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WFP: Transit proposes electric bus purchases (Sep4'26)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Sep '26

04 Sep '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. TRANSIT PROPOSES ELECTRIC BUS PURCHASES https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2026/09/03/city-hall-in-brief-3 WINNIPEG Transit hopes to buy more battery electric buses, despite city council directing it to stick with diesel models from 2027 onward. A report requests a “one-time exception” from council’s 2025 vote to buy solely diesel buses from that point on, over concerns the city couldn’t afford more zero-emission models. The new proposal calls for Transit to buy up to seven 20-foot-long electric buses for a pilot project to support on-request trips, pending city council approval. On-request serves up to 4,000 riders a week, at times, and could use 35 buses that are under 30 feet long, the report states. Winnipeg Transit currently uses 30-foot and 40-foot buses for the service, which can struggle with tight turns, forcing riders to walk farther to get picked up. “A smaller bus would serve communities better. It would bring buses closer to people and reduce road damage, noise, vibration, and complaints from residents,” the report states. Each smaller battery-electric bus costs less than each 40-foot diesel bus, and the purchase may be eligible for federal funding, it notes. Transit declined to state the estimated price per bus, noting the final cost will be determined through a request for proposals. The report says the bus purchases can be covered within Transit’s existing capital budget.

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WFP: No school shouldn’t mean no school zones (Sept4'26)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Sep '26

04 Sep '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. No school shouldn’t mean no school zones OPINION TOM BRODBECK https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2026/09/03/no-more-playing-around-m… WINNIPEG has already decided that 30 kilometres per hour is the right speed around schools. It’s time to stop pretending that decision should expire every summer. The city’s reduced school-zone speed limits returned Tuesday, a full week before the 2026-27 school year begins. They apply on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., from Sept. 1 until July 1. Then, for two months, they disappear. There’s no compelling reason for that. Children don’t stop walking, biking or playing around their neighbourhood schools when classes end. Parents still take their kids to playgrounds. Daycares remain open. Community centres continue to operate. Pedestrians still have to cross busy streets. The roads don’t become safer because the school bell stops ringing. It’s time for Winnipeg to make its 30 km/h school-zone limits permanent, year-round and on weekends. The Winnipeg School Division tried last year to persuade city council to permanently reduce speeds around its elementary schools. Council declined. It should reconsider. Thirty kilometres an hour is not an unreasonable speed around schools. In fact, the city already considers it reasonable for 10 months of the year. So what exactly changes on July 1? Not the streets. Not the children. Not the cars. Not the consequences when a pedestrian is struck. The only thing that changes is the calendar. That’s not a particularly good basis for public-safety policy. The argument for seasonal limits is presumably that there are fewer children around schools during the summer. Fair enough. But schools are not sealed compounds that become deserted from July to September. Children live in these neighbourhoods. They use playgrounds and recreation facilities. They walk and cycle through school areas. Daycares operate year-round. And even when children aren’t present, lower vehicle speeds make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users. The city is taking some useful steps to improve school-zone safety. This summer, traffic-calming curbs were installed at several school crosswalks where there are speeding problems, long crossing distances and poor visibility. New in-street signs are being installed at 10 pedestrian crossings near schools. The city is also testing pavement markings designed to alert motorists that they are entering a school zone. Those measures are welcome. But they shouldn’t be substitutes for a permanent lower speed limit. Nor should the city rely primarily on automated enforcement to make motorists obey it. There needs to be more visible police enforcement of speeding in school zones. A police officer pulling over a speeder can do something a camera cannot. The driver gets a ticket — and demerit points. Photo radar doesn’t work that way. It issues a fine to the registered owner of the vehicle. It does not assess demerit points against the person who was actually driving. Speeding isn’t simply a financial offence. It’s dangerous behaviour. A motorist who repeatedly speeds through school zones should face consequences that affect their driving record, not merely their wallet. More police enforcement would also provide an important deterrent. Seeing a marked police cruiser in a school zone sends a very different message than receiving a ticket in the mail days or weeks later. The goal shouldn’t be to generate revenue, it should be to change behaviour. That means designing streets that encourage motorists to slow down, making school zones obvious, improving pedestrian crossings and enforcing the rules when drivers ignore them. There are roughly 170 30 km/h school zones in Winnipeg. If the city believes those roads need a lower speed during the school year, it should explain why they suddenly become safe at 50 km/h in July and August. It can’t simply be because school is out. Children don’t understand municipal traffic regulations. They don’t know that a street was 30 km/h last month but is now 50. They just know they have to cross it. And when a child steps into a crosswalk, motorists need enough time and space to stop. The city should also recognize that speed limits are only one piece of the puzzle. It needs to replace missing or damaged signs. It needs better lighting and visibility at crossings. It should continue expanding traffic-calming measures and flashing signs. But the foundation should be simple and consistent: 30 km/h around schools, all year long. Some drivers will complain that it’s too slow. They’ll say they can safely drive 40 or 50. Maybe they can. But school-zone rules aren’t designed around the abilities of the best drivers. They’re designed to protect the most vulnerable people on the road. A six-year-old walking to school doesn’t have airbags, a seatbelt or a steel frame around them. Winnipeg has already acknowledged that 30 km/h is the appropriate speed to protect children around schools. It should stop treating that protection as seasonal. Make the 30 km/h limit permanent. tom.brodbeck(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Osborne safety study gets go-ahead (Sept4'26)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Sep '26

04 Sep '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Osborne safety study gets go-ahead Will aim to identify inexpensive, fast fixes to busy route in effort to protect pedestrians https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/09/03/history-of-pedest… TRAFFIC experts will put Osborne Street safety under the microscope to find ways to make the busy route safer for pedestrians. The short-term study will take place “over the next year” with the aid of a consultant, to identify “low-cost improvements that can be installed quickly,” wrote David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation planning, in a new report. Coun. Sherri Rollins, who represents the area and has long called for safety improvements on Osborne, said the study is long overdue. “(This street is) … known for the absolute worst-case scenario, deaths and injuries from pedestrians … There have been calls for action for years,” said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry). There’s been a high number of injuries due to collisions at three of the route’s intersections. Patman’s report noted 18 pedestrians were injured at Confusion Corner (which technically includes three signalized intersections) between 2014 and 2023, the highest number at any Winnipeg intersection. Osborne Street and River Avenue had the third most injuries during that time period, with 13, while Osborne Street and Morley Avenue tied for the sixth most, with 10. Rollins said that data highlights why she began calling for a safety study years ago, which she said was rejected earlier due to concerns the changes could delay drivers. In November, 67-year-old Rosalie Tennison died after she was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street in Osborne Village. Rollins said the tragedy was one reason she repeated her call for the safety study. “This (study) is bittersweet because it comes after so much advocacy and it comes, tragically, after Rosalie Tennison died, something that I really sought to prevent,” she said. The staff report notes the route is in high demand for several modes of traffic. “Osborne Street is a busy road with heavy vehicle traffic. It passes through an active neighbourhood where many people walk to many destinations. This combination creates safety challenges for pedestrians,” wrote Patman. A request to interview Patman, or another city transportation expert, was not granted Thursday. The report notes the study will focus on Osborne between Broadway and the St. Vital Bridge and propose changes that can be added “without significantly impacting the current function of Osborne Street.” “I’m hoping for a pedestrian-prioritized pilot that gets us results fast that can save lives,” said Rollins. Osborne is a four-lane mostly undivided road with a 50 km/h speed limit, including 12 signalized intersections, three pedestrian corridors, a rail underpass and a bridge crossing over the Assiniboine River. “Osborne Street is currently serving multiple, competing functions … It exists in a dense, pedestrian-oriented development area that is close to rapid transit, which is at odds with the high flow of motor vehicles that travel daily along the corridor,” wrote Patman. A local cycling advocate said there is “certainly” room for improvement on Osborne, calling it a “critical” travel route and destination. “The pedestrian crossings are an issue … Some of the turning speeds are too high. Confusion Corner, which they identify here, certainly is problematic,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. Cohoe said some Osborne intersections could benefit from extended concrete barriers that reduce the radius offered to drivers to make turns, a change that could help slow them down. “Speed does two things. It’s obviously more force if you are hit … (And), if you’re (driving) at a slower speed, you have more time to put focus onto the crossings and where pedestrians or people on a bike are,” said Cohoe. He said he has “mixed” views on the study, since it appears limited to low cost, quick remedies. “I think it’s a good step forward. Certainly, they are taking some actions but … there do seem to be some limitations in there as to what they’re going to allow that consultant to come back with,” said Cohoe. The study will analyze all collisions that caused injuries or deaths in the area in recent years, while reviewing key pedestrian crossings, signal timing, lighting and the speed limit. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said that effort is warranted. “If we’ve got the top-3 collision (injury) intersections (there), we should be studying it and working on it … I’m always open to anything they can do to improve pedestrian safety,” said Lukes (Waverley West). Lukes said population growth is ramping up pressure on the already uniquely dense route. “There’s no other area that’s got a higher population density and a chokepoint than (the) Confusion Corner intersection. It is a unique area without a doubt,” she said. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Slower speed limits directly ahead (Aug31'26)
by Beth McKechnie 31 Aug '26

31 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Slower speed limits directly ahead School zones return Tuesday as lead-footed drivers risk steep fines https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/31/slower-speed-limi… SCHOOL crossing guards are preparing to resume their posts on busy corners across the Winnipeg School Division, but Luna Zúñiga isn’t one of them. Zúñiga hung up her high-visibility vest about 30 months ago after she was struck by a motorist while escorting a child through a pedestrian crosswalk on Grant Avenue at Lanark Street. Zúñiga protected the child, who wasn’t hurt, but the educational assistant at nearby J.B. Mitchell School suffered life-altering injuries, including nerve damage that limits her stamina, range of motion and makes her left leg “feel like it’s burning all the time.” “I don’t know what needs to be done (to improve school-zone safety),” she said. “But I do know that when a six-year-old is crossing the street, a car needs to be fully stopped.” Winnipeg’s 30 km/h school zones return on Tuesday — a full week before the 2026-27 school year starts — following a summer hiatus. They are in effect every weekday, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., from Sept. 1 until July 1. The WSD board was unsuccessful last year in making an appeal to city council to permanently reduce speeds around its elementary school buildings. The city’s road-safety unit is focusing on piloting traffic-calming measures, such as in-street crosswalk signage, and reviewing whether any regional roads should be designated as 30 km/h school zones. Grant Avenue, where Zúñiga was injured during a morning shift in February 2024, is currently classified as a regional road. Zúñiga said she supports lowering the limit and doing so on a year-round basis, but she said that alone won’t fix the chronic safety issues at the site. Historic speeding-ticket records suggest Tuesday will be one of the most profitable days of 2026 for the city, said Curtis Pankratz, a traffic- safety researcher at the University of Winnipeg. “September days before school starts are immensely profitable. There’s nothing going on and it still feels like holidays and those are streets that are normally 50,” Pankratz said. The associate professor estimates photo-radar tickets in Winnipeg generate, on an average month, about $4 million. That figure is higher when drivers are adjusting to new routines during back-to-school season, he said. Pankratz recently analyzed time stamps of more than 260,000 infraction records from reduced-speed school zones between September 2014 and September 2019. “There’s a rule of thumb — when there’s no kids (visible), there’s a lot of tickets,” he said. His team’s latest research project shows overall infractions on instructional days drop, as well as average speeds, within 15 minutes of the first bell and final bell, Pankratz said. The review included nearly 24,400 photo-radar tickets outside River Elm School on eastbound Talbot Avenue east of Watt Street. There were 103 infractions in that 30 km/h zone between 8:50 a.m. — which is when the first bell rings at the elementary school — and 8:55 a.m. Between 9:15 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., that number spiked to 386. “It reinforces what we already knew,” said Chris Sweryda, an independent researcher who regularly collaborates with Pankratz, after becoming obsessed with photo radar-related corruption about 13 years ago. “People don’t speed when kids are present… and it shows that people will drive accordingly, to the conditions of the road, which is the system we need to depend on.” Sweryda, who was a candidate in the 2025 city council byelection in the Elmwood- East Kildonan ward, said he’s in favour of proactive interventions, such as the widespread use of flashing lights at eye-level, rather than punitive ones. There are dozens of missing schoolzone signs that need to be replaced or installed to make motorists aware they’re entering them, he added. Over the summer, in preparation for a new school year, the city installed traffic-calming curbs at several school crosswalks “with vehicle speeding issues, long crossing distances and poor visibility,” spokesperson Julie Dooley said. New in-street signage is also being set up at 10 pedestrian crossings — near Elwick, Acadia Junior High, Victor H L Wyatt, Harold Hatcher, HC Avery, Frontenac, St. Germain, Princess Margaret, South Pointe and Wellington schools — before classes start. “We are also piloting a new school-area pavement marking as a way to increase driver awareness when entering a school zone,” Dooley said in a statement. She said these markings are being tested, starting in late September, at five schools with wide streets that are speeding hot spots. Sargent Park resident Jeff Rupert said he wants speed bumps installed on Clifton Street, where there is one of the city’s roughly 170 30 km/h zones. “Cars still rip by here during the school day,” Rupert said, sitting on his front porch — the senior’s usual hangout spot — facing Clifton School. Neighbour Emmalee Mosher echoed his concerns about speeding near the elementary school. Mosher regularly walks her two huskies and recently experienced a near-miss there. “People think it’s a right to drive,” she said, “but it’s actually a privilege.” She is “pro community-based solutions,” such as expanding school-patrol programs. Clifton was among 270 schools in Manitoba that participated in the CAA School Safety Patrol last year. The program gives young students the opportunity to don their own high-visibility vests alongside paid adult crossing guards to help kids get to and from school during peak commuter times. