Weeds, Community Priorities & Actions

Lots to cover in this post so I’ll start with some facts. Facts enable a better perspective on the big picture & help educate people who need a bit more context to a situation. While I’ve shared this information in the past (probably every year) it’s good to provide a refresher post. 

Double the Greenspace:

The Neighbourhoods of Bridgwater are very unique in the City of Winnipeg.

• There is no other neighbourhood in the entire City that has the amount of park and natural greenspace dedicated for public use that all the Neighbourhoods of Bridgwater have. No other neighbourhoods.

When development of a new neighbourhood occurs, developers are required to give (dedicate) up to 10 % of the land as greenspace for public use. This greenspace can be used for parks, green walkway corridors and forests.

• I’ve been involved in a lot of development in Winnipeg over the years and have never ever ever seen a developer give more than their required amount EXCEPT for Manitoba Housing & Renewal Corporation (MHRC).

For those that don’t know, MHRC is a department within the Provincial government, and has a division that does land development. When MHRC decided to develop the Neighbourhoods of Bridgwater they decided to give (dedicate) 20% to greenspace for parks, green walkway corridors and forests.  The Neighbourhoods of Bridgwater represents the largest residential development ever undertaken by the Manitoba Housing Renewal Corporation (MHRC). MHRC provided double the required greenspace to enable a higher sale price for lots. The revenue generated was then reinvested in ‘areas of need’ in Winnipeg.

City-Wide Priorities Shape Local Services

The City conducts many surveys reaching out to citizens to hear how what priorities are important to them to improve quality of life in Winnipeg. SEE: photo & Citizen Satisfaction Survey.  Councillors meet with citizens to hear what is important to them. Budgets are formed annually and tax dollars are directed to citizens priorities.

• Citizens are demanding funding be directed to fixing roads, reducing crime & addressing homelessness. So during the budget development, tax revenues are focused on roadwork, police and emergency services.

These three areas encompass a huge part of the City’s overall budget.  In addition, the City’s top priority is to upgrade the almost 100 year old sewage treatment plant –  which is costing in the billions – yes, billions. If we can’t flush the toilet, or grow our city  – we will have even bigger problems.

In the Waverley West ward:

• The majority of our streets are in very good condition: Street Condition Map
• While we do have crime, we have some of the lowest crime rates in the city: Crime Maps
• And we’ve had one encampment in the University Heights area – which I worked with area residents and emergency services to have people placed in housing – and the camp removed from the riverbank.

So, our taxes are being use to repair roads in areas that need repair, to support policing and to support major infrastructure projects, like the sewer treatment plant.

Park Maintenance Budget: Not Keeping Up

The City has not increased its parks operating / maintenance budget significantly – in years. The average increase is around $500,000 a year. (see photo) Yet, much new development has occur (Sage Creek, Ridgewood South, Amber Trails, etc.) resulting in hundreds of hectares of greenspace being added and requiring maintenance.

• WHY hasn’t the city increased funding to the parks maintenance budget by a significant amount in years? City-wide priorities direct significant funding to repairing roads, policing and emergency services – city wide.
• As we all live in one city – all taxes are directed city wide – not just into the area they come from. 

Private Property & Proactive Education

By-law staff receive hundreds of calls city-wide related to weeds, garbage and other neighbourhood livability issues.

• My office is being proactive in assisting the by-law officers on our local issues. This year alone we’ve sent out over 150+ ‘educational letters’ to residents who are not maintaining their yards – informing them about the by-laws and requesting them to maintain their yards.
• We know many people are not aware that they need to maintain their yards to a certain standard. The city operates on a complaint based system, and if you see unmaintained yards, please contact 311 or email my office and we will reach out to the homeowner.

Looking Ahead: Sustainable Solutions Needed

We have over 150+ shrub / planter beds in the Neighbourhoods.  No other neighbourhood in the city has 150+ shrub / planter beds. This year I’ve organized two additional crews to do weeding throughout the summer, in addition to the city parks staff:

• Green Team: I’ve partnered with the Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association and we have 6 green team youth focusing on vegetation management in our high profile parks.
• Neighbourhood Action Team: This is the first year we have access to a team of 6 city staff who are doing a variety of initiatives in the ward – a kind of a ‘swat team’ for specific issues. We have organized them to do weeding as one of the initiatives.
• City Parks Staff:  do come out and weed and trim pathways – FYI – we have 30 kms of pathways (again the most in any neighbourhood in Winnipeg)

While I’ve pulled together an additional two groups to help on vegetation management for this year, and aim to continue to work with these additional groups for future years, we need to find a more sustainable solution to deal with all these shrub / planter beds.  I’m in discussions with the parks department to look at more sustainable ways to deal with the 150+ shrub / planter beds.  They are looking at options for us to consider and I will keep you updated.