Winnipeg Roads & Infrastructure

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by zalf

These things need to be framed in terms of benefits to the individual, not asking for sacrifices for the greater good.

- "Take transit so the city can save on the road repair budget"
- "Taking transit is a cheap way to get to work and you won't smash your car on potholes"

- "The city will remove a car lane and replace it with a bike lane to help hit its climate targets"
- "This new bike lane will let you skip traffic, keep you safe, and help you save money"

Winnipeg transit fares overpriced, unsanitary bus shelters, dirty buses, unruly intoxicated persons riding the buses for free harassing paying transit riders which all discourages anyone from riding transit!

Bike commuting is impractical for most, bike lanes are of interest to a single demographic, professional white males between 30-50 and even with that demographic only about 1% are actually interested!

[GreyGarden]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Winnipeg transit fares overpriced, unsanitary bus shelters, dirty buses, unruly intoxicated persons riding the buses for free harassing paying transit riders which all discourages anyone from riding transit!

I don't think fares are overpriced. I recently rode transit in Toronto for about a week and while everything was cleaner, almost every time I got on the streetcar there was someone who looked like they were having some mental health issues talking to themselves and bothering people. But the whole experience felt so much less intimidating because it was full of people. Transit will always have people drunk or with issues harassing riders, that's part of having a public service like transit, the goal should be to make the experience less intimidating which involves adding more riders, not just throwing up our hands.

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Bike commuting is impractical for most, bike lanes are of interest to a single demographic, professional white males between 30-50 and even with that demographic only about 1% are actually interested!

This is silly. As an anecdote, when they closed Wellington to cars during Covid, my mother could get from her house in Crescentwood to her job across the river by bike without really having to spend much time in traffic (the sherbrook/maryland bridge is still really bad). But there you took someone who drove to work everyday, and because of the infrastructure change, she started biking.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

I don't think fares are overpriced. I recently rode transit in Toronto for about a week and while everything was cleaner, almost every time I got on the streetcar there was someone who looked like they were having some mental health issues talking to themselves and bothering people. But the whole experience felt so much less intimidating because it was full of people. Transit will always have people drunk or with issues harassing riders, that's part of having a public service like transit, the goal should be to make the experience less intimidating which involves adding more riders, not just throwing up our hands.

Why is this, though? Whether it's here or Toronto, why does taking transit now mean having to deal with drunkenness, disorderliness, people with serious mental health issues, people living in bus shelters, etc. rrskylar has a point. It wasn't always this way.

When I was a kid 30 years ago, like 10, 11, 12 my friends and I would take the bus to go places. The bus felt like a safe place then. But I wouldn't feel comfortable with letting my kids do that now based on what I see and hear.

It is an issue that needs to be addressed instead of automatically attempting to shut down the conversation with accusations of classism, racism or whatever else. Everyone benefits from a safe, orderly transit system.

[GreyGarden]

Originally Posted by esquire

It is an issue that needs to be addressed instead of automatically attempting to shut down the conversation with accusations of classism, racism or whatever else. Everyone benefits from a safe, orderly transit system.

I don't think I accused him of anything.

I think as our social safety net gets whittled away at and cities continue to become more expensive without a corresponding increase in spending on support for the unhoused or people struggling with mental health and addiction, this is what we get. I don't see Winnipeggers all of a sudden supporting this kind of support so I don't see the "problem" being addressed anytime soon. I think its probably easier to make the problem less noticeable by spending on increasing transit service and the quality of service. That was my experience in Toronto. The people struggling still existed and were there, but there was also a full streetcar of people just going about their days so it wasn't intimidating or an issue. I'm not scared of someone asking me for money when I'm surrounded by people. Its more intimidating when its you, the person asking for something, and someone who looks like they're going to beat you up which is what riding transit after dark can be like in Winnipeg.

[esquire]

^ I'm not saying you accused rrskylar of anything. I meant in general terms. That is a common knee-jerk response to the issue whenever it comes up.

[cheswick]

FWIW I work with a lot of folks in Toronto and one of them mentioned the other day how unsafe it seems the subways are getting.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

^Meth everywhere now.

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by cheswick

FWIW I work with a lot of folks in Toronto and one of them mentioned the other day how unsafe it seems the subways are getting.

Is it a uniquely Winnipeg problem? I feel like we're stuck complaining about what we know without realizing that the same problems are also present everywhere.

Cost of living is up.
Social nets are being cut
Drug problems are increasing

A nice cocktail to increase the amount of homelessness and/or dependencies. These people aren't riding around town in their private car and transit offers a cheap (free if you don't pay) shelter from the elements.

The problem might have been more visible in Winnipeg beforehand when compared to big cities with higher transit ridership, where one homeless person on a bus is more obvious than say in Toronto.

[esquire]

It's certainly not just here. I just came across this news article regarding concerns over disorder and violence on Edmonton's transit system.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ium%3Dsharebar

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by WildCake

Is it a uniquely Winnipeg problem? I feel like we're stuck complaining about what we know without realizing that the same problems are also present everywhere.

Bingo!

[rrskylar]

This pretty sums up Winnipeg road repairs and maintenance

[esquire]

^ That looks like pretty high quality 3/8" plywood thrown over that crater

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That looks like pretty high quality 3/8" plywood thrown over that crater

That's why our roads are crumbling. Our temp plywood patches are draining the infrastructure budget too quickly thanks to covid pricing on lumber.

[Winnipeg Grump]

I was going to ask that you geo-tag that but then you might have beaten us to the punch!

That's what, a $50 sheet of plywood being thrown away?

[cllew]

Public works must have been in a hurry to put that plywood out. Usually any plywood like that has a big COW designation stenciled on it to prevent theft.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Winnipeg Grump

I was going to ask that you geo-tag that but then you might have beaten us to the punch!

That's what, a $50 sheet of plywood being thrown away?

Nothing but the best for our potholes, good one side plywood does a better job!

[drew]

Thats a sheet of 3/4" plywood.

Just shy of $100 each at the Depot

[bomberjet]

They're swamped right now. That's not a pothole. Probably a sinkhole at the manhole. Lots of that around from the rain storm. It seems to be at the newer manholes.

There's a street by my house where they have 3 of those sheets over a sinkhole. 3!! I'm going to walk by today and I bet they'll be gone lol

This year has been especially hard on the roads for some reason and now the rains are topping it off.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

They're swamped right now. That's not a pothole. Probably a sinkhole at the manhole. Lots of that around from the rain storm. It seems to be at the newer manholes.

There's a street by my house where they have 3 of those sheets over a sinkhole. 3!! I'm going to walk by today and I bet they'll be gone lol

This year has been especially hard on the roads for some reason and now the rains are topping it off.

What street are you on, always good to have a few extra sheets of plywood on hand!

[cllew]

Going to the dentist on Monday before lunch, I thought there were some over the holes in the road on Munroe by the storage place. They were the half or quarter sheets though