Is the forks all hype no substance?

opinions people? it looks like an 80s throwback to me. more cheap landlords? i report you decide.

i agree not much substance in the shops and food, skatepark concerts and other festivals are its shining points

Problem with the Forks is it feels cobbled together. There was never any long term plan or vision, or at least it comes off feeling that way. Started off as a farmer's market/world goods, then they added on everything else as they went along without really thinking if the other components fit what was already there.

IMHO, the hotel absolutely was the worst addition as it doesn't really create any draw for going to the Forks in the first place and just occupies prime space. Johnston Terminal is a close second in my mind for waste of Forks space. What was the point of adding more crappy shops exactly?

What the Forks is sorely lacking is more entertainment options, and they are running out of space now to add any.

A good example of what the Forks could have been is Navy Pier in Chicago.

I used to go for the food, both take away and sit-down, and the festivals/ free concerts. The shopping didn't really interest me. Haven't been in years.

The worst thing at the forks is the Museum of Hypocrisy. What a waste of prime green space.

They could have planned things a bit better. I like the forks its a nice place to sit and get drunk on a warm evening with a plate of nacho's.

2 things would make the forks better. 2 trendy night clubs and a few more late night eateries, would make the area lively.

LivingDead wrote:The worst thing at the forks is the Museum of Hypocrisy. What a waste of prime green space.

They could have planned things a bit better. I like the forks its a nice place to sit and get drunk on a warm evening with a plate of nacho's.

2 things would make the forks better. 2 trendy night clubs and a few more late night eateries, would make the area lively.

IMO, trendy night clubs would not make the Forks better. A big ass Farmers market, more restaurants, pubs, etc would make it better. I would like to see the Forks become a Granville Island!

I'm with Goth_chic on this one. No clubs. It should be a local-product haven. That's what a "market" is supposed to be, right? I personally like the small, kitschy stores at the Forks and in the Johnston's
terminal.

I find the main thing the Forks needs is cohesiveness. It's kind of all over the place at the moment and doesn't feel like one unified site. There should be better guidance, support, and advertising for the merchants. The space is used rather ridiculously, with some areas that hardly see any traffic and others that are always bottle-necked. They probably need to renegotiate whoever holds the contract for that
big craft store upstairs. It's a shame those new stores were tucked away
in a corner of the building that no one ever went to.

They could also spearhead some better green initiatives. Why are they using disposable cutlery and plates, for example?

I think the market for local product and kitschy stores is not nearly big enough to support something the size of the Forks. Besides the odd summer festival, and the patio's in the summer I see no reason to venture there.

...greeblok...
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I really liked the Forks when it had much more greenspace during the 90's. Lately it has been overdeveloped. It was a terrible decision placing a hotel there.It has done nothing for the area.

LivingDead wrote:...greeblok...
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toban71 wrote:I really liked the Forks when it had much more greenspace during the 90's. Lately it has been overdeveloped. It was a terrible decision placing a hotel there.It has done nothing for the area.

Terrible idea to put the hotel there. What does a hotel have to do with the Forks, anyway?

Also terrible idea to put the museum there.

Once you construct buildings, you lose green space or potential green space, forever.

I think that an upscale hotel is not a bad idea. The Manitoba Theatre for Young People is completely out of place. The re-adaption of the stables for the Childrens Museum was a good, if not expensive idea, even the TV studio making use of the old power plant fits in, but MTYP doesn't belong.

Used to go there a lot more when the kids were small, as there was stuff for them to do, but not much of a draw these days.

They got to quit filling in the greenspace.

Holy frick people. Is there anything right with that space? Sometimes I wonder if anything pleases a Winnipegger.

I like it....but that is because I live near it and use it.....whatever.

grumpy old man wrote:Holy frick people. Is there anything right with that space? Sometimes I wonder if anything pleases a Winnipegger.

No.

grumpy old man wrote:Holy frick people. Is there anything right with that space? Sometimes I wonder if anything pleases a Winnipegger.

I rarely go to the Forks because it is out of the way (for me) and doesn't offer the things I am looking for. Like I said earlier, a larger farmers type market would be a plus and would be an incentive for me to travel there more often. I hope that changes in the near future.

