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WFP: Transit loses millions in ridership revenue (Dec9'25)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Dec '25

09 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Transit loses millions in ridership revenue New network, safety concerns cited as ridership declines; surplus still forecast https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/08/transit-loses-mil… WINNIPEG Transit expects to earn $8.5 million less in fares than its budget predicted this year as fewer people have been taking the bus. During a public works meeting on Monday, committee members were told the number of riders fell to 89 per cent of 2019 levels as of Nov. 30, this year. That’s down from 95 per cent of 2019 (pre-pandemic levels) throughout 2024. Annual ridership reached 48,770,208 in 2019, the city’s website says. “The issue that we continue to struggle with is the erosion of fare revenue and this year’s forecast is to be under budget by $8.5 million… We did not anticipate the extent to which we have realized lower ridership numbers,” Laurie Fisher, Winnipeg Transit’s finance manager, told the committee. Fisher said riders who refuse to pay also affect revenue. Due to savings in fuel and carbon tax costs, Transit still expects to end the year with a $400,000 surplus. The service doesn’t have clear data to determine the exact reasons why ridership declined. However, a Transit official believes the bumpy start to a new primary transit network implemented on June 29 is partly to blame. “After the launch of the new network, we were expecting that we would have a bit of a decline in ridership, because… it’s going to take people a while to learn the new network. Some people are just going to not take transit anymore and there’s going to be a bit of a lag until people who have better service (due to the changes)… start taking the bus,” said Bjorn Radstrom, Transit’s manager of service development. The new primary transit network triggered many complaints from riders, with some reporting longer travel times, inconvenient stops and added transfers. Transfers are a key feature of the new spine-and-feeder system, which uses community feeder routes to connect to more central ones and aims to make many buses more reliable. Radstrom noted the decline in ridership began late last year, months before the new network was implemented. He said similar reductions have been experienced by other transit systems, though the reasons are not clear. “We’re all a little bit confused as to why this is happening,” he said. The chairwoman of council’s public works committee said she suspects reduced ridership may be linked to repeated security issues. “I’d have to say people are not maybe taking transit as much because they’re concerned about their safety,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). Crime has been a persistent concern for Transit for several years. In September, the Winnipeg Police Service announced a “targeted safety strategy” in and around buses. Police noted 325 violent crimes were reported at Winnipeg Transit locations in 2024 alone, including on buses and near bus shelters. Lukes stressed the city and Transit have taken several steps to reduce public transportation risks, including adding community safety officers who patrol buses and bus stops. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president Chris Scott called the loss in revenue “a bit of a surprise and a bit of a concern.” Scott suggested changes made by the Transit overhaul, namely the reduction in late night service, could be a major factor in ridership decline. Safety issues could also be a factor. “The two of them combined should put the city on notice that something is going to have to be done, and going to have to be done soon,” he said. Ridership has slowly gone up since the pandemic, Scott said, but the drop in revenue has him concerned about a potential “death spiral,” where a reduction in ridership could result in cuts in service from the city, then spark further reductions in ridership. “I do hope that this is just a hiccup in our increase in ridership.” Harleen Deol, a University of Winnipeg student, said she bought a car around three months after the Transit routes changed in June. Overnight, the trip from her home in Amber Trails to the U of W nearly doubled, to an hour or more from 35 minutes, and she had to walk over half an hour to get home some days because her bus did not run at night. “I can guarantee that if the bus routes had not changed, I would have never got the car,” she said Monday. Taylor Reisdorf said he used to catch the bus twice a day or more. Now, he uses the bus about one day a week. He also bought a car in response to the Transit overhaul after his commute from River Heights to his downtown office became 40 minutes or longer, in comparison to his original 15- to 20-minute commute. “I no longer rely on the transit system… I’ve lost faith in their ability to run the system properly,” he said. As the temperature continues to drop, he said he worries about Transit users who may be waiting outside more often and for longer periods, without additional shelters at stops to help them stay warm. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> malak.abas(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: WRENCH’s Cycle of Giving provides bikes to children in need (Dec8'25)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Dec '25

08 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. WRENCH’s Cycle of Giving provides bikes to children in need Hundreds of bicycles brought back to life https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/08/hundreds-of-bicyc… THE same thing that motivated Gerry Hagglund to participate in a bike-building marathon 14 years ago brought him back to the event on Sunday. “It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he said. Hagglund was one of more than 100 volunteers who participated in the WRENCH’s 15th annual Cycle of Giving, which sees the organization take bicycles bound for the landfill, restore them and give them to children in need. More than 350 bicycles were brought back to life during the 24-hour event, which started Saturday at noon. A retired dental supply company executive and avid cyclist, Hagglund arrived at the event at 6 a.m. on Sunday. Five hours later, he’d already repaired 10 bikes. “It’s kind of nice to see something like that get all fixed up and go off to a new person who will really enjoy it,” the 68-year-old said. “I can remember when our son got his first bike. It’s an amazing sight to see.” There were 16 repair stations set up at Lord Roberts Community Centre for the event, plus one corner where participants made sure each bicycle was equipped with reflectors. At the quality control station, two senior mechanics double-checked everyone’s work and gave each bike a test drive. “One of the joys of Cycle of Giving is watching large adults ride tiny bicycles — and usually pull it off pretty well,” Geoff Heath said, cracking a smile. Heath was one of the first employees at the WRENCH, which stands for Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub, when it was started in 2010. While he’s since moved on to other work, he still volunteers at the charitable non-profit. Taking a short break from his work at the quality control station on Sunday, the 42-year-old recalled pulling all-nighters during the first few Cycle of Giving events. “At some point, around 3 a.m., you really don’t want to fix bikes anymore,” he said. “It’s a marathon. To those that do it, kudos.” It’s a worthwhile cause, he added. “(For) so many kids in the city who might not have access to a bike, at the holiday season they’re getting a pair of wheels,” he said. “That’s pretty amazing.” After making it through quality control, every bike went to the washing station to undergo cleaning. Maren Tyc and Lauren Purves were set up there Sunday morning. It was the lifelong best friends’ first time participating in the event. “Maybe in future years we’ll be at the level to work at one of the mechanic stations,” Tyc said. “I’d be really excited about that.” Tyc and Purves decided to get involved after doing a cycling trip in Norway this past summer. The 26-year-olds rode more than 1,000 km on a tandem bicycle from Oslo to Tromsø, where Purves is studying urban planning. Both were impressed by the event. “There’s a lot of energy in the room… and so much generosity,” Tyc said. “It’s just really cool to see this many people come together for one cause.” The WRENCH aims to make the event accessible to participants of all abilities and skill sets, Heath said. At a final station, volunteers were creating homemade holiday cards that will be distributed with each bike. According to its website, the WRENCH offers community bike programming aimed at educating youth, empowering volunteers and providing people with affordable, sustainable active transportation options. It’s headquartered on Logan Avenue. Cycle of Giving is important because it gives the organization an opportunity to fix and distribute a large number of bikes in a short amount of time, said Anders Annell, bike shop co-ordinator. The WRENCH will distribute the bikes to about a dozen community partners who will give them to children who are nine years old and younger, he said. Staff and volunteers go to great lengths to make sure children receive something that works well and is clean, he added. “Any bike can be awesome if it’s free, but a bike that looks great and works great is even better — and it’s safer,” Annell said. Bruce W.J. Miller, executive director at the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council, said he feels fortunate his organization will be receiving some of the bikes repaired during Cycle of Giving. “We’re very thankful for the generosity of the WRENCH program,” Miller said. “As you can imagine, a bike can mean a world of difference to a young person.” aaron.epp(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Data shows opening Portage and Main to pedestrians has minimal impact on rush-hour travel times (Dec8'25)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Dec '25

08 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Data shows opening Portage and Main to pedestrians has minimal impact on rush-hour travel times ‘Doomsday predictions’ proven ‘wrong’ https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/08/doomsday-predicti… FOUR months after the intersection of Portage and Main opened to pedestrian crossings, traffic data shows there has been almost no impact to commuting motorists. It’s news that comes as little surprise to proponents of taking down the barricades that once held foot traffic at bay — and one that some hope will end a contentious debate that has raged in the Manitoba capital for decades. “Before the intersection was open to pedestrians, everybody heard the doomsday predictions about gridlock and accidents that would happen, and the data proves that those predictions were wrong,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Friday. “Ultimately, I don’t have good answer as to why this was debated for so long.” The City of Winnipeg undertook a study to analyze travel-times for motorists crossing Portage Avenue and Main Street. It involved data collected from GPS-enabled vehicles travelling on four key routes leading into and from the intersection during peak traffic hours in November. That data was then compared to data collected from November of last year, before pedestrian traffic was introduced. Morning travel on two of the routes was unchanged year over year, while travel time for the others increased by less than a minute. In the afternoon, travel time on three of the routes increased by less than two minutes, and the remaining route saw a one-minute decrease. “Generally speaking, there has been minimal impact to travel times,” city spokesperson Julie Dooley said in an email. “These changes are all considered relatively negligible when looking at impacts to daily commutes.” Meanwhile, the data found the intersection has been crossed by tens of thousands of pedestrians, with foot traffic averaging 3,570 people per day. Dooley noted the analysis did not account for nearby construction, or other issues that could cause congestion. “I’m not surprised. It’s a modern intersection and we are employing modern techniques to manage traffic flow,” said University of Winnipeg urban geography professor Jino Distasio. “My hope is that, in the end, the average Winnipegger just sees the opening of Portage and Main as nothing more than a routine cleanup of an intersection that could have always allowed pedestrians to cross.” Despite its reputation as Winnipeg’s most iconic intersection, Distasio said Portage and Main is fundamentally no different from crossings in other major urban centres. “On any given day now, if you asked a tourist, ‘Is there anything distinctive about this intersection?’ Most would look at you and say, ‘What?’” he said. “I think today, we’ve just moved on. The issue is closed and the intersection is open.” Arguments over whether at-grade crossings should be permitted at Portage and Main have ebbed and flowed since it closed to foot traffic in 1979 and pedestrians were redirected to an underground concourse. Reopening the intersection was a key plank in former mayor Brian Bowman’s 2014 election campaign, but he encountered resistance from some on city council. The debate reached a fever pitch with the results of a 2018 plebiscite, in which the majority of respondents voted against reopening. Opponents cited concerns that pedestrian crossings may cause traffic congestion and compromise safety. It is unclear whether the reopening has resulted in an increase in collisions; Manitoba Public Insurance could not immediately provide such data on Friday. Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy said pedestrian crossings have not caused issues for officers. Coun. Janice Lukes, who at first opposed opening the intersection to pedestrians, later reversed course and was among the first people to cross during a grand-opening ceremony in June. She travels the route by car almost daily, and has noticed no difference to her commute in the months since, she said. “At the time, I didn’t support it. But, you know what, society changes, things change, life changes, people change,” she said. “I think back then, there was a lot of political drama about it. This current mayor said, ‘Look, it’s an intersection. We want to get it done, let’s do it.’ And we did, and I’m fine with it.” Adam Dooley was a key member of the citizen-led Vote Open campaign during the plebiscite. He said the decision became unnecessarily politically charged, and should have instead focused on improving accessibility downtown. “It was a feud between a couple of city councillors and the mayor of the day, and I hope that we can all learn that that kind of behaviour just poisons politics and leads to bad decision-making,” he said. “It’s very nice that it’s working out the way it is; it’s frustrating that it took us this long to get here.” Coun. Jeff Browaty, who also once opposed opening the intersection, agreed that doing so has not had a dramatic effect on travel times. He said the change coincided with other traffic improvements surrounding the intersection, including the addition of a new turning lane and an overhaul of the Winnipeg Transit network. “I think these are all real factors,” he said. “I think this does end the debate, and we will have to monitor things. I do believe there is still a segment of the population that is still anti-car… the vast majority of trips Winnipeggers take are by vehicle, and I think we do need to continue to recognize that fact.” tyler.searle(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Mayor sees solution to housing at curling club site (Dec4'25)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Dec '25

04 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. [This article is a bit outside the boundaries of the AT Network's purpose but I thought many of you would be equally interested.] City report says provincial board lacks authority to impose parking condition on development permit Mayor sees solution to housing at curling club site https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/03/city-proposes-roc… MAYOR Scott Gillingham says the city has a solution to advance the controversial housing project slated for the Granite Curling Club parking lot, although the club alleges the city doesn’t have the power to put it in place. “I believe there’s a win-win situation here to get the housing built that we need… and also to address the parking matter in a new lease,” said Gillingham. In February, city council approved an 11 storey, 110-unit residential building for the city-owned land. Half of the suites would have affordable rent for 99 years. But the Granite Curling Club appealed the decision to the Manitoba Municipal Board, arguing the location would eliminate 45 of its 80 parking stalls, rendering the operation no longer viable. In November, the municipal board directed the city and club to develop an “adequate” parking plan “to the satisfaction of the Granite Curling Club” and city, which the mayor opposed, arguing that would give the club veto power over the project. Since provincial legislation prohibits city council from passing a zoning bylaw that doesn’t conform to the municipal board’s recommendations, many considered the directive binding. However, in a new report released Wednesday, city staff conclude the parking plan condition is “not in respect of the proposed bylaw” and the provincial board has “no authority” to impose a condition on a development permit. That means city council is not legally bound to follow it, the report states. The staff report recommends council instead approve its original motion to allow the project. “We have the public service recommendation here, in consultation with the city’s legal team, that this is the way we should proceed and I’ll be supporting that,” said Gillingham. The mayor noted he is also calling on city staff to negotiate a new long-term lease with the board of the curling club, which includes an expanded leased area and dedicated on-site parking options. “I believe there’s parking space available in the area. This problem can be solved,” said Gillingham. The city has long deemed the proposed housing at 22 Granite Way as key to creating much-needed affordable homes near transit and other services. On Wednesday, a member of the Granite club’s board said he remains convinced the city would violate provincial legislation if it doesn’t follow the entire municipal board recommendation. “Although the city was unhappy with the decision, it doesn’t give the city the right to ignore the provisions of the city charter and the municipal board’s recommendation,” said Christian Pierce, the board’s secretary. “(This) is in clear contravention of the city charter provisions.” Pierce said the club doesn’t oppose the housing development itself but must have sufficient parking to ensure it can continue operations. He said the board is considering “all options” to oppose the city’s decision, which could include a legal challenge. “We’re just absolutely baffled that (the city is) taking the position that they don’t have to follow legislation,” said Pierce. When asked if the provincial government will take any action to ensure the city follows the board’s directions, Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard did not directly answer. While he urged the city and curling club to “continue to work on compromises,” he also noted repeatedly that his government respects the authority of its municipal counterparts. “We’ll continue to look forward to having legislation in place so these types of incidents don’t happen in the future… The city has decisions to make. We respect them as a local and mature order of government to make those decisions,” said Simard. The provincial government is reviewing legislation that controls the municipal board’s powers. Winnipeg City Council’s executive policy committee will vote Tuesday on the plan to move the project forward. — with files from Carol Sanders joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Transit heeds ‘direct feedback,’ adds late-night hours to most on-request zones (Dec2'25)
