City of Winnipeg's long-term transportation strategy calls for $4.3B overhaul in next 25 years

A new plan to overhaul Winnipeg's transportation system calls for $4.3 billion in spending over the next 25 years.
On Friday, the City of Winnipeg released its Transportation 2050 strategy, an update to the city's transportation master plan.
It outlines a vision for the city as a hub for transporting goods, while encouraging more people to shift away from single-passenger vehicles and toward active transportation and public transit.
"Winnipeg is a global multimodal transportation hub," public works committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said in an interview.
"It's the heartbeat of our economy, right? Moving goods is a huge factor in economic development."
The plan recommends a number of pilot projects, including designated truck lanes, secure bike parking, reduced parking on arterial roads and autonomous bus testing.
A report, to be discussed at next Thursday's public works meeting, says automated buses "are ready for real-world testing and Winnipeg's Southwest Transitway is an ideal testing location, as a fully separated right-of-way that experiences cold and winter conditions."
Lukes says the city won't be able to do everything in the plan immediately and will need to come up with a list of priorities.
The report says the city has identified billions of dollars in unfunded, but necessary, infrastructure upgrades, with many bridges nearing the end of their useful life.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said the city continues to seek funding from other levels of government for major infrastructure projects, like widening Kenaston Boulevard and extending Chief Peguis Trail.
"We cannot deliver services as a city to the residents if we don't have a strong economy, because we need the revenue from a strong economy to fund the services that we provide to Winnipeggers," he said.
"And so I believe we really need to look closely at investment in our trade routes. We've talked about Kenaston/Route 90, and the upgrades that need to happen there — Chief Peguis Trail extension as well. Those are economic routes."
More changes could also come to downtown's Graham Avenue after Winnipeg Transit's new primary network goes into effect later this month.
The new transit network will move all buses off Graham and over to Portage Avenue.
"That provides a great opportunity. It's almost like Graham Avenue is a blank slate and can be reimagined for something really different and invigorating," Gillingham said.
The report recommends removing the street's designation as a truck route between Vaughan Street and Carlton Street, as well as between Fort Street and Main Street.
It also calls for reducing the speed limit between Vaughan and Carlton from 50 km/h to 30.
The city's CentrePlan 2050 document, which outlines extensive changes throughout the downtown to increase the number of people living and walking in the neighbourhood, includes a number of projects for Graham Avenue.
They include installing benches and other amenities, bike connectivity, and greening the street. Work on those projects is expected to begin this summer after the transit network switches over.
After years of study and sometimes contentious public feedback, the city has released its final report on the Marion Street corridor improvements study.
A previous plan to widen the street met significant public opposition, leading the city to abandon it in 2016 and come up with a new plan.
That plan calls for a total of $133.3 million in new spending, including bike lanes, multi-use paths, intersection upgrades and other improvements along the corridor in St. Boniface.
The plan, if fully implemented, would require the full or partial acquisition of 65 properties, at a cost of about $14 million.
The report sets a goal of starting construction by 2030.

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