Gillingham calls for redevelopment of Winnipeg's Graham Avenue transit corridor

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham wants to transform Graham Avenue as part of a package of proposals he hopes will get more people living downtown.

"The future of the centre of our city really depends on increasing the number of people living in the downtown," Gillingham said during a news conference at the corner of Kennedy Street and Graham.

"We simply cannot rely on office workers or visitors to support local businesses in the centre of our city anymore."

Last month, Gillingham promised to speed up the implementation of the city's transit master plan, which calls for moving buses off of Graham, which currently serves as a major transit thoroughfare, onto Portage Avenue.

On Thursday, Gillingham said he wants to hold public consultations to gather ideas on what the future of Graham should look like.

"I can envision this becoming a vibrant two-way street that has a mix of towers and smaller scale local services," Gillingham said.

"But the consultation process will ensure that we're ready to make traffic improvements and investments in Graham Ave., even before the transit route changes take place."

Other aspects of Gillingham's downtown plan have been announced previously, including his commitment to launch a new tender for a contractor to construct affordable housing over Portage Place.

A previous proposal to redevelop the shopping centre failed last year when Toronto-based Starlight Investments pulled out. Despite tens of millions of dollars in incentives offered by the city and provincial governments, a federal aid package was never finalized.

If elected mayor, Gillingham said he would make sure all levels of government are on side before the contract goes to tender.

Gillingham is one of 11 people running to be Winnipeg's next mayor on Oct. 26. The other candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Kevin Klein, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Glen Murray, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Rick Shone, and Don Woodstock.