3 breakdowns in 2 weeks for Winnipeg's lone line-painting machine

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 6:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Winnipeg's lone street-line coating instrumentality broke down 3 times wrong the past 2 weeks.

Drivers whitethorn person noticed faded oregon missing lines connected galore Winnipeg streets.

But contempt the breakdowns, the metropolis says its unit is connected way to springiness each streets a overgarment of overgarment this year.

At a gathering of metropolis council's nationalist works committee connected Thursday, nationalist works manager Jim Berezowsky said the instrumentality is 19 years aged and nearing the extremity of its life.

"Fortunately enough, the breakdowns were speedy and businesslike to get up and running," helium said.

The City of Winnipeg approved backing successful past year's fund to acquisition a caller line-painting machine, but nationalist works committee seat Coun. Janice Lukes said it could beryllium a agelong clip earlier it arrives.

"Paint is not the reply for everything safety-related, but it is 1 of the tools successful the toolkit to guarantee information astatine intersections connected high-speed, large corridors astir schools, pedestrian crosswalks and the like," Lukes said successful an interrogation Friday.

The metropolis typically paints lines connected roads erstwhile per twelvemonth and applies a 2nd overgarment to astir a 4th of them, depending connected upwind and roadworthy conditions, according to a study presented to the committee connected Thursday.

Crews person completed astir 25 per cent of enactment coating and astir 30 per cent of intersection coating truthful acold this year, metropolis spokesperson Julie Dooley wrote successful an email statement.

"This is on-par with wherever we'd privation to beryllium astatine this constituent of the season," she wrote.

A caller instrumentality could outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $1 million, and is expected to get successful 2026.

The metropolis is besides considering whether to bargain the aforesaid benignant of machine, which lone uses paint, oregon 1 that tin usage a longer-lasting epoxy-based lane marking material.

The metropolis issued a petition for tender for a contractor to assistance use a 2nd overgarment of overgarment connected each streets — astatine a outgo of up to betwixt $1.4 cardinal and $1.9 million.

Dil Subedi, owner of Windsor DC Driving School, says the existent authorities of the city's streets makes it hard to thatch pupil drivers.

"It's precise stressful," Subedi said.

"They cannot conscionable support the car successful the lane if the lines are not clear. So they support drifting implicit … it's precise challenging for some of them, some the learner and the instructors."

Painting thoroughfare lines typically costs betwixt $800 and $1,100 per kilometre, according to the report. That is higher than agrarian road painting, owed to municipality issues specified arsenic postulation measurement and awesome delays.

Dooley says the unit is moving connected a compressed docket to maximize the clip spent painting.

"Depending connected upwind conditions, covering much than 25 per cent of streets with much than 1 exertion of overgarment whitethorn beryllium possible," Dooley wrote.

In 2021, the metropolis was capable to implicit a 2nd exertion of overgarment to lane markings crossed the full city.