Parking crunch expected at The Forks as major summer events approach

Construction of a new development has limited parking spaces at The Forks. CTV's Jon Hendricks explains.

Visitors to The Forks in Winnipeg are facing a tighter-than-usual search for parking this summer — and it’s only going to get more competitive as Pride and Canada Day draw large crowds to the site.

The reason: roughly 350 parking stalls across from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are now gone, fenced off to make way for the Railside at the Forks mixed-use development currently under construction.

Elisha Pommainville, who managed to find a spot Monday, said the situation already requires patience — and sometimes a little creativity.

“I was lucky to find a parking spot today, but sometimes you kind of have to make your own parking and hope you don’t get caught. Or you’re waiting at least, like, ten, 15, 20 minutes for someone to come out so you can get a spot,” she said.

Others at the site were less optimistic heading into winter months.

“Normally we get really crappy weather. So, a lot of people are going to be walking in -50 to the forks, so hopefully they’ll be able to make some room somewhere. But I doubt it,” one visitor said.

According to figures from The Forks, the site had 1,500 parking stalls available in 2023. On 92 per cent of the time, no more than 700 of those stalls were occupied. During periods of higher use, roughly 875 spots were typically filled — though demand occasionally surpassed that.

Tineke Buiskool-Leeuwma with The Forks said the overall supply remains sufficient on most days. But she acknowledged that certain events push the system to its limits.

“So, on those busier days, like on Indigenous Peoples Day and Canada Day that are both coming up, we know that parking is at a premium there. But overall, typically, you can find spots here at the Forks,” Buiskool-Leeuwma said.

The Forks is encouraging visitors to use alternative forms of transportation when possible, such as Winnipeg Transit. For those who drive, the advice is straightforward: be patient and keep circling.

The loss of the 350 stalls also represents a hit to revenue — parking fees from those spots are no longer coming in. The Forks says it expects to offset that loss through rent from new businesses set to open when the development is completed in 2028.