Winnipeg’s city planners are setting their sights on 2050 in updating the city’s transportation master plan.
Last updated in 2011, the report will lay down a blueprint to manage the movement of Winnipeg’s growing population and goods across the city.
“It’s quite a comprehensive study,” says Alex Regiec, transportation master plan lead with the City of Winnipeg.
“We’ll look at a number of areas including infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, public rights of way, public services such as parking, traffic management, and most importantly, human travel behaviour.”
The Transportation Master Plan: 2050 website identifies eight main priorities, including environmental sustainability, equity and inclusiveness, economic development, and transportation demand.
Planners will also have to ensure the final document aligns with other city obligations, including those in the Climate Action Plan, and OurWinnipeg, the City’s overarching 25-year development plan.
“One of the reasons we’re updating this plan (is the) huge challenge for our technical staff to analyze not only what we’ve built and where we’re at, but also where do we want to be in the future,” says Regiec.
“We’ve got to look at how is technology changing mobility, and it is having an impact right now on how we move around, whether it’s through apps, vehicle-to-vehicle communication … and driverless vehicles are starting to be developed on a commercial aspect.”
Regiec says another key aspect of their study will be hearing some of these answers directly from the public.
“We want to get a lot of people from senior citizens, to middle aged working people, to you and get an understanding of what they would like to see in the future,” says Regiec, who adds part of that will involve trying to understand how travel habits have been impacted by the pandemic, and whether or not that will translate to less work-related movement.
The public engagement portion is already underway. Winnipeggers can take part in an online survey up until Dec. 11, 2020, while an online panel and workshop will take place Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Comments