City’s Open Streets initiative coming to a close

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/citys-open-streets-initiative-coming...

RUNNERS and cyclists, young and old, sped down Vialoux Drive Saturday morning with little disturbance from motor vehicles.

They will soon have increased traffic to navigate through.

The City of Winnipeg’s Open Streets initiative ends Monday at 8 p.m. The program, which was announced in April, blocks vehicles from stretches of residential roads so people can walk, cycle and physically distance.

Ten routes through the city were limited to active transport users and vehicles of people living on the routes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days a week. The measures came to promote social distancing during the pandemic.

Now, a motion at city hall proposes that Winnipeg keep some of its “Open Streets” open — but unless council votes for the changes, the city will return to its usual four routes that are exclusive to cyclists, runners and walkers on Sundays and holidays.

Robbie Scott, 57, biked down Vialoux Drive for the first time in years on Saturday. But, Scott is no newbie — he’s been cycling for four decades, and he bikes a 40 to 45 km route daily in the summer. He said it’s been amazing seeing more people take up biking.

“It’s families, it’s kids, old folks, all kinds of ages,” Scott said. “In terms of what (Open Streets) has done for the community, you just, you haven’t seen that.”

Scott doesn’t spend all his time on blocked off residential streets, but some — portions of Wellington Crescent and Wolseley Avenue — are part of his loop. He said he feels safer, and he’s seen others feel it too.

“For cyclists, it’s always, ‘OK, what seems like the least risky (path) at this time,’” Scott said.

He said he was shocked and disappointed to hear the active transportation routes were ending, especially in the midst of a pandemic, when many people use them to get exercise while staying safe.

“People have learned, ‘Hey, I could actually bike to work or bike to school,’” Scott said.

Anders Swanson, the executive director of Winnipeg Trails Association, said keeping the streets open would allow kids to bike safely to school instead of being driven by a parent or taking a bus.

“You have the government telling people to drive their kids... We’re closing these open streets; it’s sending the message that there’s sort of a dark and unsustainable future ahead of us,” Swanson said.

The city has a survey online where people can give feedback about Open Streets, including picking the best time of year to have the program, if at all. The survey ends Monday.

The motion before city council aims to keep active transport routes until Nov. 1 at the Wolseley Avenue route and at Churchill Drive, from Hay Street to Jubilee Avenue.

Council may vote on the matter at its Sept. 30 meeting.

Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said he’ll make his decision after receiving the survey’s results.

“We have time,” Orlikow said, adding if council votes for extended active transport routes, the changes will probably last from October to November.

Some people felt a bit relieved over the ending of Open Streets, including Amy Bruno, who lives on Vialoux Drive. She’s been yelled at for driving down the road in her car, which she needs to do when she leaves her house.

“It’s like, well, how are people supposed to go to work if people read the signs (on the street) and assume, ‘Oh, you’re not supposed to drive down here,’” Bruno said.

Most people are understanding once they realize people who live on the road can still drive on it, Bruno said.

She added she likes the initiative because people have more access to walking around and social distancing.

Others, like Matt Ullenboom, feel indifferent about the program’s end. Ullenboom, 33, went for a bike ride with his five-year-old son through Assiniboine Park and Vialoux Drive Saturday.

“It’s definitely a good thing in the warmer months, when people can be out,” Ullenboom said. “In the winter and fall, it wouldn’t bother me if they changed it back to car traffic.”

Beginning Sept. 13, Lyndale Drive, from Cromwell Street to Gauvin Street; Scotia Street, from Anderson Avenue (at St. Cross Street) to Armstrong Avenue; Wellington Crescent, from the west end of Academy Road to Guelph Street; and Wolseley Avenue, from Raglan Road to Maryland Street, will have limited motor vehicle traffic on Sundays and holidays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restrictions end Oct. 12.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca