Concepts for stairways to river valley revealed
City unveils two designs to provide better access to trails from Lansdowne Drive
Lansdowne residents got their first look at two potential staircase designs to improve access to the river valley, but some say they are not completely satisfied and hoping for more.
The two concepts offering a staircase and trail from Lansdowne Drive to the shared-use path along Whitemud Drive were unveiled to the public at the Lansdowne Community Hall on Tuesday evening.
Both staircase options contain the same amount of steps with the key difference being the amount and size of landings. Option A contains 13 smaller landing points while the second option offers six larger landing spots that could serve as rest areas with a greater distance between steps.
Option B was the preferred choice for resident Lorraine Sorensen, who said she has been pushing for a staircase in the area for years because of safety concerns on the current so-called goat trail to get down to the path.
“As an elderly person, it got so unsafe I couldn’t even use my poles with picks. I couldn’t walk,” she said.
Sorensen said the long staircase would benefit from benches to allow elderly residents to rest on the way down, but those are currently not included in the design plans.
Other attendees voiced their concerns about a staircase to begin with and their preference for a paved curving pathway that would be more accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.
This option was considered, city open space program manager Heather Ziober said, but was deemed not environmentally friendly in the river valley.
“That could cause some more complex issues and perhaps have an effect on the complexity of the design and the cost of the project,” she said.
The staircase project idea initially came to light in 2015 during neighbourhood renewal meetings with several community members voicing their opinions for better trail access.
Both plans also include proposed new trees on the way down the staircase to the Whitemud Drive path that connects to the Snow Valley and Whitemud Creek trails in the North Saskatchewan River valley. The staircase designs also include a bike ramp for cyclists to access the trails.
“Once we get all the feedback from the public, we’ll then need to move forward with a cost estimate and get the appropriate funding approved for the project to proceed into the build stage,” Ziober said.