Access to Nature and Recreational Opportunities
To ensure equitable access to nature and recreational opportunities, the proposed park would be located near Winnipeg’s higher needs neighbourhoods, where residents typically have lower access to parks and natural spaces than those in the rest of the city. About 12% of Winnipeg’s residents would live within a ten-minute walk of park. The park’s central location would also ensure easy and optimal public transit access for all Winnipeggers. All residents of the greater Winnipeg area would be within a 30-minute drive of the park.
Recreation
The proposed park would occupy a strategic position within the Winnipeg Trails and Parkways System.
Many recreational facilities and municipal parks would also be located within the park’s ten-minute walking catchment. This includes eight community centres, three recreation centres, a dozen pools and wading pools, a nordic ski centre, a rowing club, a curling club, and three golf courses. The park itself would incorporate one regional park (Whittier / Lagimodière - Gaboury Parks), a dozen community parks, eight neighbourhood parks, and several nature parks. (Photo: Denis DePape).
Culture and Tourism
Some of Winnipeg’s most significant cultural institutions and tourism amenities are located within the ten-minute walkshed of the park, and could be linked to each other by the national park’s river trails network.
Many Canadian cities have implemented view protection legislation to preserve landscape attributes that underly their sense of place and identity. The park would help maintain the visual character of the city’s rivers and related features.
Heritage
The proposed national urban park would help preserve and commemorate some of Canada’s most historically significant sites. The park’s area also has a rich industrial and naval heritage with the Red River historically serving as a main north-south continental riverway.