Sharing a holiday meal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2019 (2324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As 2019 winds down, I want to wish everyone in Elmwood a happy holiday season. 

I was delighted to have an excellent holiday meal last week with community members. Congratulations to all at the Elmwood East Kildonan Active Living Centre’s wonderful annual Christmas dinner held on Dec. 7. At this year’s end, there are two issues top of mind for Elmwood residents for which we hope we’ll find resolution sooner rather than later.

The year 2020 is going to be crunch time for updating old infrastructure in our community. The Louise Bridge and the replacement of our combined sewer system with a more efficient, separated sewer system are important cost-sharing projects. They require the co-operation of both the City and the province.  

Our immediate focus is on the 100-year-old, functionally obsolete Louise Bridge. The replacement’s fate is tied to the Eastern Corridor bus freeway proposal. Last month, residents of Elmwood received the eagerly awaited Winnipeg Transit Master Plan update. The good news is that the City does now see the Louise Bridge as a key piece of their long-term plan for better public transit in our area. 

Earlier higher cost options under consideration actually left the Louise Bridge out of the picture. These options would have left residents of Elmwood without reasonable access to the main transportation network, without a bridge, and without an access route to the downtown.

The City is recommending a six-lane Louise Bridge on the current site, along with an expanded Nairn Avenue route through the whole of Elmwood, rather than a special and expensive new bus freeway south of Nairn. This is also good news for area residents and businesses along Nairn.

Although the final report to city council is still planned for June 2020, we are pleased with the direction of this important project. Our next focus will be to ensure any bridge replacement is done while keeping some lanes open to traffic during construction so that residents can still get to where they need to go.

We will be giving you more updates on the project in the new year. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need more information, please call my office at 204-415-1122, or email me at Jim.Maloway@YourManitoba.ca

Jim Maloway
Elmwood MLA constituency report

Jim Maloway is the NDP MLA for Elmwood.

   Read full biography