Transit in Winnipeg: A more liveable Winnipeg

I’ve lived in many cities. Of all those cities, Winnipeg currently has the worst transit system.

Whether in Paris, Hamburg, Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto, I was always able to enjoy using transit and could live without a car. Winnipeg seems to conspire against those who want better transportation options.

Winnipeg’s current approach to transit is symptomatic of a greater problem: a tendency to resist change.

Winnipeg could have a better transit system. It could have a more urban, liveable, dense feel to it. It could have a more vibrant downtown – one that isn’t filled with gravel-bedded surface parking lots.

Winnipeg can be a more attractive, proud and liveable city.

One of the reasons I helped found the Winnipeg Rapid Transit Coalition was to create positive momentum for Winnipeg. Rapid transit is the start of something great – it is the start of a more liveable Winnipeg.

With rapid transit comes densification around the rapid transit stations. That means new apartments, condos and townhouses within an easy walk of the permanent, rapid transit stations.

This is already beginning with the announcement of the re-development of the Fort Rouge Yards, which will create about 1,000 new transit-oriented housing units (Fort Rouge Station).

Another new development has been proposed for a parking lot by the Winnipeg Winter Club (across from Harkness Station).

The rapid transit plan also calls for dedicated cycling paths beside the transit corridor. That means pathways where cyclists can zip along at good speeds, without having to mix with traffic or with pedestrians.

Rapid transit will, of course, also increase the speed of transit. By moving transit onto dedicated corridors, transit will get out of traffic and away from traffic lights.

That means transit that moves faster than cars. In Ottawa, I could get to the airport from downtown faster by transit than by taxi or car. On transit ways, there are no red lights and no traffic jams.

What about the cost?

Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray and I were recently speaking about rapid transit. He said that when he first proposed rapid transit during his time as mayor, the increased property taxes from the Fort Rouge Yards development alone would have offset the cost of the first stage of rapid transit.

In other words, if you wanted to pay off the construction of rapid transit in 20 years, the increased property taxes would make those payments for you.

So, the real question is: why is rapid transit taking so long in Winnipeg? We’re building 3.7 km right now. Why not more?

Virtually every Canadian city from Halifax to Vancouver has invested in rapid transit. Why does Winnipeg keep lagging behind?

It’s time to get Winnipeg moving. And it’s time to move Winnipeg forward, both in terms of transportation and in terms of the type of city we want.

Paul Hesse is the former chair of the Winnipeg Rapid Transit Coalition. Visit www.winnipegtransit.com/en/rapid-transit.

This is part of the Transit in Winnipeg feature. Its companion pieces are “Rapid transit on hold until phase one of BRT is completed, says councillor” by Ethan Cabel (http://uniter.ca/view/6255/) and “Car convenience stifles effective public transit” by Joe Wasylycia-Leis (http://uniter.ca/view/6257/) .

Published in Volume 65, Number 25 of The Uniter (March 31, 2011)

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