Strathearn, Edmonton Explained

Official Name:Strathearn
Settlement Type:Neighbourhood
Pushpin Map:Canada Edmonton
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Strathearn in Edmonton
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:Edmonton
Subdivision Type3:Quadrant[1]
Subdivision Name3:NW
Subdivision Type4:Ward
Subdivision Name4:Métis
Subdivision Type5:Sector[2]
Subdivision Name5:Mature area
Government Footnotes:[3]
Leader Title:Administrative body
Leader Name:Edmonton City Council
Leader Title1:Councillor
Area Footnotes:[4]
Area Total Km2:0.79
Population As Of:2012
Population Total:2622
Population Density Km2:3319
Population Blank1 Title:Change 
Population Blank1:-0.9%
Population Blank2 Title:Dwellings
Population Blank2:1587
Coordinates:53.531°N -113.462°W
Elevation M:667

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.

The neighbourhood is bounded on the south west by Connors Road, on the east by 85 Street, and on the north west by the North Saskatchewan River valley. To the north, it overlooks the North Saskatchewan River valley and the river valley neighbourhood of Cloverdale. To the east is the neighbourhood of Holyrood, and to the south west is the neighbourhood of Bonnie Doon. To the south east is the neighbourhood of Idylwyle. Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre and Whyte Avenue are located a short distance to the south of the neighbourhood.

History

Part of the area of Strathearn was annexed by the City of Strathcona in 1907, and became part of the City of Edmonton when Strathcona amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912. The name Strahearn, which is Scottish Gaelic for "the valley of the river Earn", or "the valley of the Irish", has been used in Edmonton since 1912[5] and is likely a reference to the Governor General of the day, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.[6] Large lots were subdivided during this period but only a few scattered houses were actually constructed. After World War II Edmonton's city planners replotted the area and development began in earnest. Most of the structures in the neighbourhood date from 1948 to 1954. Extension of Connors Road to the Bonnie Doon Traffic Circle in the early 1960s clearly defined the neighbourhood's boundary with Bonnie Doon.

Demographics

In the City of Edmonton's 2012 municipal census, Strathearn had a population of living in dwellings,[7] a -0.9% change from its 2009 population of .[8] With a land area of 0.79km2, it had a population density of people/km2 in 2012.[4] [7]

Housing

According to the 2001 federal census, one in ten (9.7%) of residences were constructed prior to the end of World War II. Just over half the residences (52.5%) were constructed between the end of the war and 1960. One in seven residences (15%) were built during the 1970s and one in five (20.1%) were built during the 1980s. Residential construction in the neighbourhood was substantially complete by 1990.[9]

The most common type of residence in Strathearn, according to the 2005 municipal census, is the single-family dwelling. Single-family dwellings account for just under half (44%) of all the residences in the neighbourhood. Another one in three (36%) are rented apartments in low-rise buildings with fewer than five stories. One in five (20%) are rented apartments in high-rise buildings with five or more stories. In total, two out of three residences (66%) are rented.[10]

Amenities

Shops and services are found in the Strathearn Centre strip mall and at two other smaller commercial sites (a fourth commercially zoned site, formerly occupied by a gas station/convenience store, now sits vacant). There are three parks within the neighbourhood—the school grounds, Silver Heights Park and Strathearn Park—and three churches: Strathearn United Church, Assumption Catholic Church and the Bonnie Doon Stake Centre of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other amenities include tree-lined streets and the scenic view of downtown Edmonton from Strathearn Drive.

Schools

Most elementary-aged students living in Strathearn attend the nearby Holyrood or Rutherford schools. Strathearn Elementary/Junior School was a fixture in the neighbourhood from the early 1950s until 2005, when the Edmonton Public School Board closed it, citing declining enrollment.[11] In September 2006, the École publique Gabrielle-Roy, a francophone school run by the Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, opened in the building that had housed Strathearn School.[12]

Transportation

Strathearn residents have a variety of transportation options in addition to the car. Downtown and services and institutions in adjacent neighbourhoods and at Bonnie Doon Mall are within walking distance. Cyclists have access to a large portion of central Edmonton plus the network of trails in the river valley system. The neighbourhood is served by Edmonton Transit Service buses.

In December 2009 Edmonton City Council approved a southeast LRT alignment that would run through Strathearn on Connors Road, 95 Avenue and 85 Street.[13]

Community league

The Strathearn Community League is a neighbourhood organization established in 1953. The league's original impetus was to provide local recreational opportunities. In cooperation with the City of Edmonton it built a playground, skating rink and associated rink shack/league hall in Silver Heights Park at the centre of the neighbourhood, and organized child sports teams. More recently the league has become involved in social matters (it sponsored a preschool from the mid-1990s until 2005) and has been active in urban planning matters within and near its boundaries.[14] [15]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City of Edmonton Wards & Standard Neighbourhoods . City of Edmonton . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140503100206/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/EdmontonWardNeighbourhoods.pdf . May 3, 2014 . February 13, 2013.
  2. Web site: Edmonton Developing and Planned Neighbourhoods, 2011 . City of Edmonton . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130904040707/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/PDF/Developing_and_Planned_Neighbourhoods_2011_-_Final_Report.pdf . September 4, 2013 . February 13, 2013.
  3. Web site: City Councillors . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013.
  4. Web site: Neighbourhoods (data plus kml file) . City of Edmonton . February 13, 2013.
  5. Edmonton Bulletin, Nov. 16, 1912
  6. Book: Aubrey, M.K. . Naming Edmonton: From Ada to Zoie . Edmonton (Alta.) . Edmonton Historical Board. Heritage Sites Committee . 2004 . University of Alberta Press . 9780888644237 . October 4, 2014 . registration.
  7. Web site: Municipal Census Results – Edmonton 2012 Census . City of Edmonton . February 22, 2013.
  8. Web site: 2009 Municipal Census Results . City of Edmonton . February 22, 2013.
  9. Web site: Strathearn Housing Neighbourhood . April 20, 2006 . October 4, 2014.
  10. Web site: Dwelling Unit by Structure Type and Ownership . April 21, 2006 . October 4, 2014.
  11. Edmonton Journal, 14 May 2005, p. B4.
  12. Edmonton Journal, 6 Sep 2006, p. B1.
  13. Web site: Council votes 9-4 in favour of Stony Plain Road, Mill Woods LRT routes . December 15, 2009 . Edmonton Journal . December 15, 2009.
  14. Edmonton Journal, 28 Jun 2007, p. B3.
  15. Book: Kuban, Ron . Edmonton's Urban Villages: The Community League Movement . University of Alberta Press . 2005 . 9781459303249 . registration.