Winnipeg | Forks Redevelopment | Parcel 4 - Rail Side Initiative | Proposals

[Atrial78]

I believe the Northwest region is also looking at a line linking Vancouver - Seattle - Portland. Regarding HSR, I think Manitoba is better off focusing on intracity transit unless costs for HSR drop in the future. Winnipeg could have a good light rail system.

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

High speed rail linking Winnipeg to cities like Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, etc will never happen. There is simply not enough demand for it to be economically viable.

The only two lines currently being discussed, is the Alberta Corridor (Edmonton to Calgary, with a stop in Red Deer), and the line from Windsor to Quebec city, with stops in Toronto and Montreal.

With the ridiculous population growth Canada is experiencing I wouldn’t say it will never happen. Of course there’s only 2 lines being discussed, but it shouldn’t end in those 2 regions.

Especially if we can get the US involved then Winnipeg-Fargo-Minneapolis-Madison/Milwaukee-Chicago all of a sudden makes HSR a lot more feasible here. Then if Calgary wants any sort of connection to the US they damn sure aren’t going through Montana, and the Rockies pose too much of a barrier to really make Calgary-Kelowna-Vancouver-US West coast any more feasible then cruising through the flat prairies.

Even with that being said, imo it’s inevitable that a future prime minister will one day say fuck being economically viable I want to provide a first-world country public service for people who live in Canada’s most important cities.

It’s easy to say not in our lifetimes, but my theory is that at some point in the next 2-3 decades there will be a technological revolution that significantly cuts costs and construction time.

AI and Automation are just getting started after all. Who knows what feats we are truly capable of when these technologies mature…

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by lotw_wpg

Rumour is they are starting next spring. Possibly sooner. Let's see what happens in the fall.

I really hope so for this seems glacial.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

With the ridiculous population growth Canada is experiencing I wouldn’t say it will never happen. Of course there’s only 2 lines being discussed, but it shouldn’t end in those 2 regions.

Especially if we can get the US involved then Winnipeg-Fargo-Minneapolis-Madison/Milwaukee-Chicago all of a sudden makes HSR a lot more feasible here. Then if Calgary wants any sort of connection to the US they damn sure aren’t going through Montana, and the Rockies pose too much of a barrier to really make Calgary-Kelowna-Vancouver-US West coast any more feasible then cruising through the flat prairies.

Even with that being said, imo it’s inevitable that a future prime minister will one day say fuck being economically viable I want to provide a first-world country public service for people who live in Canada’s most important cities.

It’s easy to say not in our lifetimes, but my theory is that at some point in the next 2-3 decades there will be a technological revolution that significantly cuts costs and construction time.

AI and Automation are just getting started after all. Who knows what feats we are truly capable of when these technologies mature…

Yeah I think that’s not an impossibility. Saying that hsr would never be viable in the prairies assumes that we won’t have any innovation at all, which is truly shocking considering how fast technology has progressed in the last century.

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

I really hope so for this seems glacial.

Everybody's slamming this project for taking so long but the U of M has been sitting on that golf course land since what, 2011? Those parking lots have been parking lots for 3 decades, they can stay that way for a few more years if it means development is done right. Patience people.

[Biff]

The parking lots wont be going anywhere (just to clarify). All of the development will happen on the north side of Sifton and north of the stadium.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by Biff

The parking lots wont be going anywhere (just to clarify). All of the development will happen on the north side of Sifton and north of the stadium.

To indulge the digression real quick, the parking lots there should be developped and they should construct parkades to offset the loss of parking. Honestly, with the amount of money they bring in for what they charge students for parking, they could probably afford a parkade or two...

[bomberjet]

I believe the parking lots being referred to by EdwardTH are at the Forks, not U of M. Phase 1 of railside is only for a small portion at the south end. So the parking lots will indeed remain for another decade or three.

[lotw_wpg]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

I really hope so for this seems glacial.

The survey says they are starting in a couple of months and I was told they were looking for a spring start time for the developers. So prepare for a new forks in two years' time.

[Biff]

I heard the first good news on Railside in over 8 years this week. Apparently they are finally ready to proceed.

Two of the 7 developers said that they hope to start in spring 2024. They are blowing the dust of their plans and will be working on them this fall.

[WinCitySparky]

Nice!

[drew]

Originally Posted by Biff

I heard the first good news on Railside in over 8 years this week. Apparently they are finally ready to proceed.

Two of the 7 developers said that they hope to start in spring 2024. They are blowing the dust of their plans and will be working on them this fall.

I wonder if this is partially to get the permit submission in prior to the new 2020 Building Code coming into effect...

[Wpg_Guy]

There was lots of underground work happening on those lots through the summer

[wags_in_the_peg]

would "designs" from 8 yrs ago change? i'm thinking what was popular in finishes is quite a bit diferent than today.

[lotw_wpg]

From what I heard, they are supposedly starting this fall. I don't think it'll happen that quickly, considering the paperwork was filed in August from what I heard. I bet we will see all or majority of the builds starting this spring.

[thebasketballgeek]

Very exciting news. Besides what Wags stated I am also curious if the scale and layout of the project has changed from the original plan. Would love if they make a street wall on Izzy Asper Way and York Ave for starters instead of that peculiar 45° orientation in the current proposals.

Also I know “human scale” is the current trend but I would also like to see some 10+ storey midrises to complement the 4-6 story buildings that will be mostly prominent on the site. Especially with Union Station being a future transit hub we need to reach a critical ridership for improved transit ridership.

[Biff]

Only 4 to 6 storeys in the first phase. Maybe in the next phases we could see something taller, but I would doubt it.

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by Biff

Only 4 to 6 storeys in the first phase. Maybe in the next phases we could see something taller, but I would doubt it.

Very doubtful that the future phases will even exceed 6 storeys.

I really hope we're mistaken though.

[wags_in_the_peg]

a whole village of 4-6 stories would be ideal! so many people still have the "Forks is dangerous" stigmatism, that needs to change!

[pegster]

Is there any hope for development on the Main Street side of the rails, next to Friskee Pearl, etc, or is this just the Forks side?