An Edmonton councillor says the city’s project management is failing to finish projects on time and on budget.
On Thursday, ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell held a press conference to ask city council to “put the brakes” on new project spending until current work is caught up.
“Edmonton has suffered a long and difficult decade of badly managed capital projects,” Cartmell said. “We need to change our approach.”
Cartmell spoke outside a Stony Plain Road business that has been affected by ongoing Valley Line West LRT work, which he said the city has a responsibility to finish quickly.
Percy Wiredu opened his restaurant El Corazón near 142 Street and Stony Plain in 2022. He said he knew about the construction when he signed the lease, but didn’t expect it to last so long.
“(We) were initially given a timeline for the project,” Wiredu said. “However, what we didn’t anticipate was the constant delays and lack of progress in the construction.”
The restaurant’s revenue has fallen by 35 per cent since the road was closed, and Wiredu said poor communication from the city on the new timeline has made matters worse.
“This makes it difficult to proceed with business operations and make plans for the future,” he added. “There’s a very real possibility that our restaurant may not be visible to the street for the next six years. Each day this goes on, we’re losing guests.”
Cartmell cites the Walterdale Bridge, the Northwest Police Campus and the Southeast Valley Line LRT as projects that have been too expensive and taken too long to finish.
“I’m saying, before we start approving any more new projects, that we learn from the projects that we’re already doing,” Cartmell said.
“The prime example is approving the south LRT extension with a quarter-billion-dollar cost escalation before the first shovel hits the ground, when we don’t even know what the current (Valley Line West LRT) project behind me here is going to mean for the City of Edmonton.”
Cartmell wants more accountability and transparency from city administration, and he is asking for an overhaul of the city’s integrated infrastructure services department.
He also wants to see a permanent infrastructure committee created, with external third-party experts to advise city council directly.
“We have no more room for error,” Cartmell said. “Our city finances are in a very difficult position, and any more wasted dollars on mismanaged capital projects will only make things worse and drive taxes higher.”
Earlier this month, Edmonton city staff said major moves would be needed to bring down what could be a 13 per-cent property tax hike in 2025.
Cartmell said he will make his formal proposals to city council in the fall.
CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the City of Edmonton and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi’s office for comment and is awaiting a response.