New beginning for the end
The city held a short ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to mark the $1.5-million transformation of Keillor Point — long known to residents as The End of the World — from a dangerous eyesore into a safe, fenced river-valley lookout.
One of Edmonton’s most iconic and contentious locales has a new look.
The City of Edmonton marked the completion of the $1.5-million makeover of Keillor Point — a popular hangout spot also known as the End of the World — with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
The location, which the city named Keillor Point, is off Saskatchewan Drive and 74 Avenue in the community of Belgravia. The spot features a view overlooking the North Saskatchewan River from 15 metres above the riverbank.
Before the city started work on the area in 2018, there were no safety rails at the lookout point, where visitors would often sit on concrete slabs and dangle their legs.
The space now features a railedoff viewing area, with a staircase and a granular path providing access from Saskatchewan Drive.
“We had people of all ages and ranges coming here and they were dangling over places that were very high above the banks and very high above the ground and it was really not a safe use of this particular area,” said Nicole Wolfe, the director of open space infrastructure delivery for the City of Edmonton.
“It made it a necessity for us to actually build something that everyone could enjoy.”
Wolfe says that the space is more accessible than it was before, with a non-paved trail providing access for those using mobility aids like wheelchairs and scooters.
The site officially opened in December 2018 with public access hours from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Roger Laing, chairman of the Belgravia Community League’s Keillor Point Committee, said he’s pleased to see the new look four years after its conception.
“There’s been a big change since this site was opened. We see lots of families, people of all ages coming down and just enjoying this site and this view rather than coming here as a place that’s out of bounds and off-limits,” he said.
Not everyone is thrilled about the development, though.
Doh Lau, who has lived across the street from the steps leading to Keillor Point for 25 years, says that although there’s been a notable drop in the number of people heading to the End of the World in the middle of the night, he still has noise concerns.
“We still see people coming down at 2 a.m. in the morning, screaming, laughing, drunk,” said Lau, who wants to see better enforcement of the park rules.
Wolfe said that no fines or tickets have been issued to people using Keillor Point inappropriately or after hours since it opened in December.
If residents have issues, Wolfe says they should call the city.