A pair of mayoral hopefuls shared more on how they plan to improve Winnipeg if they become mayor in the October election. Incumbent Scott Gillingham wants to make it easier to attract major investments by creating a Winnipeg Growth Office (Winnipeg GO). “New investment—large and small, public or private—often goes to cities that can say ‘Yes’ faster than the others,” Gillingham said in a news release. “Winnipeg must be shovel-ready to grow to a million people, and to get there we need to bring scattered people and plans together into a single unit at city hall.” Winnipeg GO would be responsible for keeping track of ready-to-go projects to give a quick confirmation when funding is available, work closely with Winnipeg Economic Development and Tourism, work on how to improve processes for certain sectors, help businesses navigate through city processes, and help ensure all economic information is available for projects. The office would be made up of redeployed employees plus up to six new full-time hires. “Winnipeg GO will do for business and city growth what our housing team did to deliver record housing growth,” Gillingham said. “Bring the right people together, give them a clear mandate and focus on getting things done.” Meanwhile, Don Woodstock is focused on improving Winnipeg roads, saying neglected road surfaces cause thousands of dollars in damaged vehicles for Winnipeggers. “Every year, Winnipeggers pay premium property taxes only to navigate an endless maze of orange cones, broken pavement, and pothole-ridden streets that ruin tires and destroy suspensions,” Woodstock said in a news release. “The hard-working road crews and equipment operators are not to blame; they work tirelessly in brutal heat and freezing temperatures. The failure lies entirely with city hall for refusing to set clear, enforceable standards and failing to hold contractors accountable.” To improve the situation, Woodstock said he would ban site hopping for contractors and would want roads to be torn up using industrial cold-milling machines. He also wants city crews to be responsible for replacing sidewalks and curb cuts, have city public inspectors be the ones to sign off on any road renewal and concrete pours, require on-site concrete recycling, and have contractors absorb any cost overruns. Woodstock would make it so all underground utilities are inspected and repaired before resurfacing begins and put a five-year cutting ban on all new roads.
