The City of Edmonton put out a call for contractors to bid on a project Tuesday to develop a downtown Edmonton park named after Canada’s first aboriginal police officer who is also considered one of the greatest marathon runners in Canadian history.
In 2014, the City of Edmonton’s naming committee announced a new 3,500-square-metre park at 105 Street and 102 Avenue would be named after Alex Decoteau.
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![Alex Decoteau was Canada’s first aboriginal police officer.](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/alex-decoteau.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=300)
Decoteau was born on the Red Pheasant Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan on Nov. 19, 1887 and later moved to Alberta’s capital in 1909. Soon after he became an Edmonton police officer and later competed in the 1912 Olympic Games. In 1916, he enlisted in the army and served for Canada until his death in the Battle of Passchendaele in Oct. 1917.
![Edmonton park honouring Canada’s first aboriginal cop inching closer to reality - image](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/alex-decoteau-runner.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=300)
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The request for proposal issued by the city is for all labour, materials and equipment to convert a parking lot into a park with greenspace, a community garden, an off-leash area for dogs, and space for public art.
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The city said the park will open in 2017, and the request for proposal stipulates the successful bid is expected to complete the work by Nov.10, 2016.
The budget for the Alex Decoteau Park is $4.35 million, which will be funded through the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was published on May 31, 2016 and originally said the request for proposal was issued by the province. It was corrected on June 1, 2016 to say the request for proposal was issued by the City of Edmonton.
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