The customs officer studied my passport. “Where are you going?” “Portland” I answered. “Have you been there before?” “Nope, first time.” “Are you bringing brass knuckles?” “Um .. no. Do I need them?” I’m not certain it’s legal to bring brass knuckles in my carry-on, but apparently it is advisable if you’re staying in downtown…
The morning of Sunday, Oct 21 was crisp and clear at The Meadows at East St.Paul Golf Course. Around 10 AM, shortly after the frost on the fairways melted, golfers wearing toques began teeing up for what would likely be their last round at one of Winnipeg’s best public golf courses. When the course first…
Way back in 1913, a rapidly expanding Winnipeg pushed the Winnipeg Canoe Club golf course out of its previous home into the middle of a planned residential development just across the Red River. Here it stayed, providing generations of golfers with a space to socialize and knock some balls around. You can still sense the…
It’s a question that comes up repeatedly in Winnipeg, and I suspect many other cities: Is downtown safe? If it’s NOT safe, then what can we do to make it safe? If it IS safe, then how do we change the perception that it’s not? A casual forum was organized this afternoon to discuss a…
A new development at Winnipeg’s iconic Confusion Corner was announced this past week through the media. In fact, construction is already underway, with piles being driven into the ground as you read this. “We’re pleased that Osborne Place will meet and exceed the goals outlined by the City of Winnipeg’s Corydon-Osborne Area Plan” said the…
The concept of small-scale urban homesteading has come up before in Winnipeg, but like most ideas that depart ever so slightly from the status quo, people assumed that it would make their lives miserable, and it ended up going nowhere. Although it fell on deaf ears, advocates pointed out that other cities in North America…
Opportunities for large scale brownfield development in Winnipeg are scarce, but eventually the lawsuits over Kapyong Barracks will be settled and the building can begin. Perhaps even one day the dream of relocating the rail yards from the middle of the city will be realized, and hundreds of acres of land will become available for…
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that mixed use development is the answer to the problems caused by Winnipeg’s sprawling car-oriented ways. Bloggers, editorialists and self-professed urbanists say it. Anybody who considers themselves a forward-thinking advocate of city densification believes in it. Many of these same people like to reference Jane Jacobs,…
Around This Town 