Bike Winnipeg Opposes Delay to Implementation of
Wellington Crescent Bike Lane Pilot Project
Winnipeg, July 3, 2025
Since June 2024, on the section of Wellington Crescent from River/Stradbrook to Academy Road at the Maryland Bridges, there has been one cyclist fatality, plus a serious injury and at least three near-misses. It’s believed countless more incidents go unreported.
Plans dating back to the 2006 Osborne Village Neighbourhood Plan and stretching through the Corydon-Osborne Area Plan (2014), OurWinnipeg, OurWinnipeg 2045, Complete Communities and Complete Communities 2.0 have consistently and repeatedly called for safe cycling facilities along Wellington Crescent. In addition, three iterations of the City’s bike network have identified the need for a safe cycling route on Wellington Crescent.
“Bike Winnipeg, the community of Osborne Village, the Corydon-Osborne community, the cycling community, and the wider community of Winnipeg have been calling for a safe cycling route along Wellington Cr for more than 20 years,” said Patty Wiens, board member of Bike Winnipeg and Bicycle Mayor of Winnipeg. “Public engagement over the last 20 years has consistently found strong demand for the improved cycling facilities that were drawn up in February of 2025. It’s time to make this happen now,” Wiens added.
Bike Winnipeg strongly supports the Wellington Crescent Bike Lane Pilot project as a crucial step toward closing a significant gap in Winnipeg’s cycling network and improving safety for vulnerable road users.
Having had a chance to review and comment on these plans, Bike Winnipeg was fully supportive of moving ahead with implementation of what we believe is a considered and crucial plan to pilot a protected bike lane along Wellington Crescent in the summer of 2025. The proposed pilot, featuring one-way bike lanes with physical separations, including polyposts and adjustable precast concrete curbs, represents a meaningful improvement and aligns with the City’s goals to enhance active transportation options and reduce collisions on this corridor.
Plans to eliminate dangerously wide turn-offs from Wellington Crescent were (and are) another important component of the presented plan for protected bike lanes along Wellington Crescent, and would also provide the added benefit of reducing and or slowing down traffic along Gertrude Ave, the home of Gladstone School, an issue that the City has also being trying to address.
The bike lane pilot project is analogous to the roll-out of the Transit Master Plan, which broadly identifies routes and stop densities, but moved forward with the actual ground-level changes to implement the plan allowing both patrons and transit staff to gain real-life knowledge of the new system before providing feedback for both short-term and longer-term modifications to the final stop locations and routes.
We are disappointed and concerned over the additional 270-day delay being proposed to prioritize consultation with fronting property owners before implementing any temporary infrastructure. “Public Works management and staff themselves – the expert authors of the report – acknowledge that this consultation-first approach is not typical for a pilot project. A pilot project usually involves installing temporary measures first, then gathering feedback after users have experienced the change. How can you ask people to comment on something that’s not there?” Wiens added.
Public Works staff indicated publicly as early as the April 2025 meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Public Works that this pilot infrastructure could be installed as a “quick build” in the spring/summer of 2025 with materials already on hand. Such an installation could then be adjusted if necessary based on feedback collected after implementation, consistent with best practices for pilot projects. A delay, as is currently being proposed, would only postpone the immediate protection of cyclists and other vulnerable users who would benefit from the infrastructure being in place now, on a route proven to be hazardous, with no nearby alternative route for safe commuter or recreational cycling.
Regarding the proposed speed limit reduction to 40 km/h on Wellington Crescent, Bike Winnipeg supports lowering speeds to improve safety but recommends a further reduction to 30 km/h. Research consistently shows that lower speed limits significantly reduce the risk and severity of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists. Cities worldwide have adopted 30 km/h zones and have created safer, more livable streets, and this standard would better protect all road users on Wellington Crescent. A 30 km/hr speed limit would greatly enhance livability in the neighbourhood by making it far easier to cross Wellington Crescent, benefiting transit users, pedestrians, as well as those cycling or driving on Wellington Crescent.
“We urge the City to accelerate, not slow down, efforts to make Wellington Crescent safe for all road users. We will continue advocating for faster planning and construction of permanent improvements,” Wiens concluded.
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