Committee votes to support Terwillegar Park footbridge

Councillors question plans for parking, accessibility, cost

A council committee recommended Tuesday building a crucial link in Edmonton’s river valley trail system, but not before councillors questioned plans for parking, accessibility and cost.

Preliminary design on a $24-million footbridge connecting Terwillegar Park to lands northeast across the North Saskatchewan River must start by July 15 to meet federal funding requirements, a city report says.

But Coun. Karen Leibovici was concerned there isn’t parking on the north side for pedestrians trying to reach the 280-metrelong structure.

“People can’t actually get to it. It’s extremely difficult to access this trail, it’s extremely difficult to get down … If you don’t allow for parking at the other end, who’s going to utilize this?”

The city will have a hard time getting construction equipment to the site unless it can go through the Edmonton Country Club, which hasn’t given permission, Leibovici said.

As well, there hasn’t been public consultation on the proposed design, unlike the repeated displays for such projects as the Walterdale Bridge, she said.

“If we construct it and it doesn’t have the ability to maximize the number of users, really, what are we doing? We’re building a bridge for the sake of building a bridge.”

Walter Trocenko, acting manager of the corporate properties branch, said staff didn’t have enough detail to show designs to the public earlier.

“Ideally, there should have been consultation with the community, but it would have been at a very high level, not understanding the design or the impact.”

The price is about the same as the more elaborate Fort Edmonton Park footbridge, with the city paying one-third and the rest covered by the federal government and the River Valley Alliance, officials said.

Although Coun. Amarjeet Sohi supported the project, he was still shocked by the expense.

“It seems very high — $24 million for 280 metres … I’m having a hard time to understand the huge, huge amount of cost.”

Construction of the bridge, which must be approved by council next week, is scheduled to start in June 2014 and end by fall 2016.

Delays could mean Edmonton will lose funding from the other partners, especially when the plan was approved by council in 2011, Coun. Ben Henderson said.

It’s a key connector in the plan for a Ribbon of Green trail from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan, with accessible parking in Terwillegar Park, he said.

“If we pull this bridge right now, we will not get another bridge later on. The money will go on and we will create huge problems for our colleagues at the River Valley Alliance.”