- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

WFP: Transit scrambles to mitigate GPS confusion (Jul25'25)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Jul '25

25 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Transit scrambles to mitigate GPS confusion Update expected to be completed by 2028 https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/07/24/transit-scrambles… A GPS failure that led Winnipeg Transit to post incorrect arrival times for buses earlier this month is still wreaking havoc with some schedules. Two weeks ago, Transit posted an online notice to riders that a “widespread” issue led incorrect times to appear on Navigo, bus schedule boards and Transit’s website starting on July 7. On Thursday, Transit said about 18 to 24 per cent of bus location reports were incorrect at the peak of the problem, which has since fallen to 13 to 15 per cent. The regular “baseline” level for errors is three to four per cent. “We don’t have a firm timeline of when a more permanent fix will be in place, except to say it is expected in the coming weeks,” spokeswoman Megan Benedictson wrote in an emailed statement. When the Free Press first reported on the issue on July 11, Transit stressed the technical concern was not related to the launch of its new primary network, which took place June 29. The service noted a GPS repair was on the way from its supplier. Transit’s initial public alert about the problem suggested some posted arrival times varied greatly from actual ones. “On these buses, on-board systems that display and announce the next stop won’t work. Our real-time schedule information gives incorrect times. Buses that may only be a few minutes late can appear hours late online. We are unable to track the location of some buses accurately,” the notice stated. Transit recently posted an update that a short-term fix is helping reduce the frequency of the issue, while the service awaits a more permanent solution. “A fix deployed across our fleet has led to an improvement in our GPS performance. This has improved the accuracy of our schedules online,” it notes. Winnipeg Transit spokesman Brandon Logan said the GPS issue isn’t route specific, since buses travel to different locations each day, meaning the problem can affect all routes. “In cases where invalid GPS data is detected, we use previous GPS reports or post the scheduled time in place of real-time data. We encourage riders, if they’re able, to arrive (a few minutes) early at their bus stop when riding with us,” wrote Logan, in an email. Winnipeg Transit previously told the Free Press the GPS errors affect units that are about 20 years old and were already slated for replacement. Transit expects the broader replacement program for buses with dated GPS will be completed by 2028. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of council’s public works committee, said she has received complaints that bus transfer times are not accurate but it’s tough to tell how many are caused by the GPS problem. “I have had calls talking about the need to get better timing at the connections. Now that could be (for) many reasons, maybe there’s construction on that road, maybe the GPS isn’t working… but this is an area that I know transit is really focusing on,” said Lukes (Waverley West). “The framework, the backbone of the network, is the ability to connect, to transfer, so it makes it difficult when we’re not getting accurate times. It’s a totally independent issue (from the network), it’s just terrible timing.” Transit’s new primary network uses a spine-and-feeder concept, where direct spines along major corridors are supported by a network of feeder routes, meaning many rides that begin outside of a main route now require transfers. Kyle Owens, president of Functional Transit Winnipeg, said the technical woes could affect many riders. “If Winnipeg Transit is telling us that this is affecting 13 to 15 per cent of bus (location reports)… because (the new system) involves so many more transfers, that affects far more than just 13 to 15 per cent of riders,” said Owens. While he called the portion of inaccurate arrival times “significant,” the public transportation advocate said the new network’s frequency should help limit the amount of disruption the problem causes on main routes. “With more buses adding more frequency, we would see less of an impact in the future with other disruptions. It’s a way to ensure that the system remains reliable, even during disruptions,” said Owens. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP Analysis: Next spring too late for bike lane (Jul23'25)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Jul '25

23 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Next spring too late for bike lane ARO VAN DYCK https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2025/07/23/next-spring-t… ON July 17, I spoke before Winnipeg City Council, urging them to ditch the latest delay to the installation of a bike lane where Rob Jenner was struck and killed last year on Wellington Crescent. I was joined at the podium by Wendy Van Loon (Rob’s wife), and in the galleries by over 120 members of our cycling community, who came out wearing red for Rob to send a powerful message to city council: we are united in solidarity and we will not be ignored. According to the plan that was before city council, the public service would be required to engage in consultations until February of 2026 before installing the bike lane next spring. This delay is unacceptable, and that’s not just something that I can say for myself. The last two weeks at bike racks, intersections and cycling events, I have spoken with over 400 cyclists about the delays this bike lane has faced since April, and can say that I have never seen our community so moved to shock, anger and distrust in the system. Our community wants Winnipeg to be decisive and strategically agile in the pursuit of Vision Zero — a road safety initiative summed up by the idea that no loss of life is acceptable. Our community wants City Hall to set a new precedent in which fatal crashes trigger immediate road design interventions. In all these conversations, something became crystal clear. Whether City Hall intends it or not, delaying again sends a message to Winnipeg’s cyclists: We’ll protect you when it’s convenient for us. The report from the public works department on this bike lane (available on the city’s website) is revealing. It notes 13 reported collisions with pedestrians and cyclists occurred on this part of Wellington between 2012-2022 (averaging one every 280 days, which is a shorter period than the proposed delay). It also states that “Traffic modelling predicts the pilot would result in minimal traffic impacts.” With this context, I want to share one more quote: “It is important to note this four-phased approach is atypical of a traditional pilot. A pilot would typically see infrastructure put into place prior to any feedback collection. The proposed infrastructure could be implemented in 2025; the public service would then modify the plan to more closely resemble a typical pilot and collect feedback from both road users and fronting residents after they have an opportunity to experience the change.” Given the acknowledgment of Wellington’s dangerous design, the expectation of minimal impacts on traffic and the fact that this delay for consultation is inconsistent with typical city practices, our community came together to demand that city council ditch the delay. In response to the call from our community, Coun. Sherri Rollins advanced a motion to do just that, which received only two votes (her own and Coun. Cindy Gilroy’s) and was defeated. Wellington Crescent, where green “bike route signs” stand in sharp contrast to Rob Jenner’s white ghost bike, will remain as dangerous as the day he died until next spring. We have been watching the decisions made at City Hall. These delays have us angry at our political leadership, embarrassed at the state of our infrastructure and afraid our next bike ride could be our last. We are pessimistic about Winnipeg’s ability to meet big challenges when we see city council getting tangled in “atypical” red tape over one bike lane. We are tired of being villainized as disrespectful in our advocacy by politicians who confuse requests to be listened to for personal attacks. When our councillors can’t stay off their phones or even stay in the room during meetings that are designated as the place and time for citizens to weigh in on civic matters, they don’t have a leg to stand on calling us disrespectful. Honestly, I did not go to City Hall expecting they would ditch the delay. Public works chair Janice Lukes stated at last week’s executive policy committee meeting that the lane would not be built this year. Yet I had hoped that with a hundred observers, our community would be heard. Halfway through my delegation, Lukes left the room. Perhaps after our next election, we will have councillors who can sit through a meeting. Aro van Dyck is an advocate for safer streets.

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WFP: City installing traffic-calming curbs in ongoing battle with speeders (Jul22'25)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Jul '25

22 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. City installing traffic-calming curbs in ongoing battle with speeders https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/07/21/city-to-install-t… BLAME speeders for the installation of concrete traffic-calming curbs on several city residential streets. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the civic public works committee, said the first of them will be in place this week on Chancellor Drive north of Lake Island Crescent. “There are two elementary schools and a community centre, You would think with two 30 km/h zones, people would already slow down,” Lukes said Monday. “But no they don’t. It’s crazy.” The yellow concrete curbs shaped like thick surf boards are 2.4 metres long and weigh more than 900 kilograms. They will be marked by signage and placed in another 12 locations throughout the city before the end of August. “These are a lot cheaper than rebuilding the street. We are putting them in locations where we have studied them. This is changing the built environment in the best way,” Lukes said. “People just need to slow down — but it seems they can’t, so we have to change the darn road structure so they are forced to slow down. This is a pilot project to understand how effective these curbs will be and to observe how they stand up in the winter. “If it stops even one collision, that’s great.” If the curbs do what they are intended to do, the city will make them permanent in future street-renewal work, she said. Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement that “every neighbourhood in our city deserves safer streets.” “That’s why we created a new road safety unit, to find practical, cost-effective ways to reduce risk and protect all road users. These traffic-calming curbs are a smart solution that will make a difference right away.” The curbs are already used in other jurisdictions across North America to increase safety. They “minimize conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles,” a news release from the city said. A list of the 10 sites where the curbs will be installed, is available on the city’s website. Both Templeton Avenue and Cambridge Street have four locations apiece, while the other eight streets have single placements. The city is working with Art City to install asphalt art at select locations to increase visibility further and beautify the neighbourhood. kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca> [https://us5-bcdn.newsmemory.com/eebrowser/ipad/html5.check.25012021/ajax-re…] A graphic shows the planned placement of traffic-calming measures on Chancellor Drive.

