Are you proud of your city? It’s a serious question and one that we all need to ask ourselves from time to time. If the answer is “yes” then that’s a good thing. If it’s “no” then we need to ask why not.
Typically our answers will oscillate from one to the other. We’re certainly proud of some aspects of Winnipeg but when it comes to the look of parts of the city, not so much. The potential closing of businesses due to crime doesn’t help.
Our downtown has been a sore spot for decades and continues to be so. We can only hope that recent acquisitions by the Manitoba Metis Federation and the Southern Chiefs will bear fruit in the years to come. That’s a wait and see.
Meanwhile, partly thanks to COVID-19 and mostly due to other factors, Winnipeggers are reluctant to embrace the downtown area as they did once upon a time. As for residential areas we have some of the most beautiful in Canada. Wellington Crescent, despite what one may think of the modern houses that have replaced the heritage structures,remains one of this country’s jewels.
There are many other neighbourhoods worth driving through for a look. Others, though? Well, yeah. Empty houses present a poor image and attract vandalism and other crimes.
Back in mid-March a man was shot and later died from his wounds in one of those houses, which continues to see fires set. Mayor Scott Gillingham is hoping to be able to ameliorate the problem by disposing of some vacant lots to not-for-profit groups but a m.