In 1985, the Council of the City of Edmonton passed Bylaw Number 7188, the North Saskatchewan River Valley Redevelopment Plan, to dedicate the River Valley and Ravine system to urban and natural parks and environmental protection uses. One of the policies of the plan is that proposals for the upgrading of approved transportation corridors and attendant facilities be subject to an environmental impact assessment and that the identified impacts be eliminated, minimized or mitigated through design and landscaping measures. Since the Bylaw was passed, many projects have required and Environmental Impact Assessment, and the Transportation and Public Works Departments of the City of Edmonton have developed a process to identify key concerns that should be addressed by these assessments. The purpose of this paper is to review this process and examine the Environmental Impact Assessments for three projects: The Grierson Hill Slope Stabilization Project required that considerable earthwork be completed in a park close to downtown, and a rip rap berm be constructed along the bank of the river. The 111 Street Bridge Project includes the construction of a two lane bridge and earth embankments across the pristine natural Blackmud Creek ravine. The Hawrelak Park / Buena Vista Pedestrian Bridge crosses the North Saskatchewan River and will connect Hawrelak Park to Buena Vista Park and the Valley Zoo. All these projects required that certain adjustments be made to the design and construction to allow the adverse impacts to the environment to be eliminated, minimized or mitigated. This paper gives details of these adjustments and how they were incorporated into the projects. (A)
Samenvatting