An active transportation advocacy group wants the City of Edmonton to consider what it calls a "bold idea" for where 76 Avenue crosses the Mill Creek Ravine between the Ritchie and King Edward Park neighbourhoods.
Paths for People has proposed to close this portion of 76 Avenue to vehicles and renaturalize the area. Vice-chair Cheryl Villetard told Taproot the idea started when Paths for People and Connect76 hosted a Jane's Walk in May that explored the area. Currently, 76 Avenue crosses the ravine atop a culvert. A walk participant suggested the section of roadway could be demolished once it is scheduled for renewal in a few years. The idea was that the culvert could be removed, returning the natural flow of the creek, and that active transportation could be prioritized.
"We've been kind of percolating on the idea and (thinking) about bringing it up to the (city) project team for that renewal project to see if they would put it in as an idea, as one of the renewal options," Villetard said.
But Villetard then learned this exact portion of roadway would be worked on much sooner than thought because the city is now pairing the renewal with the replacement of the nearby Mill Creek Ravine trestle bridge. That meant time was running out to potentially influence the project.
During the bridge replacement project, the city's initial plan was to simply perform maintenance on the nearby culvert. After further review, though, the city is considering removing the culvert and building a bridge for vehicular traffic on 76 Avenue instead. (The corridor is currently closed to westbound vehicle traffic as the city completes unrelated work for erosion repair and slope improvement in the ravine.)
"It's sparked a really interesting opportunity where the scope of the project has turned from just maintenance on a culvert, which is probably minimal cost, to building the whole bridge, which is a huge cost, millions of dollars," Villetard said.
The trestle bridge project and culvert replacement are included in a composite budget profile in the 2023-2026 capital budget. The two projects are sharing about $210 million with 37 other bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects.
Villetard said the group's idea feels like a pipe dream, but is not impossible given how well-connected Ritchie and King Edward Park are.
"I think this one opportunity actually feels like a big hill to climb, but when you think about the details of it, it's actually quite a good spot to do this," Villetard said. "We're not talking about a neighbourhood like Belgravia where there's only two (entrances). We're talking about these neighbourhoods that are very grid-aligned, and they have (entrances) on almost every block."
Administration has considered "daylighting" Mill Creek since at least 2015. Portions of the creek were diverted underground in the 1970s to enable vehicle traffic. Daylighting would reroute the creek back to ground level. The Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition wrote a letter of support for Path for People's proposal because it would help daylight the creek.
Paths for People hopes the city will consider closing 76 Avenue to vehicles where it crosses the Mill Creek Ravine and renaturalizing the area. (Supplied)
The city's engagement on 76 Avenue renewal asked cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers which section of the roadway they would like to see improvements on. Cyclists and pedestrians overwhelmingly pointed at the portion of 76 Avenue that crosses the ravine. Vehicle drivers also chose that portion, though to a lesser extent. According to the engagement, vehicle drivers want to discourage those who use 76 Avenue to shortcut through the Ritchie and King Edward Park neighbourhoods.
Paths for People said those who are interested in exploring its proposed changes to 76 Avenue can provide support on an online form. Villetard said Paths for People will continue to advocate for the proposal before the city's work on the trestle bridge begins.