‘It was just a dream’: Pedestrian pathway set to link Morden and Winkler

The city’s of Winkler and Morden will soon be connected by a paved pathway. Joseph Bernacki has more.

After years of planning, a dream of connecting Morden and Winkler via a pedestrian pathway is now only a few months away from the finish line.

“This idea has been in the community imagination for decades,” said James Friesen, chair of the Stanley Pathway Committee.

Five years ago, the Stanley Trails Association was determined to create a proposed pathway linking the two cities to provide safe access for cyclists and pedestrians.

Friesen said it’s a safety concern for cyclists in the two communities given the volume of vehicle traffic that travels back and forth on Provincial Highway 3.

“Half of the communities empty into each other every morning at the end of the day to go to work,” Friesen said.

“I know from personal experience the traffic is only increasing. This option, it’s safe, it’s fun and it’s the right thing to do.”

Work has already started on the 10-kilometre project running along the highway. The all-season pathway will also provide walking access to Boundary Trails Health Centre.

Morden Mayor Nancy Penner said the collaboration on this regional project has been bringing the two cities together.

“This project is sort of bigger than each of us, bigger than the City of Morden, bigger than the City of Winkler or the RM of Stanley,” Penner said.

“Each of us couldn’t do this on their own.”

Winkler Mayor Henry Siemens said it’s great to see how far the project has come, particularly over the last year.

He said it’s a good example of what can be done when multiple communities work together.

“This is something that’s been needed for many years,” Siemens said.

“Having a direct connection between the two communities to the hospital through the RM of Stanley, I think it’s going to be tremendous for our active transportation network.”

According to the RM of Stanley, the project has an estimated cost of $3.7 million.

“I actually didn’t know if it would ever happen in my lifetime because it was talked about many years ago already, and then it stalled for a number of years,” said Ike Friesen, Reeve for the RM of Stanley.

“Our previous CAO and I sat together and we said, ‘What can we start up again that would be a really impactful thing for our region?’”

James Friesen said the communities have been fundraising now for years and are within one million of closing the funding gap completely. They are hopeful to have the pathway ready to use by late fall.

“To see the pathway actually in the ground, well-established on schedule, is super gratifying,” Friesen said.

The Morden and Winkler Community Foundations are also accepting donations towards the remainder of the funding of the Stanley Community Pathway. They are matching donations up to a maximum of $50,000 until October 31, 2025.