Latest news with #JaniceLukes
CBC
3 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Winnipeggers warned to keep their grass short or face fines
Social Sharing The City of Winnipeg is warning residents not to let the grass grow under their feet — at least not too long. City bylaws call for turf grass to be no longer than 15 centimetres (six inches) and in the Waverley West neighbourhood there's been a crackdown on scofflaws. Coun. Janice Lukes said her staff has been patrolling neighbourhoods to see if homes are compliant. Last week, they issued about 70 warnings. "It's an education campaign, really," Lukes said. Some residents "maybe they never had a home before, they've lived in apartments, aren't aware of this. So we warn and then hopefully they'll cut it," she said. The city's complaint-based grass enforcement program gives residents 7-10 days after a warning to comply and cut it, or face a fine. The amount of the fine is the cost of the labour it takes to cut and clean up the grass. The expense is added to the homeowner's property tax bill. The city also has the option, under the Neighbourhood Liveability Bylaw to take a homeowner to court for a penalty to be determined by a judicial justice of the peace. More than 600 warnings have been issued so far this year, based on 2,000 complaints. Fifty-five have been enforced by city staff. "It's all about neighbourhood liveability in an urban environment," Lukes said. "Sometimes they're up to the waist, they're up to the shoulder, that's not acceptable in an urban environment." Waverley West residents Leanne and Dan Granger agree but question why the city penalizes homeowners when some of the turf the municipality is responsible for goes unmanicured. "If they can't cut their own grass and they're fining us to cut our grass, it's kind of [a] double standard," Dan Granger said. Lukes said there are peak periods where the city may not be able to keep up with the amount of grass that must be cut. The city is responsible for boulevards more than six metres (20 feet) wide. Homeowners are responsible for trimming the ones under that width. 'Why would you care?' Other Winnipeggers would like the city to stay out of their turf. Wolseley resident Marlena MacArthur said there are several overgrown lawns on her street — including her own. "My next door neighbour has a garbage pile. [I] never complain about that. But certain people who are gardeners will complain about other people's grass," she said. The Grangers said they would also never tell on their neighbours for breaking the grass bylaw, saying it only leads to pointless arguments. "[You're] just causing trouble," Dan Granger said. Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy believes the bylaw should be revisited and possibly retooled. A lot of residents like natural landscapes over manicured lawns because it protects biodiversity, she said, adding the city has bigger priorities on which to focus. "Where I really want us to really put our efforts is around places that have a lot of garbage build up — vacant and derelict buildings," she said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
‘It's shocking': CAA shows number of near misses with cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles
Footage that CAA reviewed a showing a near miss between a vehicle and pedestrians in a Canadian city. Uploaded June 18, 2025. (CAA) A new report from CAA shows a shocking number of cyclists and pedestrians have experienced close calls with vehicles. In an effort to improve road safety for all users, CAA monitored 20 intersections across Canadian cities, including in Winnipeg. Over seven months, it recorded close to 617,000 conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. 'I mean, it's sobering. It's shocking,' said Coun. Janice Lukes. That means one out of every 700 pedestrians and one in every 500 cyclists experience a high-risk or critical near miss with a vehicle. 'So if they would have actually happened and if there would have been a collision, they could have resulted in serious injury or death,' said Kristine D'Arbelles, the director of public affairs with CAA. The study found left and right turns posed the most near misses, followed by through traffic. CAA said to reduce these near misses, cities could add separated right-turn lanes, which slow down drivers, as well as give left-turning vehicles a dedicated green light before bikes and pedestrians. Another recommendation is installing leading signals, giving pedestrians a five-second head start into an intersection, which Winnipeg recently did downtown. The city has restrictions on some right turns and Lukes said the city is eyeing something similar for left turns. 'We're doing a lot of traffic calming. We're working at reducing—well, I'm looking at reducing the speed in residential neighbourhoods. The city's done a pilot on it,' said Lukes. As part of the study, CAA monitored St. Mathews and Wall Street in Winnipeg using an existing traffic count camera. CAA said this location was chosen because of the technological capabilities and not based on collision data. CAA did not provide data on incidents at specific locations.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Bike lane proponents decry 'overreach' after committee votes not to hear them until July
