Marion Street proposal takes back seat to city’s more urgent infrastructure priorities

A $133-million proposal to upgrade Marion Street has been released, though a city councillor warns it may take decades to fund, while businesses fear it would eat up critical parking.

For years, city council has debated how best to improve traffic flow on Marion, including the elimination of a major bottleneck for drivers at its intersection with Archibald Street.

The new, unfunded plan aims to add protected bike lanes and multi-use paths, while also completing “major” traffic upgrades at Marion’s intersections with Archibald Street, Panet Road and Lagimodiere Boulevard.

“There’s great improvements on intersections (with some widening near crossings) … And I think it definitely improves the active transportation component. It makes it safer,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of council’s public works committee.

Lukes (Waverley West) noted the proposal has been scaled back in scope and price from previous ideas to revamp the key corridor and will no longer separate vehicle and rail traffic.

“It’s not over or under the rail line, which still presents a problem,” she said.

Trains crossing at the surface level near Marion and Archibald have long been a key source of commuter delay.

The Marion upgrade is not among council’s top priorities, so any funding may be decades away and the vision could be adjusted along the way, said Lukes.

“We have a plan (at this point). In 15 years, 20 years, when we get money for it, maybe we’ll be tweaking things,” she said.

Lukes noted billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects, including the Chief Peguis Trail extension, Kenaston Boulevard overhaul and major sewage treatment plant upgrades have all been ranked as more urgent priorities.

The latest plan for Marion is facing some opposition, mainly from nearby businesses, with about 50 written submissions against it posted on the city’s website.

The Norwood Grove BIZ estimates the plan would eliminate 30 per cent of parking stalls in the area, which it stresses are critical to the survival of some companies.

“Our area, compared to others, is more of a wellness hub … We have massage therapy, a medical clinic … (and having) a lot of seniors’ access and (parking for people with disabilities) is an integral part,” said Sheila Tan, executive director of the biz, in an interview.

Tan believes most of her members oppose the proposed Marion upgrades and are also concerned about the location of bike lanes.

“If these trucks are going to continue to pass by Marion and then we have those bike lanes, there’s going to be a huge impact on traffic … Customers would choose an alternative location to eat, to shop … It’s going to impact a potential long-term loss of revenue and possible permanent business closures,” said Tan.

She stressed the opposition is about locating bike lanes along such a busy street, not adding them in general.

The area’s councillor said concerns could be addressed through changes as the plan moves forward.

“Many issues can be resolved through engineering design … Sometimes space is at a premium, and there needs to be compromises, but I’ll be talking with the biz and with the public service,” said Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface).

Allard said he supports the overall plan and believes it offers a model the city could repeat.

“If we accept that we shouldn’t be, essentially, demolishing large parts of communities in order to replace them with roads, then this is the way that you do it. You create a complete street that is attractive to all road users and, as you keep doing that throughout Winnipeg, more people will choose to take other modes (of transportation) than the single passenger automobile and that means more space for the people that do drive,” he said.

Annual road renewal budgets could be tapped to fund some of the work and move the project forward sooner, he added.

A city report notes the current plans could also be completed in up to five different segments, instead of one large project, and have been greatly scaled back from a previous proposal.

“A main focus … was to create a functional design that is budget conscious, can be undertaken in the next five to 10 years, and excludes any major road and rail underpass or overpass structures,” the report states.

In 2016, city staff proposed a $566-million plan to widen Marion between Lagimodiere Boulevard and Youville Street and add a grade separation of Marion at the CPR Emerson rail line crossing.

That plan was cancelled after intense community backlash, in part because it required more than 140 properties to be expropriated.

“The community didn’t want it because it was so huge it just annihilated neighbourhoods,” said Lukes.

The new proposal would require the city to take over part or all of 65 private properties at an estimated cost of $14.04 million.

The public works committee is set to debate the plan in July.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga