Lessening Winnipeg’s landfill impact

Winnipeg’s water and waste department will seek proposals on landfill gas capture and resource reuse at the Brady Road Landfill. Reusing landfill gas emissions and recovering compost, wood waste and other recyclables is the city’s most effective option in combating climate change, stated the department’s request for proposal report. Up to 97,000 tonnes of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by a well-designed landfill gas recovery project. The report will be submitted to city council for review after it has been approved by the executive policy committee.

Citizen input sought on Route 90 options

The city’s public works department is seeking citizens’ input on the widening of Route 90. Three options will be presented at the open house, which takes place on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Winnipeg Sun Centre at the Canad Inns Stadium. One option is to widen Route 90 alternating to the east, north of Tuxedo, and west, south of Tuxedo. Another is to widen only on the west side. The third is changing Kenaston Boulevard into a one-way southbound road and building a new one-way northbound road on the old rail line. Public feedback will help inform the city’s final decision on the best option for Route 90 improvements.

Cab-jacking sparks call for ‘panic’ buttons

Concerned for their safety after a recent cab-jacking, Winnipeg taxi drivers are calling on the province and the city to help pay for panic alarms. This request comes in the wake of the alleged assault of a driver by a 29-year-old woman on Monday, Nov. 9. After she crashed into two other vehicles, police say the woman rolled the taxi into a ditch outside the city. Even though crimes against cab drivers have fallen by 70 per cent since cameras and plexiglass were installed in 2001, drivers are still concerned for their safety in some sections of the city. Installation of panic buttons would allow drivers to notify police while the incident is occurring, thus increasing the chance of more immediate police intervention.

Street renamed after Winnipeg’s “James Bond”

Water Avenue was recently renamed to William Stephenson Way in honour of the man who inspired the character James Bond. Stephenson was a flying ace in the First World War and the mastermind behind Britain’s intelligence in the Second World War. This, combined with Stephenson’s involvement in founding America’s Central Intelligence Agency, led author Ian Fleming to loosely base James Bond on Stephenson. Stephenson was also a successful businessman and creator of the technology behind the fax machine.

Aging sewage tank threatens Lake of the Woods

An aging sewage tank south of the border threatens to contaminate Lake of the Woods, an outdoor playground for Manitoba, Ontario and Minnesota. If the tank in the small town of Williams, Minnesota breaks, 55,000 gallons or roughly 208,000 litres of raw sewage could end up in the groundwater, said Williams’ mayor, Nancy Jewell. With only 200 inhabitants, the town of Williams cannot afford the $1.6 million required to fix the sewage tank. Jewell hopes to get state and federal support and plans to meet with U.S. environmental officials in December. U.S. officials have been aware of the aging tank for three years and Canadian officials trust it will be fixed before it leaks.

Published in Volume 64, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 19, 2009)