National Post (National Edition)
Pedways, Edmonton
Jonny Wakefield, Edmonton Journal
In Edmonton, they’re called the pedways: a network of shopping malls, transit stations and office towers connecting the downtown core. When punishing winter winds blow down Jasper Avenue, the pedways become downtown Edmonton’s Main Street.
On Wednesday morning, for the first time in I’m not entirely sure how long, I donned a mask and made a foray into the pedways. I suppose at this point, it shouldn’t have been jarring to see them so empty — we’ve all seen hundreds of more famous places stripped of their usual crowds. Still, there are places where you turn a corner and see nothing but antiseptic hallway. It’s eerie.
This is ultimately a good thing — a sign that the vast majority of people are staying home. There are still a handful of people using Edmonton’s pedway system (lawyers and bankers who work in the office towers are among the professionals the Alberta government has deemed essential). There’s also the cleaning staff, who roam vigilantly, rag and disinfectant spray in hand. The biggest change is
City Centre Mall, which has closed all but essential businesses. The mall takes up three city blocks and is the heart of the pedway system. Security guards stand in the vestibules. Black and yellow caution tape stretches across the threshold of the skyway entrances.
For many, City Centre and the adjoining malls are a place to keep warm, and one of the few spaces in the core with reliable public restroom facilities. Facilities for the homeless have been set up at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, an hour’s walk to the northeast, but they haven’t caught on with everyone.
I’ve always found the pedways comforting. In the winter, when the temperature drops below -30 C, I like to imagine them as a space station, sheltering us from the inhospitable world outside. Maybe there is something comforting about their emptiness, too, an acknowledgment that COVID-19, like an Edmonton winter, is a shared problem.