Connecting city to valley — LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AOTEAROA

The North Saskatchewan River Valley is the birthplace of the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta.

It’s North America’s largest urban parkland - 22 times the size of New York’s Central Park, meaning there’s plenty to explore.

The boardwalk and promenade features public art and space to rest and enjoy the view. Photo credit: Tom Arban

But dividing the top of the river bank - home to Edmonton’s bustling downtown business area - from the valley, is a network of roads and steep slopes making access to the 150 kilometres of trails and water difficult, particularly for those with mobility challenges.

Multidisciplinary collaborative DIALOG was given the task of exploring inventive ways of connecting people from the city to the valley.

The black box is the funicular, an outdoor elevator moving along a set of angled rails against the hill. It doesn’t require an on-site operator and can hold up to 20 people at a time. Photo credit: DIALOG

The studio’s solution - a funicular (a type of inclined elevator) ride down to a pedestrian bridge where visitors can take a glass elevator ride to the web of trails.

The funicular allows those in wheelchairs, cyclists or parents with strollers to traverse the steep slope easily.

Alternatively visitors can use the sweeping staircases.

DIALOG says the river access project is about connecting people to place, but also about enjoying the journey along the way.

It says there are six key moments:

1. At the top of the bank, a promontory(headland) provides panoramic views of the valley. Generous steps connect visitors to the edge of the overlook with plenty of space for programming special events, stretching after running stairs, or watching the sun set.

2. The inclined elevator running from the promontory to a promenade midway along the valley slope provides dynamic views overlooking the picturesque river valley. The broad staircase alongside it not only provides a direct connection to the river valley, but seating opportunities invite visitors to rest or play while drinking in the view. The stairs hover above the natural grad of the valley slope where indigenous plantings assist with the mitigation of soil erosion.

3. The steps and the elevator land on a pedestrian promenade that takes advantage of an existing bench on the valley slope above the road network. A Kebony wood boardwalk takes pedestrians along the middle of the river bank over to a pedestrian bridge, and is adjacent to a wide lawn park area. Planting is brought up from the valley and softens the edges of the promenade. Playful, eye-catching public art was incorporated into the benches. The art entitled Turbulent by Jill Anholt is a reflection of the river’s active current and was selected as part of a national public art competition.

A pedestrian bridge carries visitors over traffic and leads to the Frederick G. Todd Lookout that hovers 19m above the river valley. Photo credit: Tom Arban

4. The spacious pedestrian bridge provides safe passage over a busy road. People rise above traffic on a gently sloped bridge with benches and rest areas along the way.

5. The southern end of the bridge gently rises up to cantilever out to a 19m high lookout over the river’s edge. Frederick G. Todd, Canada's first landscape architect, is the namesake of the lookout with an immersive, panoramic vantage point in the river valley he helped to protect.

6. To complete the journey, a glass elevator and stairs connect to the river valley trails below. The elevator is a second essential component in creating barrier-free access to the river valley. The lower plaza is another gathering space along the way that features bike parking, benches, and other distinct views of nature.

At the southern end of the project, a glass elevator connects the pedestrian bridge to over 160 km of river valley trails. Photo credit: Cooper & OHara

In only five minutes - or longer, if you linger along the way - one goes from the vibrant urban core to nature and the river valley.