by Beth McKechnie 02 Dec '25

02 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Transit heeds ‘direct feedback,’ adds late-night hours to most on-request zones https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/02/transit-heeds-dir… WINNIPEG Transit will soon add late night service to most of its on-request zones, allowing riders to hail buses until 2 a.m. most days. The city made the announcement in a news release Monday, saying the changes are a “direct result” of feedback that riders have submitted since June’s launch of the new spine-and-feeder bus network. “Winnipeggers have been clear about what’s working and what needs improvement,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in the release. “Winnipeg Transit is using that feedback, along with what they see on buses and at transit stops every day, to keep improving the new network.” The city cut more than 1,000 bus stops when it overhauled the transit system, but expanded the on-request bus service that allows riders to request a bus pickup online, via an app or by calling 311. There are now 12 zones around the city where riders can request a bus to take them from where they are to a bus stop on the primary network. Ten of those zones will benefit from the changes, with zones 104 (St. Boniface Industrial Park) and zone 110 (St. Boniface) the only two unaffected, All zones that currently operate after 7 p.m. will extend service until about 2 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays and holidays, those zones will operate until about 12:45 a.m., the release said. The boundaries for zone 103 (North West) will also expand so passengers can take on-request rides to Garden City Shopping Centre and Walmart. “We’ve also rewritten schedules for buses that were regularly late and added capacity to routes that were regularly full,” the news release said. Other changes include a full rewrite of schedules for buses D12, D13, D16 and F8. In total, those routes will see 49 service hours added on weekdays. New trips will also be added to six school-serving routes that are experiencing capacity issues, the release said. Routes 557, 649 and 678 will see new trips added before and after school hours. Routes 442, 694 and 885 will see an extra trip added before school hours. A list detailing those schedule changes, and more, is available on the Winnipeg Transit website. The changes will take effect Sunday to coincide with the launch of Transit’s winter schedule. tyler.searle(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Que. coroner calls for better pedestrian safety after death of girl (Dec1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Dec '25

01 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Que. coroner calls for better pedestrian safety after death of girl MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner is recommending strengthened measures to protect pedestrian safety after the hit-and-run death of a seven-year-old Ukrainian refugee in 2022. Coroner Éric Lépine said in a recent report that the girl’s death was accidental, caused by the driver’s failure to stop fully at an intersection as well as the blinding morning sun. “My analysis of the facts leads me to conclude that the driver never saw (the victim) and that (the victim) never saw the vehicle,” Lépine wrote. “The collision resulted from a lack of vigilance on the part of the driver, due to an incomplete stop of his vehicle combined with poor visibility caused by glare from the sun.” However, he called on the city and province to take steps to improve safety at intersections, including adding sun glare as a criteria to consider when deciding which measures to put in place. Seven-year-old Mariia Legenkovska was walking to school with her brother and sister on Dec. 13, 2022, when a Jeep Grand Cherokee fatally struck her. The driver drove away without stopping but turned himself in to police later that day. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to failing to stop after an accident, and was later sentenced to a year of house arrest. Mariia and her family moved to Montreal in 2022 to escape the Russian invasion of their country. Her father, Andrii Legenkovska, was fighting for Ukraine’s territorial defence forces when she was killed, and he travelled to Montreal from the front lines to bury his daughter. Lépine’s Nov. 12 report redacts the victim’s name but notes that her death affected all of Quebec and prompted calls to better protect children in city streets. The report notes that the driver slowed down and looked both ways at the intersection where the girl was struck, but did not stop. The driver did not see the girl, but felt a bump under his tires, it states. He turned himself in to police a few hours later. The coroner noted that physical modifications such as bollards, speed bumps and curb extensions are the best way to improve pedestrian safety at intersections, and advised the city to continue adding them wherever possible. — The Canadian Press

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WFP: Child struck by vehicle Friday (Dec1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Dec '25

01 Dec '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. CHILD STRUCK BY VEHICLE FRIDAY A YOUTH was hit by a car while crossing the street on River Road near St. Mary’s Road just before 5 p.m. Friday. The child was sent to hospital as a precaution and is in stable condition, the Winnipeg Police Service confirmed Saturday. The driver remained at the scene and was co-operative with police.

