A new multi-use entertainment complex, the True North Centre, is currently under construction in downtown Winnipeg on the site of the former Eaton’s building. Before construction of the complex could begin, a number of approvals were applied for and granted by the City of Winnipeg. Among the application supporting documents was a review of transportation issues related to the proposed facility. A common public perception was that there is insufficient parking and traffic capacity to support this type of facility in downtown Winnipeg. ND LEA examined traffic, parking, transit and pedestrian issues to report on the actual situation as opposed to the perceptions. This paper looks at specific issues that were evaluated for the True North Centre from the perspective of fitting a facility of this nature into a well-established downtown area. For patrons of a multi-use entertainment complex, parking is a primary consideration that can affect the viability of a facility. Patrons are looking for parking that is available close to their destination, easy to access and reasonably priced. One of the primary obstacles that needed to be overcome with the True North Centre was the perception that a large supply of reasonably priced, accessible parking was not available close to the proposed facility. To overcome perceptions regarding parking at a downtown entertainment complex, the proponents had to take advantage of inherit excess capacity in the downtown system that would be available during off-peak hours. Numerous concerns were also raised that streets would be overcapacity if a large facility were built in the downtown instead of a suburban location. The study identified excess capacity in the downtown arterial system that was built to handle weekday peak volumes. The paper will illustrate how the existing excess capacity can accommodate the expected demand with the new complex without requiring construction of new parking facilities or additional street capacity.
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