A Gem (in the rough?)
Winnipeg has urban bones to die for! There are few cities in Canada that have the building blocks for a great downtown like Winnipeg. Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria come to mind as equals. The combination of history, both colonial and indigenous, architecture, natural features, and connectivity are pretty much unrivalled. Not to mention two rivers passing through the heart of the city.
Economically, Winnipeg’s Downtown, and downtowns everywhere, has changed. COVID changed the nature of work, or more specifically where we work. There had been attempts for years to encourage business to adopt more telework and remote work for employees, with minimal success. Remote work is cheaper for businesses (less required workspace), better for employees (better work/life balance) and good for the environment (less commuting, lower GHGs). I was involved in trying to introduce telework to the City of Ottawa about a decade ago. COVID ended up making the case that we couldn’t. (See: Calgary’s Workshift)
Downtowns are struggling to adapt to a new future, one that is more diverse, that includes a wider range of uses and people than workers and supports for workers. The benefits are wide ranging, including all the reasons why telework was a positive move. The biggest challenge facing Winnipeg and other cities is that rather than an intentional and planned shift over a period of time, because of COVID it needs to happen quickly. Some cities are further along, such as Calgary which began facing the crisis of empty downtown office towers back in 2016-2017. Winnipeg is working to catch up.
Winnipeg Has A Plan
On July 4th, the SPC on Property and Development of Winnipeg City Council will consider CentrePlan 2050, the new Downtown Plan. CentrePlan 2050 lays out the intended direction, policies, and actions to revitalize the downtown for the next 25 years. (why is it always a 25 year plan.. why can’t we have nice things faster??).
Downtown isn’t a hellhole
Leading up to CentrePlan 2050, there have been a plethora of stories, news articles, opinion columns, and police reports lately all highlighting how terrible Downtown Winnipeg is. There is nothing new in these takes. Downtowns of cities, coast to coast, have long be decried as urban hellholes that decent folks flee once the clock hits 5:00.
It is no different in Winnipeg, where it seems that the only thing we ever hear about is crime, poverty, and empty buildings. We rarely hear about the benefits of being downtown, to either live or visit. Given that the only stories about downtown are negative, is it any wonder that the consistent response of our decision makers is more law enforcement? It ends up being a vicious cycle, self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing.
Note/Disclosure: I live less than one block outside of the boundary of Downtown. So, yeah, I live inner city. I moved here almost 5 years ago and have experienced pretty much every aspect of living inner city/downtown. I love living where I do.
Dan Lett wrote a great piece in response to the pervasive negativity about Winnipeg’s Downtown that highlights that negativity and the vicious cycle it continually reinforces.
What’s in the Plan?
As Dan Lett points out, what’s in CentrePlan 2050 is nothing new. The actions have mostly been talked about before: More People; More Trees; More Pedestrians; Gathering Spaces; Better Transit; More Patios. These are all things that the low hanging fruit that should have been addressed years ago. And yet, they are the core of a 25-year plan!
Yes to all those things! More of all those things!
While CentrePlan 2050 identifies the actions and strategies for downtown Winnipeg, there is not much that is “visionary” or transformational. The biggest question one is left with when reviewing the list of “actions” for the next 25 years is why hasn’t this been done yet? Making downtown better for people, having more greenspace, making it safer for pedestrians, is not the stuff of a strategic plan, it is simply what should be done every day.
Absent a “plan”, there have been positive steps taken the last couple of years towards downtown renewal:
Redevelopment of Portage Place
SCO redevelopment of Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn (the Hudson Bay Building)
Opening Portage and Main
Launch of the Primary Transit Network
Bike lanes on McDermott & Bannatyne
*In reviewing this meagre list, only the 2 bike lanes have been done, the rest are in the future.
Winnipeg’s Wasted Potential
Downtown Winnipeg has so much to offer. It has iconic streets and historic buildings, all bounded by 2 rivers. There are great arts and culture spaces sprinkled throughout the historic Exchange District. Red River College is in the heart to the Exchange. Winnipeg is moving along the path of Reconciliation, and that is most obvious in the downtown. And yet, somehow, all that potential feels so wasted.
As Portage Place and Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn redevelop, adding much needed housing and services, they will still be surrounded by up to 27 lanes of vehicles. Opening Portage and Main to pedestrians is happening, the right decision for the wrong reasons, but it will still have 27 lanes of traffic for pedestrians to negotiate.
The over all vision contained in CentrePlan 2050 is still one dominated by cars. The closest it comes to being more inclusive towards pedestrians is adding a couple of crosswalks and wanting to have “shared” streets, where pedestrians and cars can mix with “minimized segregation”.
If we want more people living and enjoying downtown and supporting local businesses, then the larger aspect of car-centricism needs to be addressed. Putting hundreds of people living beside 27 lanes of traffic does not make it more livable. Maintaining a road network that is still focused on moving as many cars through downtown does nothing to support local businesses. Adding a crosswalk or two does not make it a more enticing pedestrian environment.
Winnipeg doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. Montreal has expanded their car-free streets this summer, because it is good for people and business. Toronto is adding more bike lanes, because it is good for people and business. Calgary has added more patios on streets, because it is good for people and business.
A Meh Plan
While CentrePlan 2050 contains good things and actions that should be taken, there is little inspiration within it. Sadly, this is true of so many of the 25-year strategic plans put forward at the City of Winnipeg.
Rather than a transformational plan, guiding us towards the City of Winnipeg Vision “to be a vibrant and healthy City which places its highest priority on quality of life for all its citizens”, the vision for downtown in CentrePlan 2050 is one of being a bit better than we are today… in 25 years.
Winnipeg can do so much better than this.
brian