Should the City reconsider the use of river valley land for golf courses
The City owns six courses, three of which are municipally run, Victoria, Rundle and Riverside, and three which are leased out to third parties, those are Royal Mayfair, Mill Woods and Highlands. According to a paper by the University of Alberta’s Arshdeep Kaur, the city-owned courses take up 364 hectares of land. Kaur writes that the City should reconsider its use of that land.
Not only are there environmental questions, but public-use ones, as well. It takes hours to complete a game of golf, and each hole can take on a maximum of four golfers at a time. So, the land doesn’t serve a lot of people at one time. It’s an expensive game to play, and, as Kaur writes, the membership skews very white, and very male.
“The ultimate goal should be to see the public land taken by golf courses revert to the public as a part of the River Valley parks system, easements, or used by another inclusive sport which is open to everybody in the city.” It’s not that Kaur is anti-golf; it’s that he is against using publicly owned space for a sport that’s socially divisive.
Coun. Michael Janz echoes those thoughts; he said, if the courses were turned into bike paths, green spaces or soccer fields, it’s not like golf is being taken away from the public. There are plenty of private courses in the region. In his mind, this is a case of the City duplicating a service that is already widely available.
“We’re not talking about taking away three courses, but instead of there being 80 golf courses in the area, there now may be 77. The sport is still very well-served. It’s not just ‘should the City be in the golf business,’ but what is the opportunity cost of using all of this land in the river valley in this way?” https://urbanaffairs.ca/edmonton-ish/should-edmonton-get-out-of-the-golf-business/
Jasper House a prime example of 1960s modern design building
Overlooking Victoria Park and constructed between 1961-63, Jasper House was one of the first residential towers built west of downtown Edmonton. Drawing its name from a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, Maclab Developments spared no expense on their $818,000, 125 suites project, and the tower featured a host of fine finishes and novel features.
Marble floors, murals, red leather furniture, and dark oak panelling defined its common areas. Two Otis elevators provided quick service between floors and access to a furnished rooftop suite accessible to all residents. Speakers pumped in ambient music, provided by Muzak, to each suite, which all featured expert soundproofing, carpeting, and intercom door controls. Utilities were no extra charge.
Adding a punch of colour to the tower’s stark form is a four-storey art piece precariously hanging off its west wall. Standing sixty-feet tall, the Robert Oldrich-designed sculpture is constructed of coloured porcelain enamel plates joined by rods. “The whole concept,” Oldrich explained, “is to create a loose, joyful and playful result with forms suggested and shapes resolving in each other. Changing light changes the character as well as the relative movement of the observer.” https://www.forgottenedmonton.com/blog/the-jasper-house-apartments
New Valley Line West LRT bridge crosses Groat ravine and road
This new LRT line will connect Lewis Farms to downtown Edmonton. A defining moment in its construction was the demolition in 2023 of the Stony Plain Road Bridge over Groat ravine and road, in preparation for a new bridge that will carry pedestrians, cars and the LRT, the first of its kind in Edmonton.
Girder installations for the new bridge took place over three days, with crews working around the clock. This resulted in the work finishing 12 hours ahead of schedule. Groat ravine and the road are named after Malcolm Groat, a former Hudson’s Bay Company employee who settled in the present-day Groat Estates area in the 1880s.
On June 12, 1928, the Supreme Cout of Canada, ruled on an appeal made by Malcolm Forbes Groat and Walter S. Groat against the City of Edmonton for polluting the waters flowing through a ravine which traversed or bounded their land. The city had constructed a large storm sewer having its outlet in an arm of the ravine above plaintiffs' land.
Its purpose was primarily to carry off the surplus water from streets in the vicinity, but as found on the evidence, through it discharged into the stream in the ravine, not only surface water, but all filth from the streets; also a mass of dirt was allowed to form and accumulate during the winter in the sewer, and in the spring the rush of water washed this into the stream. https://transforming.edmonton.ca/building-connections-construction-milestones-on-valley-line-west/
Jan Reimer Park honours YEG’s only female mayor
Jan Reimer Park was named in 2021 to honour the achievements of the first female mayor of Edmonton. Formerly known as Oleskiw River Valley Park, this 193-acre park was renamed to honour Reimer’s commitment to the preservation of Edmonton's River Valley. Accessible only through active modes of transportation, this park connects river valley trails between Terwillegar Park and Fort Edmonton Park.
In 1913, the Edmonton Country Club opened the lower golf course holes in the present-day park. The golf course remained on the land until 1930, after which the field was farmed by Curtis and Edith Munson, who called the land Wolf Willow Farm. The couple operated the farm until 1970.
In 2002, the City of Edmonton acquired the property after public outcry halted private development on the land. Traces of these recent land uses are still visible in the landscape, in the form of the field and the forest, and contribute to the layered history of the site.
Reimer served two terms as Edmonton's first female Mayor in 1989-95 after serving three terms as Councillor in 1980-89. She was selected as an Edmontonian of the Century in 2004 and received the Governor General's Award in 2006. https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/parks_rivervalley/jan-reimer-park
River Valley News shortlisted for the 2024 Emerald Awards
Michael “Congrats on the nomination for the newsletter for an Emerald award!!”
Patrick “Congrats on the Emerald Award. I always enjoy reading this newsletter.”
Mark “Congrats on the Emerald Award nomination. The nomination is well deserved, and good luck in the final selection process!”
Ria “Congratulations on being shortlisted for an Emerald award. I look forward to your news every week.”
Edmonton riverboat looking for a new owner
Margriet emailed “I live in Belgravia and often walk by the location where the Edmonton Queen river boat was located while being worked on. I wonder what will happen to this large empty space. Wouldn’t it be lovely if it was made into a natural area with a walking path and a sitting area to enjoy it? I am thinking of native shrubs, native flowers and native grasses with always some in bloom from spring to fall.”
Henri by Craig Le Blanc, Terwillegar Recreation Centre
https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/henri
Comment or Contributions
Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.
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