A large section of Point Douglas green space and connected riverbanks will be recommended to create a new national urban park, which organizers hope would heighten safety and preserve green space.
The proposal for the “Little Forks” national urban park aims to preserve an area that stretches from the tip of Point Douglas along portions of the Seine, Red and Assiniboine rivers to cover 430 hectares of land and water.
“We recognized that so much of Winnipeg relates to the river and is not really valued. Why not take that unused riverbank and include that as part of a national park?” said Sel Burrows, co-ordinator of the Point Powerline and a member of the planning group.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Sel Burrows says a park could help all Winnipeggers enjoy the many positive features of the area.
Burrows said Point Douglas is too often cast in the spotlight due to social challenges that are more common in all inner city areas. He said it lacks positive gathering places that attract people in large numbers, which creates a greater perception of safety.
“One of the things that we’re so aware of in the inner city is that all the news is negative. We have too many fires, we have too much crime … The more people there are in whatever area, the safer it is,” said Burrows.
He said a park could help all Winnipeggers enjoy the many positive features of the area, including its natural spaces.
Burrows said turning the area into a park has been considered since at least 2009, with a priority to create and preserve accessible green space.
“The inner city has very little green space and so much of our riverbank is inaccessible, so (this would help in) bringing it alive,” he said.
A planning group has met to explore the current proposal since 2022. In a press release, the group notes the name “Little Forks” reflects where the Red and Seine rivers meet.
Proponents hope to convince the federal government to approve and help fund the park, since it promised $130 million to create a network of national urban parks in 2021.
Burrows said he expects financial support would also be sought from the province and city.
“The idea is that it would be… protected in the fashion of a more traditional national park, like Riding Mountain… (Funding) would create opportunities for investment, the creation of new green spaces, new interpretive spaces and environmental remediation,” said Ryan Palmquist, managing director of the advocacy group Save Our Seine, which also supports the project.
Palmquist said the river-focused urban park’s key supporters include former NDP premier Gary Doer and former Tory member of Parliament Dorothy Dobbie.
Both are slated to speak at a Wednesday press conference, where more details will be revealed about the proposal.
On Tuesday, Palmquist said it was premature to discuss the potential cost to create the park.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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