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Phil Hossack \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
Winnipeg\u2019s public works committee voted to ask the provincial government to give it the power to alter the default 50 km\/h speed limit for the city.<\/p>\n
Coun. Janice Lukes said she\u2019d support the reduced speed limit in residential areas, which she expects would only create a minor delay for drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes\u2026 seconds more to go 40 versus 50. This is only in residential neighbourhoods, not the (major) collectors,\u201d said Lukes (Waverley West).<\/p>\n
While many road safety activists have called for a 30 km\/h speed limit on residential roads for years, Lukes said she doesn\u2019t think that move would have enough council support to get approved.<\/p>\n
While city data shows most severe collisions take place on major corridors, a lower speed limit would improve quality of life in neighbourhoods, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have calls literally\u2026 every other day on speed issues\u2026 People want vehicles to slow down,\u201d said Lukes.<\/p>\n
Several supporters championed a reduced speed limit Wednesday as a way to make streets feel safer and more welcoming to pedestrians.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are unhappy with the speed that people are driving through our neighbourhoods. So, the first step to solving that problem is to slow the speed limit down,\u201d said Ian Walker, chairman of Safe Speeds Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
The group has long lobbied for a 30 km\/h speed limit on residential streets. Walker said that speed of travel would greatly reduce the risk of serious injuries and death in crashes. He said lower speed limits would also make it easier for people to walk or cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an essential part of getting us to a point where we have choices for people\u2026 One of the big reasons that people drive in cars is because we haven\u2019t accommodated other road users,\u201d said Walker.<\/p>\n
However, opponents of the lower speed limit argued it would lengthen commutes without improving safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlanket (speed) reductions create resentment without results\u2026 Shaving 10 kilometres an hour off every local trip has (impacts). That added travel time doesn\u2019t save lives. It just wastes time and raises blood pressure,\u201d said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan).<\/p>\n
Browaty said most severe vehicle collisions take place on high-volume arterial roads, so few could be avoided by this speed reduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur quiet residential neighbourhoods\u2026 and minor collector streets simply do not produce the same level of tragedy. Lowering limits on these streets is like putting a Band-Aid on a paper cut while ignoring a broken leg,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lukes noted city council likely won\u2019t vote on an actual speed limit reduction for another year or more, since there\u2019s no set deadline for the province to respond to such a request.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a debate that won\u2019t happen until we hear from the province. And I encourage anyone who\u2019s advocating for any speed limit change to speak to their MLAs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The city has the power to reduce speed limits through posted signs. However, lowering the default speed would allow city-wide changes without spending millions of dollars on signs, a city report notes.<\/p>\n
Implementing a default speed limit change is expected to cost $525,000, including new signs and advertising.<\/p>\n
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Meanwhile, the committee approved a new round of changes meant to enhance Winnipeg Transit routes, after many complaints followed the introduction of a new primary transit network in June 2025.<\/p>\n
This June, Transit will extend the D19-Corydon line so buses will end the route on Vaughan Street between Graham and St. Mary avenues, instead of further north across Portage Avenue at Webb Place. The D16 Academy-Notre Dame will be split into two routes, a revised D16 and new D18, which would reach downtown from Polo Park and RRC Polytech\u2019s Notre Dame campus, respectively.<\/p>\n
The new network, which changed virtually every bus route in the city, triggered a few common complaints from riders, including that many passengers now require more transfers and much more time to reach their destinations.<\/p>\n
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n
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Joyanne Pursaga 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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