Tuesday’s letters: Edmonton dodged a World Cup soccer ball

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Though I enjoy watching international soccer, I consider it a relief that Edmonton did not get selected as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now we will not have levels of government continuing to argue over who will soak taxpayers for tens of millions of dollars to make our stadium acceptable to host random early-round matchups from the “elite” 48(!) qualifying teams.

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We won’t be joining the dubious club of hosts like Putin’s Russia, worker graveyard Qatar or wasteful Brazil. We won’t be lining corrupt FIFA’s coffers, nor Ticketmaster with their usual outrageous cuts on ticket purchases. If our representatives did not jump high enough to entertain or satisfy the FIFA representatives, good on them.

Bob Adamson, Edmonton

City’s disorder a factor in FIFA decision

Seriously, Senior Sohi, bewildered? The City of Edmonton is experiencing rampant crime, social disorder, a rapid transit system that most Edmontonians won’t ride due to gang issues, drug use and random violent attacks. A city where the Alberta government had to step in and demand a safety plan due to lawlessness and lack of action by city council.

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Do you think that FIFA wouldn’t take into account the safety of the players and fans when making a decision? Mayor Sohi and city council need to wake up and balance social issues with law and order for its taxpaying citizens

Rick Faulkner, Edmonton

How did FIFA bid address poor air service?

The World Cup is an international phenomenon, drawing fans from every part of the globe; it’s not just about local support. People need to get here. Had Edmonton been part of the elite 16, we only have direct flights to four of these other sites. Fans coming here from Europe have one meager option from Amsterdam. Not London, not Frankfurt, certainly not Asia or elsewhere.

I wonder if, and how, this deficiency was addressed in our FIFA pitch. It highlights how underserved our city is when it comes to air travel and how the promise of improved air service following the consolidation of our airports has fallen abysmally short. More importantly, this reality applies to attracting foreign investment and head offices to the capital region. In this era of on-demand information and efficiency, the concept of “convenient connections” in air travel is an archaic sales pitch sold to the second-tier.

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Ed Rudzitis, Edmonton

Too many workers at FIFA announcement

It was reported in the June 17 Edmonton Journal that nearly 100 City of Edmonton employees gathered at the Alumni Room in Commonwealth Stadium to watch the awarding of the venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Just think about this for a moment in the context of how 100 city employees attending the announcement is the best use of taxpayers’ dollars.

D.J. Schneider, St. Albert

What exactly is gondola’s business plan?

Someone please help me. I keep reading about the gondola project, and while it sounds exciting, I cannot see how it is viable.

The capital cost is said to be $155 million. At a conservative six-per-cent carrying cost, that is about $9 million per year. Add the cost of operations (staff, maintenance, marketing, administration, et cetera) and the proponents say this is another $8 million. The gondola cannot operate when the winds are blowing hard, nor when there is fog, or snow, or when it requires maintenance. So, say it can go 250 days of the year.

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This means that the company will need $68,000 in revenues per operating day to break even. At a projected price of $10 per ride (this is the number I heard), the gondola will need to attract 6,800 riders per day — every day. I ride the High Level Streetcar once a summer. I would probably ride the gondola about the same. Where will the other 6,799 riders come from? And in the winter?

Someone please explain the economics of this, because while it is enticing, to me it makes no financial sense.

Gabe Shelley, Edmonton

Survey city’s own workers on transit

I wonder how many city employees use ETS (bus or train). I wonder what they think about the use of STDs. I wonder how relaxed or fearful they are about transit use. Would it not benefit city administration to develop a valid internal survey to offer to city employees? They could be a core group to provide guidance for decision-making.

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D. Lynn Skillen, Edmonton

Council should get behind police

I disagree with the recent letter that Chief Dale Mcfee’s salary was reduced. Based on my experience with EPS as a lawyer, school trustee, alderman, police commissioner, Court of Queens justice and presiding officer / judge of police disciplinary hearings, Chief McFee is worth every cent of his salary from him.

Since the defund police movement, managing a police force has become much more difficult as well as having to deal with an uneducated city council and a dysfunctional police commission. My understanding is that response times have significantly increased and there are not enough officers to deal with hot spots like so-called Chinatown without reassignment from other areas.

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In my view, EPS funding should be increased and city council should be supporting EPS.

Mel Binder, Edmonton

Mosquito-eating bats another pipe dream

Yup, our brilliant city council gone and done it again, to quote a famous singer. So now we are going to raise thousands of bats to control the mosquito problem in Edmonton. One has to wonder what they must have been smoking when they came up with this one-of-a-kind idea.

Yes, these are the same people we trust to “wisely” spend the billions of dollars to run our city. No doubt, we will soon see the new slogan “Zero Mosquitoes by 2030.” Just be sure to give that promotion timeline a long enough lead time, so it will be forgotten when they realize it didn’t work. Just like the rest of the impossible “zero programs” they try to sell us.

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I wonder if they can train the bats to use the bicycle lanes while they chase mosquitoes to justify some of that cost, too. We wish you pleasant pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams, as you plan the next superb project in the glass pyramid.

Gary Friedel, Edmonton

Drivers should pay their own traffic tickets

If I were to get a traffic ticket, I have to pay it. Of course, if it was a non-photo offence, I can expect to see an increase of 15 per cent or more for my car insurance once my insurance company finds out. Seems to me, that’s “double discipline” at its simplest level.

With the arbitrators’ majority ruling that due to “double discipline,” the city must pay an employee’s speeding or other traffic ticket, it would seem that the common sense of consequence for an action goes out the window. I have a simple question for the two members of the arbitrators’ board who supported this absurd ruling: If you lent me your vehicle and I got a photo radar ticket while driving your car, would you pay it for me? I’ll let you think about the answer.

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Gerry Smithaniuk, Spruce Grove

Doctors are sending patients to emergency

A few days ago you had an article about the problems of overuse of emergency rooms in our hospitals. The article sort of points at me, the general public, as the culprit for this overuse. I want doctors to take much of the heat.

I am currently in treatment for two active medical conditions. For one, I was treated on June 6. Treatment did not completely solve the problem. The doctor referred me to a second doctor. The appointment is July 6. And I was told that if the problem worsened to a point that I could not put up with it, I was to go to an emergency. My own family doctor has said he has done all he can for medical problems. If I need more attention, go to an emergency.

Doctors are sending us to emergency rooms. Maybe the doctors should start doctoring.

Jim Wood, Edmonton

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