Living on Air Force Way

The Air Force is in Winnipeg to stay. It must be, as the City of Winnipeg now has street signs that say so. The city has renamed Sharp Boulevard north of Ness Avenue, Air Force Way.

Air Force Way signs went up at the corner of Ness and Sharp and at Silver Avenue on February 1, 1996. City work crews laboured in -35C temperatures putting up the new signs along the street which leads into 17 Wing and Air Command Headquarters.

The city was quick to give its blessing to this initiative, that came from 500 Wing of the Air Force Association of Canada. With the Air Force Heritage Park and only military housing along this stretch of road, they determined no one would be unduly affected by the change to Air Force Way. There had been previous attempts to give part of Whytewold Road an Air Force name, but they were not successful. .

The Air Force is an important part of the city, with 17 Wing and Air Command Headquarters being major employers that pump nearly $350 million dollars into the local economy each year. There is also a long history of Air Force operations in Winnipeg, as the city was the site of one of the initial RCAF stations in 1925.

It may have taken Winnipeg over 70 years to name a Street after it, but the Air Force community in the city is pleased. However, there will be a few military residents of Air Force Way who will have to send out change of address notifications in the next few months.