More than 6,000 needles collected from inner-city Winnipeg parks and public spaces during summer sweep

ManitobaWinnipeg’s parks branch is calling a downtown cleanup sweep a success after crews collected 6,358 needles and 177 weapons from 16 inner-city parks and public spaces over the course of six months.City calls program a success, wants to expand itCBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 3:42 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 1 minuteThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Between April 14 and Oct. 3, City of Winnipeg cleanup crews collected 6,358 needles from 16 inner-city parks. (Victoria Walton/CBC)Winnipeg’s parks branch is calling a downtown cleanup sweep a success after crews collected 6,358 needles and 177 weapons from 16 inner-city parks and public spaces over the course of six months.The crews also collected 659 bags with “remnants of drugs” and 1,293 pipes and other drug paraphernalia during the sweep, conducted between April 14 and Oct. 3, according to a city report.”Overall, the program was a success as parks were made safer with needles and other debris regularly removed,” parks and open spaces manager Dave Domke wrote in the report, set to go to council’s executive policy committee next week.Among the areas targeted in the cleanup, Fort Douglas Park — which runs along the Red River at Waterfront Drive — had the most needles collected, with 1,055 picked up during the sweep. The Assiniboine Riverwalk followed, with 925 needles picked up.The most common weapons collected were knives, hatchets and crowbars, the report says.The city now wants to continue the program until 2028 and add six more sites next year.