Post by Trent Steele on May 25, 2005 14:14:55 GMT -5
University of Winnipeg to make Spence Street green
Concept by University of Winnipeg - Spence Street to go green
By Alex Reid, Culture Editor
One of Winnipeg's inner city streets has received City Council's blessing to become a "green pedestrian mall" for students and transit buses later this year.
Winnipeg City Councillors voted unanimously last week to rezone Spence Street, between Portage Avenue and Ellice Avenue, bordering the University of Winnipeg, into a car-free lane similar to Graham Street downtown.
Lloyd Axworthy, President of the University of Winnipeg, has been pushing City Council for the green light since he took the post last year. He says redeveloping the street will turn the rather-dismal street into a "real people-place" for not just the students, but for the community at large.
"We see the transformation of Spence Street as key to the revitalization of the University campus, the neighbourhood, and the downtown," Axworthy said, adding that the plans to redevelop Spence Street are vital if the University is to expand.
The University of Winnipeg was plagued with a $1.1 million debt a few years ago, but has begun to turn itself around in the last couple years. Now the University is planning to expand its University staff and student population from 10,000 to 14,000 in the next few years. The area itself has also come under a change in recent years, with the Institute of Urban Studies moving into the former Racquet Club across Portage Avenue and condominium development at Webb Place. But the issue of safety has been a thorn in the University's side for many years.
Chris Haywood, a third year student at the University of Winnipeg, agrees that safety is an issue that the University has to deal with. "You still hear stories about people getting robbed while waiting for the bus in front of the University," Haywood said. "Spence Street is pretty scary at night."
"I think it's a very positive step forward for the neighbourhood," says Trudy Turner, Executive Director of the West End Business Improvement Zone. Turner says that the redevelopment will greatly improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood. "The visual surveillance offered by pedestrian traffic is really a very big asset in any neighbourhood."
The University held four community consultation meetings with the neighbourhoods late last year and found that over 80% of the community supports "greening" Spence Street.
The University also says it plans to open a new Theatre building, a park and three other small adminstrative buildings behind the CBC building, along with a sidewalk café and bookstore opening along Spence Street in the future. While people will start to see changes to the street this summer, the University says it will continue consulting with the community and still needs to apply for grants to see the project through.
This is a great idea, and I think there should be more of this type of thing downtown.
Concept by University of Winnipeg - Spence Street to go green
By Alex Reid, Culture Editor
One of Winnipeg's inner city streets has received City Council's blessing to become a "green pedestrian mall" for students and transit buses later this year.
Winnipeg City Councillors voted unanimously last week to rezone Spence Street, between Portage Avenue and Ellice Avenue, bordering the University of Winnipeg, into a car-free lane similar to Graham Street downtown.
Lloyd Axworthy, President of the University of Winnipeg, has been pushing City Council for the green light since he took the post last year. He says redeveloping the street will turn the rather-dismal street into a "real people-place" for not just the students, but for the community at large.
"We see the transformation of Spence Street as key to the revitalization of the University campus, the neighbourhood, and the downtown," Axworthy said, adding that the plans to redevelop Spence Street are vital if the University is to expand.
The University of Winnipeg was plagued with a $1.1 million debt a few years ago, but has begun to turn itself around in the last couple years. Now the University is planning to expand its University staff and student population from 10,000 to 14,000 in the next few years. The area itself has also come under a change in recent years, with the Institute of Urban Studies moving into the former Racquet Club across Portage Avenue and condominium development at Webb Place. But the issue of safety has been a thorn in the University's side for many years.
Chris Haywood, a third year student at the University of Winnipeg, agrees that safety is an issue that the University has to deal with. "You still hear stories about people getting robbed while waiting for the bus in front of the University," Haywood said. "Spence Street is pretty scary at night."
"I think it's a very positive step forward for the neighbourhood," says Trudy Turner, Executive Director of the West End Business Improvement Zone. Turner says that the redevelopment will greatly improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood. "The visual surveillance offered by pedestrian traffic is really a very big asset in any neighbourhood."
The University held four community consultation meetings with the neighbourhoods late last year and found that over 80% of the community supports "greening" Spence Street.
The University also says it plans to open a new Theatre building, a park and three other small adminstrative buildings behind the CBC building, along with a sidewalk café and bookstore opening along Spence Street in the future. While people will start to see changes to the street this summer, the University says it will continue consulting with the community and still needs to apply for grants to see the project through.
This is a great idea, and I think there should be more of this type of thing downtown.