Time to turn Edmonton's river valley golf courses into public parks
The news that Hawrelak Park will be closed for a minimum of three years raises concerns and begs the question of how green space is allocated in a growing and modernizing city, writes Helen Sadowksi in an opinion piece. With the shutdown of Hawrelak Park, families and others in central neighbourhoods will have limited access to nearby green space.
And yet it’s abundantly clear that there is ample green space in our central river valley. It’s a matter of how this public green space is allocated, who gets priority, and what decisions were made by earlier city councils to assign this now precious space. Four golf courses; Victoria (1909), Mayfair (1923), Highlands (1929), and Riverside (1953) occupy 600 acres of our ribbon of green, within minutes of downtown.
Those decisions that gave priority to golfers were made at a different time, when the city was smaller, less populated, and less diverse. Even if those decisions made sense at that time, they no longer do. Can we still make sense of the decision to assign 640 acres of the city’s prime green space to golfers, who have many other options for enjoying their pastimes?
We have to ask ourselves: Who gets to use public spaces? Who is the city being designed for? What decisions need to be revisited? What is the most equitable and efficient way to use public spaces such as our river valley? Read complete article at https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-its-time-to-turn-edmontons-river-valley-golf-courses-into-public-parks
Law's relationship with the North Saskatchewan River
University of Alberta Associate Professor Cameron Jefferies will critique sustainable development as an objective of environmental law and will instead present ecological sustainability and intergenerational stewardship as alternative and preferable perspectives for re-imagining a legal relationship with the North Saskatchewan River.
This presentation is part of the Environmental Law Centre’s series, Reimagining Rivers: Rethinking and Reframing Relationship with the Environment. Legal rights govern how we interact with each other and with the world around us. Various jurisdictions, for example, are now granting legal rights to aspects of the environment such as rivers.
This series, jointly organized by the Centre for Constitutional Studies and the Environmental Law Centre, provides opportunities to learn from expert speakers about jurisdictional hurdles that impact the thriving of our environment as well as innovative approaches to rethinking relationship with it.
The series will culminate in a symposium which will explore different conceptions of the North Saskatchewan River, as a legal person, as an agent, as a relation. Register for Cameron Jefferies’ February 16, 12:00-1:30pm online seminar at https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NnuA3uTjQKyc4TsPhd6ejg
Silver Skate Festival a combination of fire and ice
The Silver Skate Festival, Edmonton’s longest running winter festival, has been creating winter experiences in Hawrelak Park for over 30 years. What began as a small annual skating event rooted in Dutch winter traditions, is back Feb 11-21 and has blossomed into an all-embracing celebration of winter sport, art, music, and recreation.
Recreation events include ball hockey, jam can curling and frisbee golf. Snow sculptures, story telling, skating, live music, and Frisbee Rod’s world record attempt is a brief list of other activities that will bring you joy.
Throughout each weekend, a team of fire artists will be building a sculpture that will be burned at 7:45pm on each of those days. Each day features a different team of artists. The fire represents renewal and the release of thoughts that make us sad or any fear or regret that chases love from our hearts.
In the Storytelling tent the public is invited to write down their thoughts to be offered to the fire sculpture. Festival information at https://silverskate.ca/
Better protection of Edmonton’s river valley needed
Carol writes “I support a Parks Department 100%!”
John suggests “There are two specific ways public access to the river can be improved for minimal cost. The first is in Riverdale where the river bends north. There is at least one lot fenced to the water's edge and several others with no trespassing signs. This forces walkers and cyclists to detour onto a back lane and a public street which is both dangerous and unnecessary. The houses are set back far enough that the city should be able to purchase a sufficiently wide right of way to restore public access to the river's edge.
The second is below the Beverly Heights neighbourhood which requires an even more arduous detour all the way up to the top of the bank. Public access is blocked between the 50th Street and Ainsworth Dyer foot bridges by the presence of a handful of residential properties along 110 Avenue and Hillside Crescent. The City should purchase any properties it doesn't already own, and either remove or re-purpose the existing buildings for public use.
Removing these blockages would allow the entire stretch along the north side of the river between Downtown and Rundle Park to be available for public access and enjoyment.”
Comment or contribution
If you have a comment, concern, or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com Please also email us river valley photos or event information. Your friends, neighbours and colleagues can sign up for this newsletter on our web site https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712