Niakwa Rd & Pebble Beach Rd

As you can see in this map Niakwa Rd turns into Pebble Beach Rd

The sidewalks on Pebble Beach Rd and Niakwa Rd in Niakwa Place needs attention. Pretty much the whole stretch needs to be replace but instead of replacing the sidewalk with a new one. The sidewalk should be replaced with a bike pathway so when your coming from Archibald Trail. That way you have a better connection through the area and a easier way to get around the areas in the South and if your traveling Downtown or around the city from the South. At South end of Pebble Beach Rd at Willowlake Crescent there is a sidewalk that connects to Bluewater Crescent which connects to streets that reach to the new trail that connects Beaverhill Blvd to Bishop Grandin at Shorehill Dr. This connecter sidewalk could use a bit of an upgrade as well.

The South end of Pebble Beach Rd has a crossing for Willowlake Crescent

The sidewalk that ultimately connects to the Shorehill Trail which leads to Bishop Grandin

Pebble Beach Rd is the main road for Niakwa Place and can get busy with cars at times and has a school and lots of kids are walking and biking to and from school using the sidewalk. There is many other places in the area where people need to use this road as part of their route to get elsewhere. The crosswalk to get across from the school and Pebble Beach Rd only has sidewalks one side. In the picture below you can see a path created from people walking on the grass to get across the railway over time. This is a shorter way for people living on the bays on the other side but I don’t that’s the best thing to do unless a proper at-grade crossing.

One of the crossings at the School on Pebble Beach Road

Now the Niakwa Rd portion only has the sidewalk to where Royal Salinger Rd meets with Niakwa Rd and at that point you have the option to go North and cross Fermor Ave to go down the Niakwa Trail and Archibald Trail or you can continue going down Niakwa Rd to the Pedestrian Bridge over the Seine River. That will take you to St. Anne’s Rd which has a few stores and is a bit of a shortcut for people living South of Fermor and not to mention the Bridge rarely floods because it’s higher then the Bridge for the Niakwa Trail. Many people take walks down Niakwa Rd and would benefit being a 30 km/h zone in this section because of the cars coming in and out of the golf course at end of the road.

Niakwa Rd West of Archibald Street

Niakwa Rd East of Archibald Street

A Meadowood Walk

Many times I have taken a walk down Meadowood Drive to the mall with my grandparents that live at one of the many mid-rise apartments down St. Anne’s Road  and I always see lots of people walking down to the stores by the mall or by the school & community rink close to St. Anne’s Rd. The one thing I notice most is that a sidewalk hasn’t been built on the south side of Meadowood Dr for the most part except the first two blocks and by the mall. After the first couple blocks the sidewalk just ends at an unmarked crosswalk to the north side and a sidewalk that leads through a field to another street somewhere to the south.

Unmarked crosswalk on Meadowood Dr just west of the school nearby

 

Last month I was trying to get on some of the streets on the south side of Meadowood Dr and was very tricky to achieve without worry about cars. It’s tricky because Meadowood Dr has no crosswalks to many of the streets to the south side so if you’re in a wheelchair like me you’ll have to drive your wheelchair on the road about a block or so just to access the street you want to get too.

Meadowood Drive just east of Dakota Street

 

When it comes to connectivity, Meadowood Drive doesn’t just connect Meadowood area together but is also part of an active transportation route/corridor that connects Minnetonka, St. Vital Centre, Royalwood, Island Lakes together(via Riverbend Ave/ Meadowood Dr/John Bruce Rd/Pamela Rd). Linking the missing sidewalk together on the south side will improve Meadowood Dr and will benefit more people than just residents nearby.

Needed Sidewalk for Edgewater Drive

Edgewater Rd is used by lots of pedestrians to access the sidewalk in the middle that connects Vermillion Rd and other Sidewalks that connect others parts of Southdale. Edgewater connects Lakewood Blvd and Beaverhill Blvd together which both have school & park locations. Edgewater is about one kilometre in length and only has 22 Meters of sidewalk and needs to extend the full length. Students are always walk this route to school with cars going by and backing out driveways, which isn’t a good mix. It might help to add a crosswalk at Beaverhill Blvd side of Edgewater for better access. 

Vermillion Rd Needs Attention

Vermillion is a collector road located in Southdale (also a bus route ) and only has sidewalks on the south side for the most part. The problem is the north side of Vermillion does not have a sidewalk and has been that way for over 30 years. Vermillion Rd connects Lakewood Blvd to Beaverhill Blvd. On the south side: a school, park, 5 bus stops, and residential streets; On the north side: daycare centre, 2 to 3 grocery stores, several more stores, and 5 bus stops; with the increase of retail/amenities opening up in recent years, the traffic is getting busier. It’s getting harder to cross the street to the stores.

