Redevelopment plan for downtown Winnipeg's Air Canada Park aims to balance safety, reconciliation
Work on $2.5M project set to begin in August
A plan to redevelop a troubled downtown Winnipeg park aims to address safety concerns raised by residents and workers in the area, while avoiding displacing people who currently use the space.
Work on the $2.5-million redevelopment of Air Canada Park, at the corner of Portage Avenue and Carlton Street, is set to begin this summer.
Consultations with those who work and live in the area found many issues with the park, including illegal activity such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and violence.
For people who regularly use the park, however, it's a vital gathering space.
"A lot of work has gone into reinventing what that space can look like, and making sure that we're not necessarily kicking everybody out of the park," said Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy, who represents the part of downtown that includes the park.
"There's a part of the community that loves that park. But how can we bring everybody to the park?"
On Tuesday morning, Darren Bradburn sat with a group of friends on the benches surrounding the park.
People in the park, many of whom are homeless, look out for each other, but there are a few who cause trouble for everybody else, he said.
"We look after our own people," said Bradburn.
He worries any plans to redesign the park would mean pushing him and his friends out.
"Don't fix nothing that's not broken. It's good. Leave it the way it is," he said.
Cherise Sinclair has worked downtown for about a year. She sometimes sees people in the park acting aggressively, "but I just keep walking," she said.
Sinclair likes the idea of redeveloping the park, and would like to see the city include more natural features, like a garden or flowers.
"I feel like it should … revamp the area, make it look nicer," she said.
'Advancing truth and reconciliation'
The City of Winnipeg announced plans to redevelop the park last year, as part of a $10-million strategy to help the downtown recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy called for a "complete revitalization of the park as a public space while advancing truth and reconciliation objectives."
Originally built in 1985, it features towering concrete pillars and a large central fountain. A black chain-link fence separates the park from the adjacent Air Canada building, where a security guard is stationed at the entrance.
While final designs remain incomplete, it's likely those features of the park will be removed, said Kate Fenske, executive director of the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone, which is collaborating with the city on the project.
"This park hasn't seen a lot of investment in the last number of years, so it's very much needed," she said, adding she hopes the redesign will maintain the park's mature tree canopy.
However, "we know the redesign of the park is really just one part of the solution," she said. "We still want to make sure that it is a place where people in our community can connect and gather and spend time."
But the redevelopment also needs to address the question, "if someone wants to access resources or supports, how might we do that?" she said.
Matthew Davidson, co-owner of Spirit Horse Therapy, works with people in the park two days a week. The success of the plan to redevelop the park depends on what resources will be provided to the people there, he said.
"Obviously, trying to push people out and … ostracize doesn't work," he said.
Davidson is working on a plan to provide "mental health foot patrols," which would be stationed in the park 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
He was approached by Winnipeg Centre member of Parliament Leah Gazan and the Aboriginal People's Television Network, which has offices beside the park, to develop a plan to address safety concerns in the park.
He expects to meet with Mayor Scott Gillingham next month to talk about the plan.
Improved lighting, stage proposed
The city awarded the design contract to the architecture firm Scatliff + Miller + Murray in February. Last year, the firm conducted consultations and an online survey, gathering input from park users and people in the area about what they would like to see.
Possible features of the redeveloped park could include a performance stage, added lighting, more green space and more open sightlines.
Work is expected to begin in August and be complete by spring 2024.
Gilroy hopes that the final design, expected in June or July, meets the city's goals of revitalizing the park while preserving it as a gathering place.
"Whenever I do improvements in my community with park space and natural spaces and stuff, it makes a world of difference on how people feel in their community, the safety and the vibrancy of that part of the community," she said.
"So I do know that when you do a revamp, it does hopefully change things."
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With files from Bartley Kives