Calls to curb cars on Cambridge

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/02/2024 (577 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A River Heights neighbourhood where residents are fed up with rush-hour drivers treating their streets as shortcuts could get relief in the form of traffic-calming measures.

At its March 5 meeting, city hall’s public works committee is set to ask staff to explore interim measures for Cambridge Street north of Corydon Avenue, and the possibility of a long-term traffic management plan with a wider look at the community.

“The objective is to try to make the streets calmer and safer for everybody,” said Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry).

He said cut-through traffic has been an issue and Cambridge Street is among the residential streets where it is excessive.

If his motion is approved, city staff will be given four months to report back on possible measures. The motion says cut-through traffic is increasing as the south end of Winnipeg densifies and grows.

A short-term plan would seek input from River Heights residents and consider possible ramifications for streets adjacent to Cambridge, said Orlikow.

He said the city would look at how recent construction work on corridors such as Stafford and Harrow streets has affected nearby residential streets.

Last year, Cambridge residents told the Free Press drivers were using the street as a shortcut during the construction projects.

About 3,900 vehicles per day use Cambridge between Corydon and Grosvenor avenues, the city said. Lower totals were recorded between Grosvenor and Kingsway (3,400) and Kingsway and Academy Road (2,400).

Daily totals are as high as 6,500 between Corydon and Grant avenues, where Cambridge is wider and designed to accommodate more traffic.

Tim Fennell, a founding member of a residents group, Calm Cambridge, that has lobbied city hall for traffic calming measures, welcomed the potential for interim solutions.

“I believe there is some political will to make this happen,” he said. “We need support from all the different members of council.”

The group proposed five interim calming measures in its pitch to city hall. It suggested extending the red light interval for north-south traffic at Cambridge and Corydon, installing temporary speed bumps between Corydon and Academy and temporarily reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h on that stretch.

The group has asked the city to consider extending left-turn restrictions, from Grant and Corydon to northbound Cambridge, to include the afternoon rush hour.

It also suggested blocking existing slip lanes at Grosvenor and Cambridge, and using the intersection as a normal four-way stop.

Fennell said there is some risk of traffic being redirected onto adjacent streets by any new measures on Cambridge, but he believes drivers would choose corridor streets rather than other residential streets.

He began lobbying for calming measures out of concern for the safety of Cambridge residents and road users, given the volume of traffic and high speeds of some vehicles.

He said Cambridge is narrower between Corydon and Academy, and not designed to handle as much traffic as it does. Some sections do not have sidewalks.

Fennell said he obtained Manitoba Public Insurance data that showed 179 reports of collisions on Cambridge and 80 on neighbouring Oxford Street from 2014 to 2022.

The highest annual total for Cambridge was 31 in 2019.

Wayne Manishen, a Winnipeg doctor, wants the city to consider traffic control measures at Cambridge and Taylor Avenue, an intersection he uses regularly.

“I call it the ‘Cambridge carnage and chaos corner,’” said Manishen, who provided photos of a collision that happened last summer and a congested intersection during the afternoon rush.

In 2018, council rejected a request for a temporary traffic light during construction of the nearby Waverley Street underpass.

Manishen believes another option could be turning restrictions for some directions of travel during certain hours.

“You don’t necessarily need lights, but you need something,” he said. “The status quo is still a dangerous option.”

A long-term community study would take many months to complete.

Last year, public works chair Coun. Janice Lukes told the Free Press a community plan would be more effective than individual changes.

A community study in Lord Roberts began in 2018 and closed in 2023, with ongoing monitoring.

It proposed about two dozen solutions, including reduced speed limits on some streets, new sidewalks, parking restrictions and cyclist crossing improvements.

Meanwhile, the public works committee will also consider a recommendation to include traffic-calming measures, where feasible, in road renewal projects in locations that have higher volumes of “vulnerable” road users, starting next year.

A staff report cites school and playground zones, and neighbourhood greenways as examples.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca