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WFP: Feedback sought on temporary Wellington Crescent bike lanes (Nov7'25)
by Beth McKechnie 07 Nov '25

07 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Feedback sought on temporary Wellington Crescent bike lanes https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/11/06/feedback-sought-o… THE City of Winnipeg is seeking feedback on a proposed temporary bike lane design for Wellington Crescent. The lanes, between Academy Road and Stradbrook Avenue, would be built in the spring, if council approves the project. Council had directed staff members to work with residents to find a way to make the road safer and more comfortable for cyclists and pedestrians until funding for permanent changes are available. In July, the public works committee approved a plan to test bike lanes in the 1.2-kilometre area. “This section of Wellington Crescent is one of Winnipeg’s most popular routes for cyclists, but it’s also a busy commuter street,” public works chairwoman Coun. Janice Lukes said in a news release Thursday. “We want to find a design that balances safety with neighbourhood and traffic needs, and that’s why we’re asking for feedback before anything is built.” Traffic measurements done last winter found up to 20 per cent of vehicles driving along Wellington Crescent on weekdays were going at least five km/h above the 50 km/h limit. About eight per cent of drivers were going 60 km/h or faster. Many cyclists have lobbied the city for changes on Wellington since cyclist Rob Jenner was killed by a speeding driver on the street on June 6, 2024. There were at least 10 other incidents in which pedestrians or cyclists were hit by vehicles on that road between 2012 to 2022. The speed limit on Wellington Crescent between Academy and River Avenue will be lowered from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. Wellington Crescent currently has two travel lanes west of Grosvenor Avenue and four lanes between Grosvenor and Stradbrook avenues. The section east of Grosvenor will be reduced to two lanes from four to make room for the bike lanes. The temporary design will include turn restrictions to improve safety. Westbound left turns from Wellington Crescent onto Dorchester Avenue, northbound left turns from Dorchester onto Wellington Crescent and westbound left turns from Gertrude Avenue onto Wellington Crescent would not be allowed under the temporary plan. Roughly 30 parking spots currently available outside of weekday rush hours and on weekends will be removed. They are on the south side of Wellington Crescent between Cockburn Street and Wardlaw Avenue. The intersection of Wellington and Academy is expected to see the biggest traffic changes, the city says on its website. During rush hour, drivers going north or west are expected to experience a delay of about 30 seconds. Eastbound drivers turning left onto the Maryland Bridge will have to wait for a controlled left-turn signal. This change will lengthen the wait time for traffic turning by up to one minute longer during afternoon rush hour and by about 20 seconds during morning rush hour. “These times are dependent on how many eastbound drivers take a different route,” the city’s website states. The westbound lanes will change from separate lanes to one shared lane for traffic continuing west or turning right. “This will make the line of cars longer during busy times for drivers going straight or turning onto the Maryland Bridge,” the city’s website states. The city predicts about 15 to 20 per cent of drivers who currently use Wellington Crescent would choose other routes because of the temporary measures. People can learn more about the draft design online at wfp.to/bikelanes<http://wfp.to/bikelanes> and can complete a survey before Dec. 12. fpcity(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:fpcity@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP Analysis: Building a safer city by putting people first (Nov5'25)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Nov '25

05 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Building a safer city by putting people first ERNA BUFFIE https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2025/11/05/building-a-sa… IT’S a well-known fact that our city council throws a lot of money at the police in their efforts to keep us safe. But is more investment in policing and surveillance cameras really the only way to create a safer city, or is it just the easy, “I don’t have to think about it too hard” way to reassure the populace that something is being done to protect them? I think it’s the latter, and so do a lot of social and urban-planning experts. And as it turns out, more money for the police hasn’t made Winnipeggers feel a whole lot safer. In fact, only 12 per cent of us feel safe walking in the downtown city centre at night, and eight out of 10 of us feel that our city is less safe now than it was just three years ago. So how, exactly, do we fix that? Well, tackling the social ills that contribute to criminal behaviour — things like addiction, homelessness, lack of education and training and a largely retributive justice system — should all be top priorities. But after doing a bit of reading, what I also discovered is this — it’s not just the way we run our cities, but the way we build and sometimes neglect them, that can make them unsafe. So, for example, we have hundreds of boarded up vacant buildings and more than 300 vacant lots in Winnipeg. Twenty-three of those vacant buildings can be found on some nine streets in the