Hotly contested no parking zones may be delayed
Residents who fought to prevent no parking zones from being added to Burrows Avenue as a safety measure may soon get their wish, at least temporarily.
City of Winnipeg staff were set to remove 33 parking spaces from Burrows Avenue to prevent vehicles from blocking drivers’ sight lines.
However, a city committee is pushing to overturn the change.
An illustration of the planned parking restrictions at one intersection on Burrows Avenue. (City of Winnipeg)
On Tuesday, the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee passed a motion calling to reject the parking restrictions this year and instead ramp up snow clearing to see if that can help reduce crash numbers.
“The vast majority of accidents happen in the winter… If the snow clearing works, then there will be no need to ever look at the parking because you will have just discovered the problem,” said Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski.)
The motion calls for council’s public works committee to have Burrows Avenue (between Main and McPhillips streets) deemed a priority 1 snow clearing route, up from priority 2, to speed up snow mound removal, plowing and ice control.
A city report notes officials found a pattern of collisions at numerous intersections on Burrows Avenue, with 180 crashes at unsignalized intersections between 2016 and 2020.
If the public works committee agrees, staff will also be directed to postpone the parking changes, produce an updated report in 2025 on crash data and increase safety monitoring for vehicles and pedestrians in the area.
Eadie said the results of the change would be noted in next year’s report, when parking restrictions could be added if safety hasn’t improved.
The original plan aimed to prohibit parking within 15 metres of intersections to prevent impeding drivers’ vision on Burrows between Main and McPhillips.
Community members raised a petition to fight that change, arguing parking is scarce and large snow mounds piled alongside roads are the true culprit for blocked views.
Online reservation system delayed
A new online reservation system for City of Winnipeg parks is being delayed due to technical issues.
The new ACTIVEnet system was expected to begin providing a smart online booking system this spring, but “unexpected errors” have occurred since development began last fall, a city report says.
“After exhaustive analysis and evaluating all options, it became necessary to halt the implementation of the new system until the errors had been corrected,” the report notes.
Specifically, the errors lead the user to be charged incorrect fees for reservations when booking multiple time slots in one day and reservations still require manual processing by staff, the report notes.
If an entirely new platform is needed, that could require additional funding, the report says. The city had budgeted $145,000 for the project.
Online tool to help locate free pads and tampons
The City of Winnipeg is adding an online tool to help locate free menstrual products.
Through a partnership with Period Pin, the periodpin.ca website will help people find the free pads and tampons provided at select city facilities.
Pads and tampons are available at no charge at Millennium Library, Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, Seven Oaks Pool, Elmwood Kildonan Pool, Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre, Margaret Grant Pool, Westdale Community Centre and Freight House/Central Community Centre.
After users share their location on the Period Pin website, a map will highlight locations with free menstrual supplies.
The company reached out to offer the service at no charge to the city, which will help people who need the products locate them quickly, said Jenn Hansell, superintendent of planning and portfolio management for the city’s municipal accommodations division.
The city isn’t the only organization to provide free period products.
A Tuesday press release notes Red River College Polytechnic will provide tampons and pads at no cost in all washrooms at its campuses, with the goal to remove barriers that can interfere with education.
New bridge name to honour musicians moves forward
The Bachman-Turner Overdrive Bridge is one step closer to becoming a reality.
A motion to add the honorary name to the Disraeli Bridge, which connects downtown to Elmwood, was approved by the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee on Tuesday.
Full council approval would be required to add the honorary name, which is being sought for a five-year period to celebrate the former BTO band from Winnipeg.
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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