Join Walk Leader Erika Fleming for a 1.5 hour guided tour through beautiful Norwood Flats, a neighbourhood bordered by the Red River and tucked away just south of downtown Winnipeg.
This walk will trace the history of the Flats since the early 1900s through its expansion in the 1940s, and the test it faced in the 1950 flood. The walk will pass through the area’s main parks and paths, including the Lyndale Drive riverbank, and “Sidewalk City” subdivision that was built on a former golf course. Participants will get to visit spots with lesser-known history as well as some more recent changes to local infrastructure.
This walk considers the history of the area and the concept behind its “sidewalk city”, where the houses face a footpath and vehicle access is in the back (similar to Wildwood Park in Fort Garry). Other ideas that will come up include what makes a neighbourhood “walkable”, and the influence of the Red River and flooding on the area’s landscape.
Tour will run as scheduled, rain or shine.
Meeting Place
Meet at the corner of Ferndale Avenue and Walmer Street at the bus bench. Walk Leader will be wearing a yellow scarf.
The walk will loop through the Norwood Flats neighbourhood (east of St. Mary’s Road and west of the Red River) for approximately 2.5 km.
Accessibility
This walk covers approximately 2.5 kilometres with intermittant stops, but long stretches without benches. There are sidewalks for the majority of the walk, some spots of concrete may be uneven/bumpy, or have a mild slope. Tour time is spent on quiet, residential streets but there will be background noise from heavy traffic on St. Mary's Road near the Walmer and Ferndale meeting place. There are no public washrooms on the route. The tour will be in English.
Recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes, bring water, and dress for the weather whether rain or shine (e.g. hat, sunscreen, or umbrella/rain gear)
- Pet-friendly
- Fast-paced, covering lots of ground
