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WFP: Advocate calls for speed traps at site of crosswalk fatality (Oct28'26)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Oct '26

28 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Says police need to make cost of breaking law clear Advocate calls for speed traps at site of crosswalk fatality https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/10/27/advocate-calls-fo… A LONGTIME community advocate says safety must be improved on the section of Main Street where a man in his 60s was hit by a truck Friday and later died. In a video of the crash obtained by the Free Press, the man, who hasn’t been identified, crosses at a crosswalk at Main Street and Jarvis Avenue at around 7:45 p.m. He was walking across the southbound lanes toward Austin Street North, as signals flashed overhead. When he reaches the northbound lanes of Main Street, he’s hit by a pickup truck and slides down the rain-slicked street for several metres. He died in hospital. “It’s a death that shouldn’t have happened,” said Sel Burrows, a longtime community leader and founder of a crime hotline in the area. Burrows said the location has been a problem “for many, many years.” He said that generally speaking, some northbound drivers accelerate after emerging from the rail underpass on Main Street as they head toward Jarvis Avenue. In the video, the crosswalk lights on the southbound side are flashing after the man is hit. Traffic continues and the pickup driver pulls over. Police said the driver remained on the scene. Burrows said it’s frustrating the collision occurred while a pedestrian was in the crosswalk. “Somebody’s life has been taken,” he said. “One of the things I’ve learned about doing crime prevention in the inner city is (police) need to make sure consequences for breaking the law are clearly defined and people hear about them, so it does have a deterrent effect.” Burrows said more police patrols or a speed trap at the intersection would be welcome. He said in 2017, patrols were increased in the area following the death of 23-year-old Cody Severight at Main Street and Sutherland Avenue, which is one block south. “Every month, they should have a couple of hours with a speed camera under there, issue tickets and publicize it,” Burrows said. “So people know if you speed coming out of that underpass, you’re going to get a ticket.” Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dani McKinnon said Tuesday no charges had been laid and the investigation continues. The police service recently urged pedestrians and drivers to take care after a high number of collisions involving pedestrians. It’s unclear if the northbound signals at the crosswalk were functioning normally at the time of the collision, but on Tuesday, they were working. A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said it couldn’t comment on whether the lights were working at the time of the crash, or whether the lights had required service in the last 30 days, due to the ongoing police investigation. Several people in the area who use the crosswalk said drivers regularly drive through the crosswalk when the lights are activated, something Burrows said may be rooted in what he called “people’s disdain for the inner city.” “They don’t stop for you,” Jacqueline Courchene said about her experience at the crosswalk. “Even if it’s broad daylight and the lights are going … they won’t stop.” She said she was almost hit at the crosswalk last winter when someone failed to stop, but her friend saved her. “Three of the lanes stopped, but the last didn’t,” she said. “(Drivers) see the people out here, myself included, as second-class citizens. It’s disgusting.” Keith Horn, owner of the nearby Northern Hotel said it’s difficult to watch the video of the collision captured by his surveillance cameras. “You just see a black figure slide along the ground, so you know someone was hit hard,” he said. He agreed that people drive down the strip faster than they should. “They come under the underpass, and it’s supposed to be 50 kilometres per hour, but probably most people are going a lot faster,” Horn said. “Then all of a sudden, you’re at a crosswalk.” He said education, a speed trap or even more signage — such as those in school zones advising drivers to slow down — would be welcome in the area. “You have to get people to slow down,” he said. morgan.modjeski(a)winnipegfreepress.com<mailto:morgan.modjeski@winnipegfreepress.com>

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CBC Manitoba: Cycling advocate hopes Winnipeg's next mayor doesn't backpedal on commitments (Oct27'26)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Oct '26

