The Public Spaces Bylaw (Bylaw 20700) claims to improve public safety, but in reality, it targets vulnerable communities while ignoring those who are most dangerous in public spaces—drivers. This bylaw criminalizes survival, duplicates existing laws, enforces vague restrictions, and increases over-policing without offering real solutions.
Read more about why we believe the ban on sidewalk cycling is misguided.
Let's be clear, though there are new fines related to sidewalk cycling, these bylaws will mostly not be directed at the majority of cyclists. These fines are intended to be deployed against the most vulnerable amongst us, and will do little, if anything at all, to improve safety for anyone in the public realm. Additionally, if the data provided by administration is accurate (that sidewalk riding is less safe for cyclists themselves), then the multi-use paths being constructed as part of the Active Transportation Network Rapid Expansion program are also unsafe (they are effectively wide sidewalks that have every issue that was idenitfied in attachment 8). You can learn more about why we think banning cycling on sidewalks in unjust and inappropriate here.
Beyond cycling specific changes, this bylaw claims to address public safety, and perceptions of public safety, yet does nothing at all to alleviate the root causes that lead to crimes of desperation, nor does it address the single largest cause of safety incidents in the public realm.
This bylaw will make safety worse in the City of Edmonton, let's explore why.
🚘 Missed Opportunity: Driver Accountability
The bylaw unfairly targets pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users while ignoring driver infractions. Key missing provisions include:
✅ Illegal parking in bike lanes, crosswalks, and sidewalks
✅ Blocking intersections and bus stops
✅ Failing to yield to pedestrians and cyclists
✅ Vehicular intimidation (rolling forward aggressively, honking at pedestrians)
✅ “Dooring” cyclists by opening car doors without checking
✅ Speeding in pedestrian-heavy zones, school areas, and transit corridors
✅ Hit-and-run penalties—even without injury
Right now, this bylaw treats a cyclist on a sidewalk as more dangerous than a driver blocking a crosswalk or a car rolling aggressively toward a pedestrian. Public safety is not just about pedestrians and cyclists following rules—it must include drivers, who impose the greatest harm on others in public spaces.
🚨 5 Major Concerns: Why This Bylaw is Harmful
1️⃣ Potential Inequities for Marginalized Groups
This bylaw disproportionately harms unhoused individuals, racialized communities, and low-income Edmontonians:
✅ Criminalizes sleeping in parks despite inadequate shelter space
✅ Penalizes loitering in transit stations without considering cold-weather survival
✅ Bans temporary shelters without alternative housing solutions
✅ Fines scavenging for food or recyclables, criminalizing poverty
✅ Restricts public gathering with vague “interference” language
✅ Lacks clear protections for free speech and peaceful protest
✅ Criminalizes public urination, despite a lack of 24/7 public washrooms
✅ Expands fines without offering non-monetary alternatives for those who can’t pay
✅ Increases discretionary enforcement, leading to racial profiling
✅ Targets pedestrians and cyclists while allowing drivers to create hazards
2️⃣ Redundancies with Existing Legislation
Many infractions are already illegal under federal and provincial law, making extra enforcement unnecessary:
✅ Public intoxication is already covered under provincial law
✅ Loitering and public obstruction are addressed in the Criminal Code
✅ Urination and sanitation issues fall under the Public Health Act
✅ Public disturbances and disorderly conduct are already illegal
✅ Scavenging laws criminalize what is often a survival tactic
✅ Trespassing rules already exist in Alberta law
✅ Graffiti and property damage are already criminal offenses
✅ Cycling regulations are covered under the Traffic Safety Act
✅ Existing police authority is sufficient without bylaw duplication
✅ Double-penalization creates confusion and increased legal burdens
3️⃣ Restrictions on Activities Without Safe Alternatives
This bylaw bans behaviors without first ensuring safe, accessible alternatives:
✅ Bans cycling on sidewalks without building protected bike lanes
✅ Fines sleeping in parks despite a lack of 24/7 shelter options
✅ Penalizes loitering in transit stations without offering warming spaces
✅ Criminalizes public urination without adequate washrooms
✅ Bans scavenging without addressing food insecurity
✅ Restricts free movement without investing in pedestrian-friendly infrastructure
✅ Fines small-scale vending and solicitation, affecting those in poverty
✅ Lacks exceptions for emergency or medical situations (e.g., washrooms)
✅ Ignores seasonal realities—cold weather survival isn’t loitering
✅ Forces people into unsafe conditions instead of solving urban mobility issues
4️⃣ Ambiguities Leading to Enforcement Challenges
Vague language allows for racial profiling, selective enforcement, and legal confusion:
✅ “Unreasonable interference” is undefined and allows for biased application
✅ “Loitering” is subjective and disproportionately affects unhoused people
✅ Restrictions on public gatherings and speech could silence protestors
✅ Broad police discretion leads to unfair enforcement against marginalized groups
✅ Failing to define public intoxication increases over-policing risks
✅ No clear exceptions for public necessity (e.g., lack of washrooms)
✅ “Aggressive solicitation” is too vague, leading to arbitrary crackdowns
✅ Overuse of bylaw officers instead of outreach services increases harm
✅ Fines rely on monetary penalties rather than restorative justice
✅ The lack of public oversight on enforcement increases risks of abuse
5️⃣ Potential for Over-Policing
Instead of helping communities, this bylaw expands police interactions for minor offenses:
✅ Over-polices unhoused people while failing to address root causes
✅ Targets racialized and low-income individuals through loitering laws
✅ Increases interactions with law enforcement for minor infractions
✅ Uses fines that create financial hardship and cycles of debt
✅ Focuses on enforcement over harm reduction services
✅ Criminalizes poverty instead of offering support
✅ Expands police presence in public spaces without justification
✅ Allows for bias in ticketing and arrests
✅ Disproportionately affects youth, gig workers, and transit riders
✅ Fails to reduce harm—only shifts responsibility to policing instead of solutions
⚠️ A Broken System: What Edmonton Must Do Instead
✅ Pause this bylaw and conduct an proper equity review
✅ Ensure fines for drivers are no lower than those for pedestrians and cyclists to actually make public spaces safer
✅ Expand protected bike lanes before banning sidewalk riding, while allowing sidewalk riding in low pedestrian zreas or high traffic areas that do not have protected infrastructure or adequate snow clearing
✅ Fund more 24/7 public washrooms before criminalizing public urination
✅ Invest in shelters and harm reduction before penalizing survival behaviors
✅ Replace punitive fines with restorative justice and community service options
✅ Ensure bylaw enforcement does not disproportionately target marginalized communities
This bylaw, in its current form, fails to make public spaces safer. Instead of targeting those who impose the least harm while ignoring those who impose the most, Edmonton must revise this bylaw to ensure fairness, accountability, and equity for all residents.