The end of Winnipeg’s ‘second season’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2021 (614 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As we move into October we start to see the end of another season construction season.
It certainly has been a challenging to move around our community, this year with many of the collector and regional streets receiving some work.
Our residential streets are lagging many years behind, with minor patching being done where exposed rebar has been showing. I continue to press for more action on residential streets but then only a handful of blocks get done in a given year. It will be decades before this cycle catches up ,if it ever does.
Another topic is trees. When a boulevard loses three trees there is a high likelihood that only one will be replanted. The city is trying to prolong the life of the remaining elm and ash trees but we are fighting a losing battle due to years of deferred treatments and aggressive measures to combat these challenges that are decimating our urban canopy.
Recent reports showed that in 2020, which saw nearly 12,000 trees removed from the public/private spaces in our city, less than 1,400 were planted. My office is trying to determine why the One Million Tree challenge that was put in place isn’t counting the 2,000-4,000 bare root trees that Tree Canada has installed in places such as Lake Shirley and Mazenod Dog Park in Transcona. I can only imagine it is because of the relative size and potential low survival rates.
Playground renewals continue to be important requests from residents but shrinking funds and construction inflation is making this process harder and harder.
In 2021, parks that were identified for improvements were Morley R. Kare Park and Kern Park with costs in the excess of $300,000 for the parks.
Residents of Southland Park will see a half-basketball/pickleball court installed in Lagimodiere Park later this year or early 2022. There are plans for Kildonan Meadows Park South to see renewal in 2022. Following this park renewal, it becomes anyone’s guess on park renewal and the current direction from the mayor and his team is no dollars being committed beyond 2023 for park renewals.
Transcona deserves to receive significant funding from the significant increases in new residential development to offset the needs of our older, established neighbourhoods, and I will continue to advocate for this. A significant challenge continues to be the limited funds that flow into our community from the provincial and federal governments.
As always, I’m proud to represent Transcona at City Hall, and I hope you find my articles informative. Should you want to discuss this or other items of concern, please call my office at 204-986-8087 or email snason@winnipeg.ca
Shawn Nason
Transcona ward report
Shawn Nason is the city councillor for Transcona ward.