Pedestrians the priority in blueprint for Osborne Village transformation Scramble crossing, wider sidewalks, slower traffic among business group’s ideas to improve neighbourhood
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2023 (851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new vision for Osborne Village suggests pedestrians could cross in all directions at one key intersection amid widened sidewalks, narrowed road lanes and slower vehicles.
The Osborne Village BIZ “Blueprint for a Vibrant and Healthy Neighbourhood” floats several specific ideas, including the addition of a pedestrian scramble at Osborne Street and River Avenue – where all vehicle traffic would temporarily stop to let pedestrians cross diagonally and in all other directions at the same time.
“There’s a lot of people that move through that (intersection), pedestrians and cyclists. (The scramble is) an opportunity to meet the needs of the community and to help redefine how people are moving and engaging through the neighbourhood,” said Lindsay Somers, executive director of the BIZ.
It would be the first pedestrian scramble in Winnipeg.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Osborne Village BIZ executive director Lindsay Somers
With about 11,000 residents and 150 businesses, Osborne Village is one of the city’s densest neighbourhoods, the blueprint notes. Somers said that high concentration of residents and attractions creates a need for quick pedestrian access.
The report also includes an idea to impose unspecified “pedestrian friendly” speed limits for drivers to heighten safety.
“We do know that with lowered speeds, the incidence of fatality from pedestrian injuries (in collisions) is lower. If we’re talking about a neighbourhood with (this many) people that are living in it and walking and moving through…. I don’t think it’s best to design it to be a high-speed neighbourhood for traffic to move through,” said Somers.
The blueprint also suggests narrowing each of Osborne’s four traffic lanes within the village from 3.25 metres to three metres wide, with the extra space used to widen sidewalks.
“If you walk down Osborne Street right now… it’s not a pleasant environment for pedestrians.”–Lindsay Somers, Osborne Village BIZ director
“If you walk down Osborne Street right now, the sidewalks are quite narrow and you have four lanes of traffic that move quite fast…. Right now, it’s not a pleasant environment for pedestrians,” Somers said.
“By widening the sidewalk, we’re creating more space for possible places to linger outside and car traffic will move just slightly slower.”
Another recommendation could make it easier for drivers to find parking. It calls for northbound and southbound curbside lanes to be converted to bus/bike priority lanes during peak traffic hours but otherwise serve as on-street parking. Currently, on-street parking is allowed on only a single lane of the busiest section of Osborne after 7 p.m.
The plan also suggests an accessible path and dock could be built to increase river access to the area, while a yield lane at the northwest corner at River and Osborne could close to add more pedestrian space.
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The blueprint stresses the changes would help the area become more inviting to bicycles and pedestrians, while positioning Osborne Village as a destination, not just an area to commute through.
“This idea requires an acknowledgment that rush-hour traffic should never undermine a neighbourhood’s character,” the report states.
Council’s public works chairwoman said the city should investigate the impact of the pedestrian scramble.
“As we densify our city, we have to open our minds and learn about other opportunities, possibilities…. I would love to see the city study this and show us the pros and the challenges related with it,” said Coun. Janice Lukes.
PATRICK DELL / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Toronto’s first experimental “pedestrian scramble” intersection was unveiled at one of the city’s busiest intersections - Yonge and Dundas streets - in 2008.
Lukes expects the safety benefits from traffic-calming measures would outweigh concerns about delaying drivers in personal vehicles. However, the city must ensure any changes don’t notably slow buses or the movement of goods along a key regional route, she said.
“We’re a river city, we have limited access points across rivers (and) we’re a city that doesn’t have freeways…. Our economy making money depends on goods movement,” she said. “If it takes longer to get from Point A to Point B in the supply chain, it costs more.”
Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the property and development committee, said she supports the vision and will raise a motion to refer the report to all of council’s standing policy committees for feedback.
“I am a proponent of the (pedestrian) scramble, I am a proponent of the… big ideas in here,” Rollins said.
”But like most priority-setting blueprints, you’ve got to pick some priorities and move them ahead.”
The councillor, whose ward includes Osborne Village, also supports the measures to slow vehicle traffic.
“Slowing down equals safety for me. And, so, my priority is to slow everything down and have people stop and smell the roses,” she said.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @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.
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History
Updated on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 7:55 PM CDT: Fixes typo in cutline