27 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Existing infrastructure is good but could be better, Ian McCausland says https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cycling-advocates-winnipeg-election… A bike advocate is hoping whoever is elected as Winnipeg's mayor builds off existing momentum on the future of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. "We already have an amazing commitment from the previous council and the current mayor, so we're really positive about that," said Ian McCausland, a board member of Bike Winnipeg. The 2026 budget says the city plans to spend $112.8 million on active transportation over the next six years, with $60 million specifically going toward cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. "We're looking forward to working with whoever makes up the next council and taking those commitments forward, and seeing more investment in active transportation as a solution to the transportation problems everyone seems to have identified," McCausland said. A CBC-commissioned survey done in August suggested cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is one of the areas where Winnipeg has improved the most, with 42 per cent of respondents saying it's better than it was four years ago. A margin of error for the Abacus Data survey could not be calculated because the majority of responses came from online panels, but a random poll with that sample size would have a margin of error of 3.74 per cent, 19 times out of 20. McCausland said the results don't surprise him. "When we talked to cyclists who've been cycling for a long time, they'll say the same thing. The infrastructure has gotten better, we're always just missing those crucial connections that just tip it over into … an amazing network," he said. McCausland said the No. 1 complaint he hears from cyclists in Winnipeg is that the bike path network isn't connected enough, especially in the north and northwestern part of the city. It's something he'd like to see addressed by the next council. "You'll have a great piece, and then it'll end up throwing you into traffic," he said. "So, we'd really like to see all those little connections being made so that we can have a complete network that would help people embrace the network." With election day right around the corner, McCausland is a little worried about what he's been hearing from some mayoral candidates. "We've heard a little bit about bike lanes and active transportation during this campaign — not all of it has been positive," he said. Mayoral candidate Mike Vogiatzakis said he would "100 per cent" reduce the amount of spending on bike lanes — namely the $60-million figure touted in the latest city budget. "I would most definitely not spend that kind of money on bike lanes," he said. "You could build bike lanes in a much safer way and have them away from traffic — that would cost you a lot less." Vogiatzakis said he'd prioritize making existing bike paths safer — mainly by moving them further away from major roads and highways — rather than focusing on developing more cycling infrastructure for a city with long winters. He's also not on board with the city's long-term target of 50 per cent <https://legacy.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/transportation/transportationmasterp…> of trips in the city being walking, cycling, transit or ride-sharing by the year 2050. "They want us to walk, they want us to cycle and find different ways to get to work, and I think it's unrealistic in a city like Winnipeg to have a plan that's good for other places in the world but not really good for our city," Vogiatzakis said. If elected mayor, Kevin Klein has promised to redirect a portion of the funding currently allocated to bike-lane program funding toward homelessness initiatives, and arena and community-centre infrastructure. "I want to be clear, I am not saying there will be no money for transportation needs such as bike lanes, but that we have to redirect some of the funds currently allocated for them to the most pressing needs of our communities," he said in a statement to CBC News. Mayoral candidate Noah Redden said in a statement to CBC News that he supports increased bike lanes and active transportation infrastructure in the city. As mayor, he would "work to increase the amount of safe active transportation options in the city," he said. Incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham said at a campaign announcement Monday that if re-elected, he wouldn't be diverting from the current funding plan for active transportation. McCausland said that regardless of who is elected mayor of Winnipeg on Wednesday, he hopes that person "sees the value" in investing in cycling infrastructure. Mazher Alam, Johnny Calderon, Chris Clacio, Tracey Drexler, Brad Gross, Umar Hayat, Josh Pagdato, and Don Woodstock are also running for mayor.

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WFP: Opening of Portage and Main shows even seemingly insurmountable impasses can be overcome (Oct24'26)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Oct '26

