Troubled waters

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This article was published 26/12/2024 (468 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A bridge too high is a bridge too far for some Wolseley residents.

The city is considering replacing a current pedestrian span — which crosses Omand’s Creek south of Portage Avenue and connects Wolseley with St. James and a footbridge across the Assiniboine River to River Heights — with a new bridge as much as 10 feet higher.

The debate has one resident likening it to “Wolseley’s Portage and Main,” with opponents of a new bridge saying if the current size and footprint can’t be maintained, there should be no bridge at all.

“I would chain myself to it; that’s how distraught I am,” added the resident’s wife, who declined to provide either of their names, citing the sensitivity of the topic in their neighbourhood.

The duo said it is devastating that the City of Winnipeg is considering a raised version with a larger footprint that will inevitably affect user experience and the local ecosystem.

The creek should be left alone if a small-scale replacement structure is not an option, they said.

City staff are working on a preliminary design to maintain the key connection in the existing active transportation system. It is anticipated to cost between $3 million and $5 million, and be built no later than 2029.

The chairwoman of the standing policy committee on public works has acknowledged that a modern bridge would “fundamentally change the aesthetics of the park.”

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) has said it would have to be 10 feet higher than the aging structure that is often submerged in the spring and meet modern accessibility standards.

“The current bridge could be closed at any point in time and, for sure, the city’s not going to build a bridge that low that will get flooded again and again,” Lukes said during a committee meeting on Nov. 29.

“On the record, so everyone understands: It’s either a high bridge or no bridge.”

Laura MacDonald noted that pedestrians and cyclists already have another option to cross the creek via Portage Avenue and a pathway that winds into and along the park’s northwestern entrance.

MacDonald, who lives adjacent to the park, said she’s concerned about the future of recreational activities — there are currently sledding imprints on a wedge of the valley that would be affected by construction — and the “serenity” of the grounds.

“It’s been a motto: ‘Let’s keep it a park with a little bridge… not a bridge through a park,’” she said, adding the park is a destination, as well as a connector between Wolseley and St. James, as well as Wolseley and River Heights.

The Wolseleyite said she’s in favour of the smallest footprint possible so there is minimal impact on area wildlife and recreation while also improving accessibility.

Alternatively, she said she would prefer there be no official crossing in the middle of the park near where Omand’s Creek meets the Assiniboine River.

The project comes 15 years after a similar plan was halted due to widespread backlash in the community in central Winnipeg. In 2010, more than 500 residents turned up at a public meeting to oppose the installation of a new, 75-metre long bridge.

For Hardy Groening, a runner and cyclist who often crosses the park on his fat tire bike throughout the winter, the benefits of a modern bridge outweigh concerns.

“It would be really good if you could cross it, year-round,” Groening said, referring to the flooding and post-flood mud that frequently covers it and blocks residents from entering Wolseley.

Groening spoke to the Free Press on Christmas Day while taking a break from sledding with his grandchildren atop a hill in the park.

Asked about the possibility of a bridge changing toboggan routes, the West End grandfather said it’s a non-issue. “(Kids) will always find a way,” he added.

The city councillor for the area has thrown her support behind a new bridge that will give residents multiple options to cross the valley while addressing status-quo safety and accessibility issues.

“The reality is people need to get to the other side of the park,” Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) told colleagues on the public works committee last month.“We’re going to need a bridge.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca