As playoff hockey takes over the city, people around the world will once again be watching the infamous Winnipeg Whiteout. Making sure the city looks its best on national TV takes a lot of work, but downtown crews are up to the task.
Downtown Winnipeg Biz, Communications Manager Tineke Buiskool-Leeuwma says crews are working seven days a week to prepare.
“Right now there’s a huge effort on the spring clean-up, so that includes pressure-washing our sidewalks and litter picking,” Buiskool-Leeuwma said.
She said the BIZ has crews working day and night, and is hiring more people to make the downtown welcoming for fans taking in the playoff street parties.
While the spring melt often reveals a good deal of trash and sand left from winter, Take Pride Winnipeg’s 2019 Litter Index found downtown to be the cleanest place in the city.
“They have crews that go out throughout the winter, however there still is litter on the street and we still would like to get it all cleaned up before Wednesday for the whiteout parties’ start,” Take Pride Winnipeg’s Tom Ethans said.
Some people who work downtown told Global News the city is in need of a good spring cleaning, especially with the first of the Whiteout Street parties planned for Wednesday.
“It’s actually pretty messy in our back lanes and they could do a lot better to clean that up,” John Williams said.
“I think they’ll be ready and I think this is pretty normal for Winnipeg, especially this time of the year,” Dawna Marks said.
The City of Winnipeg says crews will be doing sidewalk cleanup and litter control overnight to help ensure the downtown is ready for when the puck drops on the Winnipeg Jets playoffs.
WATCH: Whiteout party zones will collectively hold up to 25K fans
Comments