More delays for Wellington bike-safety pilot expected

A long-awaited pilot project to improve safety after a cyclist died while biking on Wellington Crescent could be delayed by nearly a year.

Details of a year-long bike lane pilot project will be presented to city council’s public works committee July 3. The report makes multiple suggestions to improve safety on the road, including one-way bike lanes on Wellington Crescent, reducing a segment of Wellington from four lanes to two, an overall speed reduction to 40 km/h from 50 km/h, and installing concrete curbs and other safety enhancements.

Advocates have called for changes to Wellington Crescent since cyclist Rob Jenner was killed in a crash with a speeding driver on June 6 of last year. A project was originally promised to be put in place by this summer, but the report instead recommends collecting feedback for months from property owners and making adjustments before changes are installed in the spring of 2026.

It’s yet another disappointment in a string of delays around improving the area for cyclists and pedestrians, said Patty Wiens of cycling advocacy group Bike Winnipeg.

“It’s really frustrating because Wellington is one tiny little part of the big picture, and we can’t even get that,” she said Thursday.

The report, which was originally expected in April but has been delayed since, calls the approach “atypical of a traditional pilot,” which would usually put in infrastructure first and then collect feedback, but notes that approach would not allow for advance consultation with property owners in the area.

Public works chairwoman Coun. Janice Lukes said she’s happy with the report, which suggests the project would cost about $400,000, and supports the suggested timeline change.

“I don’t think there’s anything that I can say that will make (cycling advocates) happy about this,” Lukes (Waverley West) said.

“But I think it’s really important, like we do on any new road projects … is to reach out and hear the concerns of the area residents and the apartment blocks.”

The pilot would also cut around 29 evening and weekend parking stalls between Cockburn Street N and Wardlaw Avenue, making advance consultations all the more necessary, Lukes said.

“I know that people are not going to be happy about this, but I also know that, if we’re going to do this, and we’re going to put $400,000, maybe $500,000, we’ll see how much it costs, into this, that we want to do it as best as we can possibly do it for that price,” she said.

The changes won’t be permanent. Any permanent changes to Wellington Crescent could only occur when the road comes up for renewal.

Concerns that the changes were moving too slowly came to a head earlier this month, when around 30 delegates who planned to speak about active transportation safety at a public works committee meeting had their speaking time abruptly cancelled.

Lukes said at the time she made the rare move to cut speakers because the report wasn’t ready yet.

Linda van de Laar was among the delegates who wasn’t able to speak on June 12. She said she was removed from the building by security.

She plans to go directly from from her night shift as a nurse to city hall to try again when delegates will be heard next month. The timeline, she said, is a “stab in the heart” in the wake of last year’s tragedy.

“I’m really not sure what’s going to happen at city hall on July 3, because there’s a lot of people upset because of the delays. It’s a misrepresentation of the facts when the city says that they’ve been moving as fast as possible,” she said.

“Wellington Crescent has been a bike route since 1999, so Rob Jenner’s death is because of the city not prioritizing safe bike routes, and it should have never happened.”

The report requires full council approval to move forward.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca