Dozens of Wolseley residents gathered Wednesday evening in a green space by the river in hopes of reclaiming a small but vital piece of their community that they feel has been taken away from them.

William Marshall Park is tucked in along the bank of the Assiniboine River at the end of Dominion Street in the Wolseley area. It has been used by neighbourhood residents for decades up until a fence erected on the west side of the park in late 2018 cut it in half.

Emma Maendel has lived moments away from the park for 12 years. Three generations of her family attended the party in the park, which is the size of a narrow lot of land between two properties with homes.

"It's like you've left the city and yet you're in the centre of the city," she said.

Maendel said she regularly visits the park, particularly during the wintertime when she power walks on the frozen river for about an hour a day, five days a week to help with an auto-immune disease. She has made many friends as part of her river adventures, which begin at the park.

Three generations of Emma Maendel's family attended the gathering at the little park at the end of Dominion Street. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

"Heartbroken is what we felt" when the fence came up, she said. "Can you imagine?"

Maendel said she and many other park enthusiasts want to see the city make a fair deal with the current landowners.

"We're really hoping that that will spur people on and give them an inspiration to make this just the very best little park it could be, even if we never ever get the other one back."

Negotiating property lines

The City of Winnipeg formerly held a lease with the west-side property owner as an extension of William Marshall Park, a spokesperson said in an email. The city and a previous owner of the property had reached an agreement on a lease for the city to utilize part of the property as a public space.

After that lease expired, a subsequent homeowner chose not to enter into a new agreement, the city said.

"The city respects the rights of the property owner to develop or improve their land up to the property line," reads an email from the city.

A young boy climbs a steep staircase at the entrance to the park as neighbourhood residents gather in the green space by the river below. (Dana Hatherly/CBC)

Longtime Wolseley resident Melissa Bowman Wilson is a member of the local residents association who said she hopes the city will consider negotiating a lease agreement or purchasing the land.

"We're hoping to get some community support and demonstrate to the neighbourhood that there's some real interest in seeing this happen," she said.

"We're just hoping they can restore it to us," Bowman Wilson said.

To Melissa Bowman Wilson, the little park means river access and green space, plus tobogganing when the snow falls. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

"Certainly if the homeowner does decide that they want to support this action and that they're amenable to it, we would really like to turn our energy to helping them advocate with the city to get a fair deal so that we can actually restore this and have it be safe for future generations, and not have this come up every time the property changes hands."

Bringing people together

Steph McLachlan was out strolling with Loki, his dog, while appreciating the sense of community and what's left of the green space, he said.

"We've got a pretty intimate relationship with this green space," he said. McLachlan lives in the neighbouring house on the east side of the park.

"Since it got divided up, we've seen way fewer people. This used to be a real hub for kids activities, especially in the wintertime."

Given the strong sense of community in the area, McLachlan said he has not been concerned about illegal activities or safety, which are two major setbacks cited by the old landowner.

Surrounded by family, Brienna Swanson gazes out at the Assiniboine River from a bench located in the Dominion Street park. (Dana Hatherly/CBC)

He said the community doesn't want to alienate the new property owner. "[It's] not to create a divide," he said.

"This is an essential part of the neighbourhood... People use it from all over the place."

Restoring public space

Brienna Swanson said she wanted to show her support for the people who are organizing to try to reunite the two sides.

Swanson often treks down the staircase into the park with her two kids and her partner since they moved back to the area a couple of years ago.

"They like to see the river and run around in the grass," Swanson said.

"It's been used as a public park for a long time."