Eroding river valley trails need major work: councillor
Slope failures and severe erosion are causing construction headaches on many of Edmonton’s river valley trails and city council will have difficult decisions to make at budget time.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Coun. Andrew Knack, reviewing the list of projects heading to council’s executive committee meeting Tuesday.
Ongoing landslide concerns behind the Old Timers Cabin near Nellie McClung Park closed that path entirely. The trail near Capilano Park is also closed for public safety, and repairs are needed throughout Whitemud and Mill Creek parks.
The trail along MacKinnon Ravine floods every winter. “I don’t ride it anymore because it was so bad,” said Knack. “It was almost a mini hockey rink.”
The city report says it will cost between $1.5 million and $3.5 million per year during the 2019-2022 budget just to maintain the present state of the trail system, which is 179 kilometres in length when only the improved trails are counted.
That’s in addition to the new trails city officials are hoping to construct in Terwillegar Park, in the west end of the city, in the Oleskiw area and other parks.
Coun. Michael Walters said the new report at least shows the city is now taking its river valley assets seriously.
It has a new set of criteria for how projects will be prioritized and the construction is being handled by the new integrated infrastructure services branch, which aims to ensure best practice in project management is used for all infrastructure projects.
“It’s really sensible,” he said, before taking a walk and realizing the issues in Whitemud Creek he thought were being dealt with remain.