Winnipeg | Exchange District | Developments & Discussions

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Alston Properties Ltd., acquired the land at 127 Bannatyne as part of the purchase transaction of 433 Main Street back in 2018.

Yeah. It was basically thrown in for free when he bought the Main Street building. Kudos to him for taking the opportunity.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by Biff

My understanding was it is supposed to be some sort of conference centre/meeting space.

546... Architecture is the designer.

I asked the construction guys as I walked by and they confirmed this...they said, restaurant and event space. They are adding a proper exit stair (possibly an elevator?) and this is why the roof has been removed in places. It is to get the steel down into the building. It looks like it will pop up over the roof, so maybe it will have a rooftop patio as well.

all good news.

[bomberjet]

Waiting for labroco to chime in on exchange parking lots... haha

[neutroniks]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I asked the construction guys as I walked by and they confirmed this...they said, restaurant and event space. They are adding a proper exit stair (possibly an elevator?) and this is why the roof has been removed in places. It is to get the steel down into the building. It looks like it will pop up over the roof, so maybe it will have a rooftop patio as well.

all good news.

Have always looked down on their roof top from Darling Bar's (formerly Forth Bar) rooftop and thought that it would make an amazing rooftop patio. Amazing news for that strip.

[Wpg_Guy]

Pedestrian scramble pilot gets Exchange District debut
By: Matthew Frank
Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

Ready. Set. Scramble.

An Exchange District intersection was the scene of Winnipeg’s first pedestrian scramble as a pilot project to test the concept began Monday.

Traffic signals at the King Street and Bannatyne Avenue intersection stop motor vehicles in all directions once per cycle allowing pedestrians to cross in any direction, except diagonally.



Aro Van Dyck made the trek to the street corner to see the signals in action and try it for herself.

“An improvement like this, I’m excited to see it. I’m someone who cares a lot about pedestrian safety,” said Van Dyck, who works downtown.

The 32-year-old said she was disappointed when the city scuttled plans to put a scramble crossing at River Avenue and Osborne Street last year. She hopes the pilot project, which was approved in March, proves popular and scrambles become more common on city streets.

The scramble includes new no-right-turn and no-left-turn signs, cameras to record vehicle near misses with pedestrians and loudspeakers that broadcast “walk sign is on at both crossings.”

The scramble is expected to reduce crossing times and improve safety for pedestrians with no vehicles in the intersection, said city worker Danae Penner, who was attaching signs to explain how the crossing works.

“If pedestrians want to go kitty corner to the other side of the street, they don’t have to wait for two signals. They can make it all the way around,” said the road safety outreach co-ordinator.

Coun. Vivian Santos said she hopes the crossing will drive more foot traffic to the area.

“We want to create a more walkable, livable city,” Santos said. “It’s about building a people-first city, especially in the Exchange District.”

Crossing diagonally wasn’t included in the plans for the new scramble, she said, because extensive work was necessary to make sidewalks more accessible for those with wheelchairs.

The scramble cost $1,000 to put in place, a March report from the public works committee noted.

Santos said the pilot will be in place until winter 2026.

David Pensato, executive director of Exchange District BIZ, is curious how the pilot project’s results will influence the city’s approach to pedestrian crosses. He said the chosen intersection has already been an informal scramble crossing when traffic dies down.

“It doesn’t take an urban planner or traffic engineer to note that while the Exchange is among the most walkable areas in the city, there’s certainly some pinch points where it becomes more complicated,” said Pensato. “We’re always looking to better enhance the pedestrian experience.”

Dennis Boyko, owner of Red River Book Shop, was surprised the city selected King and Bannatyne for the pilot. The Arthur Street entrepreneur said there are more dangerous crossings that need more robust infrastructure to protect pedestrians in the Exchange.

To commemorate the new crossing, sandwich shop King and Bannatyne created a special scrambled egg wrap that will be given away at the corner at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The city has launched a survey for residents to provide feedback on the scramble at wfp.to/scramble. A report on the pilot’s results is expected in 2026.

Winnipeg Free Press

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Winnipeg Free Press

Drove through there yesterday on King and didn't even notice.

[neutroniks]

Scramble crossing except you can't go diagonally? Odd. I think people will end up going diagonally anyway lol.

[FactaNV]

They probably say you can't go diagonal so they didn't have to add diagonal curb cuts to meet the accessibility requirement haha. They know full well people are going diagonal but didn't want to shell out for the pilot.

[neutroniks]

that's true! haha. That's one way to get the study done without explicitly stating it. Would love to see this at Stradbrooke x Osborne and River x Osborne

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

They probably say you can't go diagonal so they didn't have to add diagonal curb cuts to meet the accessibility requirement haha. They know full well people are going diagonal but didn't want to shell out for the pilot.

That is exactly why option A ($1,000) was chosen over option B ($360,000) with the diagonal crossing.

From the report, Pedestrian Scramble Pilot:

The Public Service identified two potential scramble scenarios for the intersection:
• A pedestrian scramble without diagonal crosswalks (Low Cost Option). Estimate costs associated with this option are $1,000.00
• A pedestrian scramble with diagonal crosswalks (High Cost Option). This option would require infrastructure upgrades, which the Public Service estimate at approximately $360,000. Pursuit of this option would require that additional budgets be authorized for the department.

The Public Service preference is to implement the low-cost option. The Public Service intends to
pilot it in 2025.

[neutroniks]

Interesting to see which locations they identified as other possible locations. Graham & Vaughn would make sense to me, but it won't be a transit corridor for much longer.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by neutroniks

Scramble crossing except you can't go diagonally? Odd. I think people will end up going diagonally anyway lol.

Per news article, one can go diagonally.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

Per news article, one can go diagonally.

Coun. Vivian Santos said she hopes the crossing will drive more foot traffic to the area.

“We want to create a more walkable, livable city,” Santos said. “It’s about building a people-first city, especially in the Exchange District.”

Crossing diagonally wasn’t included in the plans for the new scramble, she said, because extensive work was necessary to make sidewalks more accessible for those with wheelchairs.

The scramble cost $1,000 to put in place, a March report from the public works committee noted.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Coun. Vivian Santos said she hopes the crossing will drive more foot traffic to the area.

“We want to create a more walkable, livable city,” Santos said. “It’s about building a people-first city, especially in the Exchange District.”

Crossing diagonally wasn’t included in the plans for the new scramble, she said, because extensive work was necessary to make sidewalks more accessible for those with wheelchairs.

The scramble cost $1,000 to put in place, a March report from the public works committee noted.

People can still cross diagonally if they want to.

[Winnipeg Grump]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Coun. Vivian Santos said she hopes the crossing will drive more foot traffic to the area.

“We want to create a more walkable, livable city,” Santos said. “It’s about building a people-first city, especially in the Exchange District.”

Crossing diagonally wasn’t included in the plans for the new scramble, she said, because extensive work was necessary to make sidewalks more accessible for those with wheelchairs.

The scramble cost $1,000 to put in place, a March report from the public works committee noted.

Please tell me the city wouldn't budget $360K just to redo four sidewalk corners at that intersection... WTF??

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Winnipeg Grump

Please tell me the city wouldn't budget $360K just to redo four sidewalk corners at that intersection... WTF??

It does seem ridiculously expensive, here is the scope of the work for the higher cost option from the report:

oSignificant changes to intersection geometry and traffic signal infrastructure are required with the high-cost option. A full rebuild of the traffic signal is required to implement new diagonal pedestrian signal heads and to reposition signal poles to make the diagonal crossings accessible. New diagonal curb ramps would also need to be installed, along with pavement markings.

oThe Class 5 cost estimate to implement changes required to install diagonal crossings is $360,000.

[Winnipeg Grump]

Thanks, Wpg_Guy!

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Winnipeg Grump

Please tell me the city wouldn't budget $360K just to redo four sidewalk corners at that intersection... WTF??

Considering it's a pilot project I think this makes sense.

[borkborkbork]

There's a 2023 report to Vancouver city council that breaks down the cost of a scramble, in addition to signal timing changes to add a scramble phase. Not all of these items would be required to convert an existing all-walk intersection to a full all-directions scramble, of course.

- Moving signal poles/heads ($10-100k)
- New signal heads, cabinet, traffic camera ($100k)
- Wiring upgrades ($50k/section)
- Curb ramp with diagonal crossing ($60k)
- Accessible/audible signals (40k for 4 crossing)
- Camera for intersection monitoring ($10-100k)
- Tactile warning strips/pavement markings ($40k)

https://council.vancouver.ca/20231017/documents/r8.pdf

This all-directions scramble here apparently cost them $100k to convert. They've got wider curb cuts, lane painting, new diagonal signals, etc.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

People can still cross diagonally if they want to.

People could cross diagonally before if they wanted to. Peolle can go any direction at any time if they really want to.