Future of Edmonton's 'Accidental Beach' up for discussion
Nola Keeler | CBC News | Posted: November 28, 2017 8:00 PM | Last Updated: November 28, 2017
A new report says necessary approvals for the beach could take up to four years
It materialized all by itself, but making Edmonton's "accidental beach" a permanent fixture of the river valley would require extensive effort, says a report to be discussed Wednesday by the city's urban planning committee.
Accidental Beach, as it is informally known, popped up in August 2017 in the Cloverdale neighbourhood, near the new Tawatinâ Bridge that is under construction as part of the Valley Line LRT.
The beach was the result of the combination of berms required for the construction of the bridge and low water levels, but its future is uncertain because the berms are scheduled to be removed in either 2019 or 2020, said the report, requested by Coun. Ben Henderson
If city council wants to keep Accidental Beach, environmental reviews would need to be done and approvals would be required from both the province and the federal government — a process could take up to four years, though Henderson is hopeful it could be faster than that.
"We have to recognize that the answers may come back and there are indeed huge environmental concerns, in which case it may not be a sensible or wise thing to do," Henderson said.
"I'm not assuming that the answer is going to be that we're going to keep it," he added, "but I thought, it's popular enough with Edmontonians and we've been trying to find something like this for so long, that it's absolutely worth exploring."
Urban beach has been on city radar for years
The city has looked at a number of options for creating a beach area in Edmonton, including one at Hawrelak Park that would have cost an estimated $5 million to build.
A report on an urban beach development at Louise McKinney Park is scheduled to come before city council early in 2018. That proposal, with an estimated pricetag of about $1.4 million, was put on hold in 2014.
The irony of a free beach being spontaneously created in the river valley when the city has spent time and money on proposals for other beaches is not lost on Henderson.
"I think we'd be crazy not to explore it, given all the less satisfactory answers we've come up with to try and create a beach experience within the city," said Henderson. "Clearly what we saw this summer — we're not making up the demand for it. You know, a lot of people flocked to it because it's an amenity that people have been really hungry for."
Popular beach led to problems for neighbourhood
While Accidental Beach was wildly popular and attracted big crowds, it also caused problems for residents in the area. Parking, especially on hot days, became difficult to find and garbage cans were overflowing.
The city took a number of measures to address those problems.
Henderson said that if the beach is to stay, the concerns of the neighbouring communities have to be part of the plan.
"How do we make sure that Cloverdale can absorb the pressure from it and to make sure they don't pay the price?" asked Henderson.
The report also pointed out that any plan for the beach would have to include safety considerations, especially because of the fluctuating water levels along the North Saskatchewan River.
The beach would always have to be "use at your own risk," said Henderson.
Mother Nature may have the last word
Nature may also take care of the future of Accidental Beach despite what council may decide to do.
"We have to remember we're only assuming that it will survive, you know, the next spring," said Henderson. "We've had sandbars on the river forever and they tend to move around. ... We may not have it again next summer."
The report said if the city wants to explore keeping the beach in the city, it will have to approve spending money for planning and design.
Despite the obstacles, Henderson said looking into ways to keep the popular beach is a worthwhile exercise
"There's always way too many reasons to say not to do something and sometimes I think they get in the way of things that are actually good amenities for the city," said Henderson. "I don't want us to be stopped by those."