3 days ago
Former docks site to become ‘lush urban oasis,' Forks says
It's been more than a decade since Winnipeg's Alexander Docks closed for good, and plans are now underway to turn the site into a riverside park.
The Forks announced plans for the site Thursday, which is set to include gathering and recreational spaces and dedicated ceremonial areas. The site will also feature a new waterbus stop and a dock for canoes, kayaks and other watercraft.
Also being preserved is a memorial for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, which has been in place since 2014. Family members and community advocates were consulted on this element of the new park, which began with public consultations dating back to 2016.
'Alexander Docks will become one of Winnipeg's great riverfront parks — a place for everyone to gather, reflect and enjoy the water,' Mayor Scot Gillingham said in a statement.
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'The Forks has a strong record of developing and managing outstanding public spaces that connect with Winnipeggers, and I'm confident they'll do the same here.'
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An artist's rendering of the reimagined Alexander Docks site. The Forks Winnipeg
Redevelopment costs are estimated at $10.8 million, with funding coming from public and private sources and spearheaded by the Forks Foundation.
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'We are not just rebuilding a dock. This will be a new park that will restore beauty and joy to this part of the waterfront,' said The Forks' president and CEO, Sara Stasik.
'This team is rebuilding a place for people, a lush urban oasis for everyone in our community to enjoy.'
The former Alexander Docks opened in 1929 on the western bank of the Red River and was closed in 2015 amid a decline in river traffic.
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