State of the City Address

"We are going through a period of renewal and revitalization. Our city is literally changing before our eyes," said Sam Katz at the annual State of the City Address earlier today.

Katz pointed to the arrival of Ikea and the creation of 2,000 new living units in downtown, as well as the renovations of the Metropolitan theatre (all happened in the past year) to illustrate how Winnipeg is becoming a more vibrant city.

As a young Winnipegger who works, goes to school, and hangs out in the city's core, I love the changes that have been happening. I have begun to feel safer in our downtown because I do see more people around. I used to be hesitant to walk from a friend's house on Broadway to my Graham Avenue bus stop alone late at night. But these days, as I am more likely to see young folks like me just trying to get home safe than people I feel are threatening my safety, I'm not too concerned.

I was happy to hear Katz say more development will be seen in the future. The city plans to speed the process for getting building inspections and permits, and make it easier for businesses to move into Winnipeg.

Revitalizing the downtown is not only good for people who like to or need to be in the area, it is also an important step in stopping urban sprawl. Many Winnipeggers I speak with (including myself) move to suburbs to get away from high levels of crime in the downtown area. By creating condos, restaurants, theatres, and other amenities in the downtown, people will be drawn to the area and crime could be pushed out, making building houses outside the city on arable land unnecessary.

However, I would have liked to have heard Katz speak about how he plans to deal with high rates of crime. Pushing it out of the downtown just means residential areas of the city will have higher crime rates. I live on the boarder of River Heights and Tuxedo. I moved there from a more centrally located apartment in West Broadway to escape the crime I heard going on outside my window at night. In the past year I have had many notices slipped under my door by the rental company warning me about car and bikes thefts, and men flashing people, all right outside my apartment. Living in an area where you worry about your safety can be very stressful, and I can't imagine the levels of stress that could be caused by living somewhere more dangerous than West Broadway.

In the coming year Katz said the city will start using a proportion of property taxes to pay for infrastructure updates, crack down on illegal dumping of garbage, and find a way to stop losing $1 million annually running golf courses.