25 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. INTERSECTION INFLECTION Opening of Portage and Main shows even seemingly insurmountable impasses can be overcome JASON SYVIXAY https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2026/10/24/intersection-inflection THERE are places in a city that become more than places. Portage and Main is one of them. For generations of Winnipeggers, the intersection has represented downtown, traffic, development and civic identity. Its reopening to pedestrians in 2025, after 46 years of closure, was about more than crossing a street. It was a reminder that decisions made by one generation can shape the choices available to another — and that even seemingly permanent decisions can be reconsidered. I have spent much of my professional life thinking about Winnipeg as a planner, working in public, private and non-profit settings. My PhD research gave me an opportunity to examine Portage and Main differently: not simply as a debate about cars and pedestrians, but as a window into how power operates in a city. I reviewed 569 archival documents spanning the 1960s to the present, interviewed 48 planners with experience in Winnipeg, and mapped the relationships between planners, politicians, developers, engineers, residents, businesses and advocacy groups. What emerged was a story about how planning decisions become embedded in a city’s institutions, agreements, infrastructure, professional practices and political expectations — shaping not only what gets built, but who gets to influence what gets built. The closure of Portage and Main in 1979 did not remain a decision confined to a particular political moment. Over time, it was reinforced by development agreements, physical infrastructure, property relationships, traffic-engineering practices, administrative routines, and public narratives about mobility and downtown revitalization. The people who made many of those original decisions eventually left office. The arrangements they created remained. Later planners inherited them. This is what I call “embedded planning power.” Power is not exercised only when a politician casts a vote, a developer advances a proposal or a planner recommends an option. It accumulates. An agreement can outlast the government that signed it. Infrastructure can make one future easier and another more expensive. Professional hierarchies can determine whose expertise matters most, while familiar narratives can make established approaches seem inevitable. The past does not simply constrain us because it happened. It constrains us because we build the future around it. WHO SHAPES THE CITY? MY research also led me to reconsider the role of planners themselves. Planning scholarship often asks what planners should do: advocate, facilitate, advise, mediate or provide technical expertise. But there is another question worth asking: What forms of influence does the planning system actually allow them to exercise? The planners I interviewed described four broad patterns of behaviour. Some acted as commanders, shaping narratives, advising elected officials and championing a vision. Others were compromisers, building relationships, facilitating dialogue and finding common ground among competing interests. Some became subordinates, taking direction from elected officials and demonstrating accountability with follow through. Others operated as solitarians, gathering information, conducting analysis and providing technical clarity. These are not personality types or a hierarchy of better and worse planners. They are different configurations of professional agency. A planner may lead in one circumstance and defer in another, depending on their relationships, authority, expertise and institutional environment. The distinction matters because we often tell planners to be more courageous, collaborative or strategic without asking whether their organizations enable them to act that way. A planner can understand precisely what a city needs and still lack the authority, resources, relationships or political support to make it happen. Portage and Main illustrates this challenge. For much of its history, planning occupied a relatively peripheral position in a network where engineering, development interests and political decision-making often carried greater influence. That position was not inevitable. It was shaped by institutional decisions, the prioritization of traffic and engineering rationalities, changes in planning resources and organizational status, and development arrangements that gave other actors considerable influence. Position is itself a product of power. This finding has implications beyond Winnipeg. If planners occupy the margins of a decision, we should ask why. If engineers dominate a conversation, what has made their expertise central? If developers have privileged access to decision-makers, what arrangements sustain that influence? The question being asked also determines who becomes powerful in answering it. Frame Portage and Main as a traffic problem, and engineering expertise moves to the centre. Frame it as a development opportunity, and property and economic interests become more prominent. Frame it around accessibility, urban design or civic identity, and planning knowledge becomes more consequential. The framing of a problem is itself a form of power. RECOGNIZING CONSTRAINTS WE REPRODUCE INSTITUTIONS do more than constrain planners. Planners can also reproduce the very arrangements that limit their influence. When a particular way of working becomes routine, professionals may stop questioning its origins. A planner who learns that an issue is “not really planning” may withdraw from the conversation. Someone who sees certain stakeholders consistently influencing decisions may focus on incremental improvements rather than challenging the underlying relationships. An organization may continue a practice long after the circumstances that created it have changed. Power does not always need to tell people what they cannot do. Over time, it can teach them what they should not attempt. This is not a criticism of individual planners. Often, these behaviours are rational responses to professional realities. Public-sector planners may face political expectations or restrictions on speaking publicly. Private-sector planners may worry about losing clients or damaging relationships with government. Telling someone simply to “speak truth to power” overlooks the institutional conditions that determine the consequences of doing so. But if institutions can reproduce power, they can also interrupt it. The reopening of Portage and Main demonstrates that embedded power is not permanent power. The agreements, infrastructure, political narratives and professional assumptions that sustained the closure for decades did not disappear overnight. They were challenged, renegotiated and eventually changed. The chains were real. But they were not unbreakable. That is an important lesson for Winnipeg as it considers its future. The question is not whether power will exist in planning. It always will. The question is how that power is organized, whose interests it serves and whether the institutions of the city can adapt when circumstances change. BUILDING A PLANNING POWERHOUSE IF Winnipeg wants to become a planning powerhouse, the opportunity lies in strengthening both the capacity of planners and the institutions in which they work. We need planning expertise close enough to political decision-making to influence it, while retaining sufficient professional independence to provide honest advice. We need planners who understand transportation, land use and infrastructure, but who can also explain how decisions shape everyday life. We need professionals who can build relationships with developers and businesses without becoming captive to their interests, engage communities without simply collecting preferences, and understand politics without becoming partisan. Most importantly, we need planners who can move between different forms of agency. Winnipeg needs the solitarian who conducts rigorous analysis, the compromiser who brings competing interests together and the subordinate who respects democratic accountability. But it also needs the commander: the planner who can articulate a vision, shape a civic narrative and explain with professional confidence where the city should go and why. We need institutions that allow planners to shift among these roles. A healthy planning system is not one in which every planner holds power. It is one that gives planners meaningful opportunities to exercise different forms of influence when circumstances demand it. That means moving beyond a reactive approach to city-building. Too often, planning responds to development applications, infrastructure projects and political priorities after fundamental questions have already been settled. A stronger planning culture would ask those questions earlier: What kind of downtown do we want? How should transportation support that vision? Where should growth occur? What public spaces do we need? How do we build a city that serves today’s residents while creating opportunities for generations to come? Answering these questions requires political leadership, institutional memory and professional capacity. It requires departments and agencies to work across organizational boundaries, long-term plans to guide actual investment, and relationships among planners, elected officials, engineers, developers, businesses and communities that are established before the next controversy begins. It also requires acknowledging that planning is not neutral. Every plan reflects choices about whose needs matter, what knowledge counts, which priorities receive investment and which futures are considered realistic. The goal cannot be to eliminate politics from planning. It must be to make the politics of city-building more transparent, informed and responsive to long-term public interests. NEXT SET OF CHAINS PORTAGE and Main offers Winnipeg a powerful lesson. When decisions become embedded in institutions, changing them can take decades. But embedded does not mean permanent. The intersection reopened after 46 years. That alone should make us reconsider the language we use when confronting difficult urban challenges. “It can’t be done” may simply mean institutional arrangements surrounding a problem currently make change difficult. Those arrangements can shift. Stakeholder relationships, political priorities, professional cultures, infrastructure and public expectations can change. Planners can move from the margins toward the centre of the conversation. But there is a harder lesson, too. If today’s decisions become tomorrow’s institutional realities, planning is not simply about solving the problems immediately before us. It is about deciding what conditions we are creating for the people who come next. We inherit the decisions of the past, along with their consequences. Our responsibility is not only to navigate the constraints we inherit, but also to recognize the constraints we are reproducing ourselves. That is where I find hope in this research. The same institutions that reinforce power can end up being where it is ultimately interrupted. The same professional practices that sustain the status quo can become vehicles for change. And the same planners who learn to work within existing boundaries can, under different conditions, help redraw them. A planning powerhouse is not a city that gets every decision right. It is a city with the capacity to think ahead, question its assumptions, bring different forms of knowledge together and change course when evidence and the public interest demand it. Portage and Main taught Winnipeg that even deeply embedded decisions can change. The next challenge is to build a city where we do not need 46 years to break the next set of chains. Jason Syvixay is a registered professional planner and vice-president of BILD Edmonton Metro. Passionate about cities, planning and the communities that shape them, he maintains a deep connection to his hometown of Winnipeg.

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CBC: Pedestrian dies after being struck by vehicle at crosswalk (Oct24'26)
by Beth McKechnie 24 Oct '26

24 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. The man in his 60s was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pedestrian-dies-hit-at-crosswalk-9.… A pedestrian has died after being struck by a pickup truck at a Winnipeg crosswalk Friday evening. Police were called to Main Street and Jarvis Avenue where they learned a man in his 60s had been crossing Main at a crosswalk when he was hit by an oncoming pickup truck. The man was taken to hospital in unstable condition and later died from his injuries. The driver stayed at the scene and the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information, including video surveillance or dashcam video, is asked to contact the traffic unit at 204-986-7085.

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WFP: Researchers: lights at crossing ‘long overdue’ (Oct22'26)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Oct '26

22 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Raise crosswalk consistency, police transparency concerns after man fatally hit in spring Researchers: lights at crossing ‘long overdue’ https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/10/22/researchers-light… SIX months after a fatal collision at a crosswalk on Henderson Highway, two traffic safety researchers question why the intersection remains an outlier that is missing key flashing lights. The City of Winnipeg is being urged to install “backflashers” to better protect road users moving in all directions at the intersection where a 32-year-old father died in the spring. “It’s these little, mundane, non-sexy engineering problems that can cause everything right up to fatality,” said Curt Pankratz, an associate professor at the University of Winnipeg who studies traffic engineering and policymaking. On April 19, shortly before sunrise, Gabe Beardy was struck when he was crossing the six-lane thoroughfare at Neil Avenue. City police said a motorist travelling northbound towards the intersection around 5:20 a.m. hit a victim, who was identified by family as a kindhearted and adventurous father of four from Lake St. Martin First Nation in the Interlake. The Winnipeg Police Service has released few details — to his family and others — about the collision in East Kildonan. “We need answers. We want to know what happened and to prevent this from happening to somebody else,” said Brad Beardy, chief of Lake St. Martin, which he said hasn’t been the same since he lost his nephew. The chief said he wants to know whether the 32-year-old had pushed any buttons to trigger flashing lights and what improvements can be made in his memory. He expressed gratitude that researchers have taken it upon themselves to investigate because his family is still in the dark. Const. Claude Chancy said WPS is not releasing findings of an investigation because the incident was deemed to have been non-criminal in nature and no charges were laid. Pankratz recently paid a visit to the scene with independent researcher Chris Sweryda, who frequently collaborates with him and is running for city council. Both researchers told the Free Press they’ve witnessed and recorded more near-misses and screeching tires at the intersection compared to others nearby. The duo cited one glaring safety gap — the absence of back-facing amber flashing lights that turn on when one side of the Neil Avenue crosswalk is in use. When a pedestrian pushes a button to activate lights to stop oncoming southbound traffic at the crosswalk, northbound motorists on Henderson Highway do not get a similar warning that someone is approaching the divider and about to enter their path. The same goes for the opposite direction, as there are no backflashers on either side of this intersection on the thoroughfare. The purpose of backflashers is to “shrink the dilemma zone,” by giving motorists more of a heads-up about pedestrian activity, Pankratz said, noting they’ve been installed in all corners of the city over the last 30 years. “We call it ‘the dilemma zone,’ when the light flashes, it starts flashing, and you have to decide to stop or go.” The sociologist and Sweryda, a master’s of law student who is, in his words, obsessed with road safety gaps, have been collaborating to track and flag traffic engineering-related problems for nearly 15 years. In 2012, Sweryda first identified Henderson Highway and Neil Avenue as an outlier, and began raising concerns at city hall about the installation and upkeep of backflashers. His database, compiled with data provided by the city, show there are 185 crosswalks with flashing lights in Winnipeg. The April 19 collision happened at one of two that do not have back-facing lights to warn the opposite side of the road about approaching pedestrians, Sweryda said. “Long overdue is an understatement,” Pankratz said about the need for a thorough review of the crosswalk that he indicated is particularly problematic at night. In response to a request for comment about the status quo, the public works department indicated “rear-facing flashing beacons” are anticipated to be installed at the intersection before the end of the year. City communications manager David Driedger said in a statement that the beacons are usually installed when there’s a “major road reconstruction project.” Driedger said the city is “prioritizing” their installation at the crosswalk in question and reviewing crossings elsewhere to identify anywhere else they could be installed to improve safety. Sweryda’s records show there have been upgrades at the intersection on two occasions since 2019. For the researcher, this situation represents larger concerns about inconsistent crosswalk installation, shoddy reviews and police secrecy related to fatal traffic incidents. There’s inconsistent button placement on median poles at crosswalks covering divided streets, irregular flashing beacons and sporadic distribution of eye-level flashing lights, he said. Following a series of recent vehicle-pedestrian collisions, city police held a news conference on Monday to remind road users to take extra precautions at intersections. There have been at least eight incidents involving 12 pedestrians in Winnipeg over the last three weeks. One senior died last week. Multiple other individuals, including a child who was run over in a parking lot, have suffered serious injuries. “This isn’t just about who’s at fault,” Insp. Helen Peters told reporters Monday. “This is about keeping each other safe and doing everything we can as drivers, motor vehicles or pedestrians to help each other out and navigate our roads.” The Manitoba Public Insurance collision dashboard shows 45 pedestrians have been victims of incidents inside the Perimeter Highway between Jan. 1 and Sept. 22, when it was last updated. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP OpEd: Can’t have our cake and eat it, too (Oct22'26)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Oct '26

22 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Can’t have our cake and eat it, too MEL MARGINET https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2026/10/22/cant-have-our… LAST month, the City of Winnipeg said it would soon begin to study ways to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along Osborne Street, which runs between two of the city’s densest neighbourhoods, where residents walk and bike for many of their daily activities. As someone who lives in South Osborne and who has frequented the shops and restaurants of the Village since my university days over 20 years ago, these changes can’t come soon enough. Imagine my frustration when I read that this study of the street between Broadway and the St. Vital Bridge will take place “over the next year” to find “quick” solutions. We’ve all been through the COVID-19 pandemic, during which cities around the world found rapid solutions to improve safety and encourage more walking, biking and transit. Entire manuals have been published on easy things our city could try, literally this weekend, to improve the safety of Osborne Street. Perhaps the reason this project is going to take a year can be found in this quote from David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation: “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.” Mr. Patman has correctly identified Osborne Street as a “stroad.” A stroad is a dangerous, inefficient combination of a street and a road. Stroads try to be the best of both worlds, and they fail at both. Charles Marohn, author of Strong Towns, offers the best analogy — a stroad is like a futon, which is both a terrible couch and an uncomfortable bed. You try to save money on two functions, but neither is right. Streets are productive places where people interact with businesses and residences and where community wealth is created, whereas roads are high-speed routes between those productive places (think: railroad). Both streets and roads serve important functions. But problems arise when we mix the two. Stroads came into fashion after the Second World War, when cities across North America abandoned traditional incremental growth and started building entire car-dependent suburbs on the edges of cities and towns. Suddenly, those streets became congested with automobiles. Instead of rethinking this growth pattern, cities attempted to find ways to manage the traffic by degrading the streets. Streetcar lines were ripped out or paved over, wide sidewalks were shrunk to add lanes and traffic lights replaced stop signs to “improve the flow.” It’s obvious now that this was a mistake. I think about this often when sitting on a packed bus stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic; or when waiting at Osborne and Beresford Avenue as cars fly through the lighted, flashing, beeping crosswalk; and especially when another resident is hit and injured or killed by a vehicle in our neighbourhood. If only those city planners of old could see us “thrive.” Here is the uncomfortable truth that we need to come to terms with on Osborne, and the many stroads throughout our city — we have to decide if we want a street or a road. We cannot have both. It’s a pretty obvious choice on Osborne. Osborne is, after all, a Street. It goes through the Osborne Village. It is a high street, not a highway. Back in 2023, the Osborne Village BIZ and the local councillor proposed making the intersection of River Avenue and Osborne a scramble crossing to calm traffic and make it safer for pedestrians. I will never forget listening to the council discussion. While there was an awareness that the neighbourhood wanted better walkability (it is prominent in the neighbourhood secondary plan), and despite all of the benefits clearly articulated by delegations, at the end of the day the decision came down to “all of the development” on the south side and the “need” to move those vehicles through the neighbourhood as quickly as possible at rush hour. That’s right, we plan around 10 hours a week of intense traffic (with Jets games and other events, let’s say 20) over the other 148 hours a week, even if it means going against the expressed wishes of businesses and people in the area. To which I ask — would you say traffic flows well during rush hour on Osborne? The stroad benefits no one. By trying to be both a great place to walk, live, play and shop — and a place that is fast to drive through — you end up with neither. Here is where we fail as a city again and again. No one likes congestion, and everyone wants their neighbourhoods to thrive. Indeed, we need thriving neighbourhoods to pay for the infrastructure and services we depend on. But, our city does not want to make the tough choices necessary. We cannot continue to serve “multiple, competing functions” and think we’re going to get anywhere. My fear is that this study, and $75,000, will result in a report of information we already know. We already know which intersections are a problem. We already know the possible solutions. The benefit of quick fixes is that you can test them, adjust them, and if they don’t work, scrap them and move on to something else. The report also won’t solve our analysis paralysis — a state in which we are stuck trying to find the perfect solution to make everyone happy. It does not exist. Either Osborne is a street, in which case we prioritize the people and businesses in the neighbourhood over the cars that travel through it, or Osborne is a road, in which case we remove the people and businesses so that cars can flow through unimpeded. Let’s hope the next city council, which will feature many new faces and voices, will also include some strong spines. We must make tough choices to get us off of this lumpy futon once and for all. Mel Marginet is part of the sustainable transportation team at Green Action Centre and the publisher at Great Plains Press, which publishes The City Project.

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CBC: Widening of Kenaston Blvd. among urban First Nations priorities discussed at Winnipeg mayoral election forum
by Beth McKechnie 21 Oct '26

21 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Candidates discussed a range of issues including roads, safety and addictions https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/urban-first-nations-election-priori… All 12 candidates running for mayor of Winnipeg took part in a two-hour civic election forum Tuesday night to share their promises, plans and ideas to address the priorities of First Nations people in the city. Candidates were given a chance to make a 90-second opening statement before facing questions from First Nations leaders. Issues included widening Kenaston Boulevard, interactions between First Nations people and police and security guards, as well as community crisis response models. Around 85 people attended the forum held in the basement of the Manitoba Museum. It was hosted by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and Treaty One Nations. Speaking on behalf of Treaty One Nations, Sagkeeng Anicinabe Chief E.J. Fontaine asked the slate of mayoral hopefuls about a proposal to widen Kenaston Boulevard near Naawi-Oodena, the site of the former Kapyong Barracks. It is being transformed into an urban reserve with homes, businesses and other proposed amenities. Incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham spoke of his support for the plan and said the budget and design have recently been updated. He said there’s three separate projects: the widening, underground sewer work and upgrades on the bridges near the Viscount Gort Hotel. “Which are critical, they only have a few years of life left in them,” Gillingham said of the bridges. “To accommodate the capacity and the growth of that exciting development at Naawi-Oodena, we need to accommodate that through widening that road.” Other candidates expressed support for the project, including Kevin Klein who said it’s not happening fast enough to keep pace with the work happening at Naawi-Oodena. “This is going to be an historic piece of land in Canada,” Klein said. “My fear is that we don’t start working on the road for another five years. All the construction is done, everything looks beautiful and then we start tearing up the road.” Michael Vogiatzakis said First Nations need to be involved in decisions, like the widening of Kenaston. “If I become mayor there will be an open-door conversation on how we’re going to work Route 90, how we’re going to work the project that you’re working on and how we’re going to do it together,” Vogiatzakis said. Noah Redden, who acknowledged he’s gone on record in opposition to the expansion of Kenaston, argued adding lanes won’t improve traffic. “That is a position I’ve held for a long time but in the interest of reconciliation I am willing to be a little more flexible on that. I would propose that we increase the amount of transit options to Naawi-Oodena.” He said rapid transit would better address traffic issues around the site to ensure “full economic output” of the area. Johnny Calderon said he wants to focus on downtown revitalization but acknowledged more lanes will likely be needed on Kenaston. Brad Gross reiterated his support for the widening. “Kenaston has to be increased for sure, there’s a lot of traffic that goes south that’s just getting tied up,” Gross said. “It’s like a parking lot.” Mazher Alam said the city is growing and traffic is a problem but would like to see bus rapid transit expanded before widening Kenaston. Tracey Drexler said she supports widening Kenaston. “True reconciliation must include economic reconciliation,” Drexler said. “When we talk about 'land back' in urban centres like Winnipeg it can’t just be a slogan, it must be a concrete municipal policy.” Don Woodstock said the Naawi-Oodena development “opened a can of worms that we need to address and address fast.” “How are we going to expand it without the heavy cost? And how are we going to integrate it with the First Nations communities and let them be a part of it?” The entire Kenaston project carries a price tag of $757 million, including the cost of widening the roadway, work on the bridges, sewer work, bike lanes and potential interest charges. Chris Clacio, who told the crowd he was inspired by urban Indigenous young people to run for public office, thinks the road needs to be widened but said there need to be more conversations about transit. Umar Hayat said growth would be stunted without adding more lanes to Kenaston. Joshua Pagdato said he “would never derail efforts and collaborations involving Indigenous reconciliation” but he thinks the money could be better spent on other priorities, like helping people in Winnipeg get on the right track. He also touted transit as an option to reduce congestion in the area. The civic election is Oct.28.

