Public works chair backs report recommending new rules for drivers turning at Assiniboine and Main | CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2024 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 2

City traffic engineers are recommending changes to the way drivers make turns at Assiniboine Avenue and Main Street in downtown Winnipeg this summer.

A new report to city council advises making two changes to the intersection. One would see no more right turns from eastbound Assiniboine onto southbound Main Street. The other would see left turns from northbound Main onto westbound Assiniboine controlled by a new traffic signal, but prohibited during the afternoon rush hour.

The report follows concerns over cyclist and pedestrian safety at the intersection. 

A city-commissioned road safety study into the intersection, cited by the report, agrees right turns from Assiniboine onto Main are endangering people biking and walking there — and that left turns from Main onto Assiniboine put both drivers and pedestrians at "significant risk." 

Coun. Janice Lukes, who chairs council's public works committee, supports the report.

"It's not going to make everyone happy, but it's a pilot, and I'm really focused on protecting the vulnerable road user," Lukes said Wednesday in an interview.

"We don't want to shut Assiniboine down. We are not doing that. We are doing a pilot."

Under the proposed changes for this summer, drivers going east down Assiniboine Avenue would be forced to make a left turn onto Fort Street, a block west of Main Street. The report estimates this change will cost the city $7,900 over a year.

Right now, drivers can turn left from Main onto Assiniboine under what's called a "permissive left turn" — during a gap in traffic.

Under the proposed changes, drivers would turn left on a traffic signal giving them the right of way. However, left turns would not be allowed between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday. These changes would come with a price tag of $80,000.

The report is scheduled to come before Tuesday's public works committee. 

Should councillors decide to enact the changes, the city would monitor them and provide an overview next spring on how the pilot went, according to the report.

Public works chair backs report recommending new rules for drivers turning at Assiniboine and Main