Jane's Walk 2025

Jane's Walk Weekend is here: May 2-4 in a neighbourhood near you!

I’ve had a lot of fun leading Jane’s Walks over the years. This year will be my 12th walk, my second here in Winnipeg. Our Jane’s Walks in Calgary have explored Garrison Woods & Curry Barracks, have looked at the impacts of the SWBRT on the pedestrian connectivity of surrounding neighbourhoods. We did an exploration of Rouleauville, Calgary’s historic French area, that one completement en français! One that I ended up repeating 4 times was looking at the area around Southland Station and the potential for redevelopment as a TOD.

And anyone who has joined me on a Jane’s Walk has experienced my rant about turning radii!

So this year on May 2nd & 4th, I am leading my 2nd walk in West Broadway, my neighbourhood in Winnipeg.

My walk is called The Winnipeg That Is and Could Never Be. We are going to have a wander through the area, exploring a neighbourhood that was built over 120 years ago. We will see the things that make the neighbourhood great: schools, apartment buildings, and corner stores. As part of this, we will also consider whether any of this could be built today.

Zoning bylaws have changed, or been imposed, since West Broadway was first built. The focus of our built environment today has completely shifted. Since West Broadway, and many other “inner city” neighbourhoods were built, the focus of city building has become specifically car centric. In the post-war era, cars, and everything about them, have dominated our urban planning and decision making. That remains true to this very day.

Our walk will start at the Granite Curling Club, where people are fighting a housing development because it will remove 45 parking spaces for the curling club. We will end our walk at the opposite side of the very same building. Here, parking gets converted to a beer garden for the summer, turning parking into a great community asset. And if the weather is nice, we will end the walk with a beer!

I wrote about the depressing debate around the proposed housing project at this location.

Join a Jane’s Walk

Check out the Jane’s Walks that are happening in your neighbourhood. Get out and explore a new neighbourhood. Plan on leading a walk next year! They are a lot of fun, and a great way to connect with people and place.

There are walks all across Canada, and the world! (they started in Toronto). Check out the Jane’s Walk website for more information: Janeswalk.org

Here in Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Arts Council is the organizer for Jane’s Walk, and you can find all the walks on their website: WAC Janes Walk

For my Calgary friends, the Federation of Calgary Communities is the organizer. There are dozens of walks in Calgary worth checking out: FCC Janes Walk

Get out, Explore, and Have Fun!

See you in the neighbourhood.

brian