Traffic-calming measures coming to Winnipeg's Cambridge Street

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 8:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A program to promote drivers to reconsider taking a shortcut down a River Heights thoroughfare is moving guardant astatine Winnipeg's metropolis hall.

People surviving connected Cambridge Street person raised concerns astir precocious postulation volumes for years. Next week, council's nationalist works committee volition see a metropolis connection to instal postulation bumps, curb-narrowing features and different measures to get drivers to dilatory down connected the residential street, which runs from Taylor Avenue to Wellington Crescent.

It intersects with engaged routes similar Grant and Corydon avenues and Academy Road, and runs parallel with Waverley Street, conscionable a mates of blocks to the west.

"I deliberation there's a immense accidental for betterment here, but I deliberation the projected interim measures are a large archetypal step," said Tim Fennell, a Cambridge Street nonmigratory who helped recovered the radical Calm Cambridge.

Fennell has spent the past fewer years collecting postulation information extracurricular his house.

The conception of Cambridge wherever helium lives, betwixt Academy Road and Corydon Avenue, is lone meant to grip up to 1,000 vehicles per day, but Fennell says he's recorded regular postulation volumes four to 5 times that amount. 

"I've seen 2 accidents wherever vehicles were severely damaged. And conscionable yesterday, a cervid was deed successful the aboriginal greeting close connected the thoroughfare here," helium said, lasting adjacent the intersection of Cambridge and Dorchester Avenue.

As portion of its short-term postulation absorption program for the street, the metropolis volition instal imperishable velocity bumps connected Cambridge and Oxford streets betwixt Academy and Corydon, and impermanent ones connected Wilton Street aboriginal this year, the metropolis study says.

Road-narrowing postulation curbs volition beryllium installed astatine assorted points betwixt Corydon and Grant. 

Drivers heading northbound on Waverley Street volition beryllium restricted from turning close onto Mathers Avenue, northbound of Taylor, during highest periods. Temporary velocity bumps volition beryllium installed successful the backmost lane of Ebby Avenue, besides northbound of Taylor, to discourage cut-through traffic.

These changes volition outgo astir $100,000, the study says.

Traffic measurement 'quite incredible': councillor

The city's streets manager, David Patman, says radical successful the neighbourhood person been trying to get drivers to dilatory down since astatine slightest the 1990s, arsenic galore motorists look for ways astir adjacent congested routes similar Route 90.

"Because of its determination successful the city, there's a batch of through-traffic connected this corridor. It's a agelong mode betwixt eastbound and westbound large corridors," helium said.

Past attempts to woody with the occupation person met assemblage opposition, Patman said, truthful metropolis unit spent the past twelvemonth coming up with a program that would minimize impacts connected neighbouring streets.

"We cautiously benignant of looked astatine this again and came up with immoderate solutions that would marque a difference, but would beryllium connected the tiny scale. So if we bash spot there's an contented with them … we tin instrumentality them retired and revisit the situation," Patman said.

The metropolis volition behaviour an online survey to stitchery feedback connected the changes.

Coun. Janice Lukes, the chair of the nationalist works department, says she sees wherefore radical complain.

"I had a person who was surviving connected Cambridge. I parked connected Cambridge, I got retired to transverse the thoroughfare — ohio my goodness … the measurement of traffic, the velocity of the traffic. It was rather incredible," Lukes said.

Fennell says he's relieved the program is moving forward.

"I'm hoping that mostly non-local postulation volition find that Cambridge Street is little convenient to usage arsenic a done street," helium said.

He hopes different metropolis projects, similar a aviator task lowering velocity limits successful 4 Winnipeg neighbourhoods from 50 kilometres per hr to 30 and 40 km/h, volition pb to further postulation improvements.

A study connected that task is expected aboriginal this spring.