Councillors seeing red over yellow fields
The sea of dandelions covering Edmonton parks and sports fields has council members getting ready to grill city staff on their mowing techniques.
Ward 9 Coun. Bryan Anderson said he’s being stopped on the sidewalk — even flagged down as he’s driving — by constituents angry at the state of local fields.
“You can’t play soccer on a field like that because the ball is impeded by an 18-inch dandelion,” Anderson said Monday. “If you have that kind of proliferating dandelion growth now, when is it going to eliminate the grass?”
Anderson said he’s preparing a formal inquiry on the subject, and asked fellow council members if they’d like to contribute at council services committee Monday. Last year, council voted to fund two more cycles of mowing, but Anderson said clearly there is still an issue.
If the problem is staff and equipment have been tied up on other tasks, Edmonton might need to buy dedicated equipment, he said.
The city has been trying to reduce the amount of pesticides it uses in publicly accessible areas, managing weeds through increased mowing, topdressing and fertilizing. But city staff said the cold, wet spring delayed the start of the mowing season this year.
Then hot weather, combined with the moisture in the ground, created ideal conditions for weed growth, said city spokeswoman Kristen Wagner.
In addition, the windstorm on May 24 knocked down trees and branches across Edmonton, pulling parks staff away from mowing. City staff have been working overtime and on weekends to get back on track.
Wagner said during the spring and summer most grassed areas are mowed every 10 to 14 days. The mowing is intended to reduce the appearance of dandelions and to reduce the spread of seeds.
“I’ve been really concerned about the maintenance and the upkeep. Things don’t look very nice,” said Ward 10 Coun. Michael Walters.
Beautiful spaces are important; they give citizens a sense of place, said Walters. That has to be kept top of mind as the city moves toward higher densities and more compact growth.
Walters also wants this looked now, so the same dandelion problems don’t happen year after year.
“Is it because we’re just so big now, there’s so much ground to cover and we haven’t kept up with the number of mowers and resources? ... Those are the kinds of questions we need to ask.”
I’ve been really concerned about the maintenance and the upkeep. Things don’t look very nice.