downtown neighbourhood of Spence. And guess what? The property and violent crime rate there is a whopping 47 per cent above the national average. So, is there a correlation between that high crime rate and all those neglected vacant buildings? You bet there is. In fact, when the city of Pittsburgh tracked the impact of foreclosures, officials discovered that within just 12 months, crime rates suddenly jumped by as much as 20 per cent in areas where foreclosed buildings were left vacant. But unattended and boarded-up buildings aren’t the only problem. Researchers have also found that if you don’t create urban spaces that are lively and welcoming for pedestrians and cyclists, you wind up with largely deserted, unsafe streets. So, for example, if your downtown features six to eight traffic lanes — think Portage Avenue — with narrow sidewalks, it’s not perceived as a safe or welcoming place to hang out. In essence, it’s a space for lots of cars, not lots of people. A place for opportunistic crime, not safety. That’s why some cities are focused on reducing road space, repairing and widening sidewalks and creating car-free zones to lure people back into city centres that were once seen as dangerous. And a growing body of evidence suggests that those actions don’t just help to reduce crime. They can also reduce pedestrian-vehicle collisions by as much as 40 per cent. Not to mention the additional bonus of reducing carbon emissions. More surprising still, some city planners maintain that avoiding urban sprawl can also have a big impact on safety. That’s because an ever-expanding city often means an ever-expanding debt to service outlying suburbs, which results in little or no money to invest in the inner city educational and recreational programs that deter crime by keeping kids off the street and giving them a leg up. Even more unexpected, it turns out that the more green space you have, the safer your neighbourhood. Indeed, a study of 301 major cities in the U.S. revealed that communities with more green space experienced less crime than those with little or none. And amazingly, it’s resident-led greening efforts — whether tree planting, park maintenance or reclaiming vacant lots for community use — that seem to make the biggest difference. In fact, Chicago proved that with a simple but innovative plan when it announced that local residents could buy the vacant city-owned residential lots in their neighbourhoods for a dollar and turn them into side yards or pocket parks. Within two years, crime rates fell in those areas. Similarly, in Flint, Mich., in areas where community members were engaged in greening vacant lots, violent crimes dropped by a staggering 40 per cent. So, why is that? Why is crime reduced when residents take back their green spaces or reclaim vacant land? Well, the evidence suggests that communities that work together to create or maintain common spaces for communal use and enjoyment also build stronger social bonds and provide a kind of informal surveillance system that helps to reduce crime. So, what’s the moral of all these stories? No matter how you cut it, investing in what we have and putting the needs of people first, ahead of concrete and cars, makes cities more welcoming and ultimately a whole lot safer. Erna Buffie is a writer and environmental activist. Read more at www.ernabuffie.com

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WFP: Bicycles and icicles (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 02 Nov '25

02 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. BICYCLES AND ICICLES It’s never too brisk to bike — once you get in gear with winter https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2025/11… PATTY WIENS Excerpt from That’ll Never Work Here: Challenging the Myths Around Biking in a Winter City, by Patty Wiens (Great Plains Press). A book launch will be held Nov. 8 at McNally Booksellers. It is the second book in The City Project, which examines ways to create a happier, healthier and more sustainable Winnipeg. WHEN someone asks me “How did you become a cycling advocate?” I usually say, “I rode my bike in winter one day and now I’m here.” Bicycle stories usually have a gap in the middle. There’s a well-known joke that says that the beginning of your life is all about bikes, then there’s a bunch of BS with cars in the middle, then you get older and get back to bikes. That’s true for me. After all the car BS, my kids grown up and out of the house, I moved to a more walkable neighbourhood and decided to get a bicycle so I could ride to work. I still had my car, of course. After all, you can’t live a car-free life in Winnipeg, with its harsh winters, poor transit system and urban sprawl. Car debt is a given, for which I budgeted accordingly: 1. Rent 2. Car (payment, insurance, gas, parking) 3. Food 4. Everything else But the bike, a Norco commuter named Nora, kept calling me. I found reasons to choose her over the car. I started discovering bike lanes I didn’t know existed and calmed streets that connected some of the protected infrastructure. In the spring of 2022, I moved in with my partner, Ian, and my 10-minute commute turned into 40 minutes on a good day, and sometimes 55 minutes on a day with a strong prairie headwind. I was proud of my long commute. I wasn’t fast and I didn’t ride on rainy days, but my co-workers still thought of me as radical for braving Winnipeg’s “dangerous streets.” On days that I chose to bus or drive to work, the real reason I rode my bike became evident: I hated paying $12 a day for parking and the bus ride took longer than the bike ride. When the fall of 2022 came, I started preparing myself for putting Nora away, dreading being at the mercy of slow, unreliable transit or paying $280 a month for parking. Once in a while, a co-worker would ask if I was one of those “winter cyclists,” to which I would reply, “I’m not that crazy — I’m Brazilian!” My previous winter commuting routine had been to wear ski pants, a parka and winter boots to walk to my pre-heated car. If I had to take the bus, I bundled up even more and considered wearing ski goggles just to wait at the bus stop. Winter cycling sounded like an absolutely insane idea. An idea for someone else, not for an almost 50-year-old Brazilian woman. But I am also a person whose intensity is clear at first sight. My bike was becoming part of my identity, and I think Ian knew that when he suggested I just keep going as long as I could. “Don’t put the bike away just because the calendar says it’s time to do so. You never know.” Having just returned from a trip to Amsterdam to visit my brother in the summer, new raincoat in hand and a renewed passion to do everything by bike, I agreed and kept going. I could hear my Dutch sister-in-law saying, “There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing.” Yeah OK, but you don’t know Winnipeg winters, I thought to myself. I began to research on YouTube, watching every video I could find on winter cycling in Canada. There wasn’t much — there were no women in that space, and nobody my age. I saw a lot of Lycra guys in the U.K., calling rainy weather “winter,” and I saw some videos of people riding in the snow. But when it came to talking about “how to” winter cycle, the closest thing I found to my demographic was this man called Tom Babin out of Calgary, who had a YouTube channel called Shifter. I watched all his winter videos, studied his methods, and thought that it might just be possible for me to do it too. When the first snowfall came, I got all dressed and rode my bike to the neighbourhood mall to see if I could make it. I had no special tires, too many clothes and a touch of stubbornness. It was fine. In fact, it was fun. The next day, I decided to try going all the way to work. My 40-minute commute turned into an hour, and I got there all sweaty, but happy. I walked around the office with my high-viz, makeshift winter cycling gear and helmet, ready to brag to everyone that I was one of those crazy people, one of those winter cyclists. But there was no one in the office yet — they were all stuck in traffic, which is always the worst after the first snowfall. If I had to pick a day, I would say that this was the day that changed everything for me. Ian was eager to hear all about it. He waited excitedly for me to text him when I got to work and was waiting by the door when I came home. I kept researching how to stay warm on my long commute and Ian pointed me to a Discord server started by a Winnipeg cyclist named Andrew. The server was dedicated to anyone using the bike for transportation or recreation — what I like to call the bike community in Winnipeg. The (mostly) guys on there were quick to help, offering tips, tricks and asking if I wanted to borrow their bikes. My commute was long, and I was struggling with the balance of staying warm (but not too warm), battling the wind and dealing with the lack of snow clearing on the path that had been my bike highway and safe haven in the warmer months. Was I the only one going through this? I wondered who else in the world had the same questions, challenges and issues. So, I took to X (Twitter, at the time) and I asked my handful of followers the following questions: Do you ride your bike in winter? How long is your commute? Where do you live? What are your biggest hurdles? What are your favourite accessories? My feed blew up and I gained thousands of followers overnight. These winter cycling people were passionate, fanatical and bent on getting more people on bikes in winter. AS my algorithm started to fill up with bike things, I started to notice that we also shared one more thing in common: a feeling that we didn’t matter to decision-makers. Our safety and our concerns were not seen to be as important as those of drivers. I saw mostly men in this space, and they were experiencing something that women experience just by existing: neglect, rage and a feeling of not being welcome in a space. I wondered if switching to an e-bike would make a difference in dealing with the Prairie winds and cold, so I began researching this new topic and found that again, there were even fewer content creators in that space. There were no women talking about riding an e-bike in winter. So, Ian and I got e-bikes and decided we would document my journey as I learned to ride my e-bike in winter. Real winter, not that rainy U.K. stuff. I decided that was going to be the purpose of my YouTube channel: to show people how an e-bike made winter cycling easier and more accessible and hopefully encourage more women to do it. As I shared my videos on social media, I slowly gained a local celebrity status. I can’t tell you why that happened, but I think that being a Brazilian woman in her 50s trying and succeeding at winter cycling and being super vocal about it had something to do with it. I wasn’t ashamed to look ridiculous on my social media, and I had a knack for saying what people were thinking. I didn’t care about likes and follows, I just wanted more bike lanes, safe streets and a city that allowed women to feel on bikes the way men feel in big trucks: powerful and invincible. Or at least safe.

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WFP: City streets see fewer collisions, injuries: report (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Nov '25

01 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. City streets see fewer collisions, injuries: report https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/11/01/city-streets-see-… Fatal and serious injury collisions on Winnipeg roads have significantly decreased in recent years. Data from the city shows the average number of fatalities and major injuries was 121 in 2023, below the city’s baseline of 176 for its road safety action plan. The long-term strategy aims to reduce fatal and serious injury collisions by 20 per cent by the end of 2027. The baseline metrics are based on a five-year annual average between 2015 and 2019. “Data from 2022 and 2023 illustrates that this reduction has not only already been met but has been exceeded,” the report said. The report notes less road travel owing to the COVID-19 pandemic can be partially attributed to the decrease and the numbers are not exclusively due to road safety investments. Traffic kilometers travelled increased in 2023 compared to that during the pandemic, but the numbers are still approximately 10 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels. The number of fatal and major road collisions in 2018 was 218 and 174 in 2019. In 2021 there was a nine-year low of 115 fatal and major injuries. Data for 2024 was not published in the report. The mode of transportation during the injuries and fatalities in 2023 was primarily passenger vehicles, followed by pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle and various other forms. The city announced the strategy in 2022 with the goal of preventing injury and death on roadways by mapping out infrastructure, enforcement and education. Between 2012 and 2018, 98 people were killed and 1,113 people suffered serious injuries because of crashes on city roads. The city identified five key areas to improve safety: signalized intersections, pedestrians, cyclists, speed and road safety culture. Those areas resulted in 67 actions, of which 65 per cent are in progress, the report states. At the time of the plan’s announcement, the city said it would spend $30 million over the next six years for the action plan. In March the city implemented “leading pedestrian intervals” which allow pedestrians a five-second head start at crosswalks before drivers are given the green light to travel in the same direction. Other actions underway include working with the Winnipeg police on speed enforcement, piloting traffic calming curbs at 15 locations, hosting road safety events and workshops for the public and a new transportation data system to identify intersections with the greatest safety risk. Last August, the city announced the new system would collect traffic counts and collision data. At the time, Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said the addition will provide better data to help the city identify where it needs to make changes and investments to improve the system. The city said the system would aim to make better use of vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian counts, which are gathered through radar, intersection video cameras, pneumatic road tubes (tubes laid across the road to gather data) and other devices. nicole.buffie(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Surge pricing part of city’s new parking plan (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Nov '25

01 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Surge pricing part of city’s new parking plan https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/31/councillors-to-vo… THE City of Winnipeg has unveiled a five-year parking strategy that includes more spaces and “surge pricing” during busy times and special events. If the plan is adopted, the $270,000 strategy would pilot electric vehicle-charging stations downtown, develop an app for all parking needs and update accessibility signs for drivers with disabilities. The strategy aims to manage the parking stock amid increased curb use. “With the federal government providing funding for housing and transit, the city is densifying and we need our parking policies to better reflect that,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who is chairwoman of the public works committee, which will vote on it Nov. 6. It requires final approval from council. The strategy falls in line with the city’s recently implemented transit master plan, as well as CentrePlan 2050, which is in the works for the development of downtown parks, streets and buildings over three decades. Rideshare pick-ups, taxis, food deliveries, carsharing and loading all compete for curb space; the limited areas need to be managed to “meet community needs while also advancing broader goals like sustainability and city-building,” the report states. More paid and time-limited parking could be added in different areas. Surge pricing — charging more during periods of high demand — could help manage the city’s limited parking space in high-traffic areas, Lukes said. Baseline parking prices wouldn’t necessarily change. “If there’s a big event downtown and everyone wants parking, maybe the rates are higher so we keep parking available in areas where people would otherwise be parked for hours,” Lukes said. Demand for paid parking has steadily recovered since the pandemic. Drivers paid for 2.5 million hours of parking in 2023, a 25 per cent jump from one year earlier but still below the 2019 high of 2.8 million, the report states. In 2024, purchases climbed again to 2.6 million