We briefly interrupt your summer reading to wish you a happy July! Here’s the latest edition of the Transforming Edmonton Quiz, which tests your knowledge of some of the interesting things from last month about this place and the people who make it go. As always, the answers have settled to the bottom. 🙂
1. When you see tracks, expect a train
The Valley Line Southeast LRT, a 13-km line between Mill Woods and downtown Edmonton, is expected to open later this summer. There are many unique features about the line, which is an example of what’s called low-floor, urban-style LRT. For one, there are no crossing arms, gates, bells or flashing lights. LRT drivers will operate the trains in their own lane alongside other traffic at community-posted speeds.
Like this, on a test day at the intersection of 66 Street and 34 Avenue last month:
What traffic safety signal is especially important for drivers to be aware of?
a) No turning right on red at some intersections along the line
b) Right turns on red lights not allowed at some crossings
c) Drivers must wait for green light to turn right at some crossings
d) All of the above
Check out the automobile driver’s point of view in this short safety video that reminds everyone to obey the traffic safety signs on the Valley Line Southeast. When you see tracks, expect a train.
2. Making Space podcast
The City of Edmonton’s first-ever podcast goes right to the heart of the topic in municipal politics that is as complex, full of technical speak and as vital to understand as just about anything else.
Zoning.
Yes, zoning. With one z. Not zzzz-oning. Too often, how we talk about zoning means people tune out. The lawyers and the planners and the politicians get it, but that leaves a lot of us who might not. Which is unfortunate. Because zoning—basically, the rules for how land can be used and what can be built where—affects everyone, and in many unexpected and unintentional ways.
Podcast host Jennifer Renner of the City of Edmonton explains zoning around stories of Edmontonians.
Episode 4 is devoted to explaining a planning concept according to which everything you need for your daily urban life is a close walk, bus ride or bike ride away. What’s the concept called?
a) The 15-Minute City
b) Near to what Matters
c) Networkville
d) ConnectTown
The Making Space podcast episodes are 20-30 minutes long, and all five have now dropped. Find them wherever you get your podcasts.
3. Waste Collector Appreciation Day
We all have a pretty good handle on what waste collectors take away—garbage, organics, recyclables and yard waste. But what do they leave behind? Chris Fowler, the City of Edmonton’s director of Collection Services, has this answer:
“The work our waste collectors do provides Edmontonians with peace of mind,” says Fowler. “They allow us to live in and enjoy our communities and environments free of waste, giving us the opportunity to focus on what we care about most.”
Which is why every year in Edmonton, the City marks Waste Collector Appreciation Day.
In 2021, how many tonnes of food scraps were picked up from carts and diverted from landfill by waste collectors?
a) 25,000
b) 30,000
c) 35,000
d) 40,000
Speaking of being grateful for waste collectors, what would you do if a friend helping you move houses accidentally threw out your passports, financial statements and a whack of cash? That story is on Transforming Edmonton.
4. Block party
Some of the new creatures at the Edmonton Valley Zoo don’t roam around as much, but they are just as expressive! A traveling exhibit titled Nature Connects by Sean Kenney is at the zoo until Labour Day. There are 13 animal sculptures made entirely out of LEGO® blocks. The exhibit, featuring animals on the endangered species list, builds a case for conservation and connects visitors to their friends in the animal kingdom.
In total, how many LEGO® blocks were used in all 13 animal sculptures?
a) 637,291
b) 700,453
c) 799,687
d) 805,537
You can put all the pieces together by watching this quick vid in which the real zebra looks only slightly amused.
5. Behind by a century
The history books reveal that June 28, 2022, marked the 107th anniversary of one of Edmonton’s most iconic photographs—the train on the bridge in the flood of 1915.
To prevent the Low Level Bridge (then only 15 years old, and still visible in the pic at the top of the quiz!) from being washed away or damaged by water levels 10 metres above the low-water mark, crews parked a freight train on the tracks of the bridge. Train buffs will know, but what railway did the locomotive and its sand-filled cars belong to?
a) Canadian Pacific
b) Grand Trunk Railway
c) VIA
d) Canadian Northern Railway
Here are more accounts of the Flood of 1915 in Edmonton, preserved by the pros at The City of Edmonton Archives.
Speaking of water under the bridge, did you know that water levels from major floods in Edmonton are inscribed beneath the new Walterdale Bridge?
Stay up to date on streamflow advisories and warnings. Have an enjoyable and safe month!
Answers:
1 – d, 2-a, 3- c, 4-d, 5- d