AMENITIES WILL BOOST RIVER USE

For a city bisected by the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton seems peculiarly estranged from the waterway that runs through it. Aside from the participants of a handful of events such as RiverFest or the Sourdough Raft Race, few Edmontonians venture onto its waters. Boaters, canoeists, kayakers, anglers and swimmers on the river are relative rarities compared to the throngs who run, bike and stroll along its banks. As Coun. Scott McKeen said, “Edmonton has a long relationship with its river valley, but not so much with its river.”

It took the appearance of the Accidental Beach, the sandbar created by chance and current last summer as an unintended consequence of LRT bridge construction, to show Edmontonians what they were missing in their city’s backyard. For the first time in recent memory, people flocked to the river for recreation and relaxation.

At the same time, the Accidental Beach helped illustrate some of the reasons the river is so seldom enjoyed: a lack of easy access and amenities as fundamental as parking, washrooms and trash cans. While the city has enriched the river valley by building trails and developing parks, river users are mostly left to their own devices. What few facilities there are, such as boat launches, are comparatively spartan.

But an array of amenities coming to the river this fall will make the river more user-friendly and inviting. Five docks are being built at Laurier Park, Hawrelak Park, Dawson Park, Capilano Park, and Whitemud Park. Emily Murphy Park will also be upgraded after Groat Road Bridge work is completed.

These facilities will open up use of the river to many more people. Nature lovers will appreciate that the projects were vetted for environmental impact, with the Whitemud dock moved to avoid disrupting a fish habitat.

It’s not just boat launches and docks. Upgrades will add gravel trails, retaining walls, trash cans and viewing areas, simple but necessary additions to improve access and usability.

All these features come from the same $73 million grant bestowed in 2012 from the River Valley Alliance, a non-profit association of seven municipalities along the river and the provincial and federal governments. It’s the same group which funded other facilities designed to protect and enhance the river and its valley, such as Edmonton’s controversial funicular.

The new amenities show achieving those goals needn’t be overly expensive and complicated.