Winnipeg has bike path plan, but reality is still years away

WINNIPEG — The city now has a clear plan for cycling routes through Winnipeg.

The Pedestrian and Cycling Strategy, which still needs council approval, sets out a vision for active transportation.

Mark Cohoe, with Bike Winnipeg, says two years of work went into this document.

In 2013 the city shelved a cycling plan citing budget reasons.

READ MORE: City scraps bike path study

Cohoe says the new council has placed a greater emphasis on the cycling network however he said at the end of the day this is just a plan.

“Strategies are good but we need funding,” says Cohoe, adding  Winnipeg has a long way to go to connect the city’s bike pathways and lanes into a coherent system.

He says it will still take years before this city is truly bike friendly.

Councillors are set to vote next week on turfing some already-approved cycling paths.

One along Grey Street from Tyne Avenue to Mission street was approved in 2013. The city administration is recommending it be cancelled because it would be too close to the city’s heliport.

It is also recommended a pathway along Waverley Street from Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Scurfield Boulevard be postponed, as well as one along Lagimodiere Boulevard from East Mint Place and Burmac Road.

The money from those projects will be directed elsewhere.

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Some of it will go towards building a pathway from Pembina to Investors Group Field along Chancellor Matheson.

The priority of that project has been fast tracked because of the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer as well as the Grey Cup in the fall.

Work will also be done this year on improving the biking connection from the Forks to Assiniboine Avenue as well as looking at more protected bike lanes in downtown.

Cohoe says the protected bike lane along Sherbrook Street has lead to more people hopping on two wheels.

He says Bike Winnipeg counts show around 2,500 people use that path daily during the warmer month. That is an increase from around 800 before the bike lane was made protected in 2014.