Police may share cost of new HQ security barriers with other city departments
Cost of replacing temporary concrete barriers with permanent bollards pegged at $1.9M
The Winnipeg Police Service hopes other city departments will help cover the tab for building permanent security barriers around its new headquarters.
On Friday, the Winnipeg Police Board will scrutinize the police's second-quarter financial report, which forecasts a $6.5-million year-end deficit caused in part by additional costs associated with the city's new police headquarters.
The report also makes reference to some police-HQ needs that will require even more money to address.
"Some bigger issues, that were identified prior to the move, still exist and need to be addressed," the report states.
Supt. Scot Halley said one of those issues is the need to replace concrete Jersey barriers that were placed around the building with a permanent form of protection from drive-up motor-vehicle attacks. The price tag for erecting bollards around the building, for example, was projected to be $1.9 million last year.
Halley said while there is no money in the police budget to address those issues, the service hopes to work with other city departments — for example, public works and planning, property and development — to see whether the security measures could be combined with other downtown projects.
For example, bollards or other security measures could be erected as part of downtown streetscaping or the creation of new protected bike lanes. Halley said while the police would be fine with bikes riding down a protected lane between the headquarters and a physical security barrier, it would be premature to say a new bike lane is on the table.
The other city departments will determine what is cost-effective based on their own needs, he said, adding there is no rush to replace the existing concrete Jersey barriers.
"Frankly, not all the work has to be done at once," he said.
The city is in the midst of planning an expansion of downtown cycling infrastructure.