EdmontonRiverValleyConservationCoalition

A proposed mountain bike skills park in Queen Elizabeth Park created debate amongst recreational advocates and environmental voices, but City Council had the final say and approved the mountain bike park.

The Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance (EMBA) led the efforts in getting the proposal approved, will help with design and construction, plus handle much of the ongoing maintenance. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year and be completed next year.

Eric Gormley of Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition raised concerns about a “nibbling away” of Edmonton’s river valley and is of the opinion that the river valley should be reserved for natural connection rather than active recreation.

Councillor Aaron Paquette thinks there should be a balance between environmental concerns and reality and said “The best way to not impact the environment is not to have a city, but we do have one.” If folks are to provide amenities to turn a place that has already been disrupted into something that can be useful, and then also mitigate some of the issues that exist there currently, it makes a lot of sense to me.”

Most Canadian cities have bylaws to protect trees on public and private property. Edmonton finally has a public tree-protection bylaw but private trees still have no protection. The city’s urban planning committee will be discussing “Trees on Public and Private Property" on October 29th. They would do well to read Kristine Kowalchuk's opinion piece in the Journal prior to that meeting. Kristine Kowalchuk who is chair of the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition writes about the importance of trees to a city and what other Canadian cities have done to reap the benefits.