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Cyclists mark anniversary of fatal collision
Condemn city’s lack of action on safety improvements
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/06/06/cyclists-mark-anni...
BRIGHT red balloons attached to the handlebars of a white “ghost bike” memorial Friday marked the one-year anniversary of a cycling enthusiast’s horrifying high-speed hit-and-run death on Wellington Crescent.
Rob Jenner was on his way to work at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights when a 19-year-old man driving more than three times the 50 km/h speed limit hit the rear tire of Jenner’s bike throwing him several metres into the air at the intersection of Wellington and Cockburn Street.
He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead one day after his 61st birthday.
Anna Weier showed up at the corner Friday with her nine-year-old daughter Libby to join more than 30 others celebrating what would’ve been Jenner’s 62nd birthday Thursday, and demand action from the city to make the street safer for cyclists, after a report on biking infrastructure improvements was delayed a second time.
“Rob Jenner’s death was really scary. It makes me really worried riding, especially with my kid,” said Weier.
“We feel like the city isn’t listening to us that we want safe biking infrastructure now.” Jenner’s death ignited protests from members of Winnipeg’s cycling community about inadequate infrastructure and policies to protect riders. Advocates called for the speed limit to be reduced to 30 km/h, and for the city to install protected bike lanes on Wellington Crescent.
Council’s executive policy committee rejected a lowered speed limit, but voted in December for city staff to report on other bike-safety solutions on the street.
The report, delayed until this month, has been pushed back again after city staff requested a one-month extension for additional consultation on removing street parking and another look at the speed limit, said public works chair Janice Lukes.
“I want the public service to get it right. We don’t want something put in that is going to again need adjustments, or again need tweaks or changes,” Lukes (Waverley West) said Friday. “There’s a lot of infrastructure we’d like to have in, but we can’t put it in overnight. We have to let them do their work.”
She said active-transportation projects, such as building protected bike lanes, rarely get done in under a year. The effort to address concerns on Wellington Crescent is moving as quickly as it can, she said, adding she understands the urgency for cyclists.
The proposed protected bike lane features barriers attached to the road instead of new curb construction to separate vehicles and bikes. Lukes said if council approves after receiving the report next month, she expects the project could be completed by the fall or next spring.
She said the McDermot Avenue bike lane that was built in 2018, and described as “very similar” to the plan for Wellington Crescent, took three years to finish.
“It’s too late for Rob (Jenner),” said Robyn Dyck, who was at the memorial Friday. “We will now have a whole summer without protection for cyclists. It’s infuriating.”
In October, Beckham Severight pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and leaving the scene of the accident. He was sentenced to three years in custody and banned from driving for five years.
His then-roommate, Lyle Barker- Young, the lone passenger, who was leasing the vehicle, was charged with fleeing the scene and remains before the court.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.camailto:matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca
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