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Even suburban cul-de-sac dwellers can expect a tax increase soon to deal with rotten back alleys throughout Edmonton’s mature neighbourhoods.

Charging only property owners who have back alleys 50 per cent of the cost was rejected by council. Administration also opposed the idea. City staff said the 32-tonne garbage trucks are causing much of the breakdown and trying to get residents to pay for alley renewal would be more trouble than it’s worth.

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“Alleys are part of the overall infrastructure,” said Eduardo Sosa, director of roadway maintenance, comparing them to stormwater ponds. “Some neighbourhoods have stormwater ponds and some neighbourhoods don’t, but they are part of our overall drainage system.”

Councillors were told two-thirds of the alleys are so ridden with potholes they get an F for quality. The cost of reconstructing all the alleys ranked F and D over 30 years would need a 1.17-per-cent property tax increase, roughly $25 a year for a typical homeowner. Council will take a final vote on the plan during this fall’s capital budget debates.