Buffered bike lanes coming to north Pembina Highway

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This article was published 02/05/2016 (3769 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A gateway strip of road at the north end of Pembina will be getting a much-needed face lift over the next two years.

The City of Winnipeg has wrapped up consultation for the Pembina Highway Rehabilitation and Buffered Bike Lane project. The $11.7-million project will get underway this summer with construction in the southbound lanes of Pembina Highway between Osborne Street and Arbuthnot Street.

Ryan Cunningham, the city’s streets projects engineer, said a number of cyclists provided useful feedback at the open house held April 21.

In addition to the rehabilitation of the roadways, which includes taking off the existing asphalt and resurfacing the street, the city is taking the opportunity to install buffered and some protected bike lanes along Pembina. The space needed to include the two-metre lanes will primarily come from the centre median.

“Currently (cyclists) are fighting against traffic in the curb lane,” Cunningham said. “I think giving them the bike lanes in both directions and removing them from traffic, they should have an increased level of comfort with that.”

Cunningham said feedback regarding “bike boxes” to activate traffic signals and continuing asphalt pavement through bike lanes near bus stops were some of the suggestions provided by the cycling community.

The bike lanes will be similar to those along the south portion of Pembina Highway near the University of Manitoba.

The addition of bike lanes between Grant Avenue and Chevrier Boulevard will be completed as part of the southwest rapid transit corridor project.

Cunningham said the project stands to benefit all commuters, cyclists and motorists alike.

“It’ll be a smoother pavement for them and with the addition of the bike lanes, and being able to remove the cyclist from the traffic will definitely be a benefit to motorists, but primarily the project is rehabilitation so it’s to fix the street up,” Cunningham said.

The project was approved as part of the city’s 2016 budget and will enhance infrastructure that hasn’t seen significant treatment since the 1970s.

Part of the rehabilitation project will also beautify the pedestrian corridors which connect to both Osborne Village and Corydon Avenue.  

“The existing boulevards are supposed to be grass but mostly they’re just washed out mud,” Cunningham said. “So we’ll be redoing the sidewalks all the way down and filling in the boulevard too so we won’t have the mud issue to deal with.”

According to the City, during construction Pembina Highway will have two lanes open to traffic between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and private approaches will have at least one access open. The city also says fast curing concrete will be used to expedite activities and reduce impact to the public.

Construction will be complete by fall 2017.