Outdated thinking fuels proposed Route 90 expansion By: Dan Lett Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 10, 2023 Last Modified: 9:36 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 10, 2023 Updates

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2023 (875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not the first time Winnipeggers have been promised a large, stand-alone infrastructure project was going to alleviate all of their commuting woes.

History is littered with stories about local government and construction-sector enthusiasts crowing about how something that is longer and wider with more underpasses or overpasses or bridges is going to eliminate bottlenecks and gridlock.

By now, you’d figure we’d recognize a hustle when we see one.

The most recent example of the magic bullet theory of infrastructure planning comes in the form of an ambitious, $500-million plan to widen and improve all aspects of infrastructure of Route 90 — sewers, bridges, transit hubs and active transportation — one of the most important north-south traffic corridors in the Manitoba capital.

This plan, City of Winnipeg traffic engineers claim, will significantly cut travel time during the busiest parts of the day.

Lurking beneath the hoopla and lofty claims that accompanied the recent release of the plan is an inconvenient truth that has been established over decades of experience in other bigger and busier cities: longer and wider roads do not relieve traffic congestion.

To quote the legendary Sam Schwartz (the New York City traffic engineer who coined the term gridlock): “If you build it, they will come.”

Urban planners refer to the phenomenon Schwartz described as “induced demand.” In other words, the wider and longer the road, the more cars will end up using it.

The increased volume that flocks to expanded roadways often leaves them as, or more, gridlocked than they were before.

What lessens gridlock?

The increased volume that flocks to expanded roadways often leaves them as, or more, gridlocked than they were before.

Again, the proven methods in other cities involve making it more difficult and expensive to drive automobiles to and from the busiest neighbourhoods. However, there’s something more: the world’s biggest cities rely on massive investments in mass transit to keep people out of their cars.

What that means is cities looking to the future — which really includes just about every Canadian city of equal or larger size — are extremely cautious about widening and lengthening roads, and more enthusiastic about actively discouraging automobiles and investments in transit.

In proposing a widening of Route 90 to alleviate traffic congestion, Winnipeg is demonstrating it is about 50 years behind the urban planning curve.

There are two things we must keep in mind when considering this project: first, there is a current issue with gridlock on Route 90; second, the project (as it’s now configured) is about a lot more than just widening a road.

As presented, the “widening” of Kenaston Boulevard represents only about one-third of the project costs and scope. According to the city’s presentation, 42 per cent would be dedicated to bridge and road repairs or replacement, and 27 per cent would involve much-needed sewer upgrades.

The argument is because the road surface and bridges along Route 90 will need to be replaced anyway, it makes sense to include as many other “needs” under the umbrella of one project.

Embedded in these calculations, however, is a dangerous assumption: that the city does nothing else to get people out of their cars and onto transit.

What doesn’t make a lot of sense, however, is the insistence the city has in suggesting widening will have any impact on congestion and travel times.

It is an argument so flawed, it borders on delusional.

When the Route 90 report was released last week, city traffic engineers dutifully showed current loads and then modelled well into the future to predict the increased traffic that will come with expected population growth.

Embedded in these calculations, however, is a dangerous assumption: that the city does nothing else to get people out of their cars and onto transit.

It’s not even certain, at its current four lanes, traffic loads will increase.

Again, in more progressive cities, it is well-known traffic will avoid the busiest routes. Maybe not every day, but as congestion increases, people find different routes or — wait for it — ride the bus.

If the city really wants to widen the road and reduce congestion, then it needs to designate the additional lane in each direction as a bus-only, rapid transit route.

Thankfully, the city will have a chance to save itself from this plan, as described.

If the city really wants to widen the road and reduce congestion, then it needs to designate the additional lane in each direction as a bus-only, rapid transit route.

If people from the burgeoning neighbourhoods in the southwest quadrant knew they could take an express bus from a transit hub at Kenaston and McGillivray Avenue, along a rapid transit lane on Route 90 that goes all the way downtown, we’d be an important step closer to solving this city’s traffic problems.

Or consider doing the rehabilitation and ancillary infrastructure but don’t widen the road.

If the cost of widening is 31 per cent of the total project price tag, then the city could save more than $150 million by just focusing on the other enhancements: better transit hubs, road and bridge rehabilitation, active transportation.

The Route 90 plan as presented is badly conceived, based on outdated thinking and jam-packed full of fallacious reasoning. As configured, it hasn’t got a hope in hell of reducing the traffic problems.

So, remind me again, why are we spending $500 million on this project?

dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com