The proposed Glacier Discovery Walk, although unpopular with many Jasperites, won an international architecture award last week.

The Sturgess Architecture design for a 400-metre interpretative boardwalk, with a glass-floored observation platform suspended 30 metres out over the Sunwapta Valley, won the category award for future projects at the World Architecture Festival, held in Barcelona.

The design was commissioned by Brewster Travel Canada, the bus and tourist-attraction operator that has been running tours of the Columbia Icefield for years.

Dave McKenna, vice president of hotels and attractions for Brewster, said the award makes for a “great Canadian story.”

“You have an incredibly complex design in a very sensitive area and a small Canadian firm rises to the occasion and comes up with a design that has now received the highest award internationally for architecture. I think it’s such a great Canadian story.”

Brewster presented Parks Canada with a proposal to construct the discovery walk earlier this year.

The proposal resulted in a flood of angry letters to the editor, protest events and the solicitation of Greenpeace and the Sierra Club to train Jasperites in non-violent, direct action.

One of the community’s concerns is the commercialization of the Tangle Ridge/Mount Kitchener Viewpoint, which has until now been a place for visitors to view Sunwapta Canyon and Tangle Falls free of charge.

If the discovery walk is to be built, visitors would no longer be able to park at the site, where there is currently a 500-metre long pullout on the highway. Instead, visitors would take a free bus ride from the Icefields Centre to Tangle Ridge. If tourists choose, they can pay an admission fee to take an interpretative tour on the discovery walk. If not, they can stand at a public viewpoint at no charge.

Jill Seaton, chairperson for the Jasper Environmental Association, wrote in a letter to the editor earlier this year that a project like this would degrade the park.

“Gradually the vistas of peaks, forested slopes and hanging valleys will become secondary and wildlife will abandon its roadside habitat or be eliminated by cars and buses hurrying to the next commercial distraction,” she wrote. 

McKenna said the project is about getting people to think about the glaciers that still exist today. 

“The most compelling thing that we’re trying to show is that glaciers are in retreat, you know, global warming is something that we all should be paying attention to.

“We wanted to be able to give people the perspective of the size, scope and scale of glaciers because nothing in glaciology happens on a small scale. It’s massive and it’s powerful and we feel that it’s extremely important for people to better connect to the realities of the importance of fresh water and the value of our glaciers that still exist.”

Brewster is currently finishing up an environmental assessment on the project, which includes a study of how the project would affect the mountain goats and big horned sheep that reside in the area.

Greg Fenton, superintendent of Jasper National Park, said Parks Canada is currently doing final reviews of the assessment to determine if it’s ready to go out to the public.

“I’m anticipating it will be out for review and comment before the end of this month,” he said.

Once the assessment has been released, the public will have three weeks to give feedback. Brewster has also committed to holding an open house during that time, said Fenton.