Filipino Street Festival may use McPhillips for parade: city

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This article was published 23/06/2015 (4119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Filipino community is rejoicing after a civic committee voted to save their preferred route for the Filipino Street Festival Parade.

However not everyone, including the city’s fire and paramedic service, were celebrating.

Manitoba Filipino Street Festival Inc. was shocked to learn this month that after two years of routing their annual parade down McPhillips Street, the city had denied their parade permit.

Representatives and supporters of the annual summer festival came to Tuesday’s public works committee meeting to appeal the decision, which city officials said was based on safety concerns for the route.

Officials from the WFPS department noted at the heart of the matter was access for emergency vehicles.

A city report on the matter stated close to 1,250 vehicles per hour use northbound McPhillips between 9 a.m. and noon on a Saturday. It also noted the stretch is a direct route to Seven Oaks Hospital, with no direct detours.

Last year, an out-of-town ambulance arrived at Inkster Avenue and McPhillips Street, without the information that the road was closed, and attempted to use a detour to get to Seven Oaks Hospital.

“The parade essentially put the safety of that patient in jeopardy,” said Stan Stone, of Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

Instead, emergency officials suggested organizers use the city’s downtown parade route, which is a tested route that doesn’t present any issues.

Organizers rejected this idea, noting they are too small to organize such a large-scale route for their parade.

An alternative route, closer to the proposed area, was also discussed with organizers and city officials, which would see them use Leila Avenue with the same end point at the Garden City Shopping Centre.

However, the festival’s chairwoman, Aida Champagne, argued that McPhillips offers the most direct and logical route for the parade.

The route takes one hour and 45 minutes from Northgate Shopping Centre along McPhillips to the Garden City Shopping Centre parking lot.

She noted there has been no complaints or issues in the parade’s three-year history, noting it celebrates the 70,000 Filipino residents in Winnipeg and involves 54 associations.

On average, she said 12,000 people line the route of the parade and over 1,000 people participate.

Ron Cantiveros described the festival as the largest event for the Filipino community and noted the location around The Maples and Garden City is key because it is at the centre of where many Filipinos live.

“McPhillips is our Main Street,” he said.

Using the Leila Avenue route would disturb the residents that live on the street, as opposed to McPhillips Street, he argued.

In the end, committee members were divided on the issue, with Couns. Devi Sharma, Cindy Gilroy and Shawn Dobson voting in favour of the appeal. All three councillors said organizers could look to changing the route next year.

However, chairwoman Coun. Janice Lukes voted against the appeal, citing safety as her main concern.

“I am not an expert when it comes to safety, but these people do it 24/7, 365 days, and I have to listen to them,” she said. “When I sit in that room and I listen to those people… lots can happen at parties and that is why I voted the way I did.”

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca