Strathcona Neighbourhood Renewal

Al-Terra was selected to lead a team that included public engagement and communication, and landscape design. The team collaborated with residents to create a new vision for the neighbourhood enhancing the sense of community by promoting walking and biking and encouraging people to gather in safe, attractive, and inviting public spaces. The new plan also enhances the safety of both residents and visitors who travel through the neighbourhood using any mode of transportation and included the inclusion of traffic calming measures based on feedback from public engagement and traffic data. The conversion of parking lots and an alley (Strathcona Back Street) to plazas and shared space was completed in a prominent civic and festival area. This required extensive urban design, landscaping, and installation of LID soil cells.

Encompassing nearly 17 km of roadways the final design included addition of new sidewalks, traffic calming features, separated bike lanes, shared use paths, shared roads, parklets, new areas for tree planting, and re-imagined public spaces. 

The project features the integration of unique transportation, planning and streetscape elements including new protected bike facilities, raised and on-street bike lanes, new shared-use roadways and the introduction of new seating nodes and plantings throughout the neighbourhood.

Our approach resulted in a new vision for the neighbourhood that ‘connects its residents and creates a strong sense of community by promoting walking, biking, and encourages gathering in safe, attractive and inviting public spaces,’ and ‘provides a safe experience for both residents and visitors who move in and through the neighbourhood using all methods of travel.

Strathcona Back Street

The Strathcona Back Street project thoughtfully integrated Low Impact Development (LID) with public realm enhancements. Local businesses, community and City of Edmonton staff had recognized the area’s transformational potential and various unfunded concepts were developed. This project finally found support and resulted in the collaborative conversion of two parking lots into pedestrian plazas built on green infrastructure. This unique project showcases a range of environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Resiliency of the drainage system and stormwater management was considered and runoff into the river valley has been reduced. Monitoring of the project indicates a reduction of stormwater pollutants with an average removal of total suspended solids, phosphorous, and dissolved phosphorous by 79.5%, 69.9%, and 76.9% respectively.

The area has seen a steady increase in public use from colourful tables and chairs added as community-led placemaking to the hosting of festivals and events such as the Art Walk, Farmer’s Market, and Fringe Festival. Benefits to local businesses are also apparent from increased business activity to improved universal accessibility and visibility. Nearby businesses such as the Strathcona Hotel and Farmers’ Market have announced recent and complimentary redevelopment plans. 

The project initiated with minimum funding to repave the alley right-of-way only. Analysis of flood modelling data indicated the site experiences surface ponding and combined sewer overflow during large storm events. The project subsequently became eligible for LID funding under EPCOR’s program, and the project sought and was subsequently awarded a grant from the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The grant is awarded to projects that: “reflect the very best examples of municipal leadership in sustainable development – feasibility studies and pilot projects that are expected to lead to high environmental benefit.”