Plane Jane: A Walk to the Airport with Gail Perry & David Firman

Plane Jane: A Walk to the Airport

Get ready to embark on a unique, 4 hour, 11.5 km round trip adventure with Plane Jane: A Walk to the Airport! It's a wild idea, something you're not supposed to do. But walking to YWG, whether for pleasure or to catch a flight, is entirely possible and totally entertaining. Hosts Gail Perry and David Firman, will take you exploring places off most pedestrian road maps, full of history, and ever evolving.

We start in the Wolseley neighbourhood, wind through quiet residential neighbourhoods and busy commercial/industrial districts, past a vintage aircraft graveyard and our city’s rakish Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada before a well-deserved pit-stop at Winnipeg's James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. And then return by way of Omand's Creek as it takes us by strip malls, big box stores—all those place you usually drive to—as well as surprising stretches of restored prairie.

Along the way, we'll explore architectural gems, such as old St. James Anglican Church, visit hidden vest-pocket parks, investigate austere industrial parks, reflect on airports lost and new. But, most importantly, we will take ownership of places in our city where no pedestrian was meant to tread.

This is a part of the city that we rarely think about yet it is an important industrial and commercial component of our city’s overall economy. This is an opportunity to discuss, at a walker’s pace, what makes it tick, what works, what doesn’t, what its future might—or should—look like.

Meeting Place

The walk starts at 521 Raglan Road in the Wolseley neighbourhood (look for the red door). Parking is available on Raglan Road.

There will be 39 brief stops as the walk crosses Omand’s Creek, continues down Portage Avenue in St. James, through the King Edward neighbourhood and the St. James industrial area before arriving at the James Richardson International Airport. The return leg continues east to Omand's Creek and follows the creek south, returning to the starting point of the walk.

Accessibility

The route follows sidewalks for the most part with occasional stretches along grassy curbs and gravel trails. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes. Consider bringing a small backpack with a raincoat or jacket, a sun hat and water. If you are comfortable with walking poles, bring them. Washrooms will be limited along the way but we will point them out as we progress and make time if you need to go. The tour will be in English.

• Some uneven terrain
• Pet-friendly
• Fast-paced
• Covering lots of ground