Is there a city anywhere in this country that hates its downtown more than Winnipeg?
Core neighbourhoods are a source of concern and debate in most modern cities. But you need only read the pages of this newspaper to see that, if downtown self-loathing were a measurable metric, Winnipeg would be near or at the top of the pack.
In the past week the Free Press has been rife with articles written by, and speaking to, the cynical alarmists in our community.
DAVID LIPNOWSKI / FREE PRESS FILES
Core neighbourhoods are a source of concern and debate in most modern cities. Winnipeg is no exception.
Crime is out of control. Businesses are fleeing crime-infested neighbourhoods. Downtown is broken and beyond fixing.
How bad is it in some of Winnipeg’s core-area neighbourhoods? So bad, the naysayers claim, that we had to suffer the indignity of having Starbucks abandon some of its locations.
It should be noted the problems cited by the alarmists are real and deserving of immediate attention: mental health and addictions have reached epidemic proportions; homelessness shows no signs of abatement; crime, including violent crime, is on the increase.
But what does it all mean in the context of the downtown? To get a clearer picture, you need to talk to someone who lives or works downtown. In other words, someone who has skin in the debate.
Fortunately, we also did that.
Late last week, the Free Press interviewed Phil Klein, owner of Baglesmith on Carlton Street, who said that despite all of the problems, downtown is still safe for his staff and customers. However, Klein urged the city to move more quickly in implementing CentrePlan 2050, a sprawling blueprint for downtown revitalization.
CentrePlan 2050 envisions more streets being closed for pedestrians and patios, better rapid transit access, more dynamic streetscaping and new green gathering spaces.
Unfortunately, as Klein noted, progress on these issues has been glacial despite the fact that people who live and work downtown have been been begging for this kind of redevelopment for decades.
“(CentrePlan 2050 reflects) everything … that everyone’s been saying for 30 years about downtown. I would love to see all those things happen but, if I’m being a realist, I don’t see most of it happening.”
If there is a plan, and there is consensus that the plan is the right thing to do, and the plan is warmly embraced by people who live and work downtown, then why hasn’t there been more progress?
This is where the aforementioned cynics, alarmists and naysayers become the authors of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you spend so much time spewing hyperbole about how bad downtown is — even when you spend so little time there — you create a potent disincentive for city council to do what needs to be done.
It has always been thus.
Consider the results of the 2018 plebiscite on reopening Portage and Main, a graphic example of how the outlying neighbourhoods of Winnipeg hold sway when it comes to plans and policies for downtown.
The people with the deepest connections to downtown voted overwhelmingly in favour of reopening the intersection. However, despite rarely or never visiting the intersection, voters in the outlying neighbourhoods rose up in superior numbers and killed the plan.
It’s notable that even though city council voted recently to reopen the intersection, it was not because leaders suddenly decided to respect the wishes of people who live and work downtown; council got behind a motion from Mayor Scott Gillingham to allow pedestrians to cross at grade because it was too expensive to repair and maintain the underground concourse.
When councillors are constantly reminded of the skepticism and disdain with which the rest of the city views downtown, it dampens their enthusiasm to do more. That reluctance is evident in the glacial pace of implementation of CentrePlan 2050.
As it stands now, the city has devoted $10 million over the next three years to implement minor elements of the plan: a pilot project and additional design improvements for Graham Avenue; waiving some fees for downtown residential development; safety plans and neighbourhood cleanup events.
Where, you may ask, are the street closures, major streetscaping designs and significant financial supports for people living or operating businesses downtown? Although every year is another opportunity for council to activate parts of CentrePlan 2050, as it stands now, it is likely that $10 million will be expended without any noticeable change to the nature of downtown.
The most important message the naysayers need to absorb is that Winnipeg’s downtown has changed significantly over the last 30 years. Even with all of its problems, downtown offers much more than some claim.
Thousands more Winnipeggers live downtown now. World-class music and theatre festivals draw hundreds of thousands of people to downtown every summer. The Forks and the Canadian Museum For Human Rights combine to form a true year-round gathering place for visitors and residents alike. Despite all the hyperbolic howling, downtown remains the epicentre of this city’s best arts, culture, food and music.
How can we improve downtown?
The city does need to act with greater urgency to implement bold, transformative changes. But that can only happen if the haters take a breath and try to see downtown through the eyes of the people who love it.
dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Dan Lett
Columnist
Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan.
Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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