Winnipeg | Forks Redevelopment | Parcel 4 - Rail Side Initiative | Proposals

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

You know what I completely agree with you. Imo there are 3 better ways to utilize the site.

1. Go full on with making it a tourist destination and provide amenities like a recreation campus and idk a indoor waterpark

2. Explore it's historical significance and make the parking lots an archaeological site. There's at least 6,0000 years of known history at the Forks. Imagine what kinds of findings could be excavated here.

3. Go the educational route and just build a massive high school there. I'm talking a high school bigger then Sisler. There's already enough elementary and middle schools in or adjacent to Downtown. However, it seems like once someone living in Downtown gets past grade 9 they have too make a decently sized commute. With the Forks there's already so many amenities a school could utilize such as Shaw Park, Human Rights Museum, theatre, market, green space etc... I think it would also be the best way to get rid of our surface parking lot problem because if there is a state of the art high school next to a historic site it would induce quite a bit of demand for families to move to Downtown. Also, having 2,000 kids in the area everyday should improve safety issues a bit by having more eyes on the street, and even improve retail in Downtown since high school kids are massive consumers and usually work retail anyway.

Suppose ideally The Leaf could have gone there, would have it a lot more accessible than Assiniboine Park!

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Safety is going to need to be a big priority, anyone who doesn't think its going to be a huge priority is clueless!

Ideally ground level of whatever is built should be some sort of commercial component, whether it be retail, restaurants or professional.

I think the intent is ground floor not being residential. In the report from 2017, in identifies the pro of this development not being 5 high rise towers, is the many small buildings having a lot more 'perimeter' on the ground floor.

Another pro of them not being in a straightline fronting a street, is the 'sides' of the building are now available as store fronts. Or art space, or whatever goes in those spaces.

[lbnevs]

https://accesswinnipeg.com/2022/12/f...ation-in-2023/

Railside adjacent: Looks like the old Earls on Main is going to be an east coast themed pub. Chris Graves, who owns the Kings Head, is behind it.

I wonder what happens to the 219 Main parking lot? The city sold it in 2012 with a proviso that it had to be developed on in two years, or they could buy it back... and rejected the Earls plan that would have kept it as a parking lot. Ten years later and no development... I wonder if the city has lost the political will to see this property built on?

[bomberjet]

We had surmised in another thread that the Kings Head guy may not actually own the building/land. But is running the restaurant. While a certain Winnipeg entrepeneur actually owns said property.

Kings head guy was basically broke during the pandemic and they did crowd funding to keep the lights on.

[Malcsta]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

We had surmised in another thread that the Kings Head guy may not actually own the building/land. But is running the restaurant. While a certain Winnipeg entrepeneur actually owns said property.

Kings head guy was basically broke during the pandemic and they did crowd funding to keep the lights on.

Yeah I seem to remember a friend of mine sending me his GoFundMe page to try and save the Kings Head. No way he's doing this project alone, that's for sure. A friend of mine in the restaurant industry says he's had some influence on the menu for this new spot, and it looks good. We might finally be able to get po boys in winnipeg.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by Malcsta

Yeah I seem to remember a friend of mine sending me his GoFundMe page to try and save the Kings Head. No way he's doing this project alone, that's for sure. A friend of mine in the restaurant industry says he's had some influence on the menu for this new spot, and it looks good. We might finally be able to get po boys in winnipeg.

Whats the difference between a po boy and a sub (or hoagie or hero).

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Whats the difference between a po boy and a sub (or hoagie or hero).

I think that sub, hoagie and hero are pretty much all the same just different regions in the states call them differently. The po boy… from New Orleans usually means a roast beef with fried shrimp/oyster filled submarine sandwich

[Wpg_Guy]

The scaffolding came down a couple months ago that was up around the train shed at Union Station.

[bomberjet]

Train shed looks much better!

[esquire]

Huge improvement in terms of appearance... it looked almost abandoned before.

Was this just a cosmetic refresh with paint and new glass, or did they actually fix up the structure?

I'm glad to see it happen, but in some respects it's an amazing effort for such a lightly used facility. That station was designed to handle a few dozen trains a day, but it only gets 8 a week now.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by esquire

Huge improvement in terms of appearance... it looked almost abandoned before.

Was this just a cosmetic refresh with paint and new glass, or did they actually fix up the structure?