hours, only five per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Last year, the city managed approximately 3,850 street spaces plus nearly 1,250 stalls in one city-owned downtown parkade and seven lots. The strategy could empower the Winnipeg Parking Authority to ticket rule-breakers in private parking lots. The document also suggests the city establish several designated rideshare loading zones, such as in front of the downtown arena and Burton Cummings Theatre on Smith Street. Vehicle-for-hire trips have grown rapidly, to more than 10 million in 2024 from 6.7 million rides in 2022, the report said. Lukes said it’s time to fall in line with other major cities that have implemented similar strategies. “We need to have a better, unified system,” she said. “Our city is growing and the demand on street parking is greater and greater.” The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and other local improvement zones participated in sessions about the strategy and say its focus is ensuring the proposed changes support accessibility and vibrancy downtown. “It’s important that any new measures don’t create additional barriers for how people get to and move through downtown, and that they don’t negatively impact our local businesses, their staff and the community they serve,” Downtown BIZ chief operating officer Rhiannon Hayes said in an email. nicole.buffie(a)frepress.mb.ca<mailto:nicole.buffie@frepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Transit proposes to expand evening service and hire 27 drivers to address complaints (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Nov '25

01 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Later hours, more jobs to cost $7M Transit proposes to expand evening service and hire 27 drivers to address complaints https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/31/transit-proposes-… WINNIPEG Transit plans to spend millions of dollars each year and add 33.5 new staff positions to ensure buses on some of its fixed routes can run later into the night. A new proposal calls for council to approve $3 million in 2026 (when many of the changes will start in April) and $4.4 million throughout 2027 to extend service on 11 bus routes. The funding will also pay to extend a separate extension to nighttime service for on-request routes. “This gives a lot of really good late night service to areas that never had late night service under the old network or under the first instance of this new network,” said Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of service development. Radstrom said the routes were selected for added hours based on gaps identified in transit’s new primary route network, which was implemented on June 29. The city also considered proximity to large workplaces with night shifts, ridership data and public feedback. Radstrom said further changes could be needed as circumstances change, such as the construction of new neighbourhoods or addition of large companies that rely on night shifts. Transit’s new hires would include 27.5 new bus operator positions, plus six more positions to cover operating, plant, equipment and administrative supports. While Transit has sometimes struggled to hire enough bus drivers, that’s not expected to be an obstacle to this plan. “We’re doing better with our hiring than we ever have… We’re continuing to hire about six operators a week,” said Radstrom. In 2025, Transit hired 234 operators, while 120 left their positions, he said. “We haven’t had a single service cancellation due to a shortage of operators since the launch of the new network,” he added. On Thursday, council’s public works committee will vote on a request to refer the plan to the city’s 2026 budget process. The committee’s chairwoman said she will support the proposal. “People need to get to work. Transportation and movement is the backbone of our economy,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). Lukes said the changes match key complaints received by the city after the new network was implemented, with some residents noting they could no longer rely on the bus to get home from work or school. “We’re making these changes, we’re taking feedback,” she said. Mayor Scott Gillingham said he supports adding more night-time bus service, although he’s still reviewing the details of the plan. “If that’s what it takes to ensure that transit’s available late at night for transit users, then that’s an investment that I’m certainly willing to look at,” said Gillingham. If approved, the fixed route changes would kick in on April 12, 2026. The following routes would offer a last trip that starts after midnight: D10 Panet – Adsum; D14 Salter – Stafford; D16 Academy – Notre Dame; D17 Talbot – Selkirk; 28 Arlington – Stafford; 38 Mountain – Munroe; 43 Watt – Logan; 70 Roblin; 74 Kenaston – Keewatin; 224 Sherwin – Valour; 680 River Heights – Cambridge (on weekdays only). Currently, the last bus for fixed two-digit “connector” routes makes its final pickup around 10 p.m., while the last bus on three-digit “community” routes do so at 7 p.m. City council has already approved a separate plan to extend hours later into the night for 10 on-request bus routes, starting Dec. 14, with funding until April. The latest plan would extend its funding permanently as well. On-request service will end just before 2 a.m. from Monday to Saturday and around 12:45 a.m. on Sunday and holidays on those routes, instead of around 10 p.m. On-request service allows riders to request a pickup from their location to a stop on the primary bus network by using the Winnipeg Transit website, app or by calling 311. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: City pushing forward with Route 90 projects (Oct31'25)
