City studies how to widen Kenaston
By: Bartley Kives | Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg is studying five different ways to widen the most congested stretch of Kenaston Boulevard -- and they all involve bulldozing homes or condominiums on the western edge of River Heights.
The city is spending $750,000 over 18 months to explore ways to increase capacity on Kenaston Boulevard between Ness Avenue in St. James and Taylor Avenue in South River Heights. Daily traffic volumes on this four-kilometre section range from 43,600 to 76,200 vehicles, according to 2007 city data, with the heaviest traffic rolling over the St. James Bridge.
A survey conducted by Probe Research last year suggested 89 per cent of area residents support the idea of widening Kenaston Boulevard, according to the MMM Group, the consulting firm involved in the study. But it wasn't until this week, when a pair of open houses were held, that residents got a peek at the actual plans.
Consultants and city transportation engineers have come up with five options for increasing traffic capacity, all fraught with some form of controversy.
"All of the options do require some sort of property acquisition," said Neil Myska, the transportation planning engineer in charge of the Kenaston study. "It's always difficult when you're trying to widen an existing roadway. The goal is to displace as few people as possible."
Widening Kenaston between Taylor and Ness is not listed in the city's capital budget forecast, a six-year planning blueprint that includes all projects approved by city council.
As a result, there is no price tag associated with the widening. But an infrastructure-planning document that circulated through city hall earlier this month pegged the cost at no less than $155 million -- $70 million to widen Kenaston from Taylor to the Assiniboine River, plus another $85 million to widen the St. James Bridge.
City council is not actively trying to allocate money for the Kenaston project, partly because of the ongoing legal dispute over Kapyong Barracks. But information presented at this week's open houses suggests work could begin as early as 2010.
In the meantime, the consultants have more open houses slated for the end of this year. First, they have to whittle down a list of five capacity-building options SEnD four conventional road widenings and a more radical plan to develop a pair of one-way routes through River Heights.
The latter plan, which would require the demolition of new condos going up on what used to be CN Rail land, bewildered some of the Winnipeggers who attended the open houses.
The narrow strip of former railway land should have been reserved for a bike corridor, said Janice Lukes, director of the Winnipeg Trails Association.
Katrin Glas, an area resident whose home would be destroyed under three out of five options, said she is amazed by the poor state of planning in Winnipeg.
"They shouldn't have built on the train tracks. The vision wasn't there," said Glas, who nonetheless believes the CN Rail plan is the best out of five options.
"Someone is going to have to move. Why should it be people who've been here for many, many years?" she asked. "The people who built those condos won't take as much of a loss."
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1. Widen Kenaston Boulevard to the west: This plan calls for the city to acquire land immediately west of Kenaston and widen the street to six lanes. The study suggests this option may be less desirable because it does not allow the street to line up with the St. James Bridge.
2. Widen Kenaston to the east: Compared to Option No. 1, widening Kenaston to the east allows the street to line up better with the St. James Bridge. But it calls for more properties to be purchased or expropriated -- approximately 100 homes and condos, according to city transportation planning engineer Neil Myska.
3. Widen Kenaston in both directions: Widening Kenaston on both sides is deemed to be the least viable option, because it would call for approximately 150 homes and condos to be bulldozed.
4. Widen Kenaston on alternating sides: This option calls for a new Kenaston Boulevard to zig-zag through River Heights, with expropriations limited to as few houses as possible. About 40 homes would still need to be demolished, but some of them are empty right now, Myska said. This option also allows for a favourable bridge alignment.
5. Utilize the former CN Rail line: Unlike the four other options, this plan does not call for expropriations along Kenaston Boulevard. Instead, the city would turn the existing Kenaston Boulevard into a one-way route for southbound traffic and also carve out space for a service road on the east side. Northbound traffic would head through River Heights 2.5 blocks to the east, along the former CN Rail line between Lockwood and Centennial streets. A bike-and-pedestrian path would sit immediately to the east. But condos under construction on this narrow strip of land would have to be torn down.
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