By Jeremy Davis
If you asked citizens of any growing city what they wanted to improve in their downtown, chances are, you’d probably get some common responses. Things like:
• Do you want more people living downtown? Yes.
• More greenspace? Of course.
• Safety? Please.
• More activities, gatherings, and celebrations? Yes, yes and yes.
• Streets that are more accessible for people to walk or bike? Absolutely.
• A go-to destination purpose built for people? Where do I sign?
In a nutshell, this is what is being considered as part of the City of Winnipeg’s CentrePlan 2050 which seeks to double the population of Winnipeg’s Downtown area by 2050 and guide strategic investment and development in parks, open spaces, streets and buildings for the next 30 years.
The City of Winnipeg developed such a plan that just went through the final engagement period prior to the recommendation to Council on how to proceed. With almost 4,000 surveys completed, over 40 stakeholder meetings, and a number of workshops, pop ups and an open house, the City is poised to embark on finalizing the plan to help Downtown reach its full potential.
Over the course of the engagement process, the following themes came to the forefront from participating citizens:
• Focus on residential development, including affordable and social housing,
• Improve neighbourhoods while maintaining their unique character,
• Design streets for people,
• Do the basics well (maintenance, garbage & recycling pickup, snow removal),
• Plant more street trees,
• Transform Graham Avenue into a destination, with a focus on pedestrians,
• Address community safety and well-being,
• Ensure there is long-term funding to carry out the plan.
CentrePlan2050
CentrePlan 2050 is centered around five strategic pillars to assist Downtown with growth and prosperity. Each pillar has its own set of goals, policies and actions to make this plan a reality. These five pillars are as follows:
Pillar 1: Create great urban neighbourhoods
This first pillar sets goals for the City to improve and enhance its unique neighbourhoods and districts, ensure the City plays a leadership role in getting housing built Downtown, foster building design excellence, focus City services where they are needed most, and foster a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable Downtown. Some of the strategic actions planned are for streetscaping improvements to King Street in Chinatown, supporting a new residential neighbourhood at Railside at the Forks, re-investing in beautification on Broadway, and transforming surface parking lots into housing and bike lanes.
Pillar 2: Re-envision streets to foster urban life
The second pillar sets goals for the City to change how streets are designed to support people and businesses, improve connectivity within Downtown neighbourhoods, design streets for pedestrian safety, complete the Downtown cycling network, accelerate completion of Downtown Rapid Transit, and modernize how parking is provided. Some of the strategic actions include the transformation of streets that currently only support traffic into streets that support residential development and local businesses while also transforming surface parking lots into spaces that support people
Pillar 3: Grow a greener Downtown
The third pillar sets goals for the City to promote green infrastructure, ensure public spaces meet the needs of a growing residential population, collaborate with partners to increase activities in public spaces, transform Graham Avenue into a destination and signature street, plant more trees to take canopy coverage from 8% to 15%, and foster and demonstrate climate change action. Some of the strategic actions include the planting of more street trees and the development of a traveling beer gardens program to bring more people Downtown and expand opportunities for local businesses.
Pillar 4: Create a lively Downtown
The fourth pillar sets goals for the City to strengthen Downtown as Winnipeg’s entertainment and cultural hub, integrate more public art, acknowledge, respect and celebrate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit history and culture, support businesses and educational institutions, and make Downtown a four-season destination. Some of the strategic actions include the creation of a district festival campus in the Exchange District to make it easier to host and gain approval for events, dedicate a percentage of public infrastructure projects Downtown to be spend on public art, and make the temporary patio program permanent.
Pillar 5: Improve Downtown governance and implementation
The fifth pillar sets goals for the City to fund the plan and measure progress, ensure Downtown is cared for and well-maintained, update zoning and other City regulations to reflect Downtown priorities, and to coordinate and collaborate with Downtown partners to put the plan into action! Some of the strategic actions include the removal of graffiti and clean bus shelters, and the establishment of an agreement with federal and provincial governments to fast track the implementation of CentrePlan 2050.
The draft design of the Graham Avenue transformation is an exciting element to come from CentrePlan 2050. This transformation includes an idea to break it up into a Shared Zone where you can sit on a patio outside a restaurant, park and go to a local shop, a Celebration Zone where you can attend a market, festival or concert, a Green Zone where you can play, relax, and/or sit in the shade, and an area where you can catch a bus.
With the public engagement phase of CentrePlan 2050 now complete, feedback is being reviewed and will be summarized online with an outline of what was heard and how it could be considered. After that, recommendations will be made to Council and if approved, implementation could begin very soon. For all of those who have been yearning for improvements to Winnipeg’s Downtown, implementation cannot come soon enough.
I encourage you to scan the QR Code below which will take you to the City of Winnipeg’s CentrePlan 2050 website where you can review the draft CentrePlan 2050 and view a host of related documents.
Jeremy Davis is the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Director External Relations & Market Intelligence.