A collaborative effort involving Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and the City of Calgary’s Haskayne Legacy Park will create public access improvements in 2023, aiming to increase visitation while addressing long-term environmental stewardship.
The new park project is aimed to be completed in mid-2023 along with a land dedication. Landowner Pauli (Harvie) Smith, Dick and Lois Haskayne, Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF), the City of Calgary, and Rocky View County are working together to bring the effort to fruition.
“We look forward to partnering with the City of Calgary, Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, and the Harvie and Haskayne families. This connection will support recreation, safety, and ease of movement,” said Rocky View County mayor Crystal Kissel, in a press release. “Rocky View County is proud to be part of a project that will bring significant and long-standing benefits to the community,”
Kyle Ripley, director of parks and open spaces for the City of Calgary, said the city shares the same sentiment and looks forward to the agreement.
“The City of Calgary is excited for this collaborative agreement and the access that it will provide both to the Haskayne Legacy Park and the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park,” Ripley said. “Providing connections to nature and greenspace is a priority for the City of Calgary and it is extremely appreciated and valued by Calgarians and the surrounding communities.”
Smith and the Haskayne’s have entered arrangements to have around 150 acres of land adjacent to the new road allowance acquired by GRPF with an easement that will provide a future connection between both parks. It will be funded by donations from the Haskaynes and Smith, and is also subject to certain conditions that need to be met prior to closing.
According to Smith, the east-side access to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and the opportunity to connect both parks in the future will hopefully result in more visitors to both locations.
“Our family vision in creating Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park was to inspire people to a higher level of environmental stewardship by visiting these lands,” Smith said. “These latest efforts by all involved help advance the achievement of that vision,”
Dick Haskayne said alongside his wife, he is thrilled to see the Haskayne Park vision come closer to completion.
“The dream, long held by Lois and myself that the magnificent lands stretching from the City of Calgary’s western limits, will adjoin the Glenbow Ranch Park and be connected by the TransCanada Trail,” he said. “Well, it just couldn’t get any better than that!”
Michelle Delorme, executive director of GRPF, sees the collaboration as a success and anticipates it will benefit all parties involved. She thanks everyone involved in the process in making open access to both parks via the Trans Canada Trail a reality.
“We are collaborating with our partners at Alberta Parks on a new management plan for Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and look forward to working with the Town of Cochrane on a pedestrian bridge connection in the west end of the park as the next logical step to expanding our visitor experience,” she said.
