The Forks

Winnipeggers have been very protective of The Forks and how it is has grown. The area surrounding as well as had its controversies. The Goldeyes stadium, the Provencher pedestrian bridge and the Human Rights Museum had people question their need, their cost, their placement and the people who were behind them.

The Forks has no real one founder. Lloyd Axworthy helped hasten the land to be available but the plans were all our ideas. There was some debate and doubt on the site but there seemed more goodwill to see things through. In other words naysayers were in a minority and there seemed common cause from all three levels of government and well as small and medium business. Think everyone can agree a large corporate presence has been largely absent save for sponsorship of events and the stage.

Hardly anyone thinks of The Forks as downtown but it is. While not completely devoid of issues, most think of The Forks as a place to visit and enjoy themselves. For the biggest events like Festival du Voyageur and Pride, the area is packed with people.

There are two sections left adjacent to The Forks for development this year and once again in 2019, we are being very protective of the area as a whole. We've more or less done it right and previously chased away a small hotel group from opening there that was walked onto Council floor.

I'm reasonably confident that we are all on the ball looking out for the best interests of the site and that the last section of The Forks will be a success.