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WFP: Wellington bike lane pilot project greenlit (Jul19'25)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jul '25

19 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. WELLINGTON BIKE LANE PILOT PROJECT GREENLIT CITY council has approved a plan to conduct a Wellington Crescent bike lane pilot project next year, despite intense lobbying from cyclists to take action much sooner. About 80 cyclists gathered in council chambers before the final vote took place Thursday, including two who spoke as delegates, asking council to implement the changes this year. The pilot project will test out one-way temporary separated bike lanes on Wellington and reduce part of the street to two lanes from four lanes. The plan would also cut the speed limit to 40 km/h from 50 km/h between Academy Road and Stradbrook Avenue. Supporters say the timing will allow for more consultation with property owners and others, before the changes take effect. Many cyclists have lobbied the city for changes on Wellington since cyclist Rob Jenner was killed by a speeding driver on the street on June 6, 2024. While the vehicle was travelling at 159 km/h, more than triple the current speed limit, many argued the design of the street makes it far too easy to speed through.

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WFP: School zones with most offenders targeted (Jul19'25)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jul '25

19 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. ‘Our goal should be to get to zero tickets,’ says co-founder of Safe Speeds School zones with most offenders targeted https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/07/18/city-eyes-changes… A new motion directs city staff to review school zones with the highest number of speeding tickets and explore design options to slow drivers down in those areas. The motion calls for staff to report back on potential infrastructure changes to address the issue, such as new signs, raised crosswalks, crosswalk lighting, speed bumps and curb extensions. “The idea is not to keep ticketing people. The idea is to fix the problem. The ticketing is kind of an indicator where there are probably some structural problems on the road… So, it’s a good (way) to (determine) where we’re going to focus on,” said Coun. John Orlikow, who seconded the city council motion Thursday. Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said the 30 km/h speed limit around many schools is not enough to address speeding on its own, so these extra safety measures should be explored. “They’re deterrents for sure, the tickets… But if it’s still not working, if we’re still giving out too many tickets, then we have to look at the infrastructure (at those sites),” he said. An advocate calling for the 30 km/h speed limit to be implemented on all residential streets said changing infrastructure to slow down drivers is a good idea. “It is a great start to changing the way that we think about speed enforcement in the city. School zones are an awesome place to start but… we should be using data to tell us where speeding is a problem throughout the city,” said Emma Durand-Wood, a co-founder of Safe Speeds Winnipeg. For example, she said curb extensions, also known as bump-outs, provide better visibility for pedestrians and reduce their crossing distance, while raised crosswalks cue drivers to slow down. “Most people aren’t setting out to disobey the speed limit. The biggest factor …. that influences how fast people drive is the design of the street. So, we know that (changing) the design of the street is the most effective way to change how fast people drive.” Durand-Wood said the city should incorporate safety infrastructure into road renewal projects and devote photo radar ticket revenue to design changes that make it harder to speed. “Our goal really should be to get to zero speeding tickets because that would mean people are driving safely,” she said. Durand-Wood is also a registered candidate in the Elmwood- East Kildonan byelection, which is scheduled for Oct. 25. However, council’s public works chairwoman said she thinks photo enforcement data alone doesn’t provide enough information to determine where road safety infrastructure dollars should be spent. Coun. Janice Lukes said she fears basing that decision on heavily ticketed school zones would not necessarily pick the best locations overall. That’s partly because police can’t patrol hundreds of schools in Winnipeg every day, so it’s not easy to ensure the most ticketed ones actually see the most speeding, said Lukes (Waverley West). Other important safety factors should also be considered to prioritize infrastructure investments, such as traffic volumes and engineering feedback, she said. “I (probably) wouldn’t support (the motion) because we’re not getting accurate data to base (infrastructure) investments on. I’m not going to base investment on just police ticket data,” said Lukes. The councillor said she’s very supportive of changing infrastructure to slow down vehicles in school zones but any work must fit within the city’s budget. “In my opinion, every school should have curb bump-outs … but we don’t have enough resources to do that,” said Lukes. “People just need to smarten up and slow down,” she added. Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel Mc-Intyre), who raised the motion, could not be reached for comment by deadline Friday. The motion will be considered by council’s public works committee in September. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Art is afoot - new pedestrian corridor’s colourful transformation full of life, movement
by Beth McKechnie 12 Jul '25

12 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. ART IS AFOOT From parcheesi to paintings, new pedestrian corridor’s colourful transformation full of life, movement https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/2025/07/12/art-is-afoot THEY’RE almost ready to be traversed, touched and skipped on: four blocks of street paintings from Carlton to Garry Street on Graham, including two playable murals. The murals are part of Reimagining Graham Avenue, which sees the former transit corridor transformed into a pedestrian-first corridor. “There’s going to be a giant parcheesi game right in front of the police services,” says Karin Kliewer, a senior planner at the City of Winnipeg. “And I don’t even know how to play parcheesi, but I’m definitely gonna learn!” Local artists began paving the streets with strokes on Canada Day and have been painting at a brisk clip — they’re expected to be wrapped up this weekend. Muralists include Marc Kuegle, Alex Plante, Kal Barteski, Kale Sheppard, Laura Lee Harasym, Mike Zastre, James Culleton, Architects at Play and artistic lead Takashi Iwasaki. The mark of Iwasaki’s unmistakable style — something like an extra whimsical Kandinsky or Miró for the video-game age — can be found on murals from Winnipeg to Churchill and beyond. He oversees the murals’ artistic direction and collaborates with both the city and project lead Stéphane Dorge, an organizer with CoolStreetsWPG, on the murals’ logistics and execution. “I like people to think of rhythm as they walk by. Once they look at the image, it’s not very stagnant,” says Iwasaki. The artist is also intrigued by people’s reactions on social media to the emerging murals, saying some older Facebook users have left skeptical comments, while younger Instagram users are applauding the new works and changes on Graham Avenue. “It’s a sort of casual survey of what kind of people exist around me… On Facebook, I think people say it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money,” says Iwasaki. “But it’s interesting: it’s all funded by Bloomberg, the U.S. philanthropy organization, so nothing of our tax money has been spent on the paint.” Winnipeg is one of only 10 cities in North America selected for Bloomberg Philanthropies’ US$100,000 Asphalt Art Initiative, after the Public Works and the Planning, Property and Development departments at the City of Winnipeg submitted an application. This funding is one reason why Reimagining Graham Avenue is as colourful as it is. “It’s not often where that scale of a (mural) project can happen this fast,” Dorge says. “I hope this isn’t the full catalyst, though. But I hope this… spurs prioritization from developers to focus on rebuilding (the) area and making it more vibrant.” It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Winnipeg’s downtown. Reimagining Graham Avenue coincides with the opening of Portage and Main to pedestrians, as well as Winnipeg’s newly implemented transit model — all of which, while serving distinct goals, aim to transform the downtown into a more walkable social hub. Many significant planning initiatives in Manitoba’s history have been met with polarized reactions at first, even if some — like Duff’s Ditch in the 1960s, the Downtown Skywalk System in 1970s-80s, and The Forks redevelopment in the 1980s-90s — are now all but taken for granted as key pieces of infrastructure. Iwasaki says he hasn’t experienced any of this negativity at the street level. “People are curious. They always ask, ‘What is this? Why is this happening?’ Or it’s just a nice comment of, ‘Oh, that looks nice,’” he says. “No one yells at us, especially with the (reflective) vest. We look like city workers. They have some sort of respect when you wear the safety jacket.” “I think we are very critical as Winnipeggers, but this is a first step in creating the downtown that we deserve, which has a lot of beauty and a lot of places for people to go and gather,” Kliewer says. “I hope that people walk down this. I hope that people walk down Portage and Main,” she adds. “I hope people walk through The Exchange… and say, ‘Yes, this makes sense. Yes, I want to be here. I want to walk here, bike here. I want to make art here and enjoy it.’” conrad.sweatman(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:conrad.sweatman@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Vancouver cuts speed limit on local streets (Jul10'25)
by Beth McKechnie 10 Jul '25