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WFP: Police urge caution amid pedestrian collision surge (Oct.20'26)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Oct '26

20 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Advise to ‘make eye contact with each other,’ take extra care as winter weather nears Police urge caution amid pedestrian collision surge https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/10/19/make-eye-contact-… WINNIPEG police are urging motorists and pedestrians to exercise extra caution at intersections following a rash of collisions across the city, including one that claimed the life of a woman. “Having the right of way does not make you safe,” Insp. Helen Peters of the Winnipeg Police Service’s traffic division said during a news conference Monday morning. “This isn’t just about who’s at fault. This is about keeping each other safe and doing everything we can as drivers, motor vehicles or pedestrians to help each other out and navigate our roads.” Police said a woman in her 80s was struck by a vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign while turning right onto eastbound Roblin Boulevard from Hunterspoint Road on Sept. 29. The woman was taken to hospital in stable condition but died Thursday from her injuries. The driver has been identified and Peters said charges are being considered as the investigation continues. “Sometimes it depends on the number of witnesses that can provide that statement, but also it sometimes depends on the victim themselves to be able to provide a statement to us,” she said, explaining that investigators sometimes wait for an injured person to recover enough to provide an account. “Sometimes we pause, hoping that we’ll be able to talk to that person involved and we’re just waiting. So to ensure that we made the correct charge, maybe there’s more charges that might need to be made. “If that opportunity doesn’t come, then we have to proceed with the information that we have.” In another collision Thursday, a 69-year-old man was charged with impaired driving after two people riding motorized mobility scooters were struck by a vehicle. Const. Stephen Spencer said the victims, both in their 60s, were at the intersection of St. Anne’s Road and Bonita Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. when a driver turning left onto Bonita struck them. Both were thrown from their scooters and taken to hospital in stable condition. The driver remained at the scene and is facing two impaired driving-related charges. The investigation remains ongoing. Several other recent collisions have resulted in charges against motorists. On Sept. 11, a child was struck by a vehicle cutting through a parking lot at a retail location on the 1600 block of Kenaston Boulevard. The child was rushed to hospital in unstable condition and later upgraded to stable. Police said the driver remained at the scene and was charged with several offences, including careless driving, disobeying rules of the road on a private property or parking lot and failing to exercise due care for a pedestrian. The driver was also issued a Manitoba Public Insurance serious offence notice. Another collision in the early morning hours of Oct. 5 sent a man in his 30s to hospital after he was struck by a vehicle turning south onto Arlington Street at Wellington Avenue. The pedestrian was sent to hospital in stable condition, while the driver, also in their 30s, was charged with driving imprudently. On Oct. 6, a woman in her 70s was hit trying to cross Elizabeth Road at the intersection of De Bourmont Avenue. A vehicle failed to stop at a four-way intersection. She was hospitalized and the investigation remains ongoing. Police are trying to determine if there is a common thread for the spate of crashes. “What is the reason for them? Where are they located? Crosswalks?” she said. “We see them in parking lots. We see pedestrians just on the side of the road getting ready to cross that have been impacted rather than already crossing the street.”’ Peters said police are urging motorists to be cautious approaching intersections and crosswalks, while also reminding pedestrians to be alert when facing oncoming vehicles. “The best ways to keep ourselves safe is actually to make eye contact with each other when we’re out there on the road,” she said. “As motorists, make eye contact with pedestrians, so you know that they see you coming and vice versa. Pedestrians, make eye contact with oncoming drivers.” Peters also said extra caution must be taken as winter driving conditions loom on the horizon. She also warned of potential challenges with the move to permanent daylight time for motorists and children while they’re walking to school while it’s still dark out. Peters encouraged pedestrians to wear bright or reflective clothing. “Black is a favourite colour of many, many people, but when you combine that with a low-lit environment, you’re going to blend into the landscape,” she said. scott.billeck(a)winnipegfreepress.com<mailto:scott.billeck@winnipegfreepress.com>

