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Popularity of Edmonton's 'accidental beach' stumps council
Edmonton’s "accidental beach" is drawing smiles and jeers from residents as city council tries to figure out what to do with it.
The sandy beach, created unintentionally on the North Saskatchewan River this summer by LRT construction, has been packed in recent weeks – but one councillor said its growing popularity is becoming a problem.
“I gather over the weekend it sort of got out of hand,” Coun. Ben Henderson said Monday.
“I’m getting complaints now from some people who live close by that there were lots of people down there and no place to park, and safety issues and noise and partying and things like that.”
Henderson will make an inquiry at Tuesday’s council meeting to learn more about the long-term implications of the beach, whether the city can keep it, and what that might cost.
KEVIN MAIMANN / METRO
Edmonton's "accidental" Cloverdale Beach.
Councillors have discussed the possibility of creating a beach for years, but now that one’s popped up near downtown without planning, it has brought up concerns around safety and liability.
“I don’t know how we respond to that, quite frankly,” Henderson said.
“We’ve never (created a beach) before because we didn’t think it was possible. We really needed something to occur naturally."
With no amenities on site, some residents have also complained about waste being left behind and people using the trails as washrooms.
http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...monton-s-accidental-beach-stumps-council.html
Edmonton 'accidental beach' lacks facilities for deluge of sudden sunbathers
The beach is the unintentional product of construction of an LRT bridge and is expected to disappear when the construction is finished. (Nola Keeler/CBC)
Edmontonians are enjoying an unusual reprieve on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River in the final days of summer, but a local resident worries it's too much for the unintentional sandy oasis to handle.
Hundreds of people flocked to the "accidental beach" on the weekend, the unintentional byproduct of a changing current created by LRT bridge construction weirs.
Paul Bunner, a long-time resident of the adjacent Cloverdale community who is an advocate for river recreation, said he's never seen anything like it.
"It was wonderful to see people hanging on the beach — sunbathing, building sandcastles, splashing in the water, cooling off," Bunner said Monday. "Lots and lots of paddlers, kayaks and canoes, paddleboards — it really was an idyllic scene."
#yegbeach today +30c #SummerDayz #yeglife #chill#GottaKeepTheBeach @yegparks #yegvalley #yegriver#yegawesome pic.twitter.com/k1keHU1EzK
— @etowntechy
The barrage of beach-goers was also overwhelming for the nearby park area, designed to handle a few dozen people, Bunner said.
"When you get hundreds, if not thousands, it's pretty clear that basic infrastructure to serve that many people needs to be upgraded," he said.
Bunner wants the city to install portable toilets and more garbage cans for the rest of the season and next year, since the beach will likely still be there because of the LRT bridge construction work.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/secret-accidental-beach-cloverdale-edmonton-city-1.4265651
Growing popularity of downtown Edmonton’s new ‘accidental’ beach raises questions