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buzzg · #**281** Posted **Oct 27, 2015, 11:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Strong

The downtowns of other Winnipeg cities don't count? No-one is supposed to have any interest in downtown renewal there?

BTW, smaller cities don't count as "rural."

According to the National Curriculum, a city is a settlement of 100,000+ people, meaning there is only one city in Manitoba.

esquire · #**282** Posted **Oct 27, 2015, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tacheguy

Far better to have to take a bus from Transcona to Charleswood

Yeah, I don't see how any place could be more convenient than the centre of the city. Unless you want to start duplicating services by putting them in different corners of the city? I guess this makes sense for things like QuickCare clinics, maybe not so much for the Department of Finance.

Riverman · #**283** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 12:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, I don't see how any place could be more convenient than the centre of the city.

You do mean less convenient, right?

North End, Elmwood, St. B, West End etc. Are the best places to locate government services. All easy to access from anywhere in the city and you can leave your car without worrying about it. Easy to get to by bus too.

Pinus · #**284** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 1:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riverman

You do mean less convenient, right?

North End, Elmwood, St. B, West End etc. Are the best places to locate government services. All easy to access from anywhere in the city and you can leave your car without worrying about it. Easy to get to by bus too.

Man, you really don't like anything downtown related at all, do you.

Urban recluse · #**285** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 1:21 AM**

I suppose this discussion should be continued in the construction thread? Subsequently, this thread will not have any discussion in it for a couple of years?

Roger Strong · #**286** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 1:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

According to the National Curriculum, a city is a settlement of 100,000+ people, meaning there is only one city in Manitoba.

In Manitoba an urban municipality must have a minimum population of 7,500 to be named a city. This according to Manitoba's Municipal Act.

Manitoba has 10 cities, if you count Flin Flon. (The Manitoba portion of Flin Flon alone used to qualify, but now you'd need to consider the whole city.)

esquire · #**287** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 3:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riverman

North End, Elmwood, St. B, West End etc. Are the best places to locate government services. All easy to access from anywhere in the city and you can leave your car without worrying about it. Easy to get to by bus too.

Inner suburbs are second place for the reasons you mention and might even be slightly more convenient for drivers, but taking into account the bigger picture... for sheer availability of bus routes, walking routes, AT routes parking spaces and proximity to the greatest number of people possible, nothing comes close to downtown.

buzzg · #**288** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 3:54 AM**

Calling anything under 50,000 people a city is dumb.

Roger Strong · #**289** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 5:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

Calling anything under 50,000 people a city is dumb.

I'd put the bar lower than that. Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Thompson and Steinbach are clearly cities.

Riverman · #**290** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 12:00 PM**

Selkirk too.

buzzg · #**291** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 4:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Strong

I'd put the bar lower than that. Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Thompson and Steinbach are clearly cities.

On a world scale, I would disagree.

Riverman · #**292** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 4:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinus

Man, you really don't like anything downtown related at all, do you.

Not the point and not about "liking". I find having to use services downtown very inconvenient compared to those not downtown.

Roger Strong · #**293** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 4:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

On a world scale, I would disagree.

On a world scale, Winnipeg wouldn't belong either.

But we're not talking about world scale. We're talking about Manitoba government offices.

esquire · #**294** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 4:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Strong

On a world scale, Winnipeg wouldn't belong either.

But we're not talking about world scale. We're talking about Manitoba government offices.

Ahem. According to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Winnipeg is listed as a "sufficiency" city... so while we may not be a Alpha/Beta/Gamma global city, we do make the honourable mention list

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2012t.html

Spocket · #**295** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Strong

On a world scale, Winnipeg wouldn't belong either.

But we're not talking about world scale. We're talking about Manitoba government offices.

Being in the developed world increases our status. That said, population-wise, Winnipeg isn't much of a city on a global scale. Still a city by any definition but barely a truck stop in terms of numbers. Thanks to our position in the developed world we get services and cultural amenities that simply couldn't be found in much larger centers in the less developed world.

All that said though, there's no definition I've ever seen that wouldn't classify Winnipeg as a city.

buzzg · #**296** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riverman

Not the point and not about "liking". I find having to use services downtown very inconvenient compared to those not downtown.

Maybe for you but the one area that is most convenient for the highest amount of people, it's downtown.

Riverman · #**297** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 9:28 PM**

Not about me. About where people live, and so few people live downtown.

esquire · #**298** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 9:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riverman

Not about me. About where people live, and so few people live downtown.

No matter where the services go, all but a tiny handful of people are going to have to drive/bus/walk/bike/taxi/etc. to get there, and no place is more convenient in that regard than downtown.

Roger Strong · #**299** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 10:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

No matter where the services go, all but a tiny handful of people are going to have to drive/bus/walk/bike/taxi/etc. to get there, and no place is more convenient in that regard than downtown.

That's probably true for bus and taxi.

For driving, downtown is LEAST convenient. I had to pay my ex's speeding ticket after loaning her the car. I'd rather spend an extra 10-15 minutes going to an office in the suburbs with ample free parking, than spend an extra 10-15 minutes roaming one-way streets downtown looking for a parking spot that not only do I have to pay for, but I have to arrange ahead of time to have the proper change for.

For walking and cycling, the downtown is no more in range for most people than any suburban location. And your bicycle is safer at a suburban location.

esquire · #**300** Posted **Oct 28, 2015, 11:42 PM**

^ Driving is the most convenient for suburban locations... provided that you live in proximity to the office. As I pointed out before, this works fine for services that are aimed directly at individuals, but not so great for administrative offices or other operations where you only have one office.

I mean, yes, parking would probably be easier for people visiting Land Titles or the Department of Labour if they were located out in Inkster Industrial Park or wherever, but it would be more of a pain to get to. Why would downtown even exist if it weren't because it was the most convenient place for people to gather to conduct business and administer government functions?

And which downtown lots still require exact change? I use my credit card nearly all the time, and on those rare occasions where I pay cash (typically parkades), I can get change from the attendant's booth.