Winnipeg - Of Interest

[esquire]

Nice place! I had heard of it but hadn't actually ever seen pictures of it until now... for some reason I've never been invited over. Didn't the Royal Family stay there as guests on at least one of their previous visits to Manitoba?

$4 million seems like a steal of a deal for anyone used to Vancouver or Toronto prices.

[WildCake]

That house was listed somewhere in the 6-7 mil range last year into early this year.

[esquire]

From the water is wet file:


Staffing ‘critical’ at new permanent Main Street public washroom, city report advises

Vandalism, theft at portable sites seen as cautionary tale for desperately needed facility for vulnerable population

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/lo...575845462.html

A permanent public washroom at Main Street and Higgins Avenue is slated to open early in the new year, providing a desperately needed facility for vulnerable Winnipeggers, but there are concerns about the amount of cash needed to keep it safe and secure.

A new city report offers a blunt review of problems that plagued temporary portable facilities that the city began to set up 16 months ago. They were designed as the first step to provide public toilets to Winnipeggers in need.

The portable units were repeatedly subjected to vandalism, structural damage and fire, the report notes. Theft was also common; toilet-paper holders, urinals and exhaust piping were taken.

Renderings from a new city report that details the problems that plagued a temporary public washroom at Main Street and Higgins Avenue that the city began to set up 16 months ago.

"In two separate instances, units were set on fire with one requiring major repairs, and the other burning in its entirety," the report notes.

An overdose victim who died was discovered in one of the facilities.

Sponsors of the project and a contractor servicing the sites also reported vandalism to nearby buildings, discarded needles, extreme odour and verbal threats from people who were using the facilities or those in the immediate area.

It's sad but fairly predictable that a washroom meant to meet the needs of people on the North Main strip would be so heavily abused. I admire Wins Bridgman's dedication to his cause but at the same time I have to wonder about his naivete. You really can't just have a standalone public washroom in an area like that... it basically has to be a fully staffed social program if there's any hope for it to work.

[lbnevs]

Back to back: The $4M Richardson house and then the burnt husk of the homeless bathroom.

"Private affluence amid public squalor".

[bomberjet]

I saw that place for sale and thought who is this haha well.

I'm not sure how many of you get out to the Higgins, main, disraeli area. But my god it's just as bad and worse as is in the papers. That washroom was doomed. Great intentions. Terrible idea.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I saw that place for sale and thought who is this haha well.

I'm not sure how many of you get out to the Higgins, main, disraeli area. But my god it's just as bad and worse as is in the papers. That washroom was doomed. Great intentions. Terrible idea.

When you look at what happened there over the last 25 years, you have to scratch your head a little and wonder.

In the late 90s the powers that be did not like the image that the old hotels projected on North Main, so every effort was made to shut them down and in some cases demolish them. Higgins and Main used to be nerve centre for those establishments but now there are hardly any left.

The area never really improved all that much... maybe it took a step or two in that direction, but basically all momentum was lost around the time the WRHA offices opened up. Since then, more social services have opened up directly on Main and of course their clients followed, so in terms of appearances, North Main looks way worse than it ever did when the old hotels were still operating. The City could have done nothing, kept its money and it would have probably been further ahead than it is now on the North Main front.

[buzzg]

The WRHA and United Way are responsible for the current condition of that area. Two organizations that probably claim to be helping the people around there the most are the ones who set up their ivory towers and destroyed it. The area was improving organically in the few years before both organizations tore down many small businesses to make way for their fortresses.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The WRHA and United Way are responsible for the current condition of that area. Two organizations that probably claim to be helping the people around there the most are the ones who set up their ivory towers and destroyed it. The area was improving organically in the few years before both organizations tore down many small businesses to make way for their fortresses.

The United Way of Winnipeg has basically become an arm of the provincial government. They have been tasked with implementing provincial mental health programs (you might ask why? We all should) that they have no expertise to implement as a form of government downloading to the non-profit sector. It's a disaster and a waste of money as the rollouts have been so inefficient, particularly the youth hubs.

[Labroco]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

The United Way of Winnipeg has basically become an arm of the provincial government. They have been tasked with implementing provincial mental health programs (you might ask why? We all should) that they have no expertise to implement as a form of government downloading to the non-profit sector. It's a disaster and a waste of money as the rollouts have been so inefficient, particularly the youth hubs.

While I personally feel both of these organizations should have located and build on side streets in the area, I will say the WRHA provides an excellent service for a wide range of the population.

My mother would drive there herself and park on Main Street for her doctor’s appointment until this year. ( Her licence has been put into abeyance but she is determined to take her test again. She is 97!) For someone who has the choice to go anywhere and is fussy by nature, she chooses the care provided there.

That says something to me about the vast majority of care provided in the facility.

[Biff]

I don't know how to post a video from Instagram, but Dan Harper has a great drone video of the CMHR testing new lighting on the cloud and it looks amazing.

danharperphoto
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXPlWhOAYyz/

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Biff

I don't know how to post a video from Instagram, but Dan Harper has a great drone video of the CMHR testing new lighting on the cloud and it looks amazing.

danharperphoto
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXPlWhOAYyz/

Yea got photos of it the other night

[Kris22]

About time they light it up properly! I always thought it was weird how it had such a low profile at night. Hopefully it's lit all the time and not just special occasions.

[1ajs]

Now if they would lightu up the bridge looks so dark now

[Wpg_Guy]

They did the lights last winter too, they were quite popular and complimented the light display though the grounds at The Forks.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

Now if they would lightu up the bridge looks so dark now

Seems like half was lit up and the other half not.

[Biff]

From diane_bbphoto on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXM0hNcgqBg/

[esquire]

^ Lovely. That's the first time I've seen a photo from that angle with a topped-out 300 Main in it.

On a related note, I appreciate how the MMF has decked out the old Bank of Montreal Building in Christmas lights. It adds a nice, bright festive touch.

[bomberjet]

Looks wonderful.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by Biff

From diane_bbphoto on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXM0hNcgqBg/

Look at that! 300 Main is so tall it literally reaches the clouds.

[esquire]

I'm not sure how long ago it was installed, but I see there is an ugly chain link fence around the entrance area to the Air Canada Building on Portage. It is a pretty jarring sight to see the kind of thing you would use to secure a junkyard around the entrance of a modern corporate office building.