Winnipeg planning to build more pedestrian bridges

Previewineg new pedestrian bridges in Winnipeg Senior Active Transportation Planner Chris Baker previews new pedestrian bridges coming to our city.

WINNIPEG — With more and more Winnipeggers choosing to walk or cycle as a mode of transportation, the City of Winnipeg also has plans to add more pedestrian bridges around the city.

According to Chris Baker, a City of Winnipeg senior active transportation planner, the city has two current priorities when it comes to pedestrian bridges.

“The top priority is the Fort Rouge McFadden Bridge, connecting the Downtown to Osborne Village,” he said.

“The next priority would be the Pembina Highway overpass at the Bishop Grandin Greenway.”

Baker added that these shovel-ready projects are part of the city’s infrastructure priority list and will be built once the city finds the funding.

THE CITY’S CURRENT PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES

Currently, there are more than 50 pedestrian bridges in the city of Winnipeg.

“That includes everything from the signature bridges, the Disraeli pedestrian bridge over the Red River or the Esplanade Riel and all the way down to a bridge in a golf course or in a city park,” Baker said.

He noted the city’s active transportation policy is what guides where it chooses to build bridges, adding that the policy calls for several bridges and other grade separations throughout the city.

ARE THE BRIDGES NECESSARY?

Baker said through the city’s monitoring of walking and cycling it has discovered that people are partaking in these activities more and more.

He said that in the spring of 2020, some locations reported a 30 per cent increase in the number of pedestrians and cyclists compared to 2019.

Anyone who is looking to provide feedback on pedestrian bridges can contact 311.

- With files from CTV’s Michael Hutchinson.