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WFP: Pernicious cycle - Is there any strategy that can shift bike-theft crisis out of high gear? (Nov29'25)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Nov '25

29 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. PERNICIOUS CYCLE Is there any strategy that can shift bike-theft crisis out of high gear? https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/11/28/pernicious-cycle THERE’S perhaps no crime Winnipeggers are more likely to complain about. The hefty amount it costs Winnipeggers every year is impossible to calculate precisely, since the phenomenon goes as under-reported as it is seemingly omnipresent. Yet talk to local universities’ sociologists and criminologists, and they’ll tell you the crime — bike theft — isn’t particularly well-studied in Canada. The public’s picture of this “black market” is filtered mostly through aggravating personal experiences and news reports, which lately in Winnipeg have offered especially eye-catching headlines. Earlier this month, the Winnipeg Police Service told the public stolen bikes are being stripped down for parts that can be turned into weapons. And not just knives and sharp objects, but improvised shotguns. “We have concerns not only for the theft of bicycles that are being traded for money… or for drugs, but we’re also concerned about bicycles that are being taken apart and then used to create weapons,” said Insp. Helen Peters, adding a bike tube casing can be the right size to hold a shotgun shell. In August, city police shut down a bike chop shop at a riverbank homeless encampment in Point Douglas, charging two men with possession of stolen property and seizing dozens of bikes and hundreds of bike parts, as well as a gas generator, pressure washer and other materials. It’s believed to be the first time Winnipeg police secured and executed a search warrant for an encampment. The WPS also reported that people at the approximately 900-sq.-ft. camp — consisting of tarps on four sides, with multiple “rooms” — were working in shifts and did not necessarily appear homeless. Fabricating shotguns, engaging in shift work, stockpiling stolen goods in hidden dens, being thwarted by warrants — all this may at first give an impression that actors in Winnipeg’s black market for bikes are essentially, to use a loaded term, “organized” criminally. But talk to local outreach workers and to some of the actors themselves and a different picture emerges, one of a chaotic milieu driven by desperation, poverty and addiction. “What the police found (in Point Douglas) was more the exception than it is the rule… Generally, it’s very disorganized. It’s part of the flailing behaviour of drug addicts,” says Marion Willis, executive director of the non-profit St. Boniface Street Links, which works with people experiencing homelessness and addiction. Willis points to the hoarding tendencies of methamphetamine addicts, attributing some bike theft and chopping to the compulsive behaviours the drug can trigger. In fact, she says she’s lobbied city council for policies differentiating between hoarding disorders and meth addicts’ collecting behaviours so city workers don’t address the two with the same tactics. “People are attempting to frame (bike theft) as organized crime because there is, I think, at least a limited degree of consciousness around the idea of crimes of poverty,” says Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, an associate professor in the University of Winnipeg’s department of criminal justice. Yet, she says, this doesn’t mean bike thieves aren’t “rational” or “organized” in other senses. “People organize to make the encampment safe for themselves. They steal bikes and organize (in ways) that arise from a shared set of problems in a particular context,” she says. “People are making choices based on a scan of their options…And that goes right down to choice of drugs. People take meth because they have to stay awake when it’s cold outside.” Point Douglas community activist Sel Burrows suggests there is often criminal co-ordination involved with bike theft, observing that a division of labour — between stealers, choppers and sellers — sometimes exists. But he agrees that it mostly falls well short of “organized crime” in the conventional sense. “There’s the professional bike thief who goes out looking for high-end bikes and has a battery-powered grinder… (and there’s) the two or three poor souls who definitely need their meth hit or whatever and they will chop up whatever bikes they can and take them down to the junkyard,” he says. ●●● Burrows and Willis, speaking from decades of experience working with underserved urban communities, both say bicycle theft is an important part of the economy fuelling the purchase of meth and fentanyl in Winnipeg, with bikes and bike parts often serving as currency. Illicit currencies can be laundered and in an informal sense this appears to be one of the roles chop shops play: a site not just for stripping bikes, but for spray-painting them, scratching off serial numbers and mixing and matching parts so that when bikes are resold, they can’t be easily identified. “(Stealing and chopping bikes) is part of the inner-city gig economy. You can’t get a job, you don’t have a car, so you can’t go delivering food and stuff like that… this is something you can do with very little skill,” says Burrows, who has held senior advisory roles with the provincial government. “It’s all about getting money to buy drugs or having something they can trade for drugs. That’s what it is. That’s the underground economy,” Willis says. Sellers of stolen bikes are known to offload their wares by a variety of means, such as online via Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, or by selling them to passers-by on the street. James Audy, an outreach worker with Street Links, says dealers sometimes accept bicycles from customers, not to re-sell them, but for parts to tune up the look and function of their own bikes. He speaks candidly based not only on his experience with outreach, but as an ex-gang member who ended up homeless for a decade. “On the streets, the nicer bike you have, then the better the status you have, right?” he says. “If I was dealing drugs and if I seen a nice part, I’d buy it just to put it on my bike.” When vehicles are too expensive — and in a car-centric city with a floundering public transit system — Audy says bikes substitute as objects of pride and as means of transportation. So those