The City of Edmonton is proposing $100 million to ease the squeeze on three busy roads as part of its budget plan for the next four years. The funding would go toward widening Parsons Road in southeast Edmonton, 215 Street in the west end and 41 Avenue in the far southwest. The projects are included in the city’s proposed 2027-30 capital, operating and climate budgets released Monday. The three arterial roads are among Edmonton’s busiest, particularly as the city has absorbed rapid population growth in recent years. “When we talk about 200,000 people moving to Edmonton, these are roads that are currently single lane,” Sarah Nichols, deputy city manager of integrated infrastructure services, told reporters during a media briefing on the proposed budget. Council is set to begin debating the budget in three weeks. “We are looking at upgrading them to double-lane (roads), as well as some intersection improvements to deal with some of the capacity constraints that ranked highest in terms of our overall mobility network assessment.” The road-widening projects are part of a proposed $6.3-billion capital budget for the four-year cycle, including $3 billion for previously approved projects. Of the $3.3 billion proposed for new projects, $2.3 billion would go toward renewal work, while $958 million would support growth-related projects. Other proposed spending on new projects in the 2027-30 budget includes: About 32 per cent of the proposed capital budget would be funded through debt, with 24 per cent coming from grants, 18 per cent from reserves, 16 per cent from pay-as-you-go funding and nine per cent from land enterprise earnings. Operations funding proposal The proposed operating budget carries annual costs ranging from $4.2 billion in 2027 to $4.7 billion in 2030. About 65 per cent of operating spending would be funded through property taxes, with the remainder coming from user fees, utility franchise fees, investment earnings and grants. The proposal calls for a 4.9-per-cent property tax increase in 2027. The average Edmonton homeowner would pay $4,025 in municipal property taxes, about $200 more than this year. The city then aims to moderate tax increases, with projected hikes of 4.7 per cent in 2028, 4.5 per cent in 2029 and 3.9 per cent in 2030. The additional revenue would help fund services needed to operate new infrastructure expected to come online during the budget cycle, including the west-end mistahiya wîkihk Community Recreation Centre, new fire stations and a services facility in Ambleside. The proposed operating budget also includes an additional $96.4 million for maintenance, including enhanced snow removal. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
