Just because we hadn't heard anything about the possibility of Edmonton's river valley becoming a national urban park doesn't mean the idea was dead,....far from it. There must have been some secret meetings/discussions because City Council voted 10-3 to move forward with planning for a national park in the city’s river valley.
The next portion of planning does not commit the city to establishing a national urban park. Instead the planning phase would allow stakeholders to develop a vision for the park, define governance models and evaluate the impacts and risks.
No doubt there are many issues to be discussed regarding this next step and hopefully one of them is "what's the long term agenda behind this federal government overreach and who's behind it? While thinking about this, I'm reminded of the saying "give someone an inch and they'll take a mile'."
I'm not a mountain biker but have children with young families who have taken up mountain biking. Listening to them I can understand why those who are into mountain biking don't want to lose access to some river valley trails.
Residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the current phase of the project through workshops next week as well as an online survey until Feb. 14. More information on the engagement opportunities can be found online.