City Government

Dawson Park Master Plan

Dawson Park

Dawson Park is an important link in Edmonton's river valley park network. To help ensure Dawson Park remains a celebrated and cherished public space, the City is starting a master plan process to establish a 25-year vision and management plan for the park. The resulting plan will guide the park through the next stage of its history and will be developed throughout 2016 and 2017.

Project Timeline

Concept Phase

Spring 2016
Undertake research, inventory and assessment of existing site conditions and amenities as well as environmental opportunities and constraints.

Future
Public consultation including stakeholder review to a vision statement for each park.

Project Overview

The last comprehensive planning for Dawson Park was undertaken in the 1970s through the development of the Capital City Recreation Park Concept Plan. Most of the infrastructure that exists in Dawson Park is a legacy of that plan including a parking lot, hiking and biking trails, rest area with toilets, benches and preserved natural area.

While Dawson Park has not seen significant change since the 1970s, the surrounding communities, recreation demands and the city certainly has. The growing communities of Cromdale and Boyle Street, while visually linked to the park remain physically disconnected. Social issues within the park pose environmental impacts and safety concerns for area residents and park users. Noxious and invasive plant species present in the park threaten the area's natural biodiversity. The master plan provides a starting point to investigate these and other issues, identify solutions and partnerships and establish a framework for moving forward.

Community consultation involving the surrounding neighbourhoods, stakeholders and city-wide residents will get underway in 2016 and will continue throughout the planning process. Early consultation will help to craft a community driving vision for Dawson Park and establish the guiding principles that will form the basis for undertaking planning work and building a plan for the park. The end goal is to create a lasting legacy for Dawson Park that reflects the needs of today while enhancing and preserving the ecological integrity of Dawson Park as part of Edmonton’s river valley park system for generations to come.