'It's such a jewel': New river valley park opens in northeast Edmonton Sunday

Edmonton's newest - and biggest - river valley park opened Sunday.
The new park is located in Ward Dene, in the area of 149 Avenue and 17 Street NE. At 190 acres, it's the largest park in Edmonton's history.
It connects popular river valley trails with amenities including an event centre, playground, public washrooms and an ornamental lake for non-motorized boating activities.
"Having a park like this in the northeast is really exciting," said Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette. "It's already being incredibly well used, there's families out and I think we're going to be enjoying this for generations to come."
The city says the park is part of the Ribbon of Green plan, a strategy aimed at creating an interconnected river valley that meets the needs of the environment and Edmontonians.
"We have seen the erosion in the river valley area, so it is important that we continue to invest in expanding it," said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi at the opening. "Edmontonians love our river valley.
"It's such a jewel, and we take pride in it and we want to make sure that we're preserving it."
The park was scheduled to open in August, but city officials postponed the opening to accommodate the nesting season for migratory birds in the region.
The park has yet to be named. The city says it will connect with stakeholders and residents in the fall for the official naming process and for other long-term plans for the park.
The Edmonton river valley has more than 20 major parks and 160 kilometre of maintained trails.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

2 young boys dead, mother in critical condition after incident in Scarborough
Toronto police say a homicide investigation is underway after an incident at a Scarborough apartment building Sunday night left two young boys dead and their mother in critical condition.
Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell, of 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,' dead at 29
Reality personality Anna Cardwell, who was featured on the TLC program “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” has died, according to social media posts made by her family. She was 29.
Three dead after shed fire outside northwest Calgary hardware store
Three people were found dead in the Crowfoot Crossing area of northwest Calgary on Monday after a fire.
Seniors over 87 can apply to join federal dental plan starting next week
The federal government hopes to avoid gumming up the works of its new dental-insurance plan by gradually phasing in enrolment over the course of the next year, Health Minister Mark Holland said Monday.
Most Albertans don't want the province to pull out of CPP, survey finds
One month after finance ministers met to discuss the Alberta government's intent to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) public opinion polling by the Angus Reid Institute suggests there's little desire among Albertans or the rest of Canada to see Alberta leave the plan.
'I know I messed up': House Speaker Fergus challenged by MPs probing video controversy
A repentant Greg Fergus testified Monday before his peers about what he says was his unintentional participation in a partisan provincial Liberal party event in early December, telling MPs that as the House of Commons Speaker, he knows he 'messed up.'
Grocer profits set to exceed record in 2023, expert says, ahead of committee meeting
Profits in the Canadian grocery sector will likely exceed $6 billion in 2023, setting a new record as they rise eight per cent from last year, according to the Centre for Future Work. New research by the progressive research institute found that food retailers are now earning more than twice as much profit as they did pre-pandemic.
Poland's parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister
Poland's parliament elected centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-EU government after eight years of stormy national conservative rule.
Navalny's whereabouts are unknown and Russian prison says he's no longer there, a spokeswoman says
The whereabouts of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were unknown Monday as officials at the penal colony where he was serving his sentence told one of his lawyers that he is no longer on the inmate roster, the politician's spokeswoman said after nearly a week of not being able to contact him.