Winnipeg | Downtown | The Forks Market | Railside at The Forks

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Theres literally no space along the southwest transitway to build a rail yard and maintenance facility. Building an elevated facility along Main St downtown will never happen. There's not adequate space and that is a terrible use of land for whats a blank slate along that stretch of Main St.

The only possible place I can see it at the Brandon transit facility with some type of repurposing of land, if cn and/or via want to play ball. Sorry to derail this thread.

It's Sammy's fault.

He royalty screwed the BRT.

[NewIreland]

Will sound crazy now, but what about the Brenda dog park area as a future LRT maintenance facility if the Southwest Transitway ever gets converted to rail?

It already has transit infrastructure, hydro corridors, and enough separation from downtown that it actually makes sense strategically. Could even deck parts of it over with housing long term like other cities do.

[bon_vivant]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

Judging by the amount of obese people in Winnipeg, it is a win-win.

[Sheepish]

"Sorry to derail this thread." Funny!
Certainly would be a win for the Forks to have Union Station as hub for the BRT. Sooner the better frankly.

[bomberjet]

The dog park is mostly Hydro land though..

Originally Posted by Sheepish

"Sorry to derail this thread." Funny!

ba zing haha. I'm here all day!

[bomberjet]

The facilities don't need to be huge. But you need some land and there is none immediately adjacent to the BRT corridor. Repurposing of the Fort Rouge garage to LRT vehicles would make the most sense. but would need another bus depot built somewhere else. It all sounds very expensive TBH haha. And we know how that goes in Winnipeg.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Would the crappy Bell office warehouse, the McD's and Co-op be enough space?

[EdwardTH]

There are parking lots beside Seel & Clarence stations. Hell at this rate there will probably still be lots of land available at Southwood Circle when the time comes.

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The facilities don't need to be huge. But you need some land and there is none immediately adjacent to the BRT corridor. Repurposing of the Fort Rouge garage to LRT vehicles would make the most sense. but would need another bus depot built somewhere else. It all sounds very expensive TBH haha. And we know how that goes in Winnipeg.

Any of the Chevrier/Clarence industrial manufacturing businesses/warehouses that are currently served by rail could easily serve as a LRT maintenance yard if they shut down operations, or the city bought them out. It wouldn't take much to reroute the rail line from CN to the Blue line.

Edmonton's Capital Line south extension includes a maintenance/storage yard just off Anthony Henday, in a suburban greenfield. If ever the Blue line gets run to St Norbert, there could be options for greenfield rail yards south of the La Salle river, like the city's tree nursery that is still inside the floodway.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead

Would the crappy Bell office warehouse, the McD's and Co-op be enough space?

Maybe. Access 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 though.

Originally Posted by EdwardTH

There are parking lots beside Seel & Clarence stations. Hell at this rate there will probably still be lots of land available at Southwood Circle when the time comes.

Lmao fair enough. The parking lots though are on hydro land again.

Originally Posted by WildCake

Any of the Chevrier/Clarence industrial manufacturing businesses/warehouses that are currently served by rail could easily serve as a LRT maintenance yard if they shut down operations, or the city bought them out. It wouldn't take much to reroute the rail line from CN to the Blue line.

Edmonton's Capital Line south extension includes a maintenance/storage yard just off Anthony Henday, in a suburban greenfield. If ever the Blue line gets run to St Norbert, there could be options for greenfield rail yards south of the La Salle river, like the city's tree nursery that is still inside the floodway.

I suppose some of that industrial land to the west of the hydro corridor along Chevrier, etc could be converted to transit use. In general they arrangement is not ideal for railway geometry, even with the tighter LRT curvature. Running the trains out to St Norbert where the transitway does not function to me is a non starter.

I heard PTI may be moving from it's location, so that'd be a possible location on Rockman St. Again we're dreaming here about all this LRT stuff. So Transit spending money proactively on something like this is not likely to happen.

I agian apologize for polutting this thread. Maybe a mod can move this to the transit thread.

[Wpg_Guy]

Live cam:

Railside at The Forks


Screen shot 05/27/2026:

[Wpg_Guy]

The Forks celebrates decade of hospitality at The Common
By: Aaron Epp
Tuesday, Jun. 9, 2026



A boat tour at The Forks — but first, food from Fergies and drinks from The Common.

Heather Dyck and Brent Cranwill’s Tuesday afternoon agenda included those items as the Winnipeg couple entertained friends from Edmonton.

Dyck and Cranwill say they visit The Forks around six times a year.

“It depends how many times she volunteers at the fringe festival,” Cranwill said between bites of his fish and chips, seated on The Common’s patio. “If she has (a commitment) here, we always come to eat and have a beer.”

The addition of The Common — the beer and wine kiosk in The Forks Market food hall — in 2016 and The Outdoor Common three years later was a positive move for one of Winnipeg’s best-known tourist destinations, Dyck said.


MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS

The Common’s rotating menu continues to include a curated list of 23 wines plus 24 craft beers.
“I think it encourages people to eat outside in nature,” she said.

It’s been 10 years since The Common opened following a $2.5-million renovation of The Forks Market food hall. The Forks marked the milestone Tuesday evening with a celebration that included live music, a photo booth and drink specials.

Providing a welcoming place for people to gather is what it’s all about, said Chrystle McIntosh, director of people, culture and hospitality at The Forks.

“What I’ve really loved about it is seeing how this space has changed — how we truly have transformed to being a destination for locals as well as tourists,” said McIntosh, who was hired in 2015 to help get The Common up and running.

“I love how people can just come here and be. You don’t have to spend a single dime. You can just sit and relax and enjoy.”

When The Common opened as part of the revitalization of The Forks Market by Number Ten Architectural Group, it introduced a new way for people to experience the site. Visitors could grab a bite to eat from one of The Forks’ vendors and pair it with a glass of one of 20 wines or 20 craft beers.

Since The Forks Market was now licensed, visitors could even wander throughout both floors with a beer or a glass of wine in hand.

McIntosh remembers the first day The Common opened. She’d hired six or seven bartenders and she wasn’t sure if they’d have enough work to do. But the kiosk soon became a popular destination. Today, it employs 25 bartenders during peak season.

A sommelier trains the team and curates “a really thoughtful list” of wines, McIntosh said.

“We certainly never intended for The Common to be the destination,” McIntosh said. “It was to enhance our existing food vendors that we have in the market and to just add and elevate the experience of people that were already coming here.”

Creating “a fun and approachable space” for people to get to know wine was also part of the original vision, she added.

The Common’s rotating menu continues to include a curated list of 23 wines plus 24 craft beers, nearly a dozen of which are local. The menu also includes non-alcoholic and gluten-free options.

The kiosk’s in-house craft beer curator, Hailey Tennant, manages the beer list, while wine expert (and Free Press literary editor and wine columnist) Ben Sigurdson curates the wine menu.

The Forks Market extended beverage service outside when it opened The Outdoor Common in 2019. Today, it includes 450 seats, making it the largest licensed outdoor patio in Manitoba and one of the largest in Western Canada.

McIntosh would not disclose how much The Common makes each year, but did say it’s a significant revenue generator for The Forks, which receives 3.8 million visitors annually.

“(It) certainly has been transformative for The Forks,” McIntosh said.

Rylee Harvey, who manages the Mini Donuts Factory next to The Common, agrees.

“They’re keeping business here, for real,” said Harvey, who has worked at the vendor for the past decade. “They make a lot of money between the outside bar and the inside bar.”

That has ultimately meant more business for the Mini Donuts Factory, she said. “It kind of helped because it encouraged people to stay here later.”


MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS

The Common is a significant revenue generator for The Forks, which receives 3.8 million visitors annually.

Free Press

[neutroniks]

Wow it's been a decade already? I remember when it first opened, and those first 3 years, the Common was completed packed every day (it still is), and those peak years before Covid were amazing. Was (and still is) a great place to bring out of towners.

[Biff]

I know this has been talked about before, but at what point can we call the river walk at the Forks a failure. It is a super popular attraction and is used well...when it isn't under water.

I get it, we just has a massive deluge of rain in the past week, but this seems to occur more often nowadays. Most cities with popular river walks have them situated at a level that doesn't flood.

I also get that Winnipeg doesn't have a lot of money for "fancy" things, but maybe it is time to think of using sheet piling to bring up the level of the riverwalk to a height so that it can be used all summer.

[rivercity]

^ Couldnt agree more. And paved.

[bomberjet]

Yup. Git'r done.

I know the permitting for the floodway is that it's not to be used for nuisance flooding, or something like that. I wonder if that could be amended if the river walk is raised to a certain level.

[Wpg_Guy]

I've never heard Parks Canada or The Forks themselves raise this as a priority issue. Those two prominent stakeholders would almost certainly need to lead the push, because elevating the riverwalk would require a very large public funding commitment. That said, it's worth noting that the current design is intentional. The Forks riverwalk was deliberately built at a lower level to connect people closely with the water and to allow for the natural seasonal flooding that has always happened on the Red and Assiniboine.

I do think it’s time for a serious, targeted investment in the riverwalk itself — replacing broken stonework, repairing or replacing benches and lighting, and much better ongoing maintenance to keep the weeds and overgrowth under control. Those upgrades would make a big difference in how the space looks and feels during the times it isn’t underwater, and they’d be far more realistic to achieve in the near term.

[bomberjet]

It would cost millions of dollars obviously. But it's rather simplistic to install. You vibe sheets into the ground. Could probably be done in winter. And just backfill it with gravel. For drainage you cut/leave opening at the top of the wall. Paving the walkway part seen as optional IMO. It's doable just needs to be a priority as was mentioned.

[drew]

^ but then would you end up with straight rusty steel sided "cliffs" along the edge of the path? Would you then need railings? it would still flood in the spring and all that stuff would get ripped apart.

Kind of dangerous and ugly IMO. Probably some environmental/erosion considerations to that as well.

It's a wild river. Maybe the path needs to be brought up further - but use the existing flow relief mechanisms we already have in place first.

[bomberjet]

Ya I don't know how that all would work. You're right though, seems complex with the ice and flooding problems. Probably need to be some kind of concrete railing/barrier. The steel corrosion thing I wouldn't be worried about. Pretty standard detail of steel use for ports.