Density leaves longtime residents feeling the squeeze

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2021 (1529 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

West Transcona will soon be home to a lot more people, thanks to increased densification in the area.

On July 20, the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee approved plans for a new multifamily development at 1286 Ravelston Ave. W which, once complete, will feature three six-storey buildings with 100 units each. 

“I’m excited to get this community built up, as much as the densification of this neighbourhood has impacted some of the original residents,” Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) said at the special meeting.

 The development is in line with the West Transcona Area Structure Plan, which was approved in 2008, as are the other multifamily developments along Peguis Street between Regent Avenue and Transcona Boulevard/Ravelston Avenue West. 

But that assurance doesn’t sit well with longtime residents of the area, who are finding their single-family homes along Ravelston and Almey Avenue surrounded by new condos, side-by-sides, and townhouses.

“The density in this area is absurd,” said Frank Fiorentino, a longtime resident of Ravelston Avenue West. “It’s getting ridiculous.”

Fiorentino is among a number of residents who have registered in opposition to the multifamily developments in the area as they have come to public hearings at the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee over the past few years. 

“It’s terrible,” said Don Graziano, who has lived at 1407 Ravelston Ave. W since 1982.

In 2015, Graziano was among a majority of area residents voted against a local improvement plan that called for extending sewer lines to their homes. Two years later, those residents found themselves on the hook for costs of connecting to the city’s sewer line with the development of Waterside Development’s Crocus Meadows to the north coming online.

“It was all out of our own pocket, $12,200 to hook up to the sewer,” Graziano said, adding water hookup would have cost him $9,700, but he opted out of it.

In the process of hooking up to sewer, Graziano maintains that the approach to his home was compromised, and that he has yet to resolve the situation with the city.

“My driveway was one foot below the road,” he said. “Now I’m about three feet above the road.”

Ravelston Avenue residents aren’t the only ones feeling the squeeze. Between 2018 and 2020, residents of Almey Avenue fought against a proposed multifamily building south of Almey on Peguis Street. While the neighbours succeeded in reducing the size of the project, a site plan for a 20-unit building at 128 Peguis St. was ultimately approved earlier this year. That project, which has yet to begin construction, is a fraction the size of the plans approved on July 20 two blocks further north at 1286 Ravelston Ave. W.

“I think we’ve been ignored,” Graziano said. “As a matter of fact, a lot of residents have left, to get away from here.”

Our Communities | Newsletter

Community Calendar

Mondays

A weekly look at news and events that matter in your communities.

Sign up for Community Calendar

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Graziano’s neighbours across the road were one of them. Today, the lot at 1414 Ravelston Ave. W is home to 72 new townhouses.

“They’re so small, I call them beehives,” Graziano said. “And they don’t have enough  parking!”

Before approving the site plans for 1286 Ravelston Ave. W, Nason acknowledged that density has become problematic for residents, and that creative solutions should be explored.

“Have you had conversations with (Peg City) Car Co-op or those organizations with regard to parking?” he asked, noting that adding a carshare option on site can reduce parking requirements for developers. “Is there any opportunity to have a partner like that come to the table? I think something like that is needed in the east part of the city. I think it’s important to have those options.”

Evan Hanson, from Affinity Architecture Inc., said he had not discussed partnering with the carsharing co-op, but did note that 46 bike stalls were included in the final design of the development, which is located near public transit routes.

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

   Read full biography