Drivers may soon need to slow down on Wilkes Avenue as the City of Winnipeg tackles high collision rates.
The proposal would at least start improving safety, if council approves it, but far more work is needed, according to the area’s councillor.
“It’s not safe enough but it’s a good first step…. There needs to be more recommendations,” said Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
The intersection of Wilkes Avenue and Elmhurst Road falls in the city’s “least safe” ranking, with 89 collisions between 2015 and 2022.
The intersection of Wilkes Avenue and Elmhurst Road falls in the city’s “least safe” ranking, with 89 collisions between 2015 and 2022, city staff note in a new traffic report calling for the changes. There were no fatalities during that period.
The speed limit on Wilkes Avenue would drop from 90 km/h to 80 km/h between the western edge of the city and 500 metres west of Liberty Street. It would fall from 80 km/h to 70 km/h on the stretch from 500 metres west of Liberty Street to 300 metres east of Elmhurst Road.
Duncan said that would translate to a decrease from 90 km/h to 80 km/h roughly between the Perimeter Highway and Fairmont Road, and from 80 km/h to 70 km/h from about Fairmont Road to Loudoun Road.
He’d prefer a broader speed reduction along Wilkes, as well as a “no passing” restriction on Wilkes from — Shaftesbury Boulevard to the Perimeter Highway.
“This Wilkes safety issue is nothing new…. We’ve had reports over the last seven, going on eight years, being written on (safety) issues,” he said.
The report notes the intersection of Wilkes Avenue and Elmhurst Road also warrants a traffic signal but a previous estimate suggested it would cost $2.5 million to improve the road adequately to support one, with ditch grading and culvert replacements to support traffic signal poles, potential adjustments to protect a water feeder main and an interconnection to the CN Railway crossing signals.
Additional costs could be required to buy properties, move Hydro transmission lines and, possibly, even Hydro towers.
City officials expect a new signal would also likely increase traffic on Elmhurst, possibly creating a need for another one at Elmhurst Road and Grant Avenue.
Staff now plan to seek a consultant to design a lower-cost traffic signal option for the intersection.
However, Duncan said he doesn’t believe a traffic signal is the answer.
“To be bluntly honest… I don’t foresee a traffic light being installed on Wilkes at all. it just doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint,” he said.
Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said heavy traffic on Wilkes is posing safety concerns, so she welcomes the “short-term” solutions.
“There’s been a lot of growth out in that area of the city,” said Lukes (Waverley West).
She said the proximity to rail complicates the traffic signal option, with early price estimates out of line with council’s limited budget.
“We’d love to do everything overnight and right away but we just don’t have the money,” said Lukes.
The city report notes Wilkes is a two-lane regional street that serves about 13,900 vehicles east of Elmhurst Road on an average weekday.
Both Lukes and Duncan noted future plans for broader traffic changes may limit the amount the city spends improving current routes.
Long-awaited plans to extend the William R. Clement Parkway and Sterling Lyon Parkway, as well as a South Wilkes precinct plan, need to move forward, ensuring any extension doesn’t impact existing homeowners south of Wilkes, according to Duncan.
In December 2017, council rejected a controversial Sterling Lyon alignment after public backlash. The proposal would have led all or part of at least 48 properties to be expropriated and was somehow submitted for a Class 3 cost estimate without a council vote or public consultation.
But Duncan said the city must figure out how to pursue the traffic enhancements.
“This is a bigger issue that involves a real plan for William Clement Parkway extension, a real plan for the Wilkes realignment and a real plan for the (South Wilkes) precinct plan,” he said.
An extension of the William R. Clement Parkway remains unfunded with a rough “medium-term timeline of need” between 2037 and 2050, the report notes.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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