Seven docks proposed for river valley to improve water access

[Daveography]

A project to install docks and boat launches along the North Saskatchewan River aims to improve public access to the water.

“The docks are intended … to give people a chance to see the river up close and touch the river,” said Larry Wall, executive director of the River Valley Alliance. He said the project will complement existing boat launches in Fort Saskatchewan and Devon to create a continuous water pathway.

The $2-million project is funded through the River Valley Alliance and Building Canada Fund. It’s part of a larger push to develop the river valley — in 2013, the city received almost $73 million in funding from the provincial and federal governments.

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

[Das Ponto]

Interesting Idea, could be a nice feature for the river valley. Wonder how they would hold up through winter and spring with all the ice damming.

 

[Daveography]

City nears river valley upgrade
Edmonton is one paddle closer to building more boat docks in the city's river valley to improve access, though some advocates think the idea needs improvement.

The city urban planning committee sent the $2-million dock proposal to a council vote next week, and if it's approved, the city will build or improve boat docks at seven sites, from Whitemud Park in the west to Dawson Park in the east, starting in spring 2017.

But Jason Hayes, owner and operator of canoe-rental company Canoeheads, says while he applauds increasing river access he also remains concerned about a lack of public facilities to go along with it.

“Bringing people into the river valley, you have to provide facilities, you have to provide drinking water and you have to provide washrooms," he said.

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

 

[Daveography]

City boat dock plan threatens valuable Whitemud Creek fishery: Sierra Club
A new city plan to build a boat dock just metres downstream from Edmonton’s only remaining natural creek and a popular fishing hole has left Sierra Club volunteers outraged and contemplating legal action.

“We’re considering a spend of tens of millions of dollars to restore a closed fishery in Mill Creek. Why risk the destruction of a viable fishery at Whitemud Creek?” Charlie Richmond, Sierra Club regional co-ordinator, said Tuesday, preparing to argue his point at council’s urban planning committee Wednesday. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Richmond said the city’s plan ignores a basic ecological fact about creeks — from a fish perspective, they don’t end where they meet the river.

Whitemud Creek water takes a sharp right turn and runs along the North Saskatchewan River bank for at least 150 metres before it mixes into the river water. That plume is a rich habitat for fish because the turbulence brings up microorganisms from the creek bed, and the stream washes down other small fish and food.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...s-valuable-whitemud-creek-fishery-sierra-club

 

[Daveography]

City to move floating dock upstream to protect fish habitat
Edmonton city staff have been directed to find a new location for a floating dock that is part of a larger plan to give people greater access to the North Saskatchewan River.

Council's urban planning committee on Wednesday passed a motion to have a floating dock proposed for the Whitemud Park area moved upstream of Whitemud Creek in a bid to protect fish habitat.

The original plan had the dock being built metres downstream from where the creek enters the North Saskatchewan River.

The committee put a stop to the project after hearing concerns from the Sierra Club of Canada.

"This [fish habitat] is unique and rare and that makes it important," Rick Pattenden, fish biologist with Mainstream Aquatics and a volunteer with the Sierra Club of Canada, told councillors.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ver-fishery-habitat-planning-sierra-1.4005830

Councillors send 'risky' Whitemud Creek boat dock back for review
City councillors kiboshed a plan to place a boat dock just downstream from Edmonton’s only natural creek Wednesday, listening to concerns and veiled legal threats from the Sierra Club.

The dock was planned near the mouth of Whitemud Creek, in the zone where the creek water continues to nourish fish before they enter the larger river. Sierra Club experts warned that would threaten Edmonton’s only fish-spawning stream.

“If there’s risk here, a year is not going to kill us,” said Coun. Ben Henderson, as the urban planning committee made an 11th-hour decision to send the dock plan back to staff. They’ll look for a location upstream, since even 50 metres would take them out of sensitive fish habitat.

City officials have been working on the dock plan since late 2015. Contracts to build the other five docks are ready for tender; this one was sent for further negotiation after the Sierra Club raised concerns last fall. Wednesday’s decision means the city will lose a full construction season and spend more money on a new study.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...isky-whitemud-creek-boat-dock-back-for-review

Rare Edmonton fish habitat saved in push to move proposed boat dock

 

[Daveography]

New Rossdale promenade on hold due to Walterdale bridge delay
Construction of the city's Touch the Water promenade project is on hold.

A report from city administration going to the city's urban planning committee next week recommended delaying the project until at least 2019.

The promenade is a plan to create more places for people to gather in Rossdale, near the north end of the new Walterdale bridge, and could include plazas, walkways, and docks.

The Touch the Water promenade construction has been put on hold. (City of Edmonton)

The delayed opening of the Walterdale Bridge is partly responsible for putting the project on hold, the report said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...hold-due-to-walterdale-bridge-delay-1.4252994

Edmonton's Touch the Water Promenade project hits a snag
The Touch the Water Promenade, which would create access to the North Saskatchewan River near the former Rossdale power plant, is currently on hold.

That’s according to a report scheduled to be presented to the city’s urban planning committee on Aug. 23, which states administration will come back and ask for funding in the 2019-2022 budget cycle.

“Administration anticipates that resolution to the land complexities will not be completed until (the fourth quarter) of 2018 and therefore, the current and proposed funding agreements do not provide sufficient time to effectively deliver the project,” the report states.

“Administration recommends that all current funding be released from the 2015-2018 capital budget and, in consultation with the River Valley Alliance, that the project be deferred for consideration as part of the 2019-2022 capital budget cycle and negotiated into the next phase of the River Valley Alliance-approved projects and funding agreement.”

The promenade is to be located in Rossdale from the new Walterdale Bridge to Fire Station 21 at the 101 Street right of way.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmontons-touch-the-water-promenade-project-hits-a-snag