You can now see how the north side of Vermillion needs a sidewalk so people don’t have to cross at random spots. People would be able to cross at designated crossings instead of crossing at unsafe locations. Vermillion is starting to become a fairly busy pedestrian corridor and needs improvements to keep up with pedestrian demand and safety concerns!

Related Topic: “Good use for sidewalks”

“I have been following the saga of how to make cycling in this city safer for bicycles, cars, and pedestrians, and to me, the solution could be simple. Hundreds of miles of sidewalks in Winnipeg are grossly underused, particularly in residential areas, and which we all pay for with our tax dollars, even if we don’t use them. I do use them when I ride my bike.”

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/good-use-for-sidewalks-263591311.html

What do you think, should pedestrians share sidewalks with bicycles? I’ll let you decide that well I give you an insight of my opinion of pedestrians and cyclists sharing the sidewalk. I like to think of myself as a cyclists and pedestrian at the same, not just because we all feel safer when separated from cars but because I face similar challenges of both party’s. I have to lookout for bikes and yield to pedestrians when driving my wheelchair and don’t mind if people ride on the sidewalk. As long as we are watching out for each other and not going to fast when passing by others. I know it’s illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk, but why is that? I would think it would be ok as long as your not riding badly and besides if more people are using the sidewalks more often the more people notice the conditions of sidewalks & crosswalks!

Winnipeg 311 Services App

“On August 13, 2013 the City of Winnipeg launched a mobile app that allows people to connect with City. The 311 app provides users with the ability to do any of the following with their iPhone, iPad or Android device:

Report a service request to 311 Send photographs relating to the service request Check on the status of the service request submitted Connect with other City services such as licensing your dog or planning your Transit route.

This app offers citizens another way to connect with Winnipeg 311.

The information and photos will help the City prioritize and efficiently respond to citizen requests. The service requests that will be available are:

Potholes

Sidewalk repairs

Graffiti on public property

Dead animal removal

Transit – Lost property

Transit – Shelter issues

Snow removal

Sanding… “

Click the link below for more information about the 311 Service App:

http://www.winnipeg.ca/Interhom/contact/app.stm

…

What does this mean for sidewalk & crosswalks you may ask? Well the fact that you can report sidewalks in need of repairs is just the beginning. With this app you can report heaved, crumbling, cracked, and slippery sidewalks. Once you pick what problem the sidewalk has you will have to add details. These details are the location of the sidewalk, photos of the sidewalk need of repair (6 photos max), description of request, and type of sidewalk problem (as mentioned earlier), also have to provide information of you the reporter.

The issues that I come across to be troublesome for me are the fact that there aren’t enough types of sidewalk problems listed within the app. My way of working around is picking one of the options by just adding details of what the actual problem is within description of request section. When it comes to crosswalks with high curbs, it’s sometimes a bit tricky to explain to 311 what exactly you’re wanting done. This is why there should be a curb/crosswalk section and would like to see improvements to 311 in the future. In conclusion the 311 app is a great tool to use if you don’t want the hassle of being on hold on the phone all the time. Report on the run, anywhere, anytime! So get out and start reporting because we need as much people reporting on sidewalks as possible. Together we can make change to our sidewalk infrastructure by picking up you’re phone for 311.

Introduction to Winnipeg’s Sidewalk & Crosswalks Blog

I have created this blog to get the message across that the City of Winnipeg needs improved conditions to our sidewalk infrastructure. The sidewalks everywhere need fixing all the time. Heaved, crumbling, bumpy, you name it!

This blog will mainly be about:
Sections of sidewalks needing repaired,
Dangerous crosswalks needing improvements,
Areas that more sidewalk infrastructure is needed,
Related Topics;

I’m quite sure many people walking have fallen form a bump on the sidewalk. The worst part is that some of the crosswalks still have curbs to high for people in wheelchairs to cross the street!

Winnipeg’s Sidewalk & Crosswalks Blog is for me to express my point of views, thoughts, and ideas for this city that would make active transportation safer, easier, and less stressful. This blog means a lot to me because I’m someone who is in an electric wheelchair who loves to drive around the city. The problem is I come across lots of sidewalk situations where I have to figure out how to get around. Sometimes I’m forced drive on the road or have to back travel a few blocks!

I hope in the end we will make a difference for sidewalks throughout Winnipeg! if you have any input or questions please leave comments or contact me anytime about any of my blog post or for whatever by twitter/email: @TyAtkinson1994 / wpgsidewalkcrosswalks@outlook.com