Rio Terrace, Patricia Heights and Quesnell Heights are three Edmonton, Alberta, Canada neighbourhoods located within a roughly triangular area bounded on the north by Whitemud Drive, on the south east by the North Saskatchewan River, and on the south west by Patricia Ravine. Patricia Heights is located west of 156 Street. Quesnell Heights is located east of 149 Street. Rio Terrace is located between 149 Street and 156 Street. The three neighbourhoods are discussed here together, because what applies to one neighbourhood generally applies to the other two as well.
Vehicle access to the neighbourhoods is limited to two bridges over Whitemud Drive, one at 156 Street and the other at 159 Street. Traffic access to the Whitemud at 159 Street gives residents easy access to West Edmonton Mall and to destinations on the south side, including: Fort Edmonton Park, the University of Alberta, and Whyte Avenue. (There is no interchange with the Whitemud at 156 Street.) Also within easy travel distance are Laurier Park and the Valley Zoo, both located within the neighbourhood of Laurier Heights immediately to the north of Quesnell Heights. The Edmonton Transit System provides regular bus service for residents to both West Edmonton Mall and the university campus, including service on evenings and weekends. In addition, peak hour service and weekday and Saturday daytime service is available for high school students attending both Jasper Place High School and St. Francis Xavier High School.
With the exception of some walk up apartment buildings located at the eastern edge of Patricia Heights, most residences in the three neighbourhoods are single family dwellings.
Development of Rio Terrace began in the 1950s, with most construction (roughly 70%) occurring during the 1960s. Quesnell Heights and Patracia Heights are slightly younger neighbourhoods. Roughly 83% of construction in Quesnell Heights occurred during the 1960s with most of the remainder occurring during the 1970s. Almost 59% of the homes in Patricia Heights were built during the 1960s with 28% being built in the 1970s. Most single family homes are owner occupied while most apartment units are rented.
| Neighbourhood | Single Family Dwellings | Apartment Units |
|---|---|---|
| Patricia Heights[1] | 310 | 365[2] |
| Quesnell Heights[3] | 120 | 0 |
| Rio Terrace[3] | 501 | 0 |
The three neighbourhoods share a common community league located near the western edge of Rio Terrace.
Education for elementary school children is provided by the Edmonton Public School Board at both the Rio Terrace Elementary School and the Patricia Heights Elementary School. For parents wishing to have their children educated in the city's Catholic System, the nearest elementary school is the Our Lady of Victories Elementary School located just north of the Whitemud in Lynnwood. There are no junior high or senior high schools located within any of the three neighbourhoods.
Some retail services are available at the Patricia Heights Shopping Centre, a small strip shopping center, located on the west side of 156 Street, with more retail services provided at Meadowlark Park Centre.[4] and at West Edmonton Mall.
In addition to the Patricia Ravine on the south west, the three neighbourhoods are blessed with a number of parks. At the west end of Rio Terrace is Rio Park, which contains a playground for neighbourhood children. Along the south edge of Rio Terrace is Rio Terrace Park overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley. There is a one hectare park located near the geographic center of Quesnell Heights.
There is a single church in the three neighbourhoods, the Rio Terrace Moravian Church, located near the center of Rio Terrace. The Jewish Community Centre of Edmonton is located at the south end of 156 Street near the river valley at the boundary between Rio Terrace and Patricia Heights.
Additional pedestrian access to the three neighbourhoods is provided by a bike trail through the Patricia Ravine and several pedestrian overpasses over the Whitemud Drive. The bike trail connects Patricia Heights to the neighbourhood of Westridge to the south west. Pedestrian overpasses connect Quesnell Heights to Laurier Heights and Patricia Heights to the neighbourhood of Elmwood to the north.