Changes coming to King’s Park

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/2/2015 (1674 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just over three months on the job and I am finding it to be a very challenging and rewarding experience.

The St. Norbert ward is home to 53,444 residents living in 14 unique communities. Communicating to and responding to constituents concerns in a timely and effective manner is proving to be a key task for my office. The ward budget allows me to hire one staff person to assist with this task, so bear with us please as we work to develop an effective communication process. I campaigned to improve communication with city hall, the councillor and constituents so it’s driving me a bit crazy that it is not happening as fast as I’d like — but it will improve!

King’s Park upgrades:

Exciting news! Starting this week, 850 metres of the south riverbank will undergo a stabilization process. The majority of riverbank stabilization work can only be completed in winter, under low water levels.

The $1.5-million investment will reduce erosion to our 37-hectare park and will also include revegetation of disturbed areas, installation of locked logs to create fish habitat, and pathway reconstruction along the south riverbank. I’m also pleased to announce I’ve secured funding to hold a series of community consultations to help create a visionary master plan for King’s Park.

Development of a master plan is the first step in securing additional funding for upgrades, adding new features to the park. We will launch the public consultations in early spring, so watch for details in this column and on my website www.JaniceLukes.ca

South Winnipeg transportation conversation:

During my campaign, I had many questions on transportation-related issues: Will Bison Road be extended into Waverley West? Why isn’t there a cloverleaf at Kenaston and the Perimeter? Why aren’t there more pedestrian crosswalks on Pembina? How can congestion be reduced on St. Mary’s Road? Where are the railings on the new Kenaston overpass? And more!

It quickly became clear to me the city needs to do a better job in communicating short, medium and long-term transportation plans for South Winnipeg. So I am organizing an open house with City of Winnipeg public works traffic and road engineers to answer all your questions.

Active transportation plans will also be presented. We are in the planning stages right now and are aiming to hold the South Winnipeg Transportation Conversation mid-spring, so again, watch this column and my website for details.