South Red River access study, search for a river spirit

Abstract

This practicum addresses the current lack of opportunities within Winnipeg for residents to safely and easily travel from their neighborhoods, to the riverbank, river's edge and even onto the river surface if they so choose. The study focuses on the south end of the city, along the Red River, in exploring the notion of developing the existing inventory of publicly owned riverbank properties, as river access sites. Analysis of existing opportunities, within the context of relevant design and site selection criteria, lead to a recommended twenty (20) proposed river access sites within the study area. Two of these sites were then selected for detailed design proposals, representing the variety of sites found along the Red River and demonstrating the potential of these under-utilized properties. Relevant planning and design issues were researched and distilled into summary guidelines, which were applied to the two demonstration sites through the design proposals. The result is two very distinct solutions to increasing the physical connectivity between the river's edge and adjacent residential neighborhoods and in turn, fostering a greater understanding, enjoyment and spiritual awareness of river environments within our community.