I don't live in Winnipeg and I can't say if its "too wide" (or too tall!), but my point is that the urban sprawl has already happened and Winnipeg is not growing much compared to other Canadian cities - so there isn't that much more new sprawl to contain. Unfortunately, the bad decisions that led to all this sprawl happened 30 years ago - and now its too late to do much about it - unless you like my idea above.
Actually, it seems like every few years a new sprawling suburb is being developed. Waverley West and Sage Creek being just two which come to mind. Maybe you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, but it might be a good idea to stop squeezing it.