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Two arrested in June theft of cross-country fundraising cyclists’ bikes (Aug27'26)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Aug '26

27 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Two arrested in June theft of cross-country fundraising cyclists’ bikes https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/26/police-make-two-a… ON June 22, Thomas Clark and Valentin Duquenne set out to cycle across Canada to raise money for men’s mental health. Along the way, they lost four bikes to thieves in two cities — first in Winnipeg, then in Calgary. Just over a month after their first bikes were stolen in Winnipeg, police have arrested two men for the theft. The bicycles, valued at about $15,000, were stolen July 24 from a vehicle parked in the 400 block of Portage Avenue while Clark and Duquenne were inside CBC Manitoba for a media interview. The Winnipeg Police Service said one of the bikes was recovered Aug. 7 after officers spotted a 60-year-old man riding it in the 1800 block of Bannatyne Avenue West. He was arrested and charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 before being released on an appearance notice. The bicycle was returned to its owner. Investigators later identified a suspect in the theft and learned the bicycles had been traded to the 60-year-old man and another unidentified male. On Aug. 23, officers with the Central District Community Support Unit arrested 42-year-old Kuol Thomas Madit at the intersection of Notre Dame Avenue and Balmoral Street as part of the WPS crackdown on open drug use. Police said officers seized a small amount of methamphetamine during the arrest. Madit has been charged with two counts of theft over $5,000, trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000, possession of fentanyl and failing to comply with probation. He was detained in custody. Madit has no prior criminal convictions. The second bike has not been recovered. Clark and Duquenne, friends from Moncton, N.B., began their Men Don’t Ride Alone charity trek in June with plans to cycle more than 6,000 kilometres across Canada and raise $250,000 for men’s mental-health initiatives through Movember Canada. They completed the journey in Victoria on Aug. 11, falling well short of their target by raising just under $16,000. Duquenne said the idea for the ride came after he sought help for substance- abuse and mental-health issues last September. The pair had never been to Winnipeg before their bikes were stolen. “When I walked out, Tom started running towards the car and then I saw the bikes were gone. We were pretty speechless,” Duquenne told the Free Press after the theft. The Trek and Cannondale bikes were locked to a rack on the back of the pair’s support vehicle when the thief cut through the lock. The men were temporarily stranded in Winnipeg, but their story quickly drew attention. An online fundraising page was set up to cover the cost of new bikes, and more than $15,000 had been raised within a few hours. Canadian Tire stepped in to help them get back on the road, donating just shy of $9,000. Less than a month later, their replacement bikes were taken in Calgary. They had already completed their cross-country journey and flown home to Moncton when the replacement cycles were stolen from a vehicle parked at a Calgary hotel. The bikes were being driven back to New Brunswick. According to Clark in a social-media post, the bikes had been triple-locked to the back of the vehicle while the driver slept inside the hotel. The hitch itself was stolen, taking the bike rack and bicycles with it. Calgary police are investigating that theft. Winnipeg police estimate about 3,000 bikes are stolen in the city each year. The service encourages cyclists to register their bikes with Project 529, a bicycle-registration program, to improve the chances of recovery if they are stolen. zoe.pierce(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP OpEd: E-scooters can be the future — if done right (Aug27'26)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Aug '26

27 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. E-scooters can be the future — if done right MEL MARGINET https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2026/08/27/e-scooters-ca… THE summer of 2026 has been the season that e-scooters and e-bikes transitioned from something advocates were predicting would be a big deal to an obvious reality to everyday Manitobans. The conditions have been right for an uptick — we’re in the midst of an affordability crisis in which more and more people are looking for alternatives to driving. As demand has soared, availability has moved beyond mostly European exports to incredibly cheap options being available on dubious sales platforms such as Temu. If you’ve been passed by a zooming e-bike or nearly run off the sidewalk by an e-scooter, you’re probably saying “the city ought to have some rules about this!” Municipalities have been requesting that the province update the Highway Traffic Act for years so that micromobility options, such as e-scooters, can be regulated under bylaws. Provincial legislation that would prohibit riding on sidewalks, set age limits, restrict speed and require helmet use was passed on June 1, but has not yet been proclaimed. This has created the “Wild West” environment we’re in now. The news this summer has been full of bad behaviour stories around e-scooters and e-bikes, and it’s easy to understand why. The lack of regulation means there isn’t a public awareness campaign about how to use these items properly. There’s no regulation of things such as maximum speeds, so we don’t have any controls on items entering the country. As Patty Wiens recently noted in a Free Press story on e-rides: “It’s not a replacement for a bike … It’s a replacement for a car.” Folks using these e-rides are often using bike lanes and trails for the first time. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon of finger- pointing (the Globe & Mail recently called e-scooters a “scourge”!), but the reality is that e-rides have the potential to improve our transportation options substantially. In Winnipeg, we need to reach a 50 per cent driving-mode share by 2050 to meet the goals of the city’s Transportation Master Plan. This means that 50 per cent of trips need to be made by walking, cycling, transit or carpooling. Our current 80 per cent driving-mode share is a long way away from that. Could these e-rides be a good tool? I first rode an e-scooter back in about 2018. As the publisher at Great Plains Press, I was in Frankfurt, Germany, for its book fair. Frankfurt has amazing public transit. But, where I was staying was around a kilometre from the fair. Not far enough to bother hopping on a streetcar, but far enough that walking back and forth was a slog. The first and last mile is where e-scooters thrive! Parked near where I was staying was a spot for Lime e-scooters. I was intrigued, so I downloaded the app, created an account, and took one for a spin to test it out. I was glad I did. E-scooters are appealing for many reasons. Most importantly, they are easy to ride. Your centre of gravity is low, making them very sturdy and easy to balance on. Travel was much faster than walking, but not too fast. In Germany, speed is regulated. The scooter company had to ensure its scooters couldn’t exceed the local limit. You can even restrict them from certain areas (geofencing shuts them down in certain zones.) In Frankfurt, I had good infrastructure to use. Studies show e-riders don’t want to be on the road, nor do they want to be on the sidewalk. The most preferred infrastructure is bike lanes, and Germany was building out its cycling network long before e-scooters entered the scene. As a tourist, I didn’t need special equipment. Helmet use is encouraged, but I didn’t need to own a helmet or have to rent one (gross) or risk a fine. Because the infrastructure is so safe and speeds are regulated, e-scooters are seen — like walking and bicycle riding — as just another perfectly safe way to get around outside of a personal vehicle. Sprawling Winnipeg has an opportunity with the adoption of e-rides. First, we need quick access to frequent, fast transit. Our spine and feeder network, with limited operating funds, means that having more options for folks to get to F, FX or RT lines without needing a feeder bus is ideal. In Winnipeg, most trips are quite short. In 2016, Statistics Canada data showed that Winnipeggers made some of the shortest trips in all of Canada at 6.6 km. Yet our use of personal vehicles for trips remains stubbornly high. Not only is this, honestly, deeply embarrassing, it’s also a burden on our emissions and costs (personal vehicles are expensive for both the drivers as well as the municipality). As mentioned above, e-riders are not people moving from bikes to e-rides, they are people replacing car trips. We need to encourage this adoption as much as we can. Importantly, travel costs are a major benefit. Owning a vehicle in Canada is becoming ever more expensive. In 2016, the cost to travel by personal vehicle was $8,000-$12,000 a year. Since then, we’ve seen an increase in gas prices, so I’m going to imagine the next data will show the cost of personal vehicles rising. Our aging population is another reason we stand to make huge gains. Seniors are a major reason e-bike sales are booming, and both the city and the province should recognize the wonderful co-benefits of encouraging seniors to stay active in their communities for as long as possible. We need the province to work with urban centres to allow local bylaws that make sense. Cities around the world are far ahead of us in learning lessons on how to integrate this mode of travel. Let’s follow the best practices of the places that are years ahead. Even though we don’t yet have formal “rules” for e-rides, we need to have common courtesy in our bike lanes and on multi-use paths. Keep an eye out for other users; ring your bell or otherwise alert those you are approaching from behind; keep your speed to 25 km/h or less; slow down to pass; and ride defensively and respectfully. Remember, many e-riders might be using this infrastructure for the first time. Try to address tensions firmly but generously. We want new users to ride safely and respectfully, but of course, we want them to keep riding instead of driving. We all want to get to where we are going safely no matter how we travel. Stay safe, have fun and enjoy the journey out there. Mel Marginet is a member of Green Action Centre’s sustainable transportation team and the publisher at Great Plains Press, which publishes The City Project.

