Building for the future

Daniel McIntyre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/07/2023 (1061 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Record heat across North America and the world is causing humans to continue to re-evaluate our personal and institutional choices as we move towards a planet that continues to warm. Governments and Individuals continue to wrestle with the correct public-policy frameworks to deal with this issue. The City of Winnipeg is also making pivotal decisions to mitigate the ongoing uncertainty of the climate and the potentially catastrophic results of a heating planet.

From protecting and increasing our tree canopy to building an efficient, faster, and affordable transit system and building an active transportation system that can used year-round, we need to think of ways we can mitigate our carbon footprint before we reach a point of no return. The city can and must play a role and these are just some of the actions that could and should be undertaken.

Making the wrong decisions is not an option and that is why we must speak up when public policy moves us in directions that exacerbate the climate crisis, decisions that embed suburban sprawl, which make the automobile the easiest and most convenient transportation option.

The city is currently deciding to make that choice. Council has approved two studies to determine the feasibility of expanding both Kenaston Boulevard and Chief Peguis Trail. These projects will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and move us away from building resilient, complete communities. They will make it easier for the continuation of suburban sprawl at the expense of building from the inner city out to more peripheral neighbourhoods.

When we ask ourselves if we were on the right side of history, I hope I can tell future generations that I did everything I could to help create a city that was built for people.