University of Alberta students wowed Morinville town council this week with their vision for the future of Heritage Lake – one that could include trails, beaches, and boardwalks.
Councillors received the Heritage Lake Recreational Area Concept Plan for information during committee of the whole April 20.
Heritage Lake is a man-made lake just west of Morinville used for fishing, swimming and Morinville’s Snowman Festival. Besides a few trees, horseshoe pits and a boat launch, it is largely undeveloped.
Town council asked administration to draw up a concept plan to improve the lake in April 2020. Last summer, the U of A’s School of Urban and Regional Planning volunteered to create that plan for free as a class project.
A five-student team from the school studied the site and surveyed about 466 people for suggestions on the plan.
The survey found about 80 per cent of respondents wanted the town to invest in Heritage Lake, and found high support for picnic areas, multi-use trails and boardwalks. About 95 per cent of respondents said they would use the lake more often if it was improved. Respondents also raised concerns with their inability to walk to the lake easily (there are no formal trails connecting it to the town) and the lake’s algal blooms.
Gather, Green, and Go
The U of A students presented council with three potential designs, dubbed “Gather,” “Green,” and “Go." Each featured a four-meter-wide trail along the south and east side of the lake, a paved roadway to the boat launch and potential trail connections to the town itself.
The “Gather” concept saw the lake as a community gathering place. It sported a boardwalk and beach near the Morinville Heritage Lake RV Park on the north shore, and a round stage, washrooms and beach volleyball on the south. The east coast would sport picnic shelters and fire pits, while the northeast would have a spiral-shaped garden. Guests could park and skate on the west coast.
A “Green” Heritage Lake would prioritize green spaces and environmental learning, the plans showed. This lake would have naturalized shores, rock gardens, a sort of binocular-shaped boardwalk, fire pits, a wetland, and a bird-watching pier.
The “Go” lake was all about fitness, with an emphasis on trails and outdoor sports. Notably, it featured a fenced dog park on its west coast instead of a parking lot.
The students proposed that the lake be developed over about 10 years, with earthworks, walking paths and trees installed in the first three. Later, the town could add solar-powered lights, an aeration system to prevent algae blooms, and a boardwalk.
Yowza, says town
Town officials and councillors were enthusiastic about the concepts, with planning and economic development manager Brad White saying he was “absolutely giddy” when he saw what the students had created. Still, White emphasized that the students had been asked to look at “the art of the possible” with their design and had not priced it out.
While it was an “amazing vision” that would certainly help the town create some future plans for the region, Mayor Barry Turner reminded council that it had not actually put any money toward improvements to Heritage Lake in its budget.
Coun. Sarah Hall said it would be tough for residents to support development at Heritage Lake unless they could walk or bike under Hwy. 2 to reach it.
Planner Trina Lamanes said such trail links would require the consent of CN Rail and Alberta Transportation and could involve building retaining walls.
Asked to review the concepts, Adele Maruschak of the Morinville Heritage Lake RV Park said she was excited the concepts included fire pits and a dog park, as she got a lot of guests who wanted to hold picnics or walk their dogs. She wasn’t a fan of the north-side boardwalk, though, as that could interfere with guest privacy.
"Personally, I don’t think there’s going to be enough money for a long time for them to do a lot of it,” she said of the plans, but she hoped some parts might get built in the next decade.
Town chief administrative officer Stephane Labonne said it would be up to the next council at budget time to decide if it wants to implement any of these concepts.
The concept plans were available in the agenda package for the April 20 committee of the whole meeting at morinville.ca.
