St. Norbert – Seine River

The University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus is the second most visited destination in the City of Winnipeg. Only the downtown attracts more trips than the Fort Garry Campus. If we want to get more people biking more often in the City of Winnipeg, our planning will have to consider ways to get people biking to the U of M’s Fort Garry Campus.

St. Vital /U of M Red River Crossing Study

The lack of connectivity between the Fort Garry Campus and St. Vital was the subject of a 2012/2013 study commissioned by the city to look into potential locations for a walking/biking crossing of the Red River linking St. Vital to the U of M. The study looked at five potential crossing locations, and even looked at the potential of a gondola to provide the crossing. Two areas were identified for further study, a crossing site near St. Amant Centre, and a crossing site at the west end of Henteleff Park. The Henteleff Park site received the highest evaluation score in the study. It was also the site most preferred by online survey and open house exit poll respondents, receiving nearly twice as many votes as any other site. Analysis by Bike Winnipeg at the time of the study also showed the Henteleff Park site to be the most farourable crossing location. Areas of concern with the Henteleff Park site revolved around the potential for disturbance of the natural setting through increased foot traffic, the creation of a “pipeline effect” through the park site which might detract from its natural setting, and increased parking demand around the park and in the residential area south of Henteleff Park (Van Hull Estates). These are legitimate concerns, but we should be able to mitigate against these effects. What’s needed now is a collaborative approach that can develop designs and policies that address these concerns while providing this much needed link to the University of Manitoba.

2016 U of M Transportation Study Shows Strong Desire to Bike to Campus

A 2016 Transportation Survey of Students, Faculty, and Staff showed that almost 15% of people commuting to the campus do so on bike during the spring semester (May – August), dropping to a little more than 5% of trips in the fall semester (September – April). So a lot of people are already biking to the campus, but the study also shows that a lot more people would like to bike to the Fort Garry Campus. A Walk/Bike Bridge between South St. Vital and the U of M’s Fort Garry Campus through Henteleff Park would provide access to the campus from an area of town with a growing student population that is currently not well served by the city’s cycling network.

More Information

• Conceptual Design Study – St. Vital/U of M Red River Crossing (City of Winnipeg)
  • Note: You will need to skip a number of pages at the start of the document to get to the report.
• 2013 St. Vital/U of M Red River Crossing Backgrounder (Bike Winnipeg)
• 2016 U of M Transportation Survey Results & Recommendations Final Report (University of Manitoba)
• University of Manitoba Pedestrian and Cycling Plan (University of Manitoba)

 

Since 2008, the City of Winnipeg has been installing buffered bike lanes along Pembina Highway as part of routine rehabilitation work on the roadway funded through the Regional Street Renewals Program. To date, sections of buffered bike lane have been installed (or are being installed) along the following stretches of Pembina Hwy:

• Jessie Ave to Grant Ave (scheduled for completion in 2019)
• Harrow St to Point Road (as part of the Pembina Underpass Rehabilitation project)
• Chevrier Ave/Crescent Dr to Plaza Dr
• University Cr to Markham Rd
• Chancellor Matheson Rd to Dalhousie Dr/Bairdmore Blvd
• Bairdmore Blvd/Dalhousie Dr to De Vos Rd
• De Vos Rd to Cloutier Dr (shared use path beneath the South Perimeter Highway Overpass)
• Cloutier Dr to South of Ducharme Ave

The addition of buffered (or preferably protected) bike lanes on Pembina Hwy is backed key recommendations in the Complete Communities Policy Document[1] and Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies[2].

Current forecasts of rehabilitation work in the Regional Streets Renewal Program and Accelerated Regional Streets Renewal Program call for rehabilitation work on the following stretches of Pembina Hwy:

• Des Trappistes to Ducharme Ave (2021)
• McGillivray Ave to Chevrier Ave (2022)
• Pembina Hwy Overpass (2022 & 2023)

That will leave gaps in the buffered/protected bike lanes along the following stretches of Pembina Hwy:

• Grant Ave to Harrow St
• Point Rd to McGillivray Ave
• Plaza Dr to University Cr (should be included in Pembina Hwy Overpass rehabilitation)
• Markham Rd to Chancellor Matheson Rd
• Des Trappistes to Turnbull Dr

Complete Installation of Buffered/Protected Bike Lanes Along Pembina Hwy

We are asking candidates in the Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry, River Heights-Fort Garry, Waverley West, and St. Norbert-Seine River wards to commit to:

1. Continue installing buffered/protected bike lanes along Pembina Hwy as part of the Regional Streets Renewal Programs;
2. Commit to the inclusion walking and cycling improvements as part of the forthcoming Pembina Hwy Overpass (Bishop Grandin) Rehabilitation Project.
   1. Preliminary Design Currently Scheduled for 2020
   2. Detailed Design Currently Scheduled for 2021
   3. Construction Currently Scheduled for 2022 & 2023.
3. Commit to Closing the Remaining Gaps in the Buffered/Protected Bike Lanes Along Pembina Hwy.

Footnotes
[1] City of Winnipeg, Complete Communities Policy Direction Document. 2011. Winnipeg – Regional Mixed Use Centres – Direction 1 (pg. 46) “Create strong, multi-modal and transportation linkages from each Regional Mixed Use Centre to Downtown, other Centres, Corridors, Parks and major attractions.”
[2] City of Winnipeg, Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies. 2015. Pg. 154-155, Winnipeg