10 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. VANCOUVER CUTS SPEED LIMIT ON LOCAL STREETS https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/uncategorized/2025/07/09/vancouver-counci… Vancouver's city council has voted unanimously to reduce the speed limit on local streets to 30 kilometres per hour, down from the provincially mandated 50 kilometres per hour. The city says in a release that the vote “sets the stage” for the phased introduction of the new limit on residential streets without a centre line. It says new signage will be installed in 25 “neighbourhood slow zones” over the next three years, with other neighbourhoods being added later subject to budget allocations. The city says lowering the speed limit on local residential streets can reduce pedestrian fatality rates in a crash from 80 per cent to 15 per cent, as well as reducing stopping distances almost by half, thus lowering the number of collisions. The city also says lower speed limits can reduce noise and air pollution. B.C. currently sets a blanket speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour on residential streets in Vancouver unless otherwise posted, while the city says Vancouver “has a long-standing practice to lower speed limits” to 30 kilometres an hour on local street greenways, and playground and school zones. — The Canadian Press

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WFP: Wellington Crescent bike lane won’t roll till next year: city (Jul4'25)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Jul '25

04 Jul '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Wellington Crescent bike lane won’t roll till next year: city https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/07/03/wellington-cresce… A BIKE lane pilot project planned for Wellington Crescent remains on track to roll out next year, despite dozens of pleas to deliver it in 2025. On Thursday, council’s public works committee approved a plan to test out one-way temporary separated bike lanes on Wellington and reduce part of the street to two lanes from four lanes. The plan would also cut the speed limit to 40 km/h from 50 km/h between Academy Road and Stradbrook Avenue. About 40 cycling advocates urged committee members to get those changes in place this summer, as originally planned, instead of next year. While councillors did call for the next staff report on the matter to arrive by February 2026, the changes will still be tested that year, pending a final city council vote. “When implemented… (these changes) will address the concerns,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, the committee’s chairwoman. A city staff report states the delay to add the bike lanes will allow consultation with property owners and others before changes take effect. Lukes (Waverley West) said the delegates made a lot of valid points, noting she supported reducing the area’s speed to 30 km/h late last year before council voted against that change. “I support (the cyclists). I hear them… I have to talk to my other colleagues to get (the majority of city council members) to move it through,” she said. Many cyclists have lobbied the city for changes on Wellington since cyclist Rob Jenner was killed by a speeding driver on the street on June 6, 2024. While the vehicle was travelling at 159 km/h, more than triple the current speed limit, many argued the design of the street makes it far too easy to speed through. Most of those delegates also called for a 30 km/h speed limit on the route, instead of the proposed 40 km/h. Samantha Beiko, who commutes from Charleswood to downtown by bike, said implementing the pilot project and a 30 km/h speed limit would prevent crashes and injuries. “This (pilot) has been talked about for well over a year, that they have the materials in stock to do it now, to put in a temporary solution… This can be implemented right away,” said Beiko. City council is expected to cast the final vote on the matter on July 17. The report on interim solutions to make Wellington Crescent safer for cyclists and pedestrians was originally expected in April before being delayed until this month’s agenda. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP analysis: A new chapter for Portage and Main (Jun30'25)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Jun '25

