A sign on the orange construction fence surrounding one of nine newly installed concrete pads says, “Saskatchewan Drive Lookouts/Seating Areas,” but at the moment most provide a very limited view.
“Uh, it’s not much. It’s just trees,” one river valley runner told CTV News Edmonton of the view. She went on to assume the city would have to remove those trees to truly turn the pad into a lookout point.
“It’s kinda odd. Kinda a waste,” she said.
Other river valley users figure some tree clearing is OK, as the south bank of the North Saskatchewan river provides the best view of Edmonton’s skyline.
“Just some care has to be taken in clearing any trees to balance nature with the aesthetics of downtown,” cyclist Bill Bellamy said.
The city says only seven of the nine pads will become lookouts. The remaining two will be seating areas.
The benches will be installed soon, and crews will be pruning branches once nesting season is over Aug. 20 to lessen the impacts on wildlife.
Officials say the tree removal will be minimal and done with the guidance of Natural Areas Operations.