drawn to using stolen bikes for lack of an affordable alternative ideally want to get around on something that doesn’t offend the eye and also provides a smooth ride, like virtually everyone else. ●●● “Someone’s always using a bike, it’s the hood… They use bikes — they don’t have money for transportation,” says Marty. He lives in one of downtown Winnipeg’s encampments and runs a makeshift bike shop outside his tent. He says he resells the bikes he works on usually for around $40 and sometimes services others’ two-wheelers in need of repairs. “You could just as easily throw them out,” he says of the old, loose parts scattered outside his tent. With a hint of humour, he describes his work as a form of recycling. Lee, who ran a makeshift bike shop in his yard before police intervened this summer, is hurt by the negative perception neighbours had of his family. He says he provides a kind of service for people wanting cheap bicycles and bike parts while making ends meet after an injury left him unable to work. “I had a couple people stop by — I give them a tire or nut… (later) the cops showed up and tried to say we’re drug dealers… People look at us like we’re bad people. But we’re trying to provide… (and) everyday is a struggle,” he says. “Everyone’s not perfect: the kids want to be tough. The kids and friends bring parts… and I go through them,” he adds. Lee says his family are not thieves, but if a few stolen parts mix into the piles he has on hand, “I don’t find it that big of a deal.” Marty’s attitude is similar. “People just drop them off, I don’t ask,” he says. “I know some parts are stolen, but… I’m against stealing. I think about if someone was hurt.” He says he has often been the victim of theft, himself. “Sometimes people steal from me. It’s my fault, it’s in the open,” he says. “It could be the same people who ask me to fix the bike… People act like children, stealing each other’s toys: they’re mad at something, I can’t put my finger on it.” Audy isn’t surprised by this and describes the underground market for bikes in downtown Winnipeg as a sort of warped circular economy. “Everybody’s in survival mode,” he says. “Everybody steals off everybody. It’s a greasy environment. The next generation is seeing all these older guys … stealing and thinking it’s cool, so now they’re trying to step it up a little bit, right?” ●●● Bike theft is not just a “crime of the poor.” Petty thievery can tempt people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and, unsurprisingly, there’s hardly a unified social-scientific explanation for bicycle theft. Dobchuk-Land says studying bike theft is also complicated by the fact there exists a rift between crime reporting and crime itself. Certain neighbourhoods and demographics are policed more, skewing perceptions of crime. However, there is no shortage of studies highlighting how low socioeconomic status — including poverty, unemployment and inequality — correlates in complex ways with certain forms of street crime, like petty theft. The sociologist is often drawn toward thinking about social systems and structures, and how these might be reformed, when it comes to addressing “crimes of survival” including petty thievery. This could mean not solely improving social opportunities but also reforming how such crimes are policed in the first place, sparking heated debates and a range of policy possibilities. But for the Winnipegger who enters their garage to find their brand-new city cruiser lifted, often the first and last thought is simply: “What a f—-ing pest!” If this is close to the average Joe’s conception of the bike thief, one of cinema’s most celebrated films offers a more ambivalent image. In Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) a struggling family in Italy’s economically desperate first years after the Second World War scrimps and saves for a bicycle needed for the father’s new job posting advertising bills around Rome. That bicycle is lifted from him by a thief on his first day of work, so he too, after much indecision, gives in to the temptation to steal a bike from a stranger, likely just as destitute as him. With a guilty conscience, he perpetuates a vicious circle. The social context is obviously very different: in Winnipeg, the meth and fentanyl addiction crises combine with forces like systemic poverty as factors encompassing bike theft. But the film highlights what academics less poetically term “victim-offender overlap,” a construct studied in fields like urban sociology. But recognizing the victim status of many thieves doesn’t make bike theft, particularly for poor and working families, any less vexing when it happens to them. “I mean, I use the example of one young woman who called me in tears. She finally had a job so… she bought her five-year-old a Princess bicycle at Canadian Tire for 100 bucks. And two days later, it was in the shed, and it was stolen,” Burrows says. Dobchuk-Land adds: “The impact of a low-level property theft will necessarily impact somebody who’s poorer — it’s more of a dent, literally, in their lives and their wealth.' ●●● The City of Winnipeg says about 3,000 bikes are reported stolen every year. It’s impossible to know what the actual number is, but Project 529, North America’s largest bike registry, estimates that only 15-20 per cent of bikes stolen in Canada are reported. If we assume a low average price of $150 per bike, that’s about $2.5 million in damages in Winnipeg, annually. Last year, as the Free Press reported, only 681 bikes were recovered and just 105 returned to their owners. This includes 64 returned by the city’s bicycle recovery officer, with help from Project 529’s free-to-use bike-registry app called 529 Garage. In April 2024, the City of Winnipeg began promoting the app to cyclists, and between April and December, residents registered 6,325 bicycles. In an interview with the Free Press earlier this month, Ins. Peters urged Winnipeggers to register their bikes, or at least take photos and record the serial number, and then report them when stolen, otherwise it becomes difficult for police to lay charges. “We know that bike chop shops can be linked to the creation of weapons — weapons such as zipguns — so obviously, it’s not just a theft concern then, it’s even more so a public-matter.” She added police have received an increasing number of calls about chop shops in the past year. Burrows has argued at crime-prevention conferences that bike registration should be mandatory at point of sale, with collaboration from retailers like