River Valley park named after Edmonton's first female mayor

A park in Edmonton's River Valley will be named for former Edmonton mayor Jan Reimer.

Edmonton — The first woman to serve as Edmonton’s mayor is being honoured with a park in the city’s River Valley.

Jan Reimer won the office of mayor in 1988 after serving three terms as an alderman, and as mayor she advocated for changing the title of alderman to councillor.

Reimer worked to preserve and extend the trail system in the River Valley, as well as improve the water quality of the North Saskatchewan River. She also helped establish the Edmonton Arts Council and Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Since retiring from politics in 1995, Reimer has been most noted for her work on reducing family violence. She’s currently the director of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.

“An honour like this is long overdue. Jan’s entire career has been built around giving voice and support to folks in our community who’ve often been overlooked or sidelined,” YWCA Edmonton CEO Katherine O’Neill said in a statement.

The park will be part of the existing River Valley parkland close to the Oleskiw neighbourhood located near the Terwillegar Park footbridge.