Canada/Ping-pong and picnic tables arrive on Graham Avenue, soon to be pedestrianized

The City of Winnipeg is turning its goal of re-imagining Graham Avenue into reality with the launch of a pilot project. Starting June 29, motor vehicles will have to give way to pedestrians and cyclists. The project is part of the City's efforts to revitalize the downtown core.

The city council intends to redevelop four blocks of Graham Avenue between Gary and Carlton streets to make them more accessible to pedestrians. The city will invest $250,000 to create an urban art space, murals, benches and ping-pong tables at this location.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says these changes will result in a downtown that is livelier, more connected, more welcoming and, ultimately, more people-oriented.

He also wants to make [Graham Avenue] one of the downtown's iconic streets.

Daniel Iskierski, urban planner for the City of Winnipeg, believes these are positive changes.

There aren't a lot of parks downtown. So this is like a more urban park, more like a plaza," he said. There are opportunities for restaurants to have a terrace or for people who work to have a meal on the street and enjoy urban life.

For nearly 30 years, Graham Avenue has been the site of a transit center, a nine-block corridor between Vaughan and Main streets. Some 100,000 people take the 1,800 buses that pass through daily, according to the city.

City Council has changed bus routes as part of its CentrePlan 2050 plan, with the aim of attracting more people to visit and live downtown.

These changes could make public transit more efficient, according to Winnipeg Transit's Manager of Service Development, Bjorn Radstrom.

It's hard for a transit system if everyone lives in one neighborhood and works in another," he said.

The City has not indicated how long this pilot project will run. It plans to announce more changes downtown in the coming days. The intersection of Portage and Main will be reopened to pedestrians on Friday, and the City will launch its new Winnipeg Transit system on Sunday.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/