Transit change delivers fear to end-of-the-line stop in N. Kildonan

Residents of a once-quiet North Kildonan neighbourhood say a Winnipeg Transit route change that put an end-of-the-line stop in their community, led to safety concerns that have been amplified by bitter winter weather.

The FX4 route begins at Polo Park, passes through downtown and ends at Raleigh Street, where bus operators take a break before changing their routes. The end-of-the-line stop is steps away from a 55-plus condominium complex on Gateway Road and nearby homes.

Several tenants of The Cornerstone Life Lease Estates complex told the Free Press on Monday that some people who get off the bus at route’s end have made their way inside to get out of the cold and sleep in the building’s vestibule.

“That bus is the problem… (operators) kick them out, they come to a warm place,” said one tenant on his way to his suite, who didn’t offer his name.

Kristyne Brandt, whose elderly parents live in the complex, said she walked in early Sunday morning to find several people asleep in the lobby area.

“I have very mixed emotions on it, just in the sense that you feel so bad for them, but at the same time… (residents) shouldn’t have to deal with that, and I don’t want them to,” she said. “I don’t want my very frail, 80-year-old mother walking into the lobby and having an interaction.”

The Winnipeg Police Service said they responded to a call about a disturbance at a complex on Gateway, Sunday. There were no injuries and no one was injured or arrested.

A spokesperson for the complex said management was hiring more security to patrol “as a result of this and similar recent events.”

“I have very mixed emotions on it, just in the sense that you feel so bad for them, but at the same time… (residents) shouldn’t have to deal with that, and I don’t want them to.”

“Regarding the bus stop change in the Gateway and Knowles (Avenue) area, we are aware of the concerns it has raised within the community,” said the email, which was signed by building management but did not provide any names.

Homeowners near the bus stop said those kinds of calls have become commonplace since Transit rolled out its overhaul in late June.

Brooke Hrycyk said it felt like a switch was flipped since the summer when her neighbour’s home and her yard were broken into. In the months since, incidents have continued, in part, she said, because the end-of-the-line stop is a long walk from public buildings or restaurants.

“I think I’m just going to get the hell out of this area, to be honest,” she said.

Another neighbour said he’d dealt with three dangerous incidents in six months — a home invasion, an individual who broke into his garage and a neighbour’s RV and, recently, someone who was intoxicated trying to get inside his house.

“Never had an issue before,” the neighbour, who asked not to be identified, said.

He said the city should consider moving the end-of-the-line stop to a bus loop on McIvor Avenue that has a shack and would be further from the neighbourhood.

“I think I’m just going to get the hell out of this area, to be honest.”

“It doesn’t seem like they’re actually open to feedback,” he said.

Area councillor Jeff Browaty said moving the stop would just bring the issue to different residents and called the issue a “challenge” for neighbourhoods across the city with end-of-the-line stops.

“It’d be good if there was a protocol,” said Browaty (North Kildonan). “If a bus driver thinks that there’s somebody who’s going to cause a problem in the neighbourhood, they should radio in and work with police and/or support services.”

A spokesperson for the union that represents the city’s bus drivers said passengers are asked to get off of the vehicle and take the next one headed back downtown if the bus is going out of service at an end-of-the-line stop.

They’re not asked to leave if the bus is stopped but remaining in service.

If a passenger is sleeping, drivers will call Transit’s control centre to decide next steps.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca