FAQs

We thank you for your input.  All feedback received will be considered and the concept plan for the park will be updated once public engagement has concluded.

The City will follow our Engineering Standards for sizes of trees. Trees are planted wherever possible to allow a buffer between the residences, allowing 2.5m behind the tree for mowing purposes and to prevent the tree canopy from encroaching on private yards.

Yes, trees, decorative boulders and/or shrubs would be included behind the hill to discourage both sliding towards fences and pedestrian access.

The City does not light trail systems in community parks.

Outdoor fitness stations are generally not compatible with school sites and will not be included.

As shown on the current drawing, the height is approximately 3.5m.  If maintained in the concept, detailed design will determine the final height, run out and shape of the hill.

Typically soccer fields use school parking or on-street parking for games. Given the major two roads bordering Riverside Park, there should be sufficient on street parking until the school is built.

No.  A U12 field playing surface is approximately 73m x 50m, a full size is approximately 100m x 64m.

If a social ice surface were to be created, we would look to play it elsewhere in the field. Ice surfaces are hard on grass and so a less heavily used area would be preferable.

There is some remediation work required on the school site including excavation, grading and seeding.  That work is tentatively planned for 2022 and will be completed by Genstar Developments.

The responsibility for building playgrounds on school sites usually falls to a parent committee set up by the school administration. Typically, parent committees build playgrounds once they are able to raise enough funds. In this case, if a playground is already on site, the parent committee may look at it to determine if it meets the students' needs and determine whether or not they would build any additional playgrounds.  Elementary schools would typically plan for additional playground spaces

No. The 1.8ha allocated for school use is sized to permit the school boards to contain their footprint (building, parking lot, playgrounds etc.) to within the school site portion. The City works closely with Alberta Infrastructure and the school boards with new school construction to ensure the site is used efficiently.  

This site is not yet allocated to a specific school board nor is the grade range for the school  determined.

The main purpose of the conservation park is to protect the tree stand and provide naturalization opportunities.   As such, there is limited sightlines into the park and so a playground would not be appropriate.  A small play feature along the trail is proposed. 

Grey Nuns White Spruce Park will have a nature investigation area included, once that is complete. While not a traditional playground, the area is designed for both play and educational value.  The forest will also have a covered picnic area, plenty of trails, outlooks, outdoor classrooms and other elements to encourage recreational use. 

Based on the changed configuration, asphalt provides the best universal accessibility however we will reassess that as we finalize the concept plan.  Our goal will be to minimize or eliminate tree loss during construction.

The City will endeavor to create sightlines by working with the developer to include chain link fencing along the adjacent housing.  Native species that discourage access (e.g. wild rose bushes) will be considered in the design for areas that might permit foot access away from the pathways.

The existing tree strand will be retained and additional native plantings potentially introduced as part of the trail construction. We have identified this site as a potential project under the City’s naturalization program

Rankin Drive (formerly Meadowview Lane) is being planned as a  future access and connection to Mission.  This is currently in a planning / conceptual phase for the roadway, due to the connection proposed as a new alignment of Rankin Drive. There is currently no approved capital project for the completion of the roadway beyond planning work.

The long term plan is to have Rankin Drive (former Meadowview Lane) connect to Mission Avenue. Although the connection to Mission Avenue may be via a new alignment, this segment will allow for connectivity to the Heritage sites which will support the servicing to the site, while not bisecting the site and impacting the area with through traffic.

Yes.  Planned upgrades to Rankin Drive will align to the City’s Complete Streets Guidelines and is intended to accommodate all modes of travel, with pedestrian accommodation also provided at the final CN Rail crossing.  Additionally, Phase 2 of the Red Willow Park West – Meadowview project includes a trail connecting the Grey Nuns White Spruce Park to the trestle bridge and onwards to Downtown St. Albert.  

RX is a permitted district within the low density housing approved by the Area Structure Plan. You can find all the permitted uses within each district by going to Part 8 of the Land Use Bylaw.

The RX district allows as permitted use, a mix of housing types.  Some of the permitted uses in the RX and RXL Districts include single-detached, semi-detached, and townhousing.  Townhousing cannot exceed 25% of the total number of dwelling units within the combined areas districted RX and RXL on lands governed by an Area Structure Plan.  The R1 District permitted use is single-detached house, with duplex and semi-detached as discretionary, and townhousing is not permitted or discretionary.  

The RX district permits single family, semi-detached, duplex, and townhouses. The district permits a maximum building height of 11.5m, which is the same building height as the R1 District.  

The subdivision proposed for Riverside Stage 31, for units north of Rankin Drive, has a proposed cul-de-sac are 12 single-detached houses.  Along Riverside Drive are 10 semi-detached and 2 single-detached homes. Based on the proposed Riverside Stage 31 subdivision, 15 street-oriented townhouses with lane access are proposed south of Rankin Drive and east of Riverside Drive with the proposed District of RXL.

RX permits townhouses.   In the RX District, townhousing can be developed as condominium development that may have one access to serve the development.  RXL is the district that permits street-oriented townhousing as that provides lane access and the maximum number of street-oriented townhousing units that may be consecutively attached is 6

The approved housing densities can be found in the Riverside Area Structure Plan, located at this link.

The spacing of parks is determined as best fits with the development plans and overall configuration of the neighbourhood.  South of McKenney there is the one community park, one conservation park and Grey Nuns White Spruce Park.  Grey Nuns White Spruce Park is a large park measuring 9.25 ha, and that provided about half of the required park space (municipal reserve) in the Riverside neighbourhood.  Protection of the forest is vitally important during the development of the ASP (Area Structure Plan).  

The remaining land to be dedicated as Municipal Reserve for parkland is distributed throughout the rest of the neighbourhood. Grey Nuns White Spruce Park will have a nature investigation area included, once that is complete. While not a traditional playground, the area is designed for both play and educational value.  The forest will also have a covered picnic area, trails, nature outlooks, outdoor classrooms and other elements to encourage recreational use

Genstar Developments has provided the required 10% municipal reserve dedication. While small additions to the municipal reserve may be considered during detailed design, there is not any plans to add new parks. Adding new parks would require an ASP (Area Structure Plan) amendment and approval by City Council.

Genstar Developments is continuing with the chain link fencing.

There will be no changes to the existing fence structures as a result of the park development.

No, all environmental approvals are received before development and there are no current requirements for wildlife impacts studies to be completed post construction.

We have passed this suggestion along to Genstar Developments who can share with their builders.

The City's policies and new draft MDP (Municipal Development Plan) encourages the use of park space to enhance the City’s tree canopy. We will be replanting trees in parks throughout the build-out of the neighbourhood

Grey Nuns White Spruce Park is under consideration by City Council for 2021 construction.

The plans for Grey Nuns White Spruce Park do not include any lighting being introduced into the site.  If needed in the future,  the City would look to using dark sky lighting to reduce impacts.

There are no monitoring plans required during residential development.  Nest sweeps are conducted during nesting seasons to ensure constructure activities are not directly impacting nesting species. 

For Grey Nuns White Spruce Park, trails are planned to permit access, while directing that access to specific pathways and trails. There are on-going programs in place to enhance the tree canopy and maintain the white spruce.  During park construction, winter construction, nest sweeps and timing restrictions will all be used with the selected contracted to minimize impacts as much as is reasonable.