Devon council voted on October 27, 2014 to table river valley trail discussions, after citizens expressed concerns that the paving of the River Valley Alliance (RVA) primary trail network was not properly communicated during recent River Valley Trails Master Plan (RVTMP) public engagement sessions. The section of trail under discussion, an old Imperial Oil road, runs from Voyageur Park to the Lion’s Park and has been identified as a primary trail within the RVA network that will eventually link Devon to Fort Saskatchewan. Although there have been ongoing communications regarding the RVA trail project, the RVA primary trail standard, defined as a 3 metre wide, hard surface trail, was not clearly understood.
Please follow this link to read the full River Valley Trails Media Release.
Download: River Valley Trails Master Plan - Final Report - November 2015
Updates will be provided online as well as Facebook and Twitter #rivervalleytrails.
The Town of Devon completed and released the River Valley Trails Master Plan Final Report in November 2015. The purpose of the River Valley Master Plan (RVMP) is to establish a coordinated vision and long term development plan for Devon's river valley. The process of developing the RVMP began in spring of 2010 and included feedback from town administration and public consultation sessions where groups identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the Devon river valley.
The report recommended preparing a trail routing plan for the valley slopes, developing a trail signage program, and conducting an assessment of the trails to determine user needs as well as trail condition reports and erosion controls. The River Valley Trails Master Plan was the next step in this process.
The River Valley Trails Master Plan is intended to guide the sustainable maintenance and future development of a multi-use trail system. The plan will be responsive to the desired experience and abilities of trail users. It will support current and future use with minimal impact to the area ecosystem, produce negligible soil loss, and will allow vegetation to inhabit the area.
The Master Plan provides guidelines and standards to ensure that we are developing the most accessible, usable, and sustainable trails possible in order to meet a variety of user abilities and desired experiences. This plan will guide future trail remediation, expansion, and preservation efforts. This plan is focused on the natural trail system in the river valley. It will ensure the development of a network of multi-use trails that will be accessible and usable by everyone, for all activities and skill levels.