Social Sharing Proponents of a protected bike lane along Winnipeg's Wellington Crescent accused city council's public works committee of a "gross overreach of power" after dozens of people slated to speak at city hall on Thursday had their delegations cancelled and put off until a meeting in July. No fewer than 27 people signed up to speak to the committee about a proposal to create a temporary bike lane on Wellington, where cyclist Rob Jenner was killed last year by a speeding motorist who lost control of his vehicle. The item was on the agenda to allow the committee to consider a request by city transportation engineers to have another month to complete a report about the temporary bike lane. Citing the request for the extension, committee chair Janice Lukes (Waverley West) moved to suspend city council rules and hear the delegations at the next public works committee meeting, slated for July 3. Lukes, as well as councillors Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski), then voted not to hear the delegations. The fourth member of the committee, council speaker Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) left the committee floor and did not take part in the vote. The decision led some people watching in the council gallery to shout at the committee, prompting Chambers to ask security to clear the council gallery of some spectators. This proved to be temporary. Linda van de Laar, who took a day off from her job as a cardiac nurse at St. Boniface Hospital to attend the meeting, said she was upset city councillors effectively silenced people unhappy with the time the city is taking to improve safety along Wellington Crescent. She accused the committee of overreaching its powers and engaging in an unprecedented move by shutting out registered delegates. "The councillors are here to represent the citizens and the residents, so I do not understand it," van de Laar said outside city hall. "A lot of people here took time off from work to be here. I personally cannot make it on July 3. I'll be on a night shift," she said. Ian McCausland, a Bike Winnipeg board member who was able to address the committee because he also registered to speak about another item on the agenda, said he is concerned about the message sent by the committee to people who take the time to engage with city councillors. "It speaks to how much the city might value the input from the average citizen," he said. "I'm hoping that this is a one-time thing and that they actually continue to engage with all stakeholders on the project." Van de Laar said she was especially upset Lukes told CBC Radio on Wednesday she would hear delegates on Thursday. 'I'm disappointed too,' councillor says Lukes, who volunteered as a bike and pedestrian trail activist prior to running for council in 2014, said she knows what it's like being on the outside of council, looking in. "I don't think there's anyone here that understands the level of frustration like I do, because I was an advocate and came down 50 to 60 times, very frustrated," she said during a break in the committee meeting. "Then I actually decided to put my name on a ballot and see if I can make change on this side of the table. Making change is not easy, I've come to learn, on either side of the table." Lukes said she was the councillor who originally pushed to reduce the speed on Wellington Crescent and she too is disappointed. "Everyone's disappointed. I'm disappointed in some of the things that have been said to me and to the committee members. They're disappointed that we don't have a plan in place," she said, referring to the delegates. "I'm disappointed too, but we will have a full report next month." Lukes said the city is moving more quickly on a protected bike lane on Wellington Crescent than it has on other protected lanes. She said a temporary barrier is the only option right now because permanent barriers are built when streets undergo full renewals — and Wellington Crescent is not slated for this work any time soon.
CTV News
07-06-2025
- CTV News
Plan to better shield Winnipeg bus drivers moving ahead
Jeff Keele reports on the city's search for a manufacturer to build an improved shield to protect bus drivers. The City of Winnipeg has released an expression of interest to see if someone can make an extension or full shield to completely surround drivers on transit buses. Shields were installed on all city buses in 2019, following the 2017 stabbing death of a driver. Right now they cover most of the area around the driver's seat. Amalgamated Transit Union President Chris Scott said it protects drivers from getting sucker punched from behind but still leaves them vulnerable. 'Now assailants have become more brazen and they're now reaching around the shield to get at the operator to the point where they're even grabbing the steering wheel, which puts everybody on the bus and outside the bus in jeopardy,' said Scott. Public Works Committee Chair, Coun. Janice Lukes, agrees. 'It's a different world now, unfortunately, it is a different world now, it's a crazy world,' said Lukes. Both Lukes and Scott say the option to replace the current ones with a full shield might make the most sense for both safety and cost. 'I'm hoping it comes back and we get a reasonable price on a full wrap-around (shield). That's what I'm hoping for,' said Lukes. 'If an extension is going to cost $10,000 to $15,000 and we can find a full enclosure for that price from a provider, then why not put the smart money on the full enclosure?' said Scott. Lukes said there is around $2.4 million in the budget for the shield upgrades. She said that might not be enough to retrofit all 600 buses but suggested the province could help foot the bill.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
