\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"JOHN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4015281_web1_240422_douglas_garbage_16.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Garbage strewn along Waterfront Drive at Fort Douglas Park in Winnipeg. A new city report says nearly 12 per cent of the city\u2019s parks and open-space assets are in poor or very poor condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cAssets in poor or very poor condition may deliver services with reduced quality,\u201d writes Dave Domke, the city\u2019s manager of parks and open space, in the report.<\/p>\n
The ratings assess everything from pavilions to maintenance yards, trash cans, benches, fences, gates, picnic tables, play structures, sport fields and trees.<\/p>\n
In an interview, Domke acknowledged the portion of assets in the \u201cpoor to very poor\u201d category has remained stagnant for several years.<\/p>\n
He said tight city budgets limit how many items can be replaced each year, as park space grows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have enough funding for our parks, in general,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The report notes the city now has more than 370,000 park and open-space assets to maintain, including 3,270 hectares (8,100 acres) of parklands.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 255 additional hectares (555 acres) of land (that) we\u2019ve added to our inventory since 2012 and we haven\u2019t received a lot of additional funding as a result of that,\u201d said Domke.<\/p>\n
The removal of some aging assets is part of a city\u2019s parks strategy added in 2022.<\/p>\n
Domke said few changes have been made so far. The city is most likely to remove under-used assets where other options are located close by, he said.<\/p>\n
For example, the city expects to demolish the Harbourview Park and Recreation Complex buildings at Kilcona Park and replace them with something smaller, said Domke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d be looking at putting a pavilion out there with a smaller footprint that meets the needs of the immediate area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While some assets may be removed, he said Winnipeggers can still expect an overall increase in park amenities.<\/p>\n
A local green-space activist said she\u2019s not sure if the option to remove some deteriorating assets poses a concern, since there\u2019s little detail available on how that will play out.<\/p>\n
Pam Lucenkiw, a member of Outdoor Urban Recreational Spaces \u2013 Winnipeg, said she would like the city to increase its parks maintenance budget overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, the (city) should be investing more in maintaining their parks\u2026 for safety and maintenance (that) helps them last longer\u2026. they really are important to our climate-change response, they\u2019re important to preserving biodiversity,\u201d said Lucenkiw.<\/p>\n
The city typically spends between $1.7 million and $6.8 million per year on capital improvements at parks and open spaces, with separate funding for Assiniboine Park, the city report notes.<\/p>\n
Coun. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of community services, said the fact 11.6 per cent are in poor to very poor condition is a concern.<\/p>\n
Santos (Point Douglas) said she\u2019d like to see more parks spending but that budget must compete with many other spending priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we continue to grow out, these (assets continue to be added) to our portfolio, and it does become tough trying to balance\u2026 where we want to spend our dollars,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Mayor Scott Gillingham said that budget pressure is aggravated by the age of many recreation assets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City of Winnipeg, we\u2019re now (more than) 150 years old\u2026. We see that buildings in the parks, roads within parks, pathways within parks, even trees within parks, they\u2019re all at a certain age now. And, so, the need for investment is significant,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
The mayor said council should rank park maintenance in its next strategic priority action plan to help set the most appropriate budget. He hopes to start that process next year, if re-elected for another term on Oct. 28.<\/p>\n
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n