by Beth McKechnie 31 Oct '25

31 Oct '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. City pushing forward with Route 90 projects Critics argue more Kenaston lanes won’t cure congestion, while costs also a concern https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/30/council-votes-to-… A MASSIVE project is moving forward to expand Kenaston Boulevard and replace key infrastructure around it, despite some concerns it won’t have a lasting impact on the area’s traffic-snarling congestion. On Thursday, city council voted 11-2 in favour taking the first steps to begin the plan next year, with construction to begin as soon as 2028. The proposal would earmark $5 million to start property acquisitions and set early planning to begin in 2027, pending approval in the city’s 2026 budget. “The Route 90 projects, plural, are all about the potential of Winnipeg. It’s all about… unlocking our future potential as a city,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham, deeming the boulevard a critical trade route. The mega project would widen Kenaston-Route 90 to offer three lanes in each direction between Taylor and Ness avenues. It would also replace the St. James bridges, separate aging pipes to reduce combined sewer overflows and add active-transportation pathways on both sides of Kenaston. It’s expected to cost $614 million, plus $143 million in interest, if the city funds it entirely through debt. In her first city council meeting after winning last Saturday’s Elmwood-East Kildonan ward byelection, Coun. Emma Durand-Wood joined Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) in opposing the project. “It’s just a very unaffordable project that takes away resources from other priorities that we have in the city,” said Durand-Wood. She said the city should instead focus its limited funds on expanding public transit and active transportation. “There’s ways that we can (improve transportation) without just adding more car lanes,” she said. Couns. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) and Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) were absent from the meeting and the vote. City council’s chairwoman of public works said widening the street is essential for promptly delivering goods throughout the city. “Transportation is the backbone of our economy, so we need to move people and we need to move goods. And the Route 90 (expansion) is doing all of that,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). The decision comes after members of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition urged councillors to reject the project. During Thursday’s council meeting, coalition member Tim Fennell argued the city simply can’t afford the Kenaston overhaul and shouldn’t “saddle” future generations with paying off the tab. “It’s a lot of money we’re talking about here… We’re planning to pay for it over 30 years,” said Fennell. Fennell also questioned why a third party cost benefit analysis was not fully released to the public. To date, only the executive summary has been published. That Deloitte review predicts the project would produce about $10 million more in benefits more than it will cost throughout its life cycle. Coalition member Brian Pincott said adding traffic lanes will attract more vehicles to the route, quickly eliminating any improved traffic flow. “Kenaston is horrible to drive on. They’re… thinking if we add another lane we’ll improve traffic flow, we’ll reduce congestion. Any transportation planner knows that induced demand chews up your extra capacity right away,” said Pincott, who acknowledged the need for bridge, sewer and road-resurfacing components of the project. Gillingham said a traffic increase in the area is not a risk but a guarantee, noting the Naawi-Oodena redevelopment of the former Kapyong Barracks is expected to add up to 3,100 more residential units in the area. “This is not an induced demand, this is an inevitable demand,” he said. The mayor said the road widening would be needed to create the capacity required to expand transit in the area. “The only way that we could expand transit is to expand that road. The potential growth of transit in that area would be completely tied to (that),” he said. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Trustees want say in school zone redesign (Oct31'25)
by Beth McKechnie 31 Oct '25

31 Oct '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Trustees want say in school zone redesign Move to make 30 kilometres per hour the residential default speed also on the table https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/31/trustees-want-say… TRUSTEES are calling on Winnipeg City Council to redesign 30 km/h school zones to better protect everyone who lives, learns and works in their wards — and they want a say in an infrastructure makeover. For Ryan Palmquist, an active cyclist, dad and first-term trustee, road safety is both a passion and frequent source of frustration. His son’s trek to École Varennes serves as a daily reminder of why he remains committed to the cause. “My oldest son crosses a crosswalk — every single day, twice a day, to go to school — where a kid died,” the father of three said. On Feb. 13, 2018, an eight-year-old boy was struck by a motorist when he was crossing Ste. Anne’s Road at Varennes Avenue. Grade 3 student Surafiel Musse Tesfamariam’s death resulted in significant upgrades at the intersection. No charges were laid. The tragedy and others like it are what motivated Palmquist to mount a 2022 campaign for Ward 3 trustee in the Louis Riel School Division. In the lead up to the last municipal election, he went door-to-door to promise voters he’d lobby for safer streets and learn-to-swim programs. Palmquist, who was previously an executive assistant for Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface), a well-known supporter of active transportation, made good on both promises this fall. The Louis Riel School Division board unanimously approved his motion to ask metro boards to join forces to demand more inter-governmental collaboration so they are regularly consulted on “matters of traffic safety in and around schools.” The Manitoba School Boards Association is gathering trustees in Region 5 — seven boards inside the Perimeter — on Saturday to short list their priorities for 2025-26. If Palmquist’s motion is deemed a priority, it will be brought to the association’s 2026 annual general meeting of 38 boards. Also this weekend, attendees will vote on whether they should appeal to all trustees in Manitoba to petition higher levels of government to establish 30 km/h as the default speed limit on all residential streets. City hall’s special liaison for school boards has heard from multiple board chairs with concerns about school speed zones since Labour Day. Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) has asked trustees if they are in favour of 24-7, year-round reduced school speed zones — a proposal she received from the Winnipeg School Division last month. “School properties and nearby amenities are active well beyond those restricted hours,” Santos wrote in an Oct. 9 letter to board chairs. “Children, families and seniors regularly use these spaces — whether it’s teens attending after-school programming offered by the city or the school division, families visiting playgrounds during summer holidays, or seniors walking or cycling around school areas for recreation and exercise.” Santos is set to meet with board chairs to discuss the subject next week. The Free Press’ ongoing investigative series on school zone safety has revealed the 30 km/h limit in place to protect students has not reduced traffic violations. There are approximately 150 school zones in Winnipeg with reduced speed limits in place between Sept. 1 to June 30. They are typically in effect from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays over that 10 month period, regardless of whether classes are in session. Last year, there were nearly 32,000 photo radar violations between the top 10 revenue-generating stretches, according to enforcement data obtained via freedom of information requests. A University of Winnipeg research team’s historical database shows many of the 2024-25 hot spots — including behind River Elm School (Talbot Avenue) and beside Greenway School (St. Matthews Avenue) — are chronic problem areas. There have been more speed camera flashes on Talbot between Watt Street and Gateway Road than anywhere else since it became a designated 30 km/h area. There were upwards of 5,000 tickets generated in the area last year. There has been little political will to make signage or other infrastructure related improvements to reduce violations that raise tens of millions of dollars for the city annually. The majority of 30 km/h school zones in Manitoba aren’t enforced around the clock, but some — like those in Portage la Prairie — are, said Alan Campbell, president of the Manitoba School Boards Association. Campbell said every school grapples with congestion during drop off and pick up, but he declined to weigh in on whether reduced speed limits are effective when it comes to changing motorists’ behaviours. “Ninety-nine per cent of schools in Winnipeg don’t have adequate drop-off zones,” said the longtime trustee who is a transportation director for a city school division. Many aging neighbourhoods, which were built to prioritize walkability, are not equipped for the current level of bus and personal vehicle activity, Campbell noted. As far as Palmquist is concerned, members of the Manitoba School Boards Association are among the most critical road safety stakeholders, but their input is often overlooked. He cited trustees’ concerns about the predatory nature of photo radar as one example. “Predatory speed traps could easily be redesigned or re-engineered to eliminate speeding,” Palmquist said. “I support what (Santos) wants to do in principle, but it is inextricably linked to this other problem that we have to fix before we can move forward.” Both Palmquist and Ian Walker, a trustee and member of Safe Speeds Winnipeg, has called on the public works committee to study ticket hot spots and make adjustments to deter violations. Board chair Sandy Nemeth said she’s optimistic other boards will endorse the Louis Riel motion because every school community is affected by traffic violations. Near-misses and collisions take a toll on individuals and school communities at large, Nemeth said. There have already been at least three incidents involving students at Louis Riel division schools since classes began in September. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Seven kids struck by vehicles in one month (Oct24'25)
by Beth McKechnie 24 Oct '25

