Open Spaces + Trails
Beaumaris Open Space Rehabilitation - Concept and Preliminary Design
Beaumaris Lake is Edmonton’s oldest storm water lake, and a well-loved destination for the community. With approximately 2.5km of trails for walking, running, and cycling, as well as many viewpoints and opportunities to interact with the lake, the open space is showing the effects of it’s success and a need for public realm rehabilitation was identified. The rehabilitation of Beaumaris Lake was a sensitive topic for the members of the community. Because of its maturity and natural design, the lake is home and migratory grounds for many wildlife species, and the community was vocal in their desire to maintain this attribute. They did, however, recognize the safety issues of the lake and were supportive in changes to address these.
In addition to concept and preliminary design, this project included extensive community engagement. A community stakeholder group was established to help communicate effectively between the design team and community members. The ultimate design included three key areas: East Park, West Park, and the Promenade, and each area contained unique challenges. To address accessibility, the East and West Parks needed extensive grading design, and the age of the existing slopes and infrastructure required a close relationship with the structural team to ensure the design was feasible. Shanna provided graphic design, technical input, and led the production team and interdisciplinary coordination.
University of Alberta Botanic Garden
Main Entry Design
The Main Entry Design project for the University of Alberta Botanic Garden provides an enhanced visitor experience by expanding the main parking lot, adding overflow parking, separating front- and back-of-house activities, and re-imagining the entry plaza.
This project was a complex project that included extensive environmental coordination and consideration for existing plant material. The new main parking lot had be designed around numerous existing specimen trees, and respect the boundaries of the Imrie Wetland, a designated Class ‘A’ wetland. Shanna provided design support from concept to detailed design, project and client management, and developed and coordinated construction specifications with the University project manager and other design disciplines.
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Creative Problem Solving:
The existing gift shop posed constraints on the design of the new entry plaza into the Botanic Garden. During the on-site design charrette, while the other teams investigated solutions with the gift shop in place, Shanna broached the possibility of moving the gift shop and her team created designs for this scenario. After investigation, it was confirmed that the gift shop could be moved, paving the way for greater opportunities for the entry plaza.
The Pearl Public Space
The Pearl Tower’s public open space offers a welcoming respite from the hustle and bustle of Jasper Avenue. With plenty of seating, attractive planting, and a prominent connection to Victoria Promenade, The Pearl’s open space is a prime example of bringing green space into the urban core.
Shanna provided graphic development, extensive design and grading support, project coordination, and client management from concept through to detailed design.
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Creative Problem Solving:
Two components of the design for The Pearl Tower Public Space included an art feature as part of the City of Edmonton’s Percent for Art Program and the need for a wind screen to manage high winds from the River Valley through the site. Shanna provided the suggestion to the client that these two features be combined and that the commissioned artist through the Program create a wind screen that would meet the requirements of the wind study.
Ottewell Neighbourhood Renewal
Ottewell Neighbourhood Renewal evaluates the neighbourhood’s mobility system and open spaces, including roads, sidewalks, bikeways, plantings, site furnishings, play spaces, trails, and sports fields. The project scope also includes low impact development (LID) interventions to mitigate high flooding in the neighbourhood. The ultimate project design includes over 5km of streetscape design, 9 open spaces, a pedestrianized alley transition, and 84 LID facilities.
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The work for Ottewell includes concept design for streets, open spaces, and LID, and design development and detailed design for open spaces and LID. Public engagement is also a critical component of developing a new design for the neighbourhood. The project includes numerous challenges including neighbourhood size, level of public engagement, project length, and project coordination. Shanna is instrumental in leading both the open space and LID design, as well a taking on the role of deputy project manager through design development and detailed design.
Bower Ponds + Three Mile Bend
The Waskasoo Parks System in Red Deer is a critical piece of the City of Red Deer's public space. Winding along the Red Deer River, the system contains numerous parks and green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy.
Three Mile Bend and Bower Ponds are two well-loved parks in this system. Three Mile Bend is a largely natural space with dedicated space for off-leash trails. Bower Ponds provides residents and visitors with open green space, water activities, and a playground.
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Shanna was extensively involved in upgrades and expansion for both Three Mile Bend and Bower Ponds. Three Mile Bend included parking lot expansion, trail upgrades, and formalizing river access. Work at Bower Ponds consisted of the addition of the playground and surrounding seating areas, design of the peace garden, and inclusion of additional planting and seating areas around the pond. Shanna provided vision and design support, detailed design drawings, and construction documentation.
Westglen School Outdoor Learning Space
Westglen School is a K-6 school located in west-central Edmonton. The school recognizes the importance of outdoor play and education and is excited about developing an outdoor learning space for it’s students. The outdoor classroom was to be provide a central gathering space, and various garden themes, such as edible plantings, sensory plantings, and materials that support biodiversity.
Shanna worked with the school’s parent group and provided volunteer design services to help the school secure grant funding. Once funding was secured, Shanna developed design drawings to respond to the final project budget and provided tender and construction support.
Chappelle Gardens Residents' Association
Chappelle Gardens is an expanding community in Southwest Edmonton. The Resident’s Association is a key part of the community, providing four-season outdoor and indoor gathering spaces, including a hockey rink, a casual skating area that doubles as a spray park in the summer and a future playground.
This project included design from concept to detailed, as well as construction administration. The concept design covered the full site, then the project was split into two phases for construction. Shanna worked with the team to produce the concept design and led the design development through both phases, providing multi-disciplinary coordination, and field review services during and after construction.
*Photo Credit: Chappelle Gardens Residents’ Association
Autumn Ridge Path Design
The Autumn Ridge Path provides a critical north-south bicycle and pedestrian connection on Madison, Wisconsin’s east side. When constructed, the path will include a bridge spanning US Highway 30, which is a significant barrier to active transportation in the area.
Shanna assisted in developing a conceptual route for the path and provided preliminary design of the path, which included preliminary grading and cross-sections to address significant slopes and drainage swales, as well as retain existing vegetation.
Kelly's Brook Trail Design
The City of St. John’s approved the Bike St. John’s Master Plan which commits the City to encouraging more people to use active transportation by developing a safe, inclusive, and convenient cycling network that is well-connected, attractive, and reflective of the city’s unique topography and climate. The first of the catalyst projects was Kelly’s Brook Shared Use Path. Kelly’s Brook Shared Use Path traverses a variety of environmental conditions in St. John’s, including natural creek areas, open fields, and city roadways. When completed, Kelly’s Brook Trail will provide a continuous 4.8km active transportation corridor that will be accessible for all users and connect popular destinations and amenities in St. John’s.
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Given the unique terrain and environment of Kelly’s Brook Trail, the surfacing is of significant consideration to the City and the Public. Shanna supported the project by providing knowledge and research on trail surfacing and providing a memo that addresses factors such as universal accessibility, durability, maintenance, life-cycle costing, and other criteria. This memo was shared with the city and public to help determine a suitable trail surfacing for this critical trail connection.
Sturgeon Valley Trails Gap Analysis
Sturgeon Valley is rural community with great natural amenities nearby but limited opportunities for the residents to access these places. The County has developed a limited, disconnected network of trails for people walking and biking, but there is an expressed desire by Valley residents to have access to a better network for recreation, commuting, and daily errands.
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Sturgeon County was looking for a plan to establish a connected trails system, including types recommendation, prioritization, maintenance considerations, and costing. The project included desktop and on-site review of the existing and planned infrastructure, public engagement, and coordination with other County departments on vision and expectations. Shanna managed this project and led a small team of engineers and planners to develop a suitable trails network, identify prioritization, and develop a non-statutory planning document for future trails development in the Sturgeon Valley.
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Relationship Building:
The relationship developed through the work on the Sturgeon Valley Trails Gap Analysis also lead to additional work that Shanna led on preparing a grant application for one of the high priority trail linkages identified.