Thousands of needles collected in months-long sweep of Winnipeg’s inner-city parks

Officials in Winnipeg are calling a sweep of the 16 inner-city parks a big success.

A total 6,358 needles and 170 improvised weapons — like knives, hatchets and crowbars — were collected over a six-month span, from April to October.

Crews also picked up 659 bags with drugs or traces of drugs.

Sites were visited on average two to three times per week. The Assiniboine Riverwalk and Fort Douglas Park were the two locations where the most needles were found.

“We were hearing from family members, from parents that wanted to know that the park was safe for their kids,” said Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The Furby Tot Lot in Winnipeg’s Spence neighbourhood was another one of 16 parks included in the sweep. Stephen Kirk with the environment and open spaces department of the Spence Neighbourhood Association says he was not surprised by the total number of needles collected.

“I work in community gardens and green spaces, so we also pick up needles all year round,” Kirk said.

“Obviously we would prefer for all waste to be disposed of appropriately, I don’t like seeing needles in parks either, but I do think anything we can do to reduce the harm of intravenous drug use, we support.”

The program at the 16 downtown sites will continue each season until 2028.

The price tag for the six-month sweep came in at $60,000. If the city decides to expand the initiative to include six more parks where needles and drug paraphernalia are consistently found — including Vimy Ridge Park — it would cost an additional $28,000.

“I’m very open to that discussion,” Mayor Gillingham said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to our public service about it yet, or to get the feeling of other councillors. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but certainly open to having that discussion.”

It would be money well spent, according to Angel Peterson, who runs a 24-hour daycare centre nearby.

“Well it could be a health threat, you don’t know what’s in the needle if a kid touches it, right?” Peterson said. “So you know, I try to teach them don’t touch anything on the ground like that, and if they do see one, they can show me and I can pick it up.”

In addition to the collection crew picking up needles, the city says other members of the Public Service working downtown — such as gardeners or refuse collection staff — also picked up and tracked needles from the 16 inner-city parks. They combined for an additional 1,064 needles collected over the same time frame.