Dog-friendly tee times, homeless shelters, Indigenous story spaces: city considers ideas to repurpose golf courses

Some new ideas are being presented to the City of Winnipeg as it looks to repurpose 30 per cent of all city-owned golf courses, with proposals to convert them into dog-friendly parks, homeless shelters in the winter, or a place to preserve Indigenous stories.

This consultant’s report comes two years after city council tasked the public services to report back with a plan to repurpose 30 per cent of all city-owned golf lands. The report explores ideas to repurpose 11 courses, including:

• Assiniboine Golf Course

• Canoe Club Golf Course

• Crescent Drive Golf Course

• Harbour View Golf Course

• John Blumberg Golf Course

• Kildonan Park Golf Course

• St. Boniface Golf Club

• Transcona Golf Club

• Tuxedo Golf Course

• Wildewood Club

• Windsor Park Golf Course

The report highlighted several options for possible repurposing, including creating space for Indigenous stories and place keeping. This could include community-based gardens, cultural healing spaces, or public art.

Another idea recommends a reduction of layouts to 9 or 12 holes to reduce costs, while adding slopes and hollows for “creative shot making.”

It also proposes opening up golf courses to include 'dog-friendly tee times.' It suggests creating specific hours – when the demand for tee times is reduced – for dogs to accompany their owners on the golf course, but must be on a leash.

Another option in the report proposes creating winter homeless shelters on golf courses.

"Implementing this programming at any municipal course would need to be thoroughly investigated to ensure it is offering community benefit," the report reads.

Golf courses could see expanded use as well, opening in the winter for skating, skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing during the off-season, the report suggests.

"We're a winter city. There's potential for using it for other purposes throughout the year, and maybe we can have some of these golf courses – which I don't consider public per se – to be much more of an open park space," said Coun. John Orlikow.

Orlikow added the idea of a space for winter homeless shelters jumped out at him as well.

The report also suggested the repurposing of these golf courses might not be limited to one singular use.

"Introducing natural areas and the ecological benefits they provide is an example of repurposing land but still retains golf play," the report says.

OURS-Winnipeg, a group that advocates to keep green spaces such as golf courses, wanted to see less mention of sports fields and more plans to foster walking, jogging and sightseeing, which it says can help prevent climate change.

"The large green spaces are part of all these things and they've been omitted from this plan so that makes it a very short-sighted plan," said Pam Lucenkiw, with OURS-Winnipeg.

Last year, city council rejected a sale of John Blumberg Golf Course, which was declared surplus a decade ago.

The report outlines a number of options for the course including selling or leasing the property to the RM of Headingley.

Nothing in the report is binding. If council gives the green light to move forward, the city’s public service would bring back a plan with costs, following public consultation.

It is set to be discussed later this week at the city's property and development committee.