Report by Shirley Coulson and Patsy Cotterill
At the public hearing April 8 at City Hall Executive Committee of City Council agreed that the proposal, made by Shirley Coulson and Patsy Cotterill on behalf of the ENC, to locate the North Trail in Oleskiw River Valley along the escarpment rather than along the riverine forest (as per the plan), was worth considering, so this portion of the plan was not approved and was sent back to the administration (Parks Planning) for re-examination and a report at a later date. Cherry Dodd of the Edmonton Naturalization Group also spoke in favour this proposal.
The ENC proposal was supported by various councilors, the mountain biking fraternity and members of the audience, the consensus being that the suggested trail alignment made more sense than one close to the river edge, providing trail continuity for people while being the least environmentally intrusive.
Kudos to Shirley, for her persistence and dedication to this issue; it is rare that one gets a win when a civic project has got this far in the process. Possibly ENC owes a debt of gratitude also to the bikers, whose publicity no doubt helped paint the picture of controversy among the public and encouraged Council to hold the public hearing. (This was a non-statutory public hearing, meaning that it was voluntary on Council’s part.)
A further environmental impact assessment of the proposed new North Trail alignment will have to be done, and Shirley and Patsy hope that this time the environmental community, including the ENC, and the public in general, will be invited to have input!