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By
Leah
Hendry
Winnipeg
Free
Press
Friday,
March
22,
2002
A
group
trying
to
preserve
the
Seine
riverbank
says
a
proposed
bridge
on
Southglen
Boulevard
could
wreck
their
plans
for
a
park
that
could
rival
Assiniboine
Park.
The
32-hectare
piece
of
continuous
greenspace
runs
from
Bishop
Grandin
Boulevard
along
the
Seine
to
Warde
Avenue.
It
was
a
place
many
early
settlers
lived,
including
people
who
shaped
the
creation
of
the
province,
said
Yvon
Dumont,
Manitoba's
former
lieutenant
governor
and
a
member
of
Save
Our
Seine
Environmental
Inc.
(sic)
"To
hear
the
echoes
of
this
place
is
to
hear
a
province
being
born,"
said
Dumont,
quoting
J.P.
Brunet,
an
environmentalist
and
past
SOS
member.
"It's
one
of
Winnipeg's
treasures."
The
Southglen
bridge-
which
would
relieve
traffic
coming
out
of
the
Royalwood
subdivison
on
the
east
side
of
the
river-
would
encroach
on
the
heritage
and
unique
habitat
in
the
area,
said
Jules
Legal,
an
SOS
member.
"To
segment
the
park
with
what
is
essentially
another
culvert
is
like
building
a
freeway
across
Assiniboine
Park,"
said
Legal,
who
appeared
at
the
city's
riverbank
committee
yesterday.
A
bridge
is
also
planned
at
Warde
Avenue,
about
half
a
kilometre
away
from
the
Southglen
site.
SOS
does
not
want
to
see
the
Southglen
bridge
built
and
wants
the
city
to
build
just
one
bridge
at
Warde
which
would
connect
to
St.
Mary's
Road
and
serve
the
Royalwood
community.
A
1999
task
force
and
study
of
the
Seine
greenway
supports
SOS's
opinion,
stating
that
the
two
bridge's
close
proximity
only
requires
one
bridge.
Council
adopted
the
study
and
said
the
city
should
do
everything
it
can
to
protect
the
riverbank.
But
Coun.
Dan
Vandal,
chairman
of
the
property
and
development
committee,
said
the
decision
is
a
political
one
and
is
unlikely
to
be
discussed
until
the
developer
comes
before
the
Riel
community
committee.
The
city
currently
owns
about
44
per
cent
of
the
riverbank
land
along
the
Seine
and
it
would
probably
cost
between
$3
million
to
$4
million
to
acquire
another
16
hectares
for
the
park.
If
that
happens,
SOS
wants
to
build
a
Métis
interpretive
centre
in
the
same
spot
Louis
Riel
Sr.
had
his
mill,
20
kilometres
of
new
river
trails,
pedestrian
bridges
and
canoe
launch
sites.
"We
have
the
opportunity
to
do
something
visionary
here,"
said
SOS
member
Marcel
Ritchot.
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