24 Oct '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Rash of ‘close calls’ prompts MPI to urge patience Seven kids struck by vehicles in one month https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/23/distracted-impati… MANITOBA children have been hit by vehicles 36 times this year. Seven of the incidents were in September, as kids made their way back to school after the summer break. Manitoba Public Insurance’s latest analysis of road incidents also reveals there have been dozens of collisions involving school buses in 2025. The numbers represent “close calls, injuries and lives forever changed,” said Maria Campos, vice-president and chief customer and product officer at the public insurer. “They show why extra vigilance around school buses and in school zones is so critical.” MPI unveiled a new awareness campaign Thursday calling on all road users to practise patience, especially throughout the 2025-26 school year. Rows of yellow buses belonging to the River East Transcona School Division served as the backdrop for the event. Martin Monette, the division’s transportation director, oversees a team of more than 100 people who get thousands of students to and from class every school day. Combined, his front-line staff rack up more than a million kilometres every year. They travel about 5,500 kilometres each school day. Monette’s drivers have reported that other drivers’ impatience and distractions are getting worse every year. And they’ve come to a collective conclusion that Winnipeg Transit’s recent system overhaul is contributing to the problem by backing up traffic “more than anything.” Asked about what motorists could do to make school bus drivers’ jobs and, as a result, their young passengers safer, Monette had a quick answer. “Stop at a stop sign,” he said. “It’s that simple.” It is illegal to pass a bus with flashing red lights — an indicator that it is either loading or unloading students. The rule applies to oncoming traffic, as well as vehicles behind a bus. The law demands that drivers stop at least five metres from a school bus if its overhead lights and stop-sign arm are activated. Rule breakers face a $672 fine and two demerit points on their licence. Campos noted that oncoming traffic is not exempt because children may be crossing in front of the bus. Speeding or distracted driving can have tragic consequences, she said midway through Manitoba’s annual school-bus safety week. “Treat every school zone like your own family is there,” she said. Sandra Hofer, now a trainer in RETSD, began her 25-year career as a school bus driver in 1999. Hofer, wearing high-visibility gear, participated in an interview from the driver’s seat of a bus equipped with a new extended stop sign to replace the one knocked off by a driver when the vehicle was stopped during a run on Henderson Highway last week. “These are your best friends as a driver,” Hofer said, pointing to the six mirrors in front of her. Hofer did not gesture to the seventh, the largest of the bunch: a rectangular panel used for supervising children. But student behaviour issues are not the top concern for drivers in her division; the problems are caused by commuters who share the road. “Everybody’s just in a rush to get where they’re going,” Hofer said. “They’re very distracted. People have 100 things going on at any time. “Everybody just needs to slow down.” Bus drivers don’t like holding up traffic, but getting students — especially the chatty ones who don’t yet understand traffic-delay annoyances — safely on and off is more complex and time-intensive than most people waiting realize. Over the last four years, since traffic began returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, school buses have been involved in 451 collisions in which MPI has recorded 105 injuries, 79 of which have occurred this year. While noting bus drivers play a key role in protecting Manitoba students, River East-Transcona secretary-treasurer Elise Downey said parents and other community members do as well. “Staying mindful and aware” around buses, as well as maintaining safe speeds near schools is an easy starting point, she said. Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas), who is the city’s designated liaison for metro school boards, recently reached out to trustees to organize a standard in-school year meeting. Downey said she anticipates schoolzone safety will be a hot topic, as it often is. Following a Free Press investigation into the city’s top ticket-generating school zones in 2024-2025, Mayor Scott Gillingham said he would consider supporting safety-related upgrades near schools if there is data to prove there are areas with chronic problems. None of the 10 most ticketed 30 km/h school zones in Winnipeg were located in the River East-Transcona division’s area last year, according to photo-radar enforcement data obtained via freedom of information. École Voix des Prairies (851 Panet Rd.), a francophone school within the English board’s borders, was No. 5 on the list. There were 3,429 traffic violations issued at that site between Sept. 1, 2024 and June 30. The West End’s St. Matthews Ave. made the top 10 list twice, with a combined 5,664 speed-camera flashes going off outside Greenway School (390 Burnell St.) last year. Eastbound traffic behind River Elm School (500 Riverton Ave.), which backs onto Talbot Avenue, was the top spot, generating 5,833 speeding tickets. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: $2.1M for pathway for Winkler, Morden (Oct9'25)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Oct '25

09 Oct '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. $2.1M FOR PATHWAY FOR WINKLER, MORDEN OTTAWA is contributing $2.1 million to a new 10-kilometre pathway connecting Winkler and Morden. The pathway will also provide improved access to Boundary Trails Health Centre, the federal government said in a news release Wednesday. The cities of Winkler and Morden and the Rural Municipality of Stanley are contributing $2.25 million, split three ways. Almost $1.8 million was raised through local efforts. The federal money is from the active transportation fund.

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