Winnipeg Minute: Sidewalk Evaluation, Board Positions, and the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region

Winnipeg Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Winnipeg politics

This Week In Winnipeg:

• There are no Council or Committee meetings this week, however there are several meetings of the Board of Revision, at various times from Monday to Friday.
  
  
• The City is set to deploy new machines to evaluate the condition of its 3,200 kilometers of sidewalks and pathways. These advanced devices will measure factors such as length, width, material, and any potential hazards, generating data to rate sidewalk quality. This information will guide future maintenance, renewals, and funding decisions. The technology, described as “futuristic-looking quads,” will be used every three years to ensure ongoing assessments.
  
  
• The City of Winnipeg is seeking citizens to serve on various Boards and Commissions, with applications due by 4:30 pm on Friday, October 18th, 2024. Positions are available on several committees, including the Climate Action and Resilience Committee, Human Rights Committee of Council, and Winnipeg Police Board, among others. Eligible applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents living in Winnipeg and at least 18 years old. Applications can be submitted online, and successful candidates will be appointed by City Council in early 2025.

Last Week In Winnipeg:

• The Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre has opened a new, larger location at 618 Selkirk Ave., offering expanded services for the Inuit community. The new 18,000-square-foot facility, funded by a $1 million federal grant, provides resources like laundry services, computer access, and space for community programs. The center plans to offer workshops on traditional crafts and Inuktitut language programming starting in September. The move to the larger space has been met with enthusiasm from the community, who now have a dedicated place to access support and reconnect with their culture.
  
  
• Winnipeg cycling advocates have called for the adoption of the "Idaho stop," a maneuver allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, after a summer of multiple bike-car collisions, some fatal. They argue that this change could reduce the time cyclists spend in intersections, where many accidents occur, improving safety. Advocates have also presented a policy brief to provincial leaders. While some initially opposed the idea, statistics from other regions suggest it could enhance road safety, though there are concerns about its application on all Winnipeg roads.
  
  
• Premier Wab Kinew recently announced that municipalities can opt out of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. Aimed at addressing shared infrastructure and planning issues, the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region has faced