A provincial plan for a walking-biking route that would cross a reconstructed and elevated Perimeter Highway got limited approval from Winnipeg's Executive Policy Committee at city hall Wednesday.

The project would see cyclists, pedestrians and emergency vehicles travel under the highway via a "through-pass" as a document prepared for the province calls it.

An earlier version of the plan called for digging a tunnel beneath the highway that could accommodate up to 30,000 vehicles a day.

But North Kildonan resident Cathy Cox, who lives near Raleigh Street and Gateway Road, told EPC she and some of her neighbours are still worried the project will also, eventually, increase vehicular traffic in the residential area.

"[I have] safety concerns. Huge safety concerns," she said. "It will physically divide our neighbourhood forever."

The Rural Municipality of East St. Paul gave its blessing to the idea of building a roadway into the project earlier this year, saying on its website, "The construction of a two-lane vehicle through-pass, which would also allow regular local traffic to use this corridor, [would give] East St. Paul residents an additional north-south route in and out of our community."

Cox says North Kildonan residents are being left out of the loop.

"There's been no consultation at all with the province of Manitoba, with North Kildonan residents and we are the major stakeholders," she said. "I think they need to listen to us before they proceed with any project in our community."

North Kildonan Councillor Jeff Browaty says opening the through-pass up to vehicular traffic is not a good idea.

He says the local streets are not built to handle heavier traffic and he says city staff back him up on that concern.

"Public Works very clearly says they have trouble with the additional traffic that would be put on city streets," Browaty said.

And he goes further, saying building a bike and pedestrian path would be a waste of money.

"My personal feeling here is that an active transportation amenity here is not the best use of taxpayer dollars," he said. "I don't believe that there is enough people that warrant this being built."

Mayor Brian Bowman's cabinet voted to restrict the project to active transportation and emergency vehicles only.