Inglewood is getting ready for its neighbourhood renewal project, scheduled for 2019-2021. Renewal is a 3-year project to upgrade streets, sidewalks, and streetlights throughout older neighbourhoods in Edmonton.
More recently, the City renamed renewal to “Building Great Neighbourhoods.” The “Building Great Neighbourhoods” program can help a community address local needs and reinforce its character and identity. Additional projects can include city-owned lands and improvements.
On March 13, community groups including the Inglewood Community League were invited to a “Stakeholder Outreach” workshop. This was the first step in the neighbourhood planning for our community.
On arrival, participants were asked to come up with 3 words that they thought expressed the idea of “A Great Neighbourhood.”
In smaller groups, participants were asked to brainstorm on their ideas for what Inglewood needs to be a great neighbourhood. The group came up with a wide range of ideas:
- More crosswalks across major streets (111 Ave. and 124 St.) and walkability
- Safety and crime prevention
- More usable and versatile park space; not just green space but purposeful pocket parks (or parklets)
- Emphasizing the historic nature of the neighbourhood
- A more inclusive community that encourages people of different backgrounds and demographics to mingle and connect with each other
- More common, public spaces in which people can congregate
- Recycling the old trolley turnaround at 112 Ave. and 124 St. into some sort of useable public space–perhaps a plaza or “pop-up” business location
- An opportunity to celebrate and affirm the First Nations history within the community. Many First Nations people settled in this neighbourhood due to the fact that the Charles Camsell Hospital was here.
- Traffic routing needs to be considered, especially if the Camsell lands ever get redeveloped.
From this large list, groups tried to find three or four themes that they could affirm. These included:
- A need for common spaces such as event “plazas”, purposeful parkland, and public art;
- An affirmation of Inglewood’s history, including First Nations history; and
- A walkable, safe community and possibly more benches, table space, and seating.
At the end of the evening, Gilbert, the City’s contracted landscape architect turned the concepts and values that the groups had come up with into a visual representation of the emerging vision:
The next step in the process will include a draft vision statement and other elements. Community workshops are scheduled for April 21 and 25, 2018. These are identical sessions and community members are encouraged to attend either of them.
Pay attention to www.inglewoodcl.com for upcoming events and news or visit www.edmonton.ca/BuildingInglewood.