(City of Red Deer)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Planning tool for 20 years

Red Deer city council accepts amended River Bend Master Plan

Nov 22, 2022 | 9:46 AM

After much debate, Red Deer city council approved an amended River Bend Golf and Recreation Area (RBGRA) Master Plan on Monday.

The Master Plan lays out a new 20-year vision for the community amenity, to be used as a planning tool and road map to guide operations and decisions for the area going forward. The City says the plan focuses on ensuring access to nature, parks, trails, and recreation.

“River Bend is a not-so-secret community gem that offers diverse activities enjoyed by so many citizens and visitors to our city,” said Sarah Tittemore, Community Services Manager. “They want us to foster a place and space where they can connect – connect with the history of the site, with nature, with each other and with themselves.”

In building out the Master Plan, city officials say consultation occurred with the public and key community stakeholders, including sport and community user groups, the River Bend Golf and Recreation Society board, Indigenous Community members and the community at large. More than 1,000 participants engaged in the consultation process through input sessions, workshops, and surveys. A draft plan was then shared with participants to validate what was heard.

The City states key themes, represented in the Master Plan, that emerged through consultation were:

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1. A love for River Bend
2. Protecting the environment
3. Improving safety
4. Encouraging harmonious use of the site
5. Expanding year-round use
6. Enhancing infrastructure and amenities

“River Bend Recreation Area is a community amenity, and it is important the master plan reflects the needs and wants of the people who love it most – the people of Red Deer,” said Tittemore. “But this is just the beginning; the start of the good work ahead that includes implementation, planning and potential changes to how and what we operate to meet The City’s goals for the site.”

Councillor Vesna Higham, who sits as council representation on the Society Board, brought forward concerns that the Master Plan contained conflicting priorities in the guiding principles, environmental and golf course objectives.

The amendments, proposed by Councillor Higham and debated by council, include modifying the original 11 guiding principles with the following eight:

1. Connect people and nature
2. Protect the natural environment
3. Ensure affordability, accessibility, and inclusivity for the public
4. Support balanced revenue generation and cost recovery
5. Support tourism opportunities and encourage active four-season public use
6. Maintain and enhance existing infrastructure and amenities
7. Expand the diversity of amenities and activities offered
8. Enhance the user experience with a balance of structured and drop in uses and a safety focus

The Master Plan’s third goal, originally written as to, “Enrich the visitor experience through highly engaging programs and activities”, was amended to, “Enrich the visitor experience through a variety of affordable, accessible amenities.”

The fourth Action Item in the plan originally suggested conducting a feasibility study to relocate the maintainance building to increase parking space. The item was changed to, “Conduct a feasibility study on expanding parking capacity at River Bend” with the description now reading, “The existing maintainance building site is a disturbed area that could alleviate some of the acute parking concerns, as might reconfiguring the mini-links course.”

Finally, the ninth Action Item concerning the redevelopment of Discovery Canyon’s concession building was placed above the boat launch and picnic area item, which was also amended to state, “Develop a business case for enhancing the boat launch and picnic area.”

The City of Red Deer is the registered owner of the land at RBGRA. Since its opening, this area has been operated by a third-party operator, The Society.

To see a copy of the new Master Plan, visit reddeer.ca/riverbend.