Cold Places can Create Warm Public Spaces
Imagining ways to build people-centric infrastructure in the wintertime can be near-impossible for many.
A cold Canadian city — maybe even one of the coldest — has found a way to reimagine a means to travel, socialize, and recreate in the cold without the use of personal vehicles.
The Nestaweya River Trail in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is an approximately 10KM frozen paradise on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. It provides the same use as a street — transportation, connecting neighbourhoods, and hauling goods — all while being accessible only by foot, bike, skate, wheelchair, snowshoe and even ski.
The trail is so well used and loved by Winnipeggers, but it isn’t necessarily because they are “made for winter”. Instead, it is because they have the accessibility to infrastructure that allows them — including mothers with strollers, the elderly, children, and individuals in wheelchairs — to move freely without having to rely on a personal vehicle.
The trail is undoubtedly more safe, accessible, enjoyable, and sustainable to use than a typical Winnipeg street with four-car lanes, traffic lights, and crosswalks. It’s because the trail is people-centric, built to be accessible, free, quiet, animated, and based in nature.
To share the magic of the river trail as a warm public space, I put together a visual representation that if you build it, they will come — even in the winter. The Nestaweya River Trail provides lessons to reimagine what all Canadian cities can look like in the winter.
Mobility
It’s hard not to be in awe of the number of ways people move on the trail — even in the cold (like, -40 cold!). There are people walking, cycling, skiing, running, sledding, skating, and on some nights — dragon boating.
People walking, cycling, and skating on The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Two women skiing next to the skate path with an installation. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Person riding a winter bike on the walk and bike path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Two women with a sled and a bike heading to The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
A father pulling a child in a sled on skates next to an elderly man on the walking path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
As fun as it looks (and is) to use the trail for recreation and enjoyment, many Winnipeggers use it for transportation, too!
Woman skating with a backpack next to installations and sleds. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Woman with a backpack walking on the walk path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Elderly lady walking with a bag of groceries down the walking path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Man cycling with cross country skies. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
As the trail connects to over five neighbourhoods (Osborne, Broadway, Downtown, St. Boniface, and Cordyon), it isn’t rare to see people carrying backpacks, grocery bags, and in some cases, cross country skis, on the trail. Not to mention, its ability to provide mothers, children, and the elderly a space they can comfortably and safely use without the threat of vehicles.
Mother and son skating with a sled of belongings. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Father and daughter skating with a carriage. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Woman with three children and a stroller walking towards The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Girl using an Ice Bike on her own. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Family of four with a stroller down on the walking path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Placemaking
Many recreational activities, especially those for kids, close or go indoors during the winter months. To keep Winnipeggers moving and engaged, warming huts, interactive installations, and public art are designed, selected, built, and strategically placed along the 10km trail
Children playing with an installation. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Illuminating installations down the walking path. Photographed by Nicole Roach.
Family with children and dogs take a skating break to play with installations. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
These installments give kids, especially those who live in apartments or come from low-income neighbourhoods with limited access to outdoor space, a place to play outdoors.
Kids playing on an inflatable hand installation. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Family playing in the snow and in a pink shower-themed warming hut. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Two kids climbing an installation tower to overlook The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
The installations also beautify the snowy and icy city with colours and lights. It invites people to get outside, even when the sun sets before dinner time.
Family playing in the snow beside shower-themed warming huts. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Man skating through orange wall installation during sun down. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Accessibility
The trail is also accessible to individuals who use wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, and trikes through ramp installments at three different access points. Also, the technique used to pack the snow down is flat and compacted, making it easier and safer for people using these modes, compared to many sidewalks that get neglected during snow clearing.
Ramp leading from walking trail to skating trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Walking trail cleared and snow packed tightly. Photograph by Sharee Hochman.
People walking up the ramp to access The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Elderly man on a recumbent trike heading to The Nestaweya River Trail via ramp pictured above. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Safety
Women are more vulnerable to gender-based harassment, impacting their choices of behaviour and the way they move.
The lights on walkways, installations, and illuminations from surrounding areas keep the trail bright — brighter than most residential and side streets - making it a more comfortable outdoor experience for women.
Consistent street lights placed on the walking path. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Illuminated and interactive installation at The Forks entryway to The Nestaweya River Trail. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Lights hanging above the skating and walking paths. Photographed by Nicole Roach.
The lights, and of course all the other exciting things the trail has to offer, bring people out of their homes and onto the river. Creating these inviting spaces attracts scenes of people which helps women feel safer than being out alone.
People gather for a break from skating. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
The Nestaweya River Trail busy with people walking, biking, and skating. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Mom and daughter walking towards The Nestaweya River Trail with a sled. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
The trail also offers toys and tools that are family-oriented, which helps women and families bring children onto the trail and create a space for them to participate in.
People and children prepare to use ice bikes and skating aids. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Family of five using a sled to skate with small children. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Mother pushing young child on a skating aid. Photographed by Sharee Hochman.
Lessons Learned
The Nestaweya River Trail has created a blueprint for how to turn a cold winter landscape into a space for travel, socialization, and recreation. It was made possible through low-cost and temporary changes to Winnipeg’s Red and Assiniboine Rivers, also known as a practice called “tactical urbanism”.
This practice is popular during Canadian summer’s, with pop-up patios, street art, and temporary flowers, though that does not mean tactical urbanism interventions can’t be used when the cold sets in!
Warm places can be created with interventions like seating, warming shelters, lights, ice colouring, accessibility measures, and space activation. These examples, and many more, teach us how to keep communities connected, moving, and having fun, even when there is some ice and snow (okay, a lot of ice and snow!).
Capturing what is possible in one city, can spark inspiration for another. Not to suggest your city build a 10km trail to have a successful winter paradise, as those are pretty hard to come by. However, it could look like prioritizing snow plowing of sidewalks, paths, and bike lanes; hosting recreational pop-up activities; and placing lights in trees, on sidewalks, and around parks.
There is truly no limit to what can be done to activate public spaces, in every season. It just needs some reimagination, a dash of creativity, and plenty of warm layers to make it happen.
What could your city do to make the harsh Canadian winter a little warmer?
