City council has voted to maintain the "open streets" project route on Wellington Crescent that has been the source of debate among neighbourhood residents and street users.
Brenlee Carrington Trepel, who gathered 68 pages' worth of letters that supported the route reduction, said more than 100 households wanted it changed. Meanwhile, a petition that called for council to keep Wellington’s daily access in place until November had gathered more than 1,700 online signatures by Thursday night.
Just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Coun. Matt Allard’s (St. Boniface) call to keep the Wellington Crescent route’s daily status in place until November was approved in a 13-1 vote, which only Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) opposed. Klein said he voted against the motion due to a lack of consultation on the routes.
Councillors John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) were absent from the meeting, due to personal matters.
The Wellington route is one of 17 street sections where vehicle travel is restricted to one block between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to allow more room for cyclists, a follow-up to the 2020 program known as "open streets." Most of this year’s routes operate daily, though a few are already limited to weekends and holidays.
During debate prior to the vote, multiple council members urged all road users to share the road respectfully.