New biking, walking pathway to connect Morden, Winkler by fall

Rosanna Hempel · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

People successful the Morden-Winkler country of confederate Manitoba volition soon person a caller biking and walking way connecting the duplicate cities, arsenic good arsenic linking Winkler and immoderate of its neighbouring communities to the Trans Canada Trail network.

"It's truly a triple win," James Friesen, seat of the committee down the Stanley Community Pathway, told CBC News past week.

The pathway volition tally the astir 10-kilometre stretch betwixt the 2 cities, on the southbound broadside of Highway 3/14.

Friesen's committee precocious got support from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure to physique the way adjacent the highway, and operation is expected to statesman this spring, pursuing a tender process, and decorativeness by fall, helium said.

"It's go a precise beardown awesome I deliberation for unifying communities," said Friesen.

The committee — made up of metropolis planners and representatives from Morden and Winkler, on with the surrounding Rural Municipality of Stanley and the Stanley Trail Association — has been moving connected the program for the paved three-metre-wide way for much than 4 years, though Friesen says the thought has been astir for decades.

"Early connected successful the planning, of course, the pandemic hit, and truthful a batch of the speech during readying astatine that clip was alert of the tensions that were being experienced crossed the world," Friesen said.

"The pathway to america truly signifies benignant of a carnal enslaved betwixt 2 communities that are truthful adjacent together."

Friesen met with CBC adjacent the Morden Research and Development Centre, wherever the way volition widen eastbound from the metropolis done the RM of Stanley. 

The pathway volition yet curve down to a remainder halt astatine the Boundary Trails Health Centre, earlier looping backmost up and east to Winkler's Partridge Crescent area.

Trail volition marque question much affordable, safer: cyclist

Craig Doell bikes on the road from Morden to the determination infirmary for work, and said helium expects the caller way volition mean he'll spot much radical commuting.

"It's going to beryllium big," Doell told CBC connected his thrust home, arsenic dozens of cars and commercialized trucks zoomed by. 

"I tin spot wherefore radical wouldn't privation to beryllium connected this highway."

Doell is simply a acquainted show connected the road, with his flashing lights and high-visibility gear. He's been cycling his 20- to 45-minute commute astir days for the past 2 decades, rainfall oregon shine, helium said.

He looks guardant to having a safer thrust connected the pathway, particularly during blustery, foggy and icy weather, helium said.

In each his years cycling the highway, some the colonisation and postulation person exploded successful the area, with galore radical relying connected cars to get to and from Morden and Winkler and neighbouring communities, helium said.

WATCH | New motorcycle way volition link Morden, Winkler:

Between 2011 to 2021, Morden's colonisation grew by 27 per cent to astir 10,000 people, according to Statistics Canada. Winkler's jumped from 12,000 to astir 14,000 during that time, a emergence that was mostly driven by immigration.

"I deliberation it decidedly volition link the 2 communities for newcomers that conscionable can't spend to drive, and present they person this option, that harmless option," Doell said.

RM of Stanley Reeve Ike Friesen agrees it volition amended information for the galore commuters successful his municipality.

The pathway committee is adjacent to breaking crushed connected the astir $4.2-million trail, helium said, acknowledgment to concern and assemblage donations and federal, provincial and municipal funding, including a combined $750,000 from Morden, Winkler and the RM of Stanley.

"We bash different projects together, and this is conscionable different mode to link our full community," Friesen said.

"We've yet got to this point. It's precise breathtaking for us."

The way volition link Winkler, on with neighbouring Reinfeld and Schanzenfeld, to Morden's Minnewasta Lake Trail and the Stanley Trail that is portion of the Trans Canada Trail network, which runs on the Pembina escarpment westbound of Morden, helium said.