30 Jun '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. A new chapter for Portage and Main https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2025/06/30/a-new-chapter… REMEMBER that time the entire city of Winnipeg voted on whether people should be allowed to cross the street? That was wild. The whole country looked on in curious amusement as a modern city tied itself into knots over what appeared to be an incredibly mundane issue. As a member of the Vote Open campaign, I can remember spending my evenings going door-to-door, or manning booths and handing out pamphlets at festivals and farmers’ markets. We organized a concert, started a website and argued tirelessly on social media. We had all the data and all the engineering studies. We could rebut any point. In the end, as we know, Portage and Main was a mythical beast too powerful to slay and the vote was a resounding NO. A few years later, we found out that it would be cheaper to take down the barricades than to repair the underground, so one day, Mayor Scott Gillingham announced in a reassuring tone, “It’s just an intersection,” and that was that. On Friday, almost 17,000 days after the last person legally did it, we walked across the street. We shouldn’t expect that rainbows will cascade down from the heavens and all that ails downtown will be instantly swept away. But in time, people on the sidewalks will bring life back to the centre of our city. More people work within 100 metres of Portage and Main than live in Steinbach, the province’s third largest city. Enticing even a fraction of these people back to the sidewalks might be the incentive needed to begin filling the many empty storefronts nearby, developing the 50-year-old gravel parking lot on Main Street and bringing life to the plazas and public spaces. An open Portage and Main will reconnect the different neighbourhoods of downtown so they can build on each other’s successes. It will re-establish the intersection’s traditional role as the centre of an urban pinwheel, a place of connection but also, in its own right, a place to be. Before long, people crossing the street will be the new normal and we will wonder what all the fuss was about. It’s then that we might challenge ourselves to dream bigger. Mayor Gillingham is right — it is just an intersection. But it’s also an opportunity. The windy corner, the gateway to the West, Canada’s coldest and most famous intersection has been celebrated in song and story. It began as a First Nations meeting place, later becoming a Métis trading route, then the birthplace of a frontier city and the economic centre of modern metropolis. It is a place we come to celebrate, a place we come to mourn and to protest. Portage and Main is a special place filled with lore and history, not just in Winnipeg but across the country. As you enter the 'Cities of the Twentieth Century’ exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, you are greeted with a giant mural of Portage and Main from a century ago. The image represents the very best of what a city can be, the intersection, the beating heart of a city filled with optimism and energy. Imagine if Portage and Main became a place where this spirit and history were woven together and celebrated through art, sculpture, lighting, landscape, interpretive design and storytelling. A place where we can come to learn about ourselves and to have others learn about us. Telling the story of Portage and Main through placemaking is to tell the story of Canada. The ultimate opportunity for Portage and Main is to be a remarkable place that tells a remarkable story. To achieve this, we might at some point reconsider the physical form of the intersection itself, giving more space to people and less to cars. New York City presents a strong precedent for this, closing Broadway through Times Square in 2009 and creating pedestrian plazas that have transformed it into one of the great public spaces in the world. Considering that it took Winnipeg half a century to accept people crossing the street, removing car space would certainly not be an easy sell, but our experience during the last nine months of construction has demonstrated that it can be done. When construction started on removing the barricades last year, two full lanes of traffic were closed on each side of Portage Avenue and Main Street. This effectively cut vehicle capacity in half. The result was a real-world experiment in traffic engineering. For a few weeks after the closures, maybe a month, traffic slowed during rush hour and it would take a couple minutes longer to drive through the intersection. As people got used to the changes, however, traffic found its way. Congestion decreased and for several months the intersection operated normally despite having far less space devoted to cars. Many cities across North America have used a strategy called “road diets” to permanently reduce the number of lanes on wide streets and create more pedestrian space. When road diets are implemented, drivers will frequently find alternative routes, travel at different times or even use different modes of transportation, often resulting in traffic eventually finding equilibrium. Road diets are always controversial, but the experience during construction at Portage and Main demonstrated that it is possible without significant impact to traffic congestion — knowledge that we shouldn’t forget as we contemplate the future of the intersection. Removing the barricades isn’t the end of the Portage and Main story. It’s the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. What we write in that chapter is now up to all of us. The opportunity for Canada’s most famous intersection is to be a place worthy of its fame — Hollywood and Vine, Shibuya Crossing, Times Square and Portage and Main. Why not? Brent Bellamy is creative director at Number Ten Architectural Group.

