Editorial: Chinatown plan long time coming

Now that downtown is on the path to revitalization, thanks partly to Rogers Place and the budding Ice District enlivening a once bleak neighbourhood, it’s time to look a few blocks north and east where Chinatown also needs some overdue attention and action.

The future of Chinatowns across North America is looking uncertain with rising rents, gentrification, declining resident populations and competition from suburban amenities. Edmonton’s Chinatown is no different. Its very survival after a portion of the original district was razed in the 1980s to make way for the hulking and sterile Canada Place office complex is a testament to the entrepreneurs, residents and patrons who kept the community going as it adapted and migrated north along 97 Street.

For decades, it has survived as a home for some and a destination for others to find dim sum, inexpensive haircuts, Asian groceries and herbal medicine. But too many Edmontonians avoid the area entirely, daunted by its dimly lit streets, unsavoury reputation and lack of infrastructure upkeep.

The city has come up with various strategies for the area but none have found traction.

Now, City of Edmonton staff and the Chinese community are working on a new plan to celebrate Chinatown as an economic and tourist destination while making the area safer. Recommendations include the redevelopment of sketchy Mary Burlie Park near the former remand centre and the old 97 Street rail bridge. Council will also deal with a separate report on a community wellness plan, including services for people with addictions living on the street and sites for supportive housing throughout the city.

The dual strategy makes sense because hanging red lanterns over the street, opening night markets and erecting ornate Chinese fixtures won’t hide the underlying problems.

One only has to visit bustling Chinatowns in San Francisco, Chicago or New York to see the economic and cultural impact a bustling city within a city with street vendors, exotic foods and bright colours can bring. With much work, Edmonton’s Chinatown could rival Whyte Avenue and the Ice District as attractions for tourists and residents alike.

The community is enthusiastic about reinvigoration of the area, including a youth group of 150 volunteers eager to pitch in. Now, it’s up to council to ensure the project has adequate funding support so it doesn’t falter like previous Chinatown plans.

Edmonton may not get another chance to save this unique and historic community; It would be a shameful loss if Chinatown faded into history leaving a nondescript streetscape of fast-food diners, liquor stores and payday lenders.