I still enjoy going to the Forks, used to work there in the mid '90's I don't like some of the restaurants that are there now but it is a matter of taste. I have purchased stuff from Kite 'n Kaboodle in the terminal for my grand daughter, found some unique gift ideas at the market. I don't mind the hotel as it can be a draw for some tourists who are travelling by rail but I agree, it could have been put somewhere else (same owners as the Norwood Hotel). We go there on occasion for the jazz at the lounge. And putting a parking structure up was a huge detriment to the green space. I haven't been to MTYP, had no need to, my kids were never into performing arts. Haven't been to the Children's Museum for a long time, but for sure this summer with my grand daughter. We pass through there at least once a week on our bikes in the spring-fall but we don't always stop. My husband goes there every Saturday morning for our bakery items and on occasion I will go to Fenton's for wine if I need it on a Sunday for dinner. But we all must remember something, this is a tourist attraction and for tourists it is a great place to visit and see the local fare. I have been to Granville Island and loved it as a tourist as much as I did Fisherman's Wharf in Seattle. But given the space we now have at the Forks, I don't think that concept would work, unless they were to develop on the south island but that won't be happening as it is deemed a sacred spot...

South Island will get develped when they decied to give the Natives some of the money to do it . Which will probaly be a ways off as it is not a priorty , and the tax dollars are used up. They were never put in the original plans funds .

I enjoy going to the Forks. I especially enjoy walking along the riverwalk during the 3-4 weeks it isn't submerged.

Triniman wrote:

toban71 wrote:I really liked the Forks when it had much more greenspace during the 90's. Lately it has been overdeveloped. It was a terrible decision placing a hotel there.It has done nothing for the area.

Terrible idea to put the hotel there. What does a hotel have to do with the Forks, anyway?

Also terrible idea to put the museum there.

Once you construct buildings, you lose green space or potential green space, forever.

You are absolutely correct.
The Forks was a designated National Hsitorical Park. There was no need to place so much commercial development on the grounds.

Only some of the site has that designation no , and I agree the museum should not have gone there there.

I like the myriad of food shops at the Market, the riverwalk, and the events that bring big crowds (fireworks, free concerts, Children's Festival, etc). The museum is going up on a remote vacant lot and will not bring down the draw to the Forks proper, IMHO. Don't even consider it a part of the Forks. I don't have a problem with the hotel - the restaurant there is amazing!

I'm at The Forks every weekend from September - May...my daughter has dance class at the studio there (who, incidentally was the first tenant at the Forks when it was converted).

I wasn't here through all the development of the place. As a newer person to Winnipeg, I kind of assumed it had been there for 50 years...not the short time it actually has.

For what it is, it's not terrible. I like that they actually have free parking available that's reasonably close to the main buildings...though IMO...they should get rid of ALL the parking near the buildings and force everyone to park in the parkade or around the outer edge roads.

Turn the area that is currently the parking lot into an "outdoor" market during the summer. It will reduce congestion through the whole area, and provide a place for the locals to market their wares.

MOST the shops inside the Forks now are "import" havens. Very few home-grown vendors left...and from what I've heard, they keep raising the rates and pushing others out.

They do seem to be developing quite a bit though.
They recently added new Geo-Thermal heating/cooling, and are doing much more for insulating the inside.

I think something that would SEVERELY help the market would be to find a way to protect the riverwalk. There's NO reason it should be underwater every year.
Either move it back so it's higher, or put some kind of barricade out to protect it (yes...they can). I was out there yesterday and the water is covering two full sets of steps up from the walk.

As Pav indicated, the only part of the Forks that is nationally designated it the section where the sundial (Path of Time Sculpture) is as well as the Ooneda Circle which is located beside the Children's Museum, the tall grass prairie section, the South Point, and the rail bridge as well as the Ampitheatre area which is the start of the river walk at the north end of the Red River walk. At one time there was an archeological dig that was going on right beside the kids park that is close to the sundial that was very interesting but it has since been finalized and covered with grass.
I remember when the Forks Market was originally proposed, the concept was each vendor in the Market was to be unique unto itself. For exmple, there was only to be one ice cream shop, one frozen yogurt shop, one hemp clothing store, one butcher, one win shop, one cheese shop,one grocery store/vegatable store. As for the restaurants, they too needed to be unique in what was on their menu. To some extent they have maintained that part of the concept and that may be the reason behind not having a Farmer's Market like the one in St Norbert as it breaks with the concept of individuality. However if they were to do a Farmer's Market they could design the concept after the hand crafted store upstairs where it is on a consignment concept and then each "farmer" would bring their product in for the one "vendor" to sell and then divide the "consignment" up accordingly. I don't know if it would be as big of a draw as St Norbert, the folks who go there to sell their product each summer enjoy and like it there as it is in a good location for them to get to and the space is large enough that there is no over crowding. And the price is right for them, much cheaper than what would be charged at the Forks.