Slow down, stay a while

Elmwood

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2023 (673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While winter might be just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to slow down and smell the roses in Elmwood, figurative as they might be.

In late November, the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, along with its partners, oversaw the installation of eight large, painted fibre glass ‘marbles’ along the median of Henderson Highway between Hespeller Avenue and Johnson Avenue. The project is part of CNRC’s current five-year plan to improve safety and walkability in the area.

“These marbles, they’re meant to create edge-friction, like the feeling of enclosed space, something to make you slow down and take it in,” explained Leilani Esteban Villarba, CNRC’s executive director. “These were absolutely meant to create more safety in the community.”

The marbles act as a visual reminder to those driving through that the neighbourhood is largely residential.

“ReImagine Elmwood’s intent is to make Elmwood safer,” Esteban Villarba said.

“One of our goals is to lower the speed limit on Henderson here. In this community, there’s a lot of people who walk, who have mobility issues or do not have vehicles and use the bus or use bikes to get around. But it’s not safe, because of the high speed limits and the built environment. We are trying to create a built environment that works for our community.”

CNRC’s partners in ReImagine Elmwood include the Elmwood Community Resource Centre, Local Colours Art Group, Riverwood Church, Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata, Glenelm Neighbourhood Association, the WRENCH and consultants in Urban Systems to bring the project to life. Each group ultimately designed and painted one of the marbles.

“It’s been quite the process with the city, working to make sure all the permits were in place, the encroachments and stuff,” Esteban Villarba said, noting that Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) supported the project from the get-go.

“There’s difficulty in trying to get things like this done,” Schreyer said.

“It’s excellent that we have the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation and the people who run the CNRC that I can work with here to get things done on a local level. It’s very heartening that we, too, can do what gets done on other streets through a local Business Improvement Zone or through the central city budget.”

Earlier, in October, the CNRC and ReImagine Elmwood celebrated the soft-launch of a corner park at 243 Henderson Hwy. Picnic tables, a small stage, and storage have been added to the recently asphalted plot, with more to come in the new year. The project, which is located on the site of a former gas-station, has been years in the making.

“We’re super excited about what’s going to happen here,” Esteban Villarba said, commending the hard work of ReImagine Elmwood co-ordinator Kendall Pratap in overseeing both projects.

“Suncor (the owner of the property) was really helpful in allowing us to have a long-term and renewable lease to use this corner. It was so nice to see it done, after all the years. It was an amazing feeling.”

The plan is for community organizations and local business to take ownership of the park on a rotating basis, providing programming and contributing to an active, vibrant neighbourhood.

“We’ll do an official grand opening in the spring, inviting all our partners and funders to come on down,” Esteban Villarba said. “The ideas that are coming through are amazing. There’s a lot of excitement in the community.”

“It’s another resource for us,” Schreyer said of the new park.

“It’s esthetic, it’s practical, it’s social. It’s another opportunity for the community to appreciate their neighbourhood.”

For more information on ReImagine Elmwood’s ongoing projects, or to get involved, contact 204-669-0750.