Mill Woods

Mill Woods is a residential area in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located in southeast Edmonton, Mill Woods is bounded by Whitemud Drive (Highway 14) to the north, 91 Street to the west, 34 Street to the east, and Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) to the south.[5] Mill Woods is adjacent to three other residential areas including The Meadows to the east across 34 Street, and Southeast Edmonton and Ellerslie to the south and southwest respectively across Anthony Henday Drive.

Mill Woods
Area
Mill Woods Location of Mill Woods in Edmonton
Coordinates: 53.459°N 113.428°W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
City	Edmonton
Quadrant[1]	NW
Ward[1]	11 & 12
Sector[2]	Southeast
Government [3]
• Mayor	Don Iveson
• Administrative body	Edmonton City Council
• Councillors	Mike Nickel Mohinder Banga
Elevation	693 m (2,274 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Total	80,363[lower-alpha 1][4]
Website	Official website

The development of Mill Woods began in the early 1970s and was one of the first areas of Edmonton to move away from the grid system.

History

Originally the Papaschase Indian Reserve, the Mill Woods area was settled under treaty by a Métis-Cree band between 1876 and 1891. After the reserve was deemed to have been abandoned in 1891, the land was subject to agriculture settlement. The land was then settled by Moravian Brethren from Germany and Russia, who ran it as a communal farm in a community associated with the Bruederheim Moravian church.[6] The City of Edmonton began assembling land in this area in 1970 as a means of mitigating the rising cost of serviced land in the vicinity of Edmonton, while the City of Edmonton began preparing a plan to develop the area.[7]

The Mill Woods Development Concept was approved in March 1971, consisting of eight communities and a town centre community. It was originally anticipated to have a population of approximately 120,000 people at full build-out.[5]

Eastern Mill Woods suffered heavy damage from the Edmonton tornado in 1987.

The designation of the original Papaschase reserve as abandoned was disputed by the descendants of the Papaschase band, who brought a lawsuit for compensation against the government of Canada in 2001. The claim was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2008 on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired.[8]

Naming

Mill Woods was named for the Mill Creek, which bisects the northeast portion of the area, as well as the wooded nature of the area.[5][7] The aboriginal heritage of the area is reflected in the names of numerous neighbourhoods in Mill Woods. For example, the Satoo neighbourhood is named for Chief Satoo of the Cree people.[9]

Geography

The former South Campus for MacEwan University

Mill Woods comprises a town centre community (Mill Woods Town Centre)[10] and eight surrounding communities[5] (Burnewood, Knottwood, Lakewood, Millbourne, Millhurst, Ridgewood, Southwood, and Woodvale), which are each divided into multiple neighbourhoods. Millbourne is divided into the sub-communities of Leefield and North Millbourne before being divided into two neighbourhoods each.

The communities within Mill Woods are connected by an arterial ring road, Mill Woods Road, along its east, south, and west extent and by 38 Avenue along its north extent. Smaller collector ring roads that intersect Mill Woods Road connect the multiple neighbourhoods typically found within each community.

Within the circle formed by these eight communities are the neighbourhoods of Mill Woods Park, Mill Woods Town Centre and Tawa. Together, these three neighbourhoods form a largely business and service core intended to allow Mill Woods to function as a self-contained community.

Amenities

Mill Woods contains Mill Woods Town Centre (a major shopping mall), the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, an Edmonton Fire Service station. It contains Edmonton Police Service's Southeast Division headquarters; there is a City run Recreation Centre, and is home to Mill Woods Park. As well as Mill Woods Golf Course in the just south of Whitemud Drive.

Schools

Mill Woods has twenty-one Edmonton Public elementary schools, eleven Edmonton Catholic elementary schools, four public junior high schools, three Catholic junior high schools. As well as two high schools J. Percy Page High School, and Holy Trinity Catholic High School. Edmonton Catholic Schools also operates an alternative outreach high school in Mill Woods.[11] Previously, Mill Woods has also been home to the Mill Woods (South) Campus of MacEwan University.

Events

The Mill Woods Presidents' Council, community leagues throughout Mill Woods, and various corporate sponsors provide Canada Day celebrations in Mill Woods Park on July 1 of each year. It features free family entertainment including various musical performances, petting zoos, hay rides and other activities, and concludes with a fireworks display comparable with the Edmonton's primary display in the river valley. Each year around 60,000 people crowd the park for this event, which is the largest neighbourhood celebration in Canada.[12]

Demographics

The total population of Mill Woods according to the City of Edmonton's 2012 municipal census is 78,322.[4] The following is a population breakdown of Mill Woods by neighbourhood.

Rank	Neighbourhood	Community	Population (2012)[4]	Population (2009)[13]
1	Kiniski Gardens	Burnewood	6,637	6,927
2	Pollard Meadows	Southwood	4,553	4,480
3	Crawford Plains	Southwood	4,381	4,410
4	Sakaw	Millhurst	4,102	4,194
5	Jackson Heights	Burnewood	3,911	4,130
6	Bisset	Ridgewood	3,831	3,980
7	Daly Grove	Southwood	3,546	3,608
8	Hillview	Woodvale	3,444	3,766
9	Weinlos	Ridgewood	3,428	3,482
10	Satoo	Knottwood	3,389	3,490
11	Richfield	Millbourne	3,297	3,346
12	Tweddle Place	Millbourne	3,129	3,272
13	Minchau	Ridgewood	3,099	3,327
14	Greenview	Woodvale	2,923	2,890
15	Meyonohk	Lakewood	2,923	2,969
16	Tipaskan	Lakewood	2,901	2,944
17	Kameyosek	Lakewood	2,895	2,712
18	Meyokumin	Millhurst	2,891	3,063
19	Lee Ridge	Millbourne	2,741	2,751
20	Ekota	Knottwood	2,563	2,655
21	Menisa	Knottwood	2,545	2,685
22	Michaels Park	Millbourne	2,196	2,195
23	Tawa	Mill Woods Town Centre	1,909	1,961
24	Mill Woods Town Centre	Mill Woods Town Centre	1,088	1,156
25	Mill Woods Golf Course	Woodvale	0	0
26	Mill Woods Park	N/A	0	0
Total	Mill Woods	26 Areas	78,322	80,363

Transportation

There are two ETS bus terminals one Lakewood, near Mill Woods Recreation Centre on 28 Avenue NW, and the other at Mill Woods Town Centre. Another terminal, Millgate, lies just north across Whitemud Drive from the Tweddle Place and Michael's Park neighbourhoods.

Two freeways run by Mill Woods including, Whitemud Drive on the north side and the Anthony Henday Drive on the south; both running east–west. Several arterial roads that run in and around Mill Woods. Running north-south are 91 Street, 66 Street, 50 Street and 34 Street. Running east-west are the two freeways as well as 23 Avenue, and 34 Avenue.

In 2020 the Valley Line (Edmonton) of the Edmonton Light Rail Transit system is expected to be completed, and in doing so adding 3 stations in Mill Woods; Millbourne/Woodvale, at 38 Avenue NW and 66 Street NW, Grey Nuns Hospital at 66 Street NW and 31 Street NW and Mill Woods Town Centre at 28 Avenue and 62 Street NW, "City of Edmonton Valley Line Stage 1 – Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project Environmental Impact Screening Assessment Update" (PDF). Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved 1 May 2016.

References

1. "City of Edmonton Wards & Standard Neighbourhoods" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-16. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
2. "Edmonton Developing and Planned Neighbourhoods, 2011" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-26. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
3. "Mayor and City Council". City of Edmonton. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
4. "2012 Census - Population By Single Year Of Age And Gender (Neighbourhood)". City of Edmonton. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
5. "Mill Woods Development Concept" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
6. Kuban, Ron (2005). Edmonton's urban villages: the community league movement. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press. pp. 218. ISBN 0-88864-438-8. OCLC 144078901.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
7. "Neighbourhood Profile – Mill Woods Town Centre" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
8. "Top court rejects First Nations group's bid for Edmonton land claim". CBC News. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
9. "Neighbourhood Profile – Satoo" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
10. "Mill Woods Town Centre Neighbourhood Area Structure Plan (Office Consolidation)" (PDF). City of Edmonton. December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
11. "Fresh Start And Partners For You Outreach High Schools". Edmonton Catholic Schools. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
12. Theobald, Claire. "Mill Woods boasts the city's best Canada Day fireworks". Edmonton Examiner June 27, 2012. Edmonton Examiner. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
13. "2009 Municipal Census Results". City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-02-09.

Notes

1. Population total added from 24 neighbourhoods from 9 communities within Mill Woods boundaries; via 2012 municipal census

External links

• Mill Woods website