Vision Zero Update & Summer Traffic Safety Improvements

Written by Jan Hardstaff, Parkallen Civics Co-Director

It’s going to be a busy season! This summer, the City will be implementing the following safety improvements in Parkallen:

• A crosswalk redesign at 112 Street and 70 Street will see the existing crosswalk widened to include both the original angled crossing and a direct crossing from the alley. The design will include a vibrant crosswalk featuring footprints and other crossing methods of all kinds. The community is invited to participate by emailing your stylized footprints to president@parkallen.ca.

• A midblock crosswalk will be installed on 111 Street, from the park path through to the Birch Gardens patio. Our city partners have consulted with and received buy-in from the affected businesses.

• A two-stage crossing will be installed on 72 Avenue at 112 Street. This type of crossing has been successful in many European cities and the City of Edmonton is looking forward to trialling it here. If successful, it will become permanent. More information will be provided on two-stage crossings once received from the city, watch the Parkallen website for more details coming soon.

Do You Have Your Community League Membership?

Membership Term: September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024

Purchasing a membership benefits our neighbourhood and provides you with perks and discounts. Please check out available discounts at https://efcl.org/membership-purchase/. Contact membership@parkallen.ca or purchase online at https://efcl.org.

It’s planting season at the garden and the first Tuesday evening volunteer shift of the year. I’ve been planting onions (seedlings and bulbs) with a new volunteer who attended our orientation on Saturday. She’s very keen and as the sun begins to dip below the horizon, she comes over to say goodbye. “Thank you for tonight. It feels so good to get my hands dirty again!” I ponder that as I look at my own hands, blackened with soil from separating onion seedlings soaked in a worm casing solution we use to support growth. I wave goodbye as my 3 year old grandchild, who is sitting beside me in a brightly flowered sun hat pushing a small wheelbarrow full of onion bulbs, declares, “that’s how I know I am a gardener. I have dirty hands too!” as he gleefully holds his soiled hands up for inspection (not to mention his face that is almost as dirty...).

I contemplate this idea of getting my hands “dirty” in the garden. I reach out and bury my hands in the garden soil - it feels cool and damp and I am reminded of the millions of life forms living in its depths. These dirty hands are my connection to the land (thanks to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass for this reminder) and I feel my spirits lift another notch as I contemplate what it means to be part of something bigger than myself. It feels so good to be back working within a vibrant community whose collective efforts support Tubahumarize, an organization that supports women and children in Rwanda.

As I look around, I can hear my grandchildren puttering alongside each other and my daughter and son-in-law chatting while they plant onion bulbs. We are the last ones in the garden tonight (as is often the case). We always have so much trouble leaving here. It is such a peaceful place. I can hear a pair geese honking as they fly overhead and am reminded of the flocks of sandhill cranes that flew overhead last Saturday afternoon. I gaze out to the garden plots with their raised beds and joining pathways that shape the landscape of the garden. We are realizing the fruits of last year’s labour as we worked to reengineer this beautiful space. I can see the hoop house in the orchard, the permanent pathways creating a mosaic that gives the garden structure, and the sprayer heads of our underground irrigation system. Lying here and there are the amazing tools that help us grow such healthy food - spring rakes and wire weeders, our homemade dibbler, and the carts we use for hauling things out to the garden plots. Just like the life forms working industriously below the surface, our volunteers work together in symbiotic harmony, feeding the land and our gardening souls.

We are a small but mighty team out here at the Green & Gold Community Garden. Come out anytime to check us out. We are out Tuesday mornings (10-12), Tuesday evenings (6-8) and Saturdays (11am-1 pm). Who knows - you might even get your hands dirty!

To see where we are located, see our website at https://www.greengoldgarden.com

Margaret Milner Green & Gold Community Garden Volunteer

NOT Falling for You is:

• a physical activity program to prevent falls

• volunteer-led, low-cost or no-cost

• offered in community locations - halls or libraries

• for adults aged 50 and above

• based on new research.

Benefits of Volunteering:

• Receive FREE fitness & CPR certifications

• Lead a free exercise class for people your age

• Improve your mobility

• Reduce your risk of falling.

You are Eligible to Volunteer if you:

• Are living in Alberta

• Are 50 years of age or older

• Can exercise independently

• Can commit to teach a 12-week 1-hour exercise program.

To apply to become a volunteer leader, please contact: Cathy Gladwin, Health Promotion Facilitator

Phone: 587-596-0845

Email: cathy.gladwin@ahs.ca

Dan has been teaching for over 40 years, including over 20 years at MacEwan University. He’s currently accepting students for private drum lessons at his studio in the Parkallen Community in South Edmonton.

All Levels. All Experiences.

TO BOOK A LESSON PLAN,