I'm glad to see it happen, but in some respects it's an amazing effort for such a lightly used facility. That station was designed to handle a few dozen trains a day, but it only gets 8 a week now.

The wall was rebuilt, the Railway museum closed to accommodate this work, previously the broken windows and wall were covered with a fabric with window panes printed on them:

[GreyGarden]

I really hope they actually incorporate Union Station into the transit plan. It’s such a great building. It’s not Winnipeg’s fault that rail service does not really make sense given our geographic location, but it’s a shame that the building is so underused. A transit station seems like the only use that makes sense for it.

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

rail service does not really make sense given our geographic location

okay we can agree via rail's ancient rolling stock slowly lumbering along, stopping constantly to make way for freight, means that we're never going to have rail service.

but let's not pretend that it doesn't make sense for winnipeg to have rail.

it would be absolutely game changing if we had HSR to minneapolis/st. paul. it would transform westman if there was a brandon-winnipeg HSR link.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Train shed looks much better!

It sure does, just now need to find a use for the station!

[esquire]

I know this is some serious railway architecture nerdery, but that train shed at Union Station is one of the best examples of its kind in Canada. Only Toronto's is bigger and more impressive... or at least I can't think of any others that would surpass Winnipeg's. Passenger train sheds in most other cities were dismantled years ago. VIA has done a good job of maintaining it in recent years, especially considering how lightly used it is. They did some pretty significant work on the roof not that long ago from what I recall.

Fun fact, when originally built the train shed originally had skylights up the length of each platform. You can see it in vintage pictures. But somewhere along the way they were covered up.

[GreyGarden]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

but let's not pretend that it doesn't make sense for winnipeg to have rail.

it would be absolutely game changing if we had HSR to minneapolis/st. paul. it would transform westman if there was a brandon-winnipeg HSR link.

Im all for light rail in the city, in fact I think Winnipeg is foolish to have not already gotten the ball rolling on streetcars or light rail.

But between cities, I just don’t think the prairies have the population or density for rail service. That being said, I love fantasizing about HSR lines. Winnipeg - Grand Forks - Duluth - Minneapolis- Milwaukee - Chicago - Detroit - Windsor - Quebec corridor. It’s a cool thought, but the first part of that leg is like 1200kms with big swaths of unpopulated land.

[esquire]

^ It's a nice dream but we'd have to see Minneapolis-Milwaukee-Chicago-St. Louis HSR fully built out before they would ever turn their attention to building a route here. And let's face it, it would have to be a US-led initiative... our province, which can barely get an interchange built on the Perimeter, won't be leading the way on HSR anytime soon. So let's hope Fargo gets connected and then maybe we can try and get a branch built to Winnipeg.

[peg]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

okay we can agree via rail's ancient rolling stock slowly lumbering along, stopping constantly to make way for freight, means that we're never going to have rail service.

but let's not pretend that it doesn't make sense for winnipeg to have rail.

it would be absolutely game changing if we had HSR to minneapolis/st. paul. it would transform westman if there was a brandon-winnipeg HSR link.

I agree, it geographically works. Honestly, I wish that Via would pay more attention to the Prairies. Like even if they slowly invested in upgrading the corridor between Brandon and Winnipeg for more service and further capacity... I would be happy with the lowest-hanging fruit these days... just give us more train service lol.

It seems the public and political will sadly does not currently exist.

[zalf]

Originally Posted by peg

I agree, it geographically works. Honestly, I wish that Via would pay more attention to the Prairies. Like even if they slowly invested in upgrading the corridor between Brandon and Winnipeg for more service and further capacity... I would be happy with the lowest-hanging fruit these days... just give us more train service lol.

It seems the public and political will sadly does not currently exist.

The problem is that Via's model as this weird Frankenstein's monster of a crown corp/government subsidized transport system that leases its rail access from private freight companies fundamentally cripples its ability to provide decent service to anywhere except maybe the Corridor.

I came across the suggestion that the solution to Canada's rail woes is to follow Sweden's lead. That is, privatize Via, but nationalize the track itself. Then, auction off track access to whoever can make a go of it. In Sweden's case, they were able to attract several smaller passenger providers and dramatically increase rail as a viable means of inter-city travel.

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[blueandgoldguy]

It's been nearly 8 years since this thread was created and still not a single building has been constructed. Maybe by year 10 we will have something...