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WFP: Man hit by e-scooter faces long recovery (Aug25'26)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Aug '26

25 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Bomber volunteer’s friend urges NDP to enact new law Man hit by e-scooter faces long recovery https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/24/blue-bombers-volu… A LONGTIME Winnipeg Blue Bombers volunteer was rushed to hospital and now faces months of recovery after being hit by an e-scooter while directing football fans after a home game last month. The volunteer, a regular face on game days, was “seriously injured” when a person driving an e-scooter struck him on the sidewalk outside Princess Auto Stadium after the July 24 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, team president and CEO Wade Miller confirmed. “He is receiving care and our thoughts are with him and his family. We are in close contact with them and offering whatever support we can during a very difficult time,” Miller said in an email. “We’re grateful to the first responders and stadium staff who acted quickly at the scene and we ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as he recovers.” The Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service confirmed they were called to the stadium after the game and one person was hospitalized in stable condition. The victim’s family declined to speak on the record, but a family friend told the Free Press his injuries will have lasting impacts: she said he needed emergency neck surgery, had titanium rods inserted in his spine and suffered five compressed vertebrae. “While the full recovery prognosis is unknown today, he cannot walk unassisted and is having difficulty using his arms and hands. He is looking at two to three months in hospital for spinal cord rehabilitation, with an unknown future for him and his family,” she wrote to the Free Press, requesting anonymity. She said her friend’s experience had inspired her to “urge our elected officials to enact the needed regulations as quickly as possible.” The Winnipeg Police Service does not keep statistics on reports involving e-scooters or other personal electric vehicles, but they expect to see the number of reports increase as their popularity continues to grow, a spokesperson said. Police are waiting on legislation from the province on e-scooters to be put into effect to inform future best practices, said traffic division Insp. Helen Peters. “The WPS traffic division is aware of growing community concerns regarding the use of all types of electric vehicles, including e-scooters…. Police agencies and road-safety partners across the province are working together to develop communication and enforcement strategies to help educate everyone on the safety concerns and the new laws that will govern their use,” Peters said in a statement. On June 1, provincial legislation was passed that would impose bans on operating personal electric vehicles on sidewalks, require drivers to be 16 or older and wear a helmet and restrict speed to a maximum of 25 km/h. But those rules have yet to be put into practice and possible penalties have yet to be laid out. While there isn’t a set date for when enforcement will begin, Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor said the work to hammer out fine amounts and other details is underway now. “(I) hoped that we could get this done within the year, and I think we’re on track, so we’ll have more news in the next few months, probably,” she said. Now is a good time to practise following the incoming rules to avoid a future fine, Naylor said. “Until this legislation fully comes into effect, I would hope that Manitobans were starting to kind of follow the letter of the law,” she said. While at least one city in Manitoba has implemented its own bylaws ahead of the province — in Morden, not wearing a helmet, having more than one rider on a single-person electric device, or riding on sidewalks or on the opposite direction of traffic can now get you a $50 fine or have your scooter impounded — Winnipeg will need to figure out a way to enforce e-scooter laws within a larger population, said Coun. Janice Lukes, city council’s public works chairwoman. “This is the other part that really worries me — let’s say we come out with a whole bunch of rules, how do we enforce them? The cops, I think, they’ve got five e-bikes… how are five e-bikes going to enforce thousands of these (personal electric vehicles)?” said Lukes (Waverley West). She called it a “huge, top priority” for the city, and civic staff are constantly getting emails from residents with concerns about e-scooters and e-bikes. Lukes said she’s seen a large number of young children on e-scooters in her ward, calling it “terrifying” to watch, as a parent. She’d like to see any rules banning young people from operating the vehicles be properly enforced. Volodymyr Ishchenko bought an e-scooter this summer. He said the city is lacking in safe, accessible infrastructure for bikes, whether they’re powered by pedals or motors. “There is not much (of) a road for bicycles, for scooters for any stuff like that people can drive on, so that I’m not bothering just regular walkers, pedestrians,” he said. He tries his best to be a responsible rider — he was walking his scooter along a Provencher Boulevard sidewalk Monday — and, as popularity around personal electric vehicles increases, he’d like to see a public education campaign on safe operation. “Some people, they don’t understand, especially kids, the responsibility when they’re driving these things,” he said. Ashley Esquega, who was riding her e-scooter to an appointment downtown Monday, called calls to ban personal electric vehicles “ridiculous.” ‘I think (their) reputation is kind of crappy, but they are so much fun, and you just gotta have fun with life,” she said. Mike McKenna knows first-hand how quickly an e-scooter collision can change a pedestrian’s sense of safety. He was struck by an e-scooter in July as he stepped off a Winnipeg Transit bus at Main Street and Broadway. The impact threw him onto the pavement and left his left arm badly scraped and cut. McKenna has physically recovered from the collision, but he said the psychological impact of the incident has not gone away. “I have anxiety getting off the bus every single time,” he said. “I try to poke my head out and look, and it can hold up people behind me as they’re trying to get off. So, it just hasn’t gone away yet.” McKenna said he was fortunate to walk away from his collision but worries another pedestrian won’t be as lucky. “We need to take back our sidewalks,” he said. — With files from Morgan Modjeski malak.abas(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Free youth Transit passes set for staggered rollout (Aug21'26)
