WINNIPEG — Mayor Brian Bowman wants to delay the cycling and pedestrian strategy for another month. The 300 page, $330 million strategy includes five maps that show a network of existing and proposed bicycle lanes, off-street paths and green ways.
The plan was supposed to be voted on by council at the end of May, but Bowman is having the strategy reviewed again by his office of public engagement.
“This is just to ensure that we hear from the office of public engagement about the types of consultation that occurred in 2013 and how we move forward to ensure that appropriate consultation occurs on a go forward basis,” said Mayor Bowman.
The mayor is slowing the process down because of concerns raised by business owners. The addition of dedicated bike lanes could reduce curbside parking on some streets, or reduce the number of lanes for traffic.
“Taking away any parking is probably not the greatest thing, especially when we are encouraging people to utilize downtown at peak times,” said Nick Van Seggelen, owner of Bodegoes restaurant.
For some of the city’s cycling enthusiasts who’ve been involved in the process, the delay is frustrating. Bike Winnipeg doesn’t feel additional consultations are necessary.
“Certainly there’s been a lot of misinformation on this being a done deal, all these projects will go through a lot more consultation processes,” said Mark Cohoe.
The results from the review will be back at city hall in June, then the strategy will be voted on by council.
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