Eastern transit corridor study to start

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This article was published 06/01/2017 (2274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Dec. 22, 2016, the City of Winnipeg announced the MMM Group as the preferred bidder to undertake a study of different routes for the Eastern Rapid Transit Corridor.

The Eastern Corridor, which will connect downtown to Transcona, has a long history.

Back in 2001, the transportation supplement to the Winnipeg 2020 Vision plan included a map of a bus-only road extending from downtown to Transcona. The sketched route went from downtown into north St. Boniface, north of and parallel to Mission Street. The preliminary transit path crossed Regent Avenue east of Lagimodiere Boulevard, then followed the CN Pine Falls rail line northeast, ending at Plessis Road. 

The Eastern Rapid Transit Corridor was revisited in a 2005 report by the Rapid Transit Task Force. Route ideas discussed included connecting downtown to eastern Winnipeg through South Point Douglas and into Elmwood over a new bridge for buses west of the Louise Bridge. The corridor would then run somewhere near Nairn/Regent Avenue before following the CN Pine Falls line to Plessis Road.

The Eastern transitway was again discussed in the city’s 2011 Transportation Master Plan. The plan noted no exact path was set but it would extend from the Graham Avenue Transit Mall near Winnipeg Square to Lagimodiere Boulevard before going northeast.

MMM Group’s role in this bureaucratic process is to conduct the Eastern Corridor Study. The study will propose a route and estimate the cost of building the transit line with that route.

The firm is also responsible for studying challenges facing the overall transportation system in eastern Winnipeg.

This includes designing and estimating the cost of a new transit garage, finding ways to manage traffic volume in the area to prevent over-congestion and studying possible roadwork upgrades, including planning for extending Stadacona Street into Gateway Road and reviewing possible upgrades to the Louise Bridge.

The MMM Group is expected to engage with the public as part of the study.

The Eastern Corridor will likely affect the character of newly developing West Transcona and mature East Elmwood.

Rapid transit services can attract more residential and commercial buildings around the transit lines. This will probably require rezoning and more planning for the East Elmwood and West Transcona neighbourhoods.

The City expects the Eastern Corridor Study to be completed by mid-2018.

Dylon Martin is a community correspondent for Elmwood.