by Beth McKechnie 21 Aug '26

21 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Free youth Transit passes set for staggered rollout https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/20/wsd-official-expe… A PROGRAM allowing youths to ride Winnipeg Transit buses fare-free is on track to start next month, though some will wait longer than others to get their passes. The provincially funded Free Youth Transit Pass Pilot program will provide no-cost rides to youths between the ages of 11 and 17 and high school students between the ages of 18 and 21. On Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew revealed not all students will be eligible when school resumes next month, as passes will be available based on grade levels. “It’s going to happen week by week, more and more students will be getting the bus passes. So, this is just at the request of the people who run Transit, so that they can accommodate this new program. As you go back to school, you’ll find out how the bus passes are going to be distributed,” said Kinew. The premier indicated accommodations to address “urgent” transportation needs could also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division, said he expects to provide passes to students in grades 11 and 12 during the week of Sept. 9. That’s expected to be followed by students in grades 9 and 10 during the week of Sept. 21, and students in grades 7 and 8 during the week of Sept. 28. “The City of Winnipeg is asking that there’s a staggered approach so their drivers and system aren’t overwhelmed and they’re able to adjust and plan throughout the month of September,” said Henderson. While those dates will generally apply in most cases, divisional schools that draw students from a wide area, such as Tec-Voc high school, will receive passes at the same time, he said. “Each division in the City of Winnipeg will be sending communication to parents… in the coming weeks just to explain what that rollout looks like,” said Henderson. Transit said the details could vary between schools. Henderson said he believes the program will remove a financial roadblock to education for some. “We know when we speak to families, transportation is the No. 1 barrier to regular and healthy school attendance. It’s not inexpensive for a child to ride the bus every day. We’re really excited about this (free bus pass),” he said. In June, Winnipeg Transit estimated there were 65,000 youths in the eligible age group, including about 60,000 who attend school, but noted it plans to initially cap the program at just 30,000 passes, assuming a 50 per cent uptake. Henderson said he believes a pass can be given to every student who wants one. “There is no cap. According to our provincial partners, if a child needs a bus pass, they will get that,” he said. At Winnipeg School Division, schools will be able to distribute the passes directly to students. However, city council’s public works chairwoman said additional passes will be printed only if there’s enough demand and the province provides more money for the program. Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said she fears that even with a staggered introduction, adding the free passes in September could overload the system and lead more riders to wait longer as buses filled to capacity pass them by. “I personally think it’s going to be chaos come fall, regardless of whether it’s staggered or not. I hope it isn’t… I really think it’s a great idea. I just really think it was ill-conceived that we could pull this together for September when it was announced in March,” said Lukes. September and October are already very busy months for Transit, as many riders return to school. She said she’s also concerned that details are still to come for parents and students with classes beginning in about three weeks. In June, Winnipeg Transit said $10 million that the province provided to fund the program for a year would cover its cost for seven months. Lukes said that would lead the pilot project to end in March, unless additional money comes through. Winnipeg Transit declined an interview request Thursday. In a written statement, spokeswoman Megan Benedictson said the pilot should last the full school year but did not provide details on how that could be funded. “We are meeting regularly with the province to discuss the pass-distribution steps and any capacity challenges identified over the course of the rollout,” she wrote. Students who don’t plan to use the bus are urged not to take a free pass. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Residents call for speed bumps after child hit by vehicle (Aug17'26)
by Beth McKechnie 17 Aug '26

