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Exchange District Pedestrian Area
I asked the following question on Twitter and Speak Up Winnipeg Facebook's page this morning:
"Should the city look at closing down a few streets in the Exchange District in the summer to make them pedestrian friendly?"
I received several positive feedbacks. Here are some of them:
- "I agree. Start to turn that area into a true pedestrian area. Make it safer to go from the xchange to the Forks also."
- "I think it would be a great idea! New York is doing it, why can't we?"
- "I think that could be a good idea, though perhaps a facelift in the exchange might be necessary first."
- "Agree. I think some of the local shops were worried that it would hurt business though... I don't agree"
Montreal is doing it.
Calgary is doing it. I like this quote from this article found online: "Stephen Avenue in downtown Calgary is an attractive part-time pedestrian street that, in the summer months, attracts nearly 30,000 visitors per day. Calgary is far from the most urban or pedestrian-oriented city in Canada—if it can support such a thriving pedestrian street, then so can Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. The secret is to pick the right street, design it well and make pedestrianization as flexible as possible."
Is Winnipeg ready for this?
5 comments:
What I gleaned from NYC is that they just went ahead and started creating pedestrian areas knowing full well that a whole bunch of people would be angry.
I don't know if Winnipeg's council will want to risk the negative reactions, especially as our current car-free experiment, the Graham Avenue Transit Mall, isn't known as a bustling commercial strip.
I do think it is possible for the City of Winnipeg to temporarily (for now) change Princess to a two-way street, changing King St into a pedestrian area. I think there are very few laneways and parking lots that require access from King, and it be a very high profile strip with significant foot traffic from Red River, the U of W Continuing Education, City Hall, and Old Market Square.
But if such a change were to happen haphazardly, without a very strong plan and timeline, I think a failed experiment here could sour the city against pedestrian areas completely.
I agree. That is why there needs to be more planning. But not to the extend where it would take forever before a decision is made. Here's a thought from the article about Hong Kong: "When considering whether or not to pedestrianize a street, Hong Kong’s transport planners ask a few crucial questions: Is the pedestrian traffic heavy enough? Is there the right mix of street elements, such as subway entrances, markets, shops, or schools, to attract people to the area? How would pedestrianization affect traffic circulation? Would it make the neighbourhood more pleasant?"
I think we can answer yes to many of these elements.
I've always thought that a portion of Corydon -- say from Lilac to Nassau -- be closed down for Pedestrian Only traffic during summer weekends.
I agree that the City risks over-thinking things. Yes, thoughtful planning must take place, but there should be a reasonable deadline attached to it.
If the City goes through with the current design for the King Building parkade, I worry that vehicle access to the structure will be from King. That could make both Princess and King unsuitable candidates for a pedestrian area.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/exchange-area-to-get-parkade-47912347.html
Does the area really need another parkade? Isn't the goal to have less vehicles coming in and out and have people using public transit to and from downtown?
For those that have cars, I say use the existing parkades around and walk.
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