Walmart and Canadian Tire, placing greater risk on thieves and making it easier for police to investigate and return stolen bikes. He’s not the first to float ideas like these, though they’ve rarely been implemented. Burrows also believes some working- class families are often reluctant to report stolen bikes and property because they mistrust police or fear reprisal. He emphasizes the need for a more “eyes on the street” approach, where communities feel empowered to monitor their own neighbourhoods and anonymously report crimes to a trusted liaison who, when need be, calls on law enforcement. (This is much like the approach of Burrows’ tip-line initiative, Point Powerline, which helped earn him induction into the Order of Manitoba in 2017.) “People feel powerless. They feel that nobody gives a shit about them and they’re mostly right,” he says. ●●● Because Willis, Burrows and Dobchuk-Land situate bike theft broadly in relation to more systemic issues of inner-city poverty, homelessness and addiction, punitive measures aren’t the first thing they talk about when they discuss bike theft-prevention strategies. “This whole idea of ‘broken windows’ policing has really effectively made its way into public consciousness,” says Dobchuk-Land. “We’ve got this association between disorder, low-level crime and danger to us that makes us feel violated… when really, assault and interpersonal violence are not correlated with low-level poverty crime.” In a similar vein, Willis is also troubled by what she sees as an overly punitive approach being taken in dealing with homeless encampments. She’s particularly critical of the city’s new encampment policy, introduced this fall. It prohibits camps in certain areas including near schools, playgrounds, seniors’ facilities, bridges, piers and transit stops, or where “life safety” issues exist. “I think it is an infringement of basic human rights to take something away without offering them either a shelter or a housing option that is real,” she says. Willis says we should be realistic and realize creating more social housing for people living in encampments wouldn’t solve all associated issues of theft and addiction. But she thinks it’s time Winnipeggers reflect more about the bigger picture surrounding nuisances like bike theft, which means more seriously acknowledging and addressing Winnipeg’s addiction and homelessness crises. “We normalized bike theft, we normalized homelessness, we normalized drug use, we’ve normalized encampment living — we normalized it all,” she says. conrad.sweatman(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:conrad.sweatman@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Pedestrian deaths can’t be ‘business as usual’ (Nov29'25)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Nov '25

29 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Pedestrian deaths can’t be ‘business as usual’ https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/11/28/we-cannot-treat-p… A CANDLELIGHT vigil held to remember a Winnipeg woman who died while crossing an Osborne Village street drew more than 100 people Friday, demanding safer streets in her memory. Dozens gathered at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Osborne Street, where Rosalie Tennison was struck while crossing the street on Nov. 21. The 67-year-old was hospitalized after the collision and was awaiting surgery on broken bones in her leg when she had an unexpected medical event and died the next day. “She was an incredibly outgoing and dedicated person,” said Matthew Bowman, rector at the Parish Church of St. Luke on Nassau Street North, where Tennison was a member. Although Bowman only knew the author and communications professional for six weeks, it was long enough for her to make an impression on him. “(She was) an incredibly organized and driven person, an incredibly generous spirit that genuinely tried to live out her faith and bring joy to others,” Bowman said. The church organized the vigil with advocates for safe streets and the Osborne Village BIZ. Steve West, who has lived in Osborne Village for more than 25 years, said he was shocked and saddened by Tennison’s death but not surprised. He is an avid cyclist who has had close calls with motor vehicles. “When you’re on a bike or walking you have a very different perspective of what’s going on in traffic,” said West, who volunteers with Bike Winnipeg and has long been an advocate for making Winnipeg’s streets safer. “Drivers are not only going very fast but they seem distracted.” Tennison is the ninth pedestrian killed on Winnipeg streets this year, and the 16th person killed in a vehicle collision, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release earlier this week. “Think of the cascading effect of that,” West said. “There’s her family and her church community and her condo community and her friends — for each person that’s killed or seriously injured in a traffic collision, there are so many people that are affected directly or indirectly.” Downtown resident Mandalyn Unger said she attended the vigil because it’s important to commemorate the deaths of pedestrians killed in collisions. “We cannot treat pedestrian deaths as business as usual or expected collateral damage from having such a car-centric city or such a car-centric corridor there on Osborne,” Unger said. She called on Mayor Scott Gillingham and Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, to invest in infrastructure to make Winnipeg’s streets safer for pedestrians. The City of Winnipeg is undertaking numerous initiatives to improve road safety, Lukes told the Free Press Friday afternoon. They include introducing traffic calming curbs and providing dedicated infrastructure for walking and biking. Lukes empathized with Tennison’s family and friends, and said that her father was killed in a car crash when she was 18. “When life is taken in a second, everything changes, nothing stays the same and it’s with you the rest of your life,” Lukes said. Parish Church of St. Luke held a service prior to the vigil to remember Tennison, said Susan Roe-Finlay, reverend deacon at the church and a friend of Tennison’s. “The service was to remember her and to remind people to respect life, and this (vigil) is to remind people that we need safer streets,” Roe-Finlay said. She added that with the advent season beginning Sunday, the church recently hung four advent-themed tapestries that Tennison made last year. “She was very much part of the church fabric,” Roe-Finlay said. aaron.epp(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Local author, beloved church member dies after being hit by car in Osborne Village (Nov25'25)
by Beth McKechnie 26 Nov '25

26 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Local author, beloved church member dies after being hit by car in Osborne Village Ninth pedestrian to die after being hit on Winnipeg streets in 2025 https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/11/24/local-author-belo… A local author, beloved by her church and community, has died after a motorist struck her while she was crossing the street in Osborne Village Friday afternoon. Rosalie Tennison, 67, was hospitalized after the collision and was awaiting surgery on broken bones in her leg. She had an unexpected medical event and died early Saturday, her sister Lynette Tennison told the Free Press. She is the ninth pedestrian killed on Winnipeg streets this year, and the 16th person killed in a vehicle collision, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release. “Rosalie was a person who was always thoughtful of people’s challenges, always thinking about the other (person) first,” said Dolores Tjart, a close friend who is president of the condo board at the Roslyn Road building where she lived. Police said the collision occurred at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Osborne Street around 1:20 p.m. The victim was crossing Osborne when she was hit by a 2014 Ford Fusion that was travelling west on Roslyn. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition, the release said. Police have not indicated whether criminal charges are being considered. The 32-year-old man driving the vehicle remained at the scene. The investigation continues. News about the tragedy shocked those who knew and loved Tennison, said Susan Roe-Finlay, reverend deacon at the Parish Church of St. Luke on Nassau Street North, where Tennison was a member. The close-knit congregation of about 50 people learned about her death Saturday night, and dedicated the Sunday morning church service to their late friend. “At church yesterday, they were just reeling; people were just overwhelmed. We were encouraging them at coffee to share, and I think some of them — they just couldn’t put words together,” Roe-Finlay said. “She is very much part of the fabric of our church. She is amazing.” Roe-Finlay said Tennison joined the church around six years ago, where she quickly developed a reputation for being “welcoming and warm.” Tennison was an active member of the congregation who participated in services by reading, taking collection and greeting parishioners. “She’s been part of our fundraisers. She often appeared at church with crafts and things that she would sell. She loved books and reading,” Roe-Finlay said. “She just seemed to be able to latch on to what people would like or need.” Most recently, she was organizing a fundraising event for the church that included a private screening of a Christmas movie partially filmed there. That event is set to continue in her honour on Saturday, Roe-Finlay said. The church is considering hosting a tea party in her honour next spring. “People will have to wear hats because Rosalie loved hats.” Ev Strong, who was friends with Tennison for 45 years, said she last spoke with her around 8:30 p.m. Friday, while Tennison was in the hospital awaiting further exams. “She said… she saw (the motorist) coming,” Strong said. “She was almost at her curb and she waved at him and he wasn’t paying attention, and then she said her arm hit his car and the next thing, he hit her.” Strong described her longtime friend as “intrepid” and “an inspiration.” “Everything that scared her, she went and did,” Strong said. “For her whole life, she wanted to write a book, and she did it.” Tennison’s debut book<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2025/05…>, Naomi’s Houses: A Memoir, launched with Heritage House Publishing last spring. It chronicled her childhood in rural Manitoba, where her family battled poverty, overcame tragedies and sought solace in one another. A biography on the publisher’s website noted Tennison was a longtime agricultural journalist whose career spanned weekly newspapers, agricultural trade magazines and a stint at a small-town radio station. She also worked in the communications department of the faculty of agriculture and food sciences at the University of Manitoba. Tennison earned a gold citation from the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation and was a gold-medal winner of a 2022 Canadian Online Publishing Award, the biography said. A spokesperson from the publishing house called Tennison a “lovely and enthusiastic woman” and said they were deeply saddened by news of her death. Tennison contributed to the pages of the Free Press, including sharing her thoughts in letters<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2025/07/09/…> to the editor<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2022/09/09/…>, and writing a 2019 opinion column<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2019/02/23/rediscovering…> detailing her love for Manitoba winters. She was raised in Manitoba’s Swan Valley region, and later moved to Ontario where she was married and lived for about 25 years, her sister said. She returned to Winnipeg after her husband died about seven years ago. She did not have children, Strong said. Tennison will be buried in a family plot in Bowsman, a small community around 15 kilometres north of Swan River, in the RM of Minitonas. She is the second pedestrian killed by a motorist in Winnipeg this month. A 68-year-old man died after he was hit by a pickup truck at Salter Street and Selkirk Avenue at about 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 15. The driver was co-operative with police, and the investigation is ongoing, WPS said. Manitoba Public Insurance issued a warning last month to alert people to the vulnerability of pedestrians on the roadway. It said there has been an average of 19 pedestrian deaths in the province annually since 2019. As of Nov. 23, 16 pedestrians have died on Manitoba roadways this year, MPI said. In total, the data shows five people have been hit by vehicles at the intersection of Osborne Street and Roslyn Road in the past four years — including two people this year, one person last year and two more in 2022. Nobody was struck at the intersection in 2023. tyler.searle(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca>

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