Graham Avenue to Convert to Non-Bus Way

Consultations continue but one thing for sure will happen to Graham Avenue and that is in 2025 it will no longer be used for buses. The design for the streets seems to be designating into four zones. Some of the businesses hear the former Bay are alarmed that they lose their parking as well as loading zones. They should be. The design thus far is dominated by continuous bike path. Road traffic, just as it is now, is generally not for cars. However, parts of the road are reduced even more. There is nothing left on the south side for loading or parking. Nothing.

Bike paths might just sail past empty storefronts. It would be preferable to reduce speeds on Graham and really share the road but there seems to be a determination to not put in two way traffic along most streets in the downtown. Assiniboine Avenue is going through a similar thing. The street has not been normal for years due to lengthy construction and changes to its design.

The changes to Winnipeg Transit are still confusing and the consultations don't seem to have covered all the possible implications of changes. The Southwest Transit Corridor is still not fully realized. They sent it for a jog down Parker and then dragged their feet about housing along it for more than a decade.

Graham Avenue's businesses need some parking and loading to be successful. This doesn't mean there is no room for wider sidewalks or even a bike path but, while the plan includes a double bike path for the full extent of the street, the plan does not include a road for vehicles all the way through. There is still not enough information about bus routes are changing at this point as well to how they affect other streets.

Pre-Pandemic Graham Avenue would have buses lined up so long that it was possible to walk atop of them for a few blocks as they were that packed together. With so government workers still at home, it is uncertain if the dynamic will change. Still, there is a growing number of apartments being built and will continue to go up in the next years. It is unknown if the people moving in are living and working downtown or what their commuting needs are going forward. These are things that will reveal themselves as a neighbourhood develops.

The history of pedestrian corridors is now always a good one. Sparks Street in Ottawa is very quiet on weekends. Attempts to liven it up have not worked. Government offices line both sides of it so pre-pandemic it was busy in the week. But with so many working from home, it has been a problem. This has to be considered in regards to Graham Avenue. It can't have dead zones or areas that are blocked off for concerts or festivals that make me people have to detour even if they are on bikes. I've seen Sparks on weekends and that is not what we want downtown to look like.

A great deal of thought needs to be put into Graham. It has to be a multi-use street and more sidewalk and bike consideration needs to be made. However, it is preferable to reduce speed on the street and make it two way rather than ban cars from large stretches of it. Will anyone listen to the businesses? They worry that a bike lane and foot traffic will not replace the missing people coming to their businesses.