Winnipeggers who live, work and spend time downtown are being asked for their views on revitalizing the city centre.
A survey from stakeholder organizations, including the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, Exchange District BIZ, West End BIZ and Economic Development Winnipeg, aims to get feedback from people who frequent the area.
The organizations are hoping to get more responses before the survey closes Nov. 3.
“Downtown is all about people and to build a downtown that truly serves our community, we need to understand what aspects of this neighbourhood matter most to Winnipeggers,” Downtown BIZ CEO Kate Fenske said.
“It could be green spaces, better options for getting around, enhanced amenities, or something entirely different. Our goal is to understand these priorities for the coming years.”
David Pensato of the Exchange BIZ told 680 CJOB’s The Start that the downtown area is tied to Winnipeg’s identity.
“If you look at it from a cultural perspective, you think about all of the arts institutions … most of our major sports, you look at our restaurant scenes, you look at places like the Forks — if that collapses, we don’t have anything that’s recognizable as Winnipeg.”
Pensato said downtown got hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the point of the survey is to make sure the area remains a place people want to live, work and visit.
“There’s no viable city in the world that has a failed downtown — it just doesn’t work,” he said.
“If you look at it from an economic perspective, if you look at the commercial taxes the city brings in, the highest concentration is downtown. If you have a collapsed downtown, the city goes bankrupt.”
Winnipeggers can make their voices heard by taking the survey at downtownrecovery.ca.