The West Kildonan Library will not be moved into a Winnipeg mall

After weeks of rallies and pushback from residents, Winnipeg City Council has voted to not move the West Kildonan Library into the Garden City Shopping Centre.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, Coun. Cindy Gilroy said a lot of tough choices had to be made but “through the process we’ve just decided that we would keep the library as it is.”

Gilroy added the City of Winnipeg still has to work on ensuring that residents in the northern part of the city have access to a library.

“Particularly at this time, it was felt that we would keep the library services at the West K Library,” she said.

At the council meeting, Coun. Devi Sharma said that residents of northwest Winnipeg deserve a modern library branch that goes above what the West Kildonan Library currently provides.

“While today’s motion keeps West Kildonan Library open in its current location, we need to acknowledge some of the history of how we got here,” she said.

“Northwest Winnipeg is rapidly growing and continually welcomes new residents as we build new communities in Ambergates, in Aurora at North Point, and now in Highland Pointe.”

Sharma added it’s clear the city needs to do more meaningful community consultation as it improves library services in northwest Winnipeg.

“We cannot put this on the backburner,” she said.

This news comes after the Winnipeg Public Service recommended leasing a space at the Garden City Shopping Centre to use as the site of the new West Kildonan Library.

This proposal prompted a number of concerns from residents, saying the proposed library would be dark, small and inaccessible.