The City of Edmonton is reviewing the land lease deal it has with the Royal Glenora Club after the organization built a fence to cut off pedestrian access between the river valley and one of its parking lots.
Questions about the fence first surfaced on Twitter last weekend and city staff said they weren’t aware of the fence’s construction before then.
“We’re looking at the lease agreement to see if there’s a violation of the lease agreement,” city spokesperson Suzzette Mellado said on Tuesday.
A picture of the fence under construction was posted on Twitter Saturday by Christian Nelson.
“It’s sort of a surprise to find the trail suddenly closed,” said Nelson, who was riding his bike through the area on the weekend.
There are other places along the river valley where the trails cross semi-private spaces, he said.
“This isn’t the only one and I’d hope that trails can’t suddenly be closed like that,” he added.
‘I use this five days a week. I walk to and from school,’ says Kendra Cowley, a graduate student at the University of Alberta. (Lydia Neufeld/CBC)
Once the fence is completed, it will be a major inconvenience, said Kendra Cowley, a graduate student at the University of Alberta.
“I use this five days a week,” said Cowley on Tuesday. “I walk to and from school.”
Between 50 and 75 non-members access the parking lot every day, said Glenora club CEO Dustin McAvoy.
“It’s been an ongoing concern of ours at the club about non-member access through that parking lot area, using it as a short cut,” he said.
Security at the club was reviewed following some “major vandalism” last May that required upwards of $100,000 in repairs, said McAvoy.
“We felt that was an area to limit the access for non-members getting in and out of our property,” he said.
There have also been at least three vehicle break-ins in the parking lot over the past year, added McAvoy.
“I will find a way to get to school anyway, but this is definitely the most direct, most beautiful way that I know,” said Cowley.
“Probably what I would do is try to find a way to circumvent the fence, which I think a lot of people will do,” she added.
People who cut through the Royal Glenora Club parking lot said Monday they are likely to go through the bushes to circumvent the fence. (Lydia Neufeld/CBC)