Keep on running

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2022 (1363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A number of local stakeholders are taking big strides to ensure River East Collegiate has a top running track in the future.

On Feb. 22, the $850,000 running track project at the North Kildonan-based high school was announced. The announcement was made by the City of Winnipeg, including Couns. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), Brian Mayes (St. Vital), and Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River), and the River East Transcona School Division.

According to a recent news release, the Sutton Avenue school’s current aging asphalt running track will be transformed into a modern, rubberized 400-metre track with funding from the three councillors. River East Collegiate is located in Browaty’s ward, and the councillor’s alma mater.

The track is located on the property of RETSD, and Browaty, Mayes, and Chambers will grant the funds to the division, which will oversee the renewal project, the release states.  

“As a graduate of River East Collegiate myself, I am delighted to bring this track back to life for this community,” Browaty said in the release. “When Councillor Mayes checked out all of the Winnipeg tracks in 2020, I noticed the sad state of River East’s track.”

Chambers is also a River East alumnus, as well as a former track athlete at the school, which makes the project a special one for him.

“As a former track athlete for River East myself, it will be great to give today’s students the chance to train at a modern facility. The City recently funded a rubberized track in the south end, so it makes sense to invest in this track in the city’s northeast,” Chambers said in the release.

As an avid runner, Mayes said he’s made it his mission to work with school divisions and his council colleagues to improve running tracks throughout the city.

Mayes said Winnipeg currently has three rubberized outdoor tracks — at the University of Manitoba (1967), at Victor Mager school (2019), and at Garden City Collegiate (2021).

City councillors worked in conjunction with the Louis Riel School Division on the Victor Mager track, and with Seven Oaks School Division on the Garden City track, Mayes said.

Browaty is providing $305,000 for the project, Chambers is contributing $250,000, and Mayes is kicking in $295,000. Mayes said Browaty and Chambers are each using land dedication reserve funds from their wards, while he’s using $125,000 land dedication reserve funding and will be seeking council approval to allocate $170,000 from under-budget parks projects and other ward funds.

In terms of the need for such a track in northeast Winnipeg, Mayes told Canstar News it makes geographical sense to go northeast next in light of the tracks in the south (Victor Mager) and northwest (Garden City) of the city.

“I hope we can do one more in the west end in next term of council,” Mayes said. “There is no other rubberized track in that part of city. After my track tour in 2020, I thought River East made sense to modernize. Last year, my high school running rival Claude Berube, now the track coach at the University of Manitoba, said to me, ‘you know what you should do next – River East,’ which I took as validation.”

Positive feedback from residents inspired Mayes to continue with the project.

“I realized these tracks have been neglected in most parts of the city for decades — there are some fixed up asphalt tracks like Elmwood and Maples, so some work got done,” he said. “As a runner, I felt I should try to modernize the facilities in other parts of the city, too. I’ve had great co-operation with Councillor Sharma in Garden City and now Councillors Browaty and Chambers. I felt if I didn’t act, no other politician might care for a long time.”

Mayes expects the track will be open to the public, although the school division will need to work out the details in due course. He also noted the rubberization process can be tricky and can only be done in certain temperatures, so an appropriate timeline will need to be done once the tender process is complete.

“As for the River East connection — as the Beach Boys said: ‘be true to your school.’ And Councillors Browaty and Chambers have come through,” he added.