The River Valley Alliance, which is made up of seven municipalities including the City of Edmonton, the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada have each committed $30 million towards 18 projects for the Capital Region’s river valley.
The City of Edmonton contributed $24.3 million. It will receive $72.9 million of the $90 million.
“I think it’s just going to be a great opportunity for each and everyone of us to build projects in our communities that will be a benefit to our citizens, but also, link up the river valley together,” says Mayor Stephen Mandel.
Edmonton’s portion of the funds will be used for five initiatives to improve the river valley:
1. A 280-metre footbridge which will link Terwillegar Park to the river terrace north of the river.
2. Five kilometers of trails to the river valley’s main spine trail. The extensions include a link between the recently completed signature Fort Edmonton Bridge and a new proposed footbridge to Terwillegar Park.
3. 14 kilometers of trails to Edmonton’s river valley. The new trails will link existing paths in Goldstick and Hermitage Parks. New trails east of Hermitage Park will link to the bridge at Anthony Henday Drive.
4. Three boat launches and seven docks.
5. Mechanized access from Jasper Avenue to Rossdale, connecting to the river valley trail system and the Touch the Water Promenade. The Promenade will create amenities which could include plazas, walkways and docks around the new Walterdale Bridge and areas adjacent to the EPCOR lands.
The Terwillegar footbridge ($24.5 million) and the mechanized access ($34.4 million) will take up the bulk of funds for Edmonton’s five projects.
“The need is to fulfill the vision of creating a connected park from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan. A park where people could jog, walk, bicycle the entire river valley and see the beauty that exists there through seven different municipalities,” says River Valley Alliance Board Chair, Chris Sheard.
“Not only do we want a river valley that’s connected, but we want a river valley that has appropriate accessibility,” adds Sheard
Construction for some of the projects will start as early as this spring. The plan is to have all of the projects completed by 2016.
Chris Sheard suggests the 18 projects are the first step in a grand vision for the river valley in the Capital Region.
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