City, Capilano residents at odds over footbridge closure
Construction on the Capilano footbridge means the bridge is temporarily off limits to pedestrians – but some are choosing to ignore closure signage.
Nicole Wolfe, director of Open Space Infrastructure Delivery at the City of Edmonton, said Capilano Park, located on the south side of the river near 50 Street, is undergoing construction to improve lighting, benches, parking and underground renewal.
The closure of the popular Capilano footbridge— which a quarter of a million people used last summer — has left Edmontonians frustrated with the lack of trail detours.
“It would have been awesome to see the city place signage on top of the hill so people don’t need to descend all the way down,” said pedestrian Stephen Raitz. “The detour to the west would be about a 7-kilometre walk or bike ride.”
Following the suggested detour would take anywhere from 50 to 80 minutes. Raitz said there was not enough notice.
“We would hope to see the city add some way finding signage further up and do some outreach with community leagues or community organizations,” he said.
But Wolfe said the lack of signage is largely due to people removing them.
“We’ve had quite a journey with signage actually. There has been lots of signage put out and we have increased the amount of signage but a lot of it seems to be removed, damaged, vandalized and thrown in places that we can not get it,” she said.
Wolfe explains workers are having a “heck of a time” getting people to obey closure signage. She said the active construction site is not safe for pedestrians.
“We are really having some significant issues with behaviour,” she said. “At this point, we're trying to do our best by asking people to remove themselves from site.”
Wolfe said the construction workers do daily fence checks to make sure people are not pushing through.
The project is expected to end July 31.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
New Norad commander calls Canada's defence policy update 'very encouraging'
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.