This article is about Edmonton's Mill Creek and Mill Creek Ravine. For the article on the provincial electoral district of Edmonton Mill Creek, see Edmonton Mill Creek.
River in Alberta, Canada
Mill Creek Ravine
View of Mill Creek Ravine looking north, with the Mill Creek Pool in the foreground and downtown skyline in the background
Mill Creek begins in rural sloughs east of Edmonton and flows northward, in part through the ravine park. It finally ends its run at an outfall to the North Saskatchewan River near downtown Edmonton.
The creek has its start just south and east of Anthony Henday Drive (just south of its junction with Highway 14; this is south-east of the Meadows community). The creek flows northward through Mill Woods and the Jackie Parker Recreation Area, then is diverted into culverts (built during the 1960s and 1970s). It flows underneath the Davies/Coronet Industrial areas.
The creek returns to the surface north of Argyll Road and flows through the Mill Creek Ravine park.
The creek is diverted to a tunnel and concrete outfall structure north of 88th Avenue. The outfall lies near 92 Avenue between the neighborhoods of Strathcona, Cloverdale and Bonnie Doon. The outfall emerges on the south/east bank of the North Saskatchewan River several meters above the river at approximately 95 Avenue. It is clearly visible from the James MacDonald Bridge. The city has begun public consultations on re-establishing the natural, surface flow ("daylighting") the downstream reach of Mill Creek.[1]
History
The creek's name is derived from a flour mill that was established by William Bird in 1878 near where the creek flows into the North Saskatchewan River.[2]
The ravine was once home to part of the Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific Railway line. The line ran from the Canadian Pacific line (the Calgary & Edmonton Railway) at about 67 Avenue, across 99 Street and down into Mill Creek ravine. The rail-line went down through the ravine and across the Low Level Bridge, built in 1900. The railway carried passengers and also served ravine industries -- a brickyard, a coal mine and two meat packing plants. Gainer's meat packing plant, a large scale meat packing facility, was once located on the western edge of the ravine at 79 Avenue.[3]
Mill Creek Ravine pedestrian bridge
In 1954 most of the railway through the ravine was abandoned, with only the section serving Gainer's, running from 79 Avenue to the CPR line, remaining in use. This section as well was abandoned, by 1980.
In the early 1980s the City of Edmonton converted the railway right of way between 67 Avenue to the river into a paved bicycle path, later designated a multi-use trail. Four of the original wooden railway trestles were used by the path. The largest of these, the Mill Creek Trestle at 76 Avenue, was recognized as a Municipal Historic Resource in 2004 and still stands.[4] The three shorter trestles were extensively rehabilitated in 2017–18, with the shortest one being completely replaced. Concrete abutments were added, concrete footings were placed under wooden pilings, all mid-stream pilings were replaced with trusses, and the bridge decks were widened.[5][6] The original wood from the trestles was reused where possible.[7] In 1988 the Edmonton Historical Board erected a plaque in Mill Creek Park commemorating the railway.
Local residents and nature enthusiasts fought successfully to prevent the city from installing a freeway through the ravine in the 1960s and 1970s.[8]
The city has begun public consultations on re-establishing the natural, surface flow ("daylighting") the downstream reach of Mill Creek, north of 88th Avenue.[1]
The Mill Creek Outdoor Swimming Pool, located in the ravine at 8200 - 95A Street, is a popular summertime destination. Other nearby attractions include the Argyll Velodrome and BMX course and the Muttart Conservatory.[9]
Notable events
On July 4, 1908, two people drowned in Mill Creek in isolated incidents, two hours apart from each other.[10] Both drownings occurred at the same location, where the creek connected with the North Saskatchewan River.
In 1996 Hisaya Okymia, a young boy, drowned in the creek, near the heritage trestle bridge.[citation needed]
↑ Herzog, Lawrence (March 22, 2007). "Industry on the river". Real Estate Weekly. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
Edmonton Strathcona is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton. Edmonton Strathcona was the only federal riding in Alberta not held by the Conservative Party between 2008 and 2015 and 2019 to 2021.
Edmonton-Gold Bar is a provincial electoral district, in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 in the province mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
Bonnie Doon is a neighbourhood in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The well-known Mill Creek Ravine Park forms its west boundary. The Bonnie Doon shopping mall is on its east boundary.
Strathcona was a city in Alberta, Canada on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. Originally founded in 1891, it amalgamated with the City of Edmonton in 1912.
Cloverdale is a river valley neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada located on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. It is located immediately across the river from the downtown core and the river valley neighbourhood of Riverdale. Southside neighbourhoods overlooking Cloverdale include: Bonnie Doon, Strathearn, Holyrood, and Forest Heights. The southwest corner of the neighbourhood is bounded by Connor's Road, the approaches to the Low Level Bridge, and the mouth of the Mill Creek Ravine. The Low Level Bridge and James McDonald Bridge connect the neighbourhood to the north side, while Scona Road provides access to Old Strathcona.
Strathearn is a roughly triangular shaped residential neighbourhood in south central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Most of the development in Strathearn dates to the 1940s and 1950s.
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The 1959 municipal election was held October 14, 1959, to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards. The electorate also decided eleven plebiscite questions.
King Edward Park is a residential neighbourhood on south east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The neighbourhood was originally annexed by Edmonton in 1912.
The North Saskatchewan River valley parks system, also known as the Ribbon of Green or the River Valley Parks, is a continuous collection of urban parks around the North Saskatchewan River valley in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The park system encompasses over 7,300 hectares of parkland, making it the largest contiguous area of urban parkland in the country. The park system is made up of over 30 provincial and municipal parks situated around the river from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan, with trails connecting most of the parks together.
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Yellowhead Trail is a 24.6-kilometre (15.3 mi) expressway segment of the Yellowhead Highway in northern Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It carries a significant amount of truck traffic to and from the industrial areas of north Edmonton and serves as a key commuter route for the bedroom communities of Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, and Sherwood Park, carrying nearly 80,000 vehicles per weekday in 2015. A suburban bypass of the route was completed when the northeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) opened in late 2016, providing an alternate route through north Edmonton.
Whyte (82) Avenue is an arterial road in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It became the main street of the City of Strathcona as it formed, and now runs through Old Strathcona. It was named in 1891 after Sir William Whyte, who was superintendent of the CPR's western division from 1886 to 1897 and was knighted by King George V in 1911. Whyte (82) Avenue is part of a 40-kilometre-long (25 mi) continuous roadway that runs through Sherwood Park, Edmonton, and St. Albert that includes Wye Road, Sherwood Park Freeway, portions of University Avenue and Saskatchewan Drive, Groat Road, and St. Albert Trail.
Rat Creek is a tributary to the North Saskatchewan River. Rat Creek was once part of a much larger system which formerly almost connected to the Sturgeon River. However, Rat Creek is now defined as a lost creek, due to the city of Edmonton's encroachment on the surrounding area for urban use. Rat Creek was fed by sloughs that occurred north of Edmonton.
Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard are a pair of major arterial roadways in Edmonton, Alberta. Gateway Boulevard carries northbound traffic while Calgary Trail carries southbound traffic. From south of 31 Avenue, they form a two-way freeway separated by a median; for this portion, the roadway maintains the separate names for northbound and southbound traffic. Near 31 Avenue, Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard separate and become parallel one-way arterial roadways to Saskatchewan Drive, at the edge of the North Saskatchewan River valley. Designated as part of Highway 2 south of Whitemud Drive, it is Edmonton's main southern entrance and is both a major commuter route, connecting to the Edmonton International Airport and Leduc, as well as a regional connection to Red Deer and Calgary.
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