How the city plans to improve Winnipeg's downtown and make it a destination
A new plan to make downtown a destination over the next few decades, has more people living there while transforming a bus hub.
The city is looking for feedback on CentrePlan 2050.
The vision sets out targets to have 350 residential units added every year until 2030, and then 500 a year after 2030, in part to attract grocery stores and other businesses.
To do this the plan says there would have to be a mix of housing types, for all incomes.
Sean Brookes works downtown and says he’d like to see more families living in the area.
"Affordable, you know something that is somewhat subsidized. Maybe more like family things downtown,” said Brookes
Downtown Winnipeg BIZ says that post-pandemic, the area can't rely on office workers alone to drive the economy.
BIZ CEO Kate Fenske says the housing targets in the blueprint aren’t ambitious enough based on current builds.
"Over 400 units were added in 2022 downtown,“ said Fenske. “In 2023, we've got about 1,000 units that are getting under construction or will be opened this year."
One of the centrepieces of the vision includes a rethinking of Graham Avenue in the bus corridor stretch. Buses are set to move from Graham to Portage Avenue over the next decade.
There are different suggestions to replace the stretch including green spaces, bike lanes, patios, and even white out parties.
Bailie Sager also works downtown and she’d like to see more entertainment.
"I was recently in Nashville, they close Broadway and allow pedestrians to like, walk on the street between the bars and restaurants and stuff like that,” said Sager. “So I think that could definitely bring people downtown."
The plan also says vehicle traffic should be slowed on some streets by narrowing roads, and adding on-street parking, and bike lanes, which could provide buffers for pedestrians and cyclists.
"I think it would be really cool to be able to bike through the heart of the downtown,” said Brookes
CentrePlan 2050 also has provisions to add more parks and trees downtown.
"If we look at building our city for people first, that's when we create really exciting public spaces," said Fenske.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.