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WFP: Route-and-branch transit overhaul maps city’s devolution (Jun29'25)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Jun '25

29 Jun '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. ROUTE-AND-BRANCH TRANSIT OVERHAUL MAPS CITY’S DEVOLUTION By: Rebecca Chambers<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/biographies/rebecca-chambers> https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2025/06/27/route-and-branch-transit… 10 Wolseley. 11 Portage. 12 William. 14 Ellice. 15 Mountain. 16 Osborne. 17 MacGregor. 18 Corydon. 19 Notre Dame. 20 Academy… Until this week, I hadn’t realized I could recite just about the full set of Winnipeg Transit routes and numbers by memory. Alas, this newly discovered party trick is destined to go unused as we bury these routes with the streetcar tracks they were originally designed to follow, the veins through a city that are remnants of a time when a much more closely-packed citizenry all needed the same things, and all of which were available in the heart of the city. I have mixed feelings about this evolution. Obviously, changes are needed to transit. Declining ridership and rising safety issues are clear indicators it’s not fulfilling its role of getting us where we need to go. But the days of jumping on the bus for all of our needs are behind us. Even if we wanted to go shopping downtown, we largely couldn’t, as there’s nowhere left to shop. A short walk down Portage or Graham will yield empty shop front after empty shop front. The mammoth department stores of two generations ago are gone, and many of the destinations that would have drawn us are now parking lots haunted by the ghosts of Winnipeggers past and the cars of Winnipeg present. I’m worried our transit overhaul reflects our devolution, instead of our evolution, as a city. It seems to be a reflection and acceptance of our problematic sprawl. With nothing to bump into on the outside margins of our town, we have nothing stopping us from expanding ever outward, trenching new sewer lines and paving new roads while the older ones rot and crumble, building new houses while addresses in older neighbourhoods are left as burnt skeletons or piles of rubble for months on end. Transit has been slow to extend service into newer areas, and inhabitants have been slow to adopt transit as a way to get around. While in some ways this redesign feels like an admission of defeat, a commitment to a future of further sprawl, it does give hope that somewhere in Winnipeg, someone involved in planning is acknowledging we cannot go on just waiting for our boomtown days to come back while more and more of our citizenry are making homes along river banks. In a rare example of cross-sector coordination, there are a few examples of this novel forward-thinking mindset. The city is looking at adding housing along the new “spine” routes, even incorporating residential units into transit infrastructure. The lofty plans for Graham Avenue — a pedestrian mall and shopping district — promise to bring people downtown to socialize, shop and dine. The new routes promise quicker commutes, better coverage and short waits for transfers — all good reasons to pull someone onto the bus who hasn’t considered it in some time. All in all, it’s a noble effort to make a rare and radical change to Winnipeg’s public services in an effort to actually serve the needs of the citizenry. But it’s not going to work. These noble “pull” reasons to take the bus will fail if there aren’t balanced and co-ordinated “push” incentives to get people out of their cars. We cannot simply emphasize the perks of taking the bus without also making driving more unattractive, and we are a woefully car-committed city. The fact we’re still entertaining the thought of widening Kenaston Boulevard is clear communication from the city itself that we don’t believe in public transit to move people. No, we must make way for more cars instead. It’s cars that move people in Winnipeg. And it’s cars that occupy the ever-expanding network of surface parking lots in our downtown: cheap, plentiful spaces have made driving to work easy and comfortable. Why would anyone take the bus where there is very little advantage? Transit is not just failing because the product itself isn’t working well. It’s failing because our city has planned for it to fail. There is no outcome for transit, in the current design of this city, that will strengthen its utility and usage, because we haven’t considered factors beyond the service itself. It’s clear the reliability and safety of transit must be improved, and some of that will be addressed by the changes that go into effect tomorrow, but until the infrastructure surrounding car use makes it preferable, I can’t imagine I’ll be memorizing many new route numbers. rebecca.chambers(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:rebecca.chambers@freepress.mb.ca>

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