17 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Residents call for speed bumps after child hit by vehicle Man, 29, arrested following hit-and-run https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/15/west-kildonan-ind… RESIDENTS in the West Kildonan Industrial neighbourhood are calling on the city to install speed bumps in their area after a child was hit and dragged by a vehicle Thursday. Katelyn Bemister lives near the area where the child — who was hospitalized as a result of the incident and has been upgraded to stable condition — was struck. She says people frequently speed in the area. “They’re going really fast, and they’re not really paying attention at all to the pedestrians in the area,” says Bemister. In video supplied to the Free Press by a resident, the child can be seen riding a bike down a sidewalk along the 500 block of North Point Boulevard. As the child crosses a back alley that intersects with the street, a truck hits them and drags them several feet. The truck stops briefly, but as bystanders approach it, the driver speeds off with its squealing tires captured in the video. North Point Boulevard, which was crawling with kids Friday, is close to a park and playground. Bemister, who is also a parent, says adding speed bumps would make her feel safer. Area resident Ailea Kathleen Palomar also says speeding is an issue in the neighbourhood, but noted the combination of tall fences and uncontrolled intersections are creating risks for pedestrians and motorists. “It’s not safe because you can’t see,” said Palomar. Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) said the city has been installing traffic- calming measures in the area and additional changes are coming. Sharma says the speed limit on Murray Avenue has already been reduced to 60 km/h from 70 km/h and a four-way stop sign at Mira Gate is now in place. A stop sign on Ferrier Street and Murray Avenue has recently been added. Other changes, like speed bumps and the implementation of additional stop signs are “on the table,” says Sharma, while a traffic-calming review is underway for North Point Boulevard between Lyra Gate and Mira Gate. “It’s a horrible incident that unfolded this week and when there’s issues that emerge around road safety, we need to find solutions.” Winnipeg police arrested a 29-year-old man in connection to the hit-and-run. He is facing charges of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm and failure to stop at the scene of an accident. He was released on an appearance notice with a court date. morgan.modjeski(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Trustees call for e-scooter safety education (Aug17'26)
by Beth McKechnie 17 Aug '26

17 Aug '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Trustees call for e-scooter safety education https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/08/17/trustees-call-for… SCHOOL trustees are calling on the province to bolster public education around e-bike and e-scooter safety ahead of back-to-school season. The Manitoba School Boards Association brought members’ concerns about a growing number of students using electronic devices to get to and from classes to the education minister’s office this month. “There’s a concerning lack of safety knowledge on the part of Manitoba youth,” executive director Alan Campbell said. Campbell, a long-time trustee in the Interlake School Division, resigned from elected office this summer to run the association that mobilizes school boards and provides them with labour relations support. While noting trustees are not curriculum developers, he said they make policies related to local transportation issues and have a responsibility to ensure health lessons, among others, are up to date. Campbell said teaching students about the importance of wearing a helmet on e-scooters, using “prescribed bike lanes,” and following the Highway Traffic Act is critical for all community members’ safety. Manitoba curriculum needs to be upgraded so all kids learn that riding an e-scooter on a sidewalk can put both them and pedestrians in danger, he noted. New research on “powered personal micromobility devices,” undertaken by a group of Canadian pediatricians, shows at least 10 kids died from using an e-bike, e-scooter or related technology in 2025. “Children may be at increased risk due to inexperience operating motorized vehicles, less caution/more risk-taking behaviour, and anatomic differences including skeletal immaturity and larger head size-to-body ratios,” states a summary of the findings. Dr. Daniel Rosenfield was among the team who surveyed 800 colleagues across the country to find out the prevalence of these injuries and fatalities. A total of 57 incidents involving e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards, e-unicycles, hoverboards and motorized mobility aids were reported. Head injuries, accounting for nearly half of all cases, were the most common. Boys between the ages of 10 and 15 were the most likely to be injured. The findings show there were 26 hospitalizations lasting over 48 hours and 12 admissions to intensive care units. “Given recent trends, this is likely an underrepresentation of true cases,” Rosenfield said in a news release Thursday. Although a summary did not break down incidents by province, it did acknowledge there were incident reports from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. A government spokesperson said in a statement the Kinew government is taking seriously concerns raised by pediatricians and parents. They described student safety as a “top priority” for Premier Wab Kinew’s team and indicated the province is actively looking for ways to increase awareness about “the safe use of e-bikes and e-scooters.” Asked last week about when an updated health curriculum will be released, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said details will be released “shortly.” Multiple transportation-related resolutions were brought forward at the school boards association’s annual general meeting in March. Dozens of trustees voted to petition the province to “further emphasize bike safety and the safe use of power-assisted bicycles and e-scooters.” Campbell said school leaders in urban areas and rural communities are concerned about unsafe operating habits on these increasingly popular devices. “In 2026, public education is no longer about reading, writing and math, sitting in rows,” said the father of two and former school division transportation director. Given school boards are grappling with high busing costs and interested in promoting healthy habits, such as walking to school, Campbell said trustees should be playing a bigger role in active transportation planning. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca>

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