It’s a major milestone for a long-delayed pedestrian bridge in Edmonton.
The river crossing was torn down five years ago, and since then, some residents in Cloverdale and Riverdale have felt cut off from each other.
The Tawatinâ Bridge has now opened its pedestrian walkway below the Valley Line LRT and dozens of Edmontonians lined up to check it out Sunday.
“We’re very excited. It looks great,” resident Carly Piche said.
While there is still no movement on the transit line above — as service isn’t expected to be running until the summer — below was a celebration filled with live music, a smudging ceremony, hot chocolate and a lot of foot traffic.
“The communities have been blocked off from this access point for many, many years now, so it’s just wonderful that it’s opening back up again,” Ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson said.
“Without that sense of connection, we really felt isolated, and it’s a type of connection that works for humans, just regular traffic and for animals too,” said Danny Hoyt, a Riverdale Community League past president.
The 260-metre-long bridge deck features more than 400 Indigenous-inspired artworks.
“It’s really bridging two sides to two cultures, but it’s also a space in between, and there’s a lot of nature, a lot of First Nations and Métis history,” bridge artist David Garneau said.
“It’s a really beautiful contribution to reconciliation and just public art in Edmonton,” Hoyt said.
While neighbouring residents gazed at the artwork and enjoyed scenic views on Sunday, it was a different story back in 2016. That’s when some Edmontonians protested the tearing down of the Cloverdale footbridge.
“It’s been five years since I’ve got to run on this thing or bike, so this used to be my commute and it was closed and part of my run loops, so good to get out and check it out,” Greg Nicholson, who lives nearby, said.
“I was disappointed that we were going to lose that access. I was hopeful that it was going to open sooner than it did, but now it’s here,” nearby resident Andrew Struthers said.
But now that there is a new and improved bridge in its place, commuters can once again have access.
“It’s pretty exciting to finally get to cross this bridge after they took down the footbridge over Cloverdale, so yeah, very exciting, and there’s lots of energy in the air, which is fun,” area resident Jenny Chung said.