Missing barricades drive East St. Paul-Winnipeg link debate

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This article was published 04/08/2023 (792 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Barricades have been removed from an East St. Paul route reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles, allowing general traffic to access the hotly debated link to Winnipeg.

It is sparking safety concerns from some area residents, while others argue it’s time to open the paved road for good.

The walking-biking route on Raleigh Street in the Rural Municipality of East St. Paul offers a “through-pass” under the northeast Perimeter Highway. A City of Winnipeg boundary on Raleigh is located just south of it.

Someone removed the wooden barricades in early July, raising concerns of potentially excessive traffic.

“This is a… residential neighbourhood with residential streets… None of them were designed with the notion of becoming another Henderson Highway or Pembina Highway,” said Victor Mikolayenko, who lives nearby.

Mikolayenko is urging the province, which owns the infrastructure, to replace the barricades as soon as possible.

As traffic from East St. Paul currently has just one permanent connection to Lagimodiere Boulevard, he fears allowing general traffic on the Raleigh link between Sperring (north) and Foxgrove (south) avenues would create a very busy route, increasing noise and the risk of collisions.

“It doesn’t take much imagination to see that it would be used as a shortcut… Residents on Headmaster Row between Gateway (Road) and Lagimodiere would be severely impacted, as would any other residents along that way,” said Mikolayenko.

He believes the wooden barricades were removed by vandals. During a Free Press visit to the site Friday morning, a broken wooden barrier was spotted in grass beside the structure.

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said the barricades were removed at least three weeks ago, and he’s asked the province to replace them.

Browaty said he’s most concerned about future traffic, as East St. Paul’s population grows.

“There’s a big chunk of East St. Paul that, when this is open, would find it desirable to take this underpass south of the Perimeter Highway and then (connect through) to get to Lagimodiere. That’s the cut-through traffic that is really problematic for the design and the build of Headmaster (Row),” said Browaty, noting Headmaster is a residential street with many driveways that back directly onto it.

Before the link was built, a City of Winnipeg public service report also opposed allowing general traffic along the “through-pass.”

“Gateway Road and Raleigh Street north of Chief Peguis Trail have not been built or planned to accommodate high volumes of vehicle traffic… (To do so, these routes) would require a major infrastructure investment by the city that would not at this time be supported by residents in the North Kildonan ward,” a 2015 report noted.

Browaty is urging the province to cut off general traffic at the site once again, arguing the area isn’t set up to handle it.

He said it could be possible to allow traffic in the future, but only after extensive public consultation, traffic studies and potential infrastructure improvements, with no cost to the city.

East St. Paul should also first provide guarantees its future development around the site won’t be dense enough to greatly increase traffic, he added.

However, one East St. Paul councillor said he believes the route should open up to allow local traffic permanently, to create an efficient route and alleviate the need for detours.

“I think the province and everybody (else) foresees… that you’ve got to not land-lock the community. You’ve got to keep (this area open),” said Charles Posthumus.

Posthumus said he’s heard ample support for making the change from both Winnipeg and East St. Paul residents.

In an email, a provincial spokesperson said road signs were initially placed along the route to note it is restricted to emergency vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, with movable barricades used to ensure emergency vehicle access.

Road signs to alert drivers to the restriction did not appear to be present Friday.

The province indicated vandalism has been a persistent problem at the site.

“These barricades are subject to frequent vandalism and theft. Therefore, barricades may or may not be present at any given time… signage is also subject to frequent vandalism so signage may or may not be present at any given time,” the statement said.

The spokesperson said Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure will work with East St. Paul and the City of Winnipeg to resolve any concerns.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga