Ping pong tables, art installations coming to Graham Avenue as part of pilot project

Graham Avenue will soon become a pedestrian corridor between Carlton and Garry Streets. Taylor Brock explains what will be coming to the street.

Vehicles are rolling out of Graham Avenue alongside the rollout of a new pilot project meant to reimagine the busy downtown street as a vibrant pedestrian hub.

Starting June 29, four blocks of Graham Avenue in downtown Winnipeg will be vehicle-free, as most buses will be moved off the roadway as part of the city’s new primary transit master plan.

“When these changes are in place, Graham will be more colourful, more dynamic, more pedestrian-friendly—one more reason for people to visit, explore and enjoy downtown,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said at a news conference launching the placemaking pedestrian pilot project on Monday.

The project will shut down Graham Avenue to all vehicle traffic from Vaughan and Garry streets and add pedestrian-friendly amenities and new protected bike lanes over the next three weeks.

When the transformation is complete, Graham Avenue visitors can expect street furniture designed by a local architecture firm, new landscaping, picnic tables, ping pong tables, benches, lighting, art installations, and murals.

The changes are the result of public consultations carried out over the last two years.

“We heard you want Graham to focus on pedestrians and be a lively destination, to make Graham a signature street in our downtown,” explained Hazel Borys, the city’s director of planning, property and development.

It’s hoped this will also leverage the draw of existing institutions along Graham like Manitoba Hydro, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and True North Square.

The pilot was part of the 2025 city budget and comes with a $250,000 price tag. The project’s murals also got a $100,000 windfall thanks to a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative.

Pilot part of sweeping changes coming to downtown Winnipeg

The city said the changes are the first of many steps in its push to reimagine Graham Avenue as part of CentrePlan 2050—a blueprint developed to revitalize downtown Winnipeg over the next 25 years through infrastructure and investment.

It is also one in a series of ambitious changes coming to downtown Winnipeg in the coming days, including the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrian traffic on Friday and the launch of the Winnipeg Transit overhaul on Sunday—the largest modernization of the city’s transit system in over 60 years.

“Each of these projects moves us closer to the kind of downtown that we all want, that we all envision—a downtown that is more vibrant, more connected, more welcoming, and ultimately, more people-focused,” Gillingham said.

- With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele