Background: 
On September 1st, the City of Winnipeg will take over setting all speed limits within the City. In preparation for the changeover, the Public Works department has recommended the continuance of all existing speed limits. On June 25th, the Public Works Committee of Council considered this recommendation. Submissions proposing reduced speed limits were made by a number of groups, including Winnipeg Trails, Bike Winnipeg and Safe Speeds WPG. The Committee chose to accept the recommendation of continuing all existing speed limits, 4 to 1.

Come out on Tuesday July 9th and Make your Voice Heard if you want lower speed limits in Winnipeg: 
The next step in the process is the Executive Policy Committee (EPC) meeting on Tuesday July 9th at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall.   Among the members of that Committee is our councillor, Cindy Gilroy.  Come out to the EPC meeting on July 9th and make your voice heard. 

After that, the proposal goes to City Council on July 18, at 9:30 a.m.

Safe Speeds Winnipeg .. Sign the On-line Petition: 
 Check out Safe Speeds WPG ,  is a volunteer, grassroots organization that is urging the City to set default speed limits at 30 km/hr for residential roads and 40 km/hr for collector roads, together with a dedication of the $2.5 million in the Road Safety Budget (2019), along with any additional available funding, to support infrastructure for these new default speeds. The Safe Speeds website includes an online petition for Winnipeg residents. It also encourages us to contact our councillor  (with a downloadable letter) to support this change.

On June 10th , The Tree Town Hall in Wolseley brought together members of Winnipeg’s Urban Forestry Department (UFD) and Trees Winnipeg to deliver some good news, as well as a warning, to a large audience of Wolseley residents: the fight to preserve our urban forest isn’t over yet.

While UFD has caught up on the backlog of boulevard tree re-plantings in our neighbourhood, and promises to stump and replace those taken down this summer within two years, Winnipeg is now facing serious threats to its ash trees. Two pests, cottony ash psylid and the emerald ash borer, may well result in the loss of almost half-a-million ash
trees citywide.

Wolseley is fortunate. Only a small portion of our urban forest, 17%, is made up of ash trees, while 50% is composed of Elms. As a result the primary focus here will continue to be on the fight against Dutch Elm Disease. For more information on Wolseley’s forest, Winnipeg’s urban forest as a whole and the current threats to ash trees see the power point presentations below.

So what does it all mean?
In response to the continuing problem of Dutch Elm Disease and the looming crisis with our ash trees, UFD’s aim is to diversify Winnipeg’s urban forest as quickly as possible, to ensure, that in future, no one pest can wipe out a huge swath of our forest.

That plan is already underway, with a wide variety of trees now being planted on boulevards, parks and public land across the city. As a result, our neighbourhood and others across Winnipeg will feature a very different tree canopy in the future – one that is as bio-diverse as our human community. For more information on the tree varieties UFD is now planting on city land click here.

What You Can Do:

• Consider Protection for Your Ash Tree:
  • If you have an ash on your property that’s not yet infected, you may be able to extend its life for up to ten years by inoculating your tree. For more information about ash tree inoculations consult your local arborist. For more information on the emerald ash borer click here. 
• Plant Trees on Your Property:
  • One way we can ensure that our neighbourhood stays green is by planting more trees on our own properties. So the Wolseley Greenspace Committee and Trees Winnipeg are planning to host a ReLeaf Tree Planting workshop in 2020, right here in Wolseley. Not only will you learn the best way to plant a tree, you’ll receive one or two trees for your property, all for the low price of $55.00. For more information on the Releaf Program.  And stay tuned for an announcement about the Wolseley ReLeaf workshop in January 2020.
• Join Forest Watch:
  • A “citizen scientist” project launched by Trees Winnipeg, Forest Watch offers you and your family a role to play in monitoring the health of our urban forest. You’ll receive training on how to spot a tree that’s under attack and report it to the city. 
• Adopt a Boulevard Tree:
  • If a new boulevard tree has been planted on your block consider adopting that tree with your neighbours. New trees need lots of water and by banding together with two or three neighbours, you can offset the water costs and keep your new tree healthy and thriving!

The Wolseley to West Alexander Corridor project and the Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike project are exploring  options to encourage walking and cycling for people of all ages and abilities through

1. The creation of a neighbourhood greenway along Ruby Street and Banning Street to link the Wolseley and West Alexander neighbourhoods. Ruby Street and Banning Street provide an important north-south connection between Palmerston Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue and beyond.  The Public Engagement and Recommended Design options are available here. 
2. The development of options to improve travel choice, accessibility and connectivity via Wolseley Ave/WestMinster Ave, Balmoral Street and Granite Way.  

​
​Opportunities for public engagement / input into the design are occurring on the following dates:  

• Workshop:   View design options, speak with members of the project team, and provide feedback. Presentation followed by small group discussion.
  • Date: Tuesday June 11, 2019
  • Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Location: St. Margaret’s Anglican Church (in the basement hall), 160 Ethelbert St.
  • RSVP by June 7, 2019 by online registration form, by email at WolseleyDowntown@intergroup.ca or by phone at (204) 942-0654.
• Engage at a pop-up event:  Come drop by and meet the project team at one of three pop-up engagement events where you can provide your feedback. 
  • Date: Wednesday June 12, 2019
    • Time: 10 a.m. - noon
    • Location Tall Grass Prairie, 859 Westminster Ave.
  • Date: Wednesday June 12, 2019
    • Time: 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
    • Location: Balmoral Hall School (outside the gates at the corner of Westminster Ave. and Young St.), 630 Westminster Ave.
  •  Date: Wednesday June 12, 2019 
    • Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    • Location: Mulvey School Field, 750 Wolseley Ave.

• Join a Guided Walk/Bike Tour
  • Date: Thursday June 13, 2019
    • Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
    • Location: Tour begins at the corner of Raglan Road and Wolseley Ave.
    • RSVP by June 7, 2019 by online registration form, by email at WolseleyDowntown@intergroup.ca or by phone at (204) 942-0654. In case of poor weather, the RSVP list will be updated with an alternative date.

 For more information or for those who require alternate formats or interpretation in order to participate, please contact WolseleyDowntown@intergroup.ca or 204-942-0654.

​The times, they are a changing!!!

For 13 years, 898 Westminster Avenue-near the corner of Ruby and Westminster Streets, was known as The Neighbourhood Bookstore and Café. It was run by Bill Fugler and frequented by many locals. It was a popular meeting place where people could chat over coffee and a snack, work on their computer, read, or even buy a book or board game.  Fugler decided to close the shop in August of 2018 to spend more time with family and to pursue other interests. 
 
Last fall, Wolseley residents Erin Keating, husband Peter, and another couple, Laura and Jamie Hilland got together and decided they would like to open a locally owned and operated restaurant in that location. As with any new venture, there were growing pains – making a business plan, and the more difficult task of getting a permit to open and operate the restaurant. There was an immense amount of support for this new venture, but also some opposition.

After six months of discussion with the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba, and with neighbours both pro and con, progress was made. There was give and take. In the end, the restaurant was granted a liquor licence, but without the ability to serve alcohol on the patio, as was the original plan.  The four owners all have previous experience in the restaurant business in Winnipeg.

Extensive renovations are currently being made and the group hopes to open in mid-August of 2019.  It will operate as The Ruby West Restaurant (so named for its location at the corner of Ruby Street and Westminster Avenue) “A Little Gem in Wolseley”.

We had a great crowd and an information-packed evening last month at the GARDENING FOR ALL event with Rod Kueneman, one of the founding members of the Sustainable South Osborne Co-op.

The organic gardens and orchards created by the Riverview and Lord Roberts communities are truly inspiring, providing not only fresh produce, but also safe, beautiful and bountiful spaces, where neighbours can play and work together.

And we’d love to create the same kind of gardens in Wolseley

So whether you’re a 65 or 25, a total novice, a master gardener, or just interested in learning more about growing food, then come and work with us to create a community garden plan for Wolseley.

To get involved just go to the Wolseley Residents' Association website and navigate to our Contact Us page to send us a message!

Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) Constable Chika Modozie will be hosting an informative presentation on home and neighbourhood security at the next Wolseley Residents Assocation meeting.

Date:  Monday May 13, 7:00 p.m.
Place:  RA Steen Community Centre 

Along with crime statistics for our neighborhood, she will offer tips and strategies for crime prevention, with an emphasis on how to reduce opportunities for thieves to target your home or property. 

There will be a question and answer session to follow. ​

​Need a little help with your bike this Spring?   The Wolseley Residents Association Transportation Committee is organizing a Tune Up Your Bike Clinic. 

​Date:  Saturday May 11, 1 - 4p.m. 
Place:  R A Steen Plaza 

 We will provide all the required tools and provide assistance with bike repairs at no charge. 

​Worried about your boulevard tree?
Want to know what’s being done to protect Wolseley’s urban forest?
Concerned about climate change and what you can do to make a difference?

Then come to the Wolseley Residents’ Association’s Tree Town Hall
         When:   Monday June 10th, 7 p.m.
         Where:  R A Steen Community Centre
Organized by the Wolseley Residents Assocation Greenspace Committee

​Winnipeg’s Chief Forester, Martha Barwinsky, along with her colleagues, Chris Lepa and Keri Lafrance (Urban Forestry Branch) plus Lisa Jones of Trees Winnipeg, will talk about the urban forest in Wolseley, and what we can do to help ensure its future.

From information on the current state of our forest, to statistics on the number of trees coming down or being stumped and replaced this year, Barwinsky and Lepa will also explain how you can replace your own boulevard trees, the important role you can play in the survival of new trees being planted on public land and why biodiversity is key to the future of our forest.

But Wolseley’s urban forest isn’t just about the trees on our boulevards and in our parks. It’s also about the trees that grow and flourish on private property.  Lepa will talk about the current deficit of trees on private property in Wolseley, due to Dutch Elm, and how we as a community can help to wipe out that deficit by rolling up our sleeves and planting more trees.

And Trees Winnipeg can help us do just that, as Lisa Jones will explain.  Thanks to their RELEAF program homeowners can access 2 trees at a low cost, just by attending a tree planting workshop which is held every spring.

But our involvement as neighbours and citizens doesn’t end there. In response to the emerald ash borer threat, Trees Winnipeg is launching the “Forest Watch” program, and you and your kids can participate.  The aim of the program is to train citizen scientists who will monitor the health of the community’s ash trees and report any sign of a threat.  By signing up at our event, you can enrich your life and the lives of your kids while helping to extend the life of our ash trees for as long as possible.

So come to the Town Hall, ask questions, get informed and get involved!  The future of our forest is in our hands.

Representing the Wolseley Residents Association, Darrach McDonnell and Harold Taylor argued against the proposed 35% cut to the Forestry budget at the March 12 budget consultations by Winnipeg City Council.   

Given the on-going loss of Elms trees to Dutch Elm Disease in older Winnipeg neighborhoods (including Wolseley), and now the potential loss of the majority of Winnipeg's Ash trees in newer neighborhoods with the appearance of the ash-bore beetle last year, these cuts to the forestry budget will be a potential disaster for Winnipeg's urban forest. 

Click here to view the presentation that was made or click through the presentation below.