Anyone else watch tonights council meeting or read the full agenda document?
Besides approval of Lake Placid's River Landing Village project, I thought Paul Van Pul's presentation and submission of River With Many Islands: Citizens Report on the Future of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon (
last 53 pages of council's full agenda) was quite interesting and exciting.
Mr. Van Pul has brought forward to our attention the possibility of restoring the river to a more natural state, which regrettably, includes removal of the weir and turning down the recent whitewater park proposal.
However, as an alternative, he suggests dredging operations for the river to create two channels, and many carefully placed islands with accompanying wildlife habitat and public park space. With the removal of the weir, the river could become navigable by all forms of watercraft, canoes, kayaks, boats, ferries...he illustrates the possibilities with the suggestion of river trips through Dakota Dunes, Beaver Creek, Saskatoon, Wanuskewan Heritage Park, Fish Creek and Batoche
I've always thought we could use a few islands (think Prince's Island Park, Calgary), especially near the Bessborough (he mentions this particular site as one of many. Mr. Van Pul breaks up the river into three segments, the Southern, Central, and Northern Reaches of the South Saskatchewan, each with its own chain of islands and beaches along the meandering primary and secondary channels.
I would suggest those who are interested in river development to have a look at Paul Van Pul's vision as City Council referred it to Administration and the Meewasin Valley Authority.
His vision is quite spectacular, and one I am sure many would support. Although it is my hope that we can still find a way to develop a whitewater park of some value, after all, not everyone wishes to enjoy a leisurely canoe/kayak/ferry ride down the river, and how can anyone object to the possibility of hosting international competitions...can we not have our cake and eat it too
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