One of the proposals includes a multi-level boardwalk that will extend beyond the river's edge and serve as a space for activities including fitness classes and festivals. (Urbanada/YouTube)

By Alison Sandstrom

Riverbank Revitalization

Urban planning course reimagines Prince Albert’s riverbank

Apr 23, 2020 | 5:37 PM

A group of urban planning students from the University of Saskatchewan have reimagined Prince Albert’s downtown riverbank as a vibrant cultural hub and an international tourism destination.

Their proposals, which include boardwalks that extend the riverbank out over the water and an amphitheatre that can double as a skating rink the winter, are the result of a semester-long experiential learning course.

While the projects are purely academic, some of the ideas and principles they contain could influence city planning in the future.

The students looked at promoting reconciliation and community building through their designs by including places where people could share food like communal ovens and a Farmer’s Market. (Samuel Loran/YouTube).

Course Instructor Henry Lau said above all, he hopes the proposals prompt P.A. residents to realize the asset the river represents, while inspiring them to think about how the city could best utilize the space.

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“I think [the students] want the public to realize how much of a treasure they have in their community,” he told paNOW. “It’s a historical place that used to be a vibrant waterway. It’s beautiful on the edge of the boreal forest… it’s an Indigenous cultural hub, and those are the real treasures.”

Lau and his students visited Prince Albert in February to meet with the community and consult with them on ideas for the design. They had hoped to return in April and present their final proposals in the form of an exhibition at City Hall, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible.

Instead, they have posted their proposals in the form of YouTube videos for the public to view online.

Director of Planning and Development Services for the city Craig Guidinger, said he specifically told students to put budgets and engineering constraints aside and think outside the box as they created their designs and he’s impressed with what they came up with.

“I think they’ve developed two proposals that really encourage diversity and culture and just a well utilized public space that we can be proud of as a city,” Guidinger said.

While the student plans are theoretical, Guidinger said the city will still endeavor to incorporate elements of them where they can.

“We’ll absolutely look at the plans and see if we can start knocking off some of the components of them, whether it costs money or whether it’s just encouraging people to use the riverbank,” he said.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom