Winnipeg | Roads & Infrastructure

[drew]

^ less cars on the road will certainly help to reduce the damage - but IMO it's mostly the busses that are tearing up the curb lanes around the city.

[bon_vivant]

The brutalising of our roads from winter ploughing can't be helpful either.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by drew

^ less cars on the road will certainly help to reduce the damage - but IMO it's mostly the busses that are tearing up the curb lanes around the city.

One thing the city was doing on rebuilds / resurfacing is to put a concrete pad at the bus stops curb lane to prevent rutting in the asphalt caused when the buses stop and start.

I'm going to guess that with the new extended length buses there will be some pavement damage at the existing bus stops as the concrete strip was only the size of a normal bus.

[neutroniks]

Originally Posted by cllew

One thing the city was doing on rebuilds / resurfacing is to put a concrete pad at the bus stops curb lane to prevent rutting in the asphalt caused when the buses stop and start.

I'm going to guess that with the new extended length buses there will be some pavement damage at the existing bus stops as the concrete strip was only the size of a normal bus.

I was thinking this when I saw them start to install the concrete pads at bus stops. "What about when they get longer buses, or when they change routes / stops?" We have such reactive city planners.

[bomberjet]

Putting in concrete pads is good. We're complaining about that now? Haha

[zalf]

Better is better.

Besides, how is the weight distributed in an articulated bus? Is it possible it's mostly in the front half anyway?

[bomberjet]

The engine and drive wheels are in the back. So the long part would still be heavy and off the end of the standard length pads. They could be extended for routes that need it. If need be.

[zalf]

I'm just happy to see some long-term thinking on the City's, even if it wasn't quite perfect in this case.

Are these scheduled to go in at every red light on bus routes, or only in front of stops?

[cllew]

Originally Posted by zalf

I'm just happy to see some long-term thinking on the City's, even if it wasn't quite perfect in this case.

Are these scheduled to go in at every red light on bus routes, or only in front of stops?

It would make sense at the bus stops as the city won't have to come in a few years to do a mill and fill at the bus stops to reduce the big ruts from the buses.

I have never really noticed if pads are poured at bus stops before signalized intersections as all the lanes suffer from pavement creep/rutting from all the traffic stopping and starting for red lights.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Anyone know if Fairlane Avenue is up for a rebuild any time soon. It's in terrible shape.

[bomberjet]

Nope. Not in the cities budget forecast. Which goes to 2031. It can always be added.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Not good news. Thanks though, bomberjet.

[Carboy15]

In the SouthEast Corner of Winnipeg, I feel like the road layout should be done similar to this. I remember looking at the plans for replacing the overpass for Fermor Ave with options to realign Fermor to bypass the Business Park, or just simply replace the overpass. I am for the idea of realigning the TCH to bypass the business park because it would connect to the future Abinoji Mikanah Expansion.

One flaw is that they've been planning to connect to expropriate through the Navin Acreage. I feel like it would be better for them to expand AM south of Navin Road to expropriate less properties. And another flaw is that if they bypass Fermor, there won't be very good access to Plessis Road/ Edward Schreyer Parkway.

These designs I decided to have Abinoji Mikanah connect seamlessly with Highway 1. The current Plessis Overpass would be knocked down and either have ESP go halfway between Plessis Road and Symington Road, or just a bit West of Symington Road. The segment of Fermor Ave between ESP and AM (North of the Tracks) would be downgraded to a Business Park arterial analagous to Scurfield Blvd.

As for the local roads, most of them would be severed except for wherever there are residential properties. Plessis between St Josephs Road to Abinoji would be closed, along with Navin between Plessis and West of Symington Road.

Overall, I think these designs would be more futureproof for future development. I always thought it would make sense if TCH 1 would connect with Abinoji Mikanah. And AM at ESP Intersection has more room for future Interchange flexibility. Above all, Abinoji Mikanah (TCH 1) East of ESP would be able to maintain its 100 km/h speed limit. Plus, this design would be great for drivers who are willing to go to the Airport as it connects directly to Route 90.

The flaw with this idea is that it would be harder for drivers who want to head to downtown. Going EB on AM, you'd go slightly North on ESP and turn left to go to Fermor Ave. OR maybe for simplicity, maybe AM between Perimeter and St Annes Road could carry the TCH 1 designation. St Annes Road would be marked as TCH 1 North of AM all the way to St Mary's.

[Carboy15]

^ Honestly, I feel like that area near Sage Creek would be a perfect opportunity for a new Costco. It would make sense because it is right on the Main HIghway just like on Portage Ave.

[zalf]

On the infrastructure side of "Roads & Infrastructure", Hydro seems to be getting their site ready at the former parking lot at William and Tecumseh. A crew peeled the asphalt off a few months ago, and workers have been sporadically visible since then. I recall reading on here that it is going to be a substation.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by zalf

On the infrastructure side of "Roads & Infrastructure", Hydro seems to be getting their site ready at the former parking lot at William and Tecumseh. A crew peeled the asphalt off a few months ago, and workers have been sporadically visible since then. I recall reading on here that it is going to be a substation.

I don't see anything in their current list of upcoming projects for this site.

The William Ave (HSC) station was put on hold as the new downtown station took some of the load off the the Sherbrook Station.

That load was one of the reasons that the William Ave station was proposed to take up the load from all of the HSC complex that Sherbrook could not property supply anymore.

[Carboy15]

I've been discussing St Mary's Road on the Winnipeg Transit Thread, and I noticed that the Orange Line would be used on St Mary's Road. But I've never really acknowledged till now how underbuilt it is. It's rather ironic considering it's part of the Trans Canada Highway North of Ste Annes Road? Do you think that will be the next road that could possibly need the Route 90 treatment?

Even if the road were to get median BRT Lanes, the road would need to have 2 lanes per direction to allow for Emergency vehicles (but the BRT Way would be able to handle that too). Therefore St Mary's would have to be rebuilt to the Width of Pembina Highway, but would be rather hard because it's very old and built up.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by Carboy15

I've been discussing St Mary's Road on the Winnipeg Transit Thread, and I noticed that the Orange Line would be used on St Mary's Road. But I've never really acknowledged till now how underbuilt it is. It's rather ironic considering it's part of the Trans Canada Highway North of Ste Annes Road? Do you think that will be the next road that could possibly need the Route 90 treatment?

Even if the road were to get median BRT Lanes, the road would need to have 2 lanes per direction to allow for Emergency vehicles (but the BRT Way would be able to handle that too). Therefore St Mary's would have to be rebuilt to the Width of Pembina Highway, but would be rather hard because it's very old and built up.

Doing this would be a terrible decision. Route 90 is an expressway that should receive a full upgrade in my opinion. St Mary’s is a street with lots of fine grain older development and lined with local businesses, especially through old st vital. Any sorts of improvements to allow for something like rapid transit would likely have to involve separating uses. Cut and cover tunnels might be the only option that doesn’t completely destroy the urban appeal of the street there.

[Carboy15]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Doing this would be a terrible decision. Route 90 is an expressway that should receive a full upgrade in my opinion. St Mary’s is a street with lots of fine grain older development and lined with local businesses, especially through old st vital. Any sorts of improvements to allow for something like rapid transit would likely have to involve separating uses. Cut and cover tunnels might be the only option that doesn’t completely destroy the urban appeal of the street there.

That's another tough part. It would be a huge trolley situation (or BRT LOL) in this area. There are lots of businesses I would really hate to see expropriated, such as the Red Top Diner. That's literally my favorite restaurant. While not the best solution, I feel like it would be better recieved if they'd just use the curb lanes and keep the transit as is. Or if any transformation, just segregate the curb lanes and remove on-street parking. Or if they did the median BRT Lanes like I propose, it'd just have to be reduced to a one lane per direction arterial much to the dismay of commuters.

That's why it would be good for the city to set up park and ride for city commuters outside the city so they can just hop on a bus and not have to drive. They say that removing lanes can help encourage public transit, but if the transit isn't good enough removing lanes will just create a traffic snarl.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by Carboy15

That's another tough part. It would be a huge trolley situation (or BRT LOL) in this area. There are lots of businesses I would really hate to see expropriated, such as the Red Top Diner. That's literally my favorite restaurant. While not the best solution, I feel like it would be better recieved if they'd just use the curb lanes and keep the transit as is. Or if any transformation, just segregate the curb lanes and remove on-street parking. Or if they did the median BRT Lanes like I propose, it'd just have to be reduced to a one lane per direction arterial much to the dismay of commuters.

That's why it would be good for the city to set up park and ride for city commuters outside the city so they can just hop on a bus and not have to drive. They say that removing lanes can help encourage public transit, but if the transit isn't good enough removing lanes will just create a traffic snarl.

If they remove lanes there, there will be no traffic snarl, because there won't be room for any traffic to get by. Like we don't have to kid ourselves that St. mary's is basically just like Osborne north of confusion corner, but we shouldn't be bulldozing massive swathes of small business and housing here. Keep the street nice and compact and status quo for now. If we do want to improve the traffic flow and add transit here, it would require the city to seriously address other major routes through the city, and downtown access, perhaps via a crosstown expressway.