Monday’s downtown whiteout means street closures, traffic and transit changes

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This article was published 24/04/2023 (871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Downtown will once again be flush with Winnipeg Jets fans as Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights approaches.

The Jets’ fourth playoff game in their first-round series begins at 8:30 p.m. The City of Winnipeg is closing certain roads Monday to accommodate the team’s second whiteout party of the season.

Southbound Donald Street between Ellice and St. Mary avenues closed 9 a.m. Monday and will reopen Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Eastbound and westbound Graham Avenue, between Hargrave and Smith streets, will be closed from 5:30 p.m. until Tuesday at 1 a.m.

The Millennium Library will close early Monday, at 5 p.m.

This could be the Jets’ final whiteout party of the season if the team loses Monday and in Las Vegas Thursday; that game begins at 9 p.m. Winnipeg time. The Golden Knights are leading the series 2-1, after winning in double overtime — 5-4 — Saturday afternoon.

The first team to win four of seven games advances to the next round.

Whiteout party tickets for Game 4 on Monday are sold out. On April 14, True North Sports and Entertainment announced 5,000 tickets would be available for each party.

The swarms of Manitobans have been good for downtown businesses.

Attendance at Local Public Eatery on Garry Street tripled last Saturday, according to head chef Adam Dary.

“Saturday was our busiest day ever,” Dary said. “It was pretty neat.”

The eatery opened just before the pandemic. Dary expected an influx of customers with the whiteout wave, and he’s anticipating business to be busier than usual Monday evening.

The restaurant will likely stay open until 1 a.m. Tuesday instead of closing at midnight, Dary said.

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Across the street, an employee at Garrick Hotel Bar shared love for the whiteout parties. The Garry Street hub saw many new faces Saturday, he said.

Winnipeg Transit buses will be rerouted off Graham Avenue between Kennedy and Smith streets from 5:30 p.m. Monday until about one hour after the NHL game has ended. People can catch buses affected by reroutes at Graham Avenue’s intersections with Vaughan and Fort streets.

Winnipeg Transit Plus loading zones will also be affected during the reroutes. The stop at southbound Donald Street and Graham Avenue will temporarily relocate to eastbound Portage Avenue, near the Radisson Hotel. The cityplace loading zone will relocate to northbound Hargrave Street, on the north side of St. Mary Avenue, and the Millennium Library loading zone will temporarily switch to the eastbound front driveway of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

Game 6 and Game 7 of the series are slated for Saturday in Winnipeg and next Monday in Las Vegas, should they be needed.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.