Community Update: West Ritchie
A good news story from 79 Ave and 101 St! Our community-led initiative to transform an abandoned road right of way (RROW) has reached council, and the decision was made to approve road closure and rezoning.
HISTORY
West Ritchie is home to an L-shaped road right of way (RROW), unused since 2009 when several large condominiums were constructed. No infrastructure changes have taken place on this RROW since then. At the same time, West Ritchie has undergone massive population changes and is the most densely populated area of Ritchie. West Ritchie is home to about 10 large-scale condominium developments across only three streets and three avenues, with another build near 99 St pitched to add hundreds of residents. What hasn’t kept pace with the development and densification of this hotspot is the availability of public green space for residents. With the loss of the last public park to the Station Park building, on the corner of Whyte Avenue and Gateway, West Ritchie officially has no public parks left for residents, who now have to cross busy 99 St or Whyte Avenue to find a place to access green space. As a result, neighbours have taken to utilizing the RROW at 79 Ave and 101 St as their “green space”.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
This land was in very poor condition when a group of volunteers started tending to it in 2020. Volunteers cleaned up encampments, needles, noxious weeds, and more, over several clean up events. Then came the community garden, which today has picnic tables, garden plots, water barrels, composters, and more. The hard work of tenacious volunteers have transformed this space into much more than a road allowance. However, the zoning of this lot poses issues to the current use of the space. For example, there are no city garbage cans allowed on a “road”, and so garbage accumulates on the lot. Or, although a gravel path was laid down, there is no ability to install an accessible pathway as the lot has no curbs or connecting sidewalks. We’ve done a lot of work installing what we can, but there were major limitations posed by its designation as a road.
WHAT’S Next?
RCL is extremely pleased to see that council approved road closure and rezoning of the 79 Avenue portion of the space to Park. Council was receptive and applauded the work of our League and volunteers to not stop at a “policy no”. This change aligns with the “West Ritchie Greenway” proposal to stretch from Whyte Ave to the 79 Ave park along the rail tracks.
What we do know about this rezoning is that it will give the space an address for emergency calls, and it will place the lot into Parks Management, potentially receiving funding in a future budget cycle. We hope that we can work with the city to secure garbage cans, plant trees, and more, and will continue our advocacy in that respect. As of today, there will be no major management changes to the space, and the rehab of the lot will continue to be community-led. We have asked the city to consult with RCL about naming the park and installing more permanent signage.
Stay Informed
For more updates about this project, please reach out to West@ritchie-league.com. If you have any further questions about other civic projects in Ritchie, visit our Civics Updates page.