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CBC: Spate of pedestrian-vehicle collisions prompts warnings from Winnipeg police
by Beth McKechnie 19 Oct '26

19 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. There have been 20 such incidents this year, including 7 since late September https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pedestrian-collisions-winnipeg-9.73…

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WFP: Campaign promises for quick, on-budget transit fix are misleading (Oct16'26)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Oct '26

16 Oct '26

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Campaign promises for quick, on-budget transit fix are misleading OPINION - Tom Brodbeck https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2026/10/15/better-wait-for-the-next… WINNIPEG’S transit system needs fixing. But voters should be skeptical of municipal election candidates who promise to restore old routes, put hundreds of bus stops back where they used to be and somehow make everything better without spending substantially more money. That’s not a transit plan. It’s wishful thinking. Winnipeg’s transit network underwent a massive overhaul last year, fundamentally changing how people get around the city. The new system has some real advantages, depending on where you live and where you need to go. It also has some serious shortcomings, including reduced service and less convenient connections for many riders. Transit has made some adjustments in response to public feedback, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. For many Winnipeggers, getting to work, school or an appointment has become more difficult than it used to be. Those frustrations are legitimate. But the solution isn’t necessarily to turn back the clock. The new system was designed around a spine-and-feeder model. Instead of trying to provide a direct bus route from every neighbourhood to every destination, it uses primary routes to move large numbers of passengers along major corridors, with feeder routes connecting neighbourhoods to that network. The primary routes include rapid transit lines, frequent express lines, frequent lines and direct lines. They’re designed to run along relatively straight corridors, with fewer stops and more frequent service. The idea is straightforward: fewer stops and less circuitous routes allow buses to move faster, improve reliability and reduce waiting times. Feeder routes, meanwhile, include community and connector buses, as well as on-request service. They bring passengers to the primary network, ideally without getting bogged down in congested areas that can make buses late. There’s a reasonable logic to this approach. A transit system that spends less time meandering through neighbourhoods and stopping every few blocks can move more people more efficiently. And frequent service on major corridors can make transit more useful for passengers who need to travel longer distances. But that doesn’t mean the system is working well for everyone. Some passengers have lost convenient one-seat rides. Others face longer walks to bus stops, additional transfers or less frequent service in their neighbourhoods. A system can look more efficient on a map while becoming less convenient for the people who depend on it. Those are real problems that need to be addressed. Transit planners should be listening to riders and making sensible changes where the network isn’t meeting their needs. But candidates promising to restore the old system need to explain what that would actually mean. Reintroducing hundreds of former stops and routes wouldn’t simply involve putting a few lines back on a map. It would require buses, drivers, operating money and a plan for how those routes would fit into the existing network. Recreating the old system could also undermine some of the benefits the new one was designed to deliver, including faster travel times and more frequent service on primary corridors. In other words, restoring the old network wholesale could leave the city paying for two competing approaches to transit while sacrificing some of the advantages of both. And there’s another inconvenient reality that gets lost in the election rhetoric: the overhaul wasn’t accompanied by new money. The city essentially took its existing budget and reorganized the service. That helps explain why some of the promised improvements have been difficult to deliver. You can rearrange routes, consolidate stops and change the way buses connect, but you can’t manufacture additional service hours out of thin air. If Winnipeg wants more buses running more frequently, better neighbourhood connections, shorter waits and fewer inconvenient transfers, it will need to put more resources into the system. That means investing in additional drivers and buses, expanding service hours and improving the connections between feeder routes and primary lines. It also means identifying where service reductions have created unacceptable hardships and providing the resources to correct them. Some improvements might be possible through better scheduling, route adjustments and more effective use of existing resources. Transit should continually evaluate its performance and make changes where they can improve service without creating new problems elsewhere. But there are limits to what can be accomplished by rearranging the deck chairs. The provincial government also has a role to play. Public transit is an essential service that supports employment, education, economic development and access to health care. If Winnipeg is expected to deliver a substantially better system, the province should be prepared to help pay for it. A properly funded transit network could provide more frequent service on major corridors while restoring or expanding neighbourhood connections where they are needed. It could make transfers less onerous, reduce long waits and improve the reliability of the entire system. It could also make transit a more attractive alternative to driving, which is essential if the city wants to reduce congestion and accommodate future growth. None of that is impossible. But it won’t happen simply because a mayoral or council candidate promises to bring back the good old days. Any candidate who claims to be able to substantially fix Winnipeg Transit with the existing budget, while restoring old routes and hundreds of stops, either doesn’t understand the system or is deliberately misleading voters. tom.brodbeck(a)winnipegfreepress.com<mailto:tom.brodbeck@winnipegfreepress.com>

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