Wellington Crescent closure raises residents' ire
Complaints raised about traffic, safety, crime
City councillors want alterations to Winnipeg's "open streets" campaign after dozens of Wellington Crescent residents raised concerns over the closing of virtually all of the tony street to motor-vehicle traffic.
In a nearly 70-page package of correspondence placed before public works committee this week, residents and commuters complained shutting the street daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for cyclist access is causing major problems.
Currently, vehicles can only travel one block on Wellington Crescent from Academy Road to Guelph Street before they must exit. Residents say that's creating safety issues and pushing unsafe amounts of traffic onto Academy.
"Academy Road became a traffic nightmare. Academy cannot have been designed, nor intended for that volume of perpetual/daily traffic," resident Scott MacDonald wrote to area Coun. John Orlikow.
"I do not understand why closing Wellington down weekdays when most folks are working or on Saturdays when people are trying to do errands is of nearly the value it might have been last summer towards the front end of our COVID challenges."
The street isn't just a chunk of pavement, though, said Asper Foundation president Gail Asper. Driving down it provides an "important mental health break," Asper wrote.
"I, like thousands of other motorists, choose to drive down Wellington Crescent because the sight of beautiful, 100-year-old trees, lilacs and cherry blossoms in full bloom, spectacular gardens of the homeowners and the stunning homes themselves gives me a sense of peace and calm and never fails to lift my spirits, no matter how stressful my day has been," Asper wrote.
Former mayoral candidate and city councillor Paula Havixbeck said the street closure has led to dangerous conditions for cyclists and pedestrians alike as they take up the same space.
Pedestrians, technically, are not supposed to be using the streets in most cases — according to provincial legislation, they must stay on sidewalks where they're available. When they're not, foot traffic is allowed only on one side of the road, next to the curb, walking single file.
Havixbeck said she's also seen an uptick in criminal activity in River Heights.
"This has caused more problems than it has solved," she wrote. "I would argue it is discriminatory to not allow vehicles every single day of the week to use the road and be able to drive from one end to the other."
In a Thursday meeting, Orlikow tabled a motion to allow the director of public works the power to set and amend the dates and times for the program in consultation with area councillors.
"All I'm asking for is trying to find a way to set some flexibility to be able to amend the program as we go forward," Orlikow said.
His motion was approved but still must gain the approval of council's executive policy committee and council as a whole.
The "open streets" program is slated to run until November.