I agree with Graham that the city’s plan to add a few new diamond lanes on Henderson, Regent and McPhillips is a good start, but I do wonder if these specific measures will have much of an impact on travel times.
The new Henderson lane is in a great spot (near downtown), but it’s only 300 metres long and runs on just the southbound side of the street.
The Regent lanes are about 2,300 metres long and run in both directions, but their furthest point west (toward downtown) is Kildonan Place Shopping Centre. Is traffic really that clogged up coming out of Transcona every morning?
The 1,900 metre lanes on McPhillips look somewhat promising, but aren’t in effect between Notre Dame and Selkirk, which is usually the busiest stretch of road.
Diamond lanes offer the City an inexpensive way to speed up transit service and make it a more attractive commuting option. But to be truly effective, Winnipeg Transit must have the testicular fortitude to recommend that lanes go where they’re really needed, even if that means regular traffic might be slowed down by a light cycle or two. Taking a half-assed approach to implementation will only make riders cynical about the alleged improvements.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: City of Winnipeg, winnipeg transit
