forward this email to your friends. Let’s hit 100 subscribers this week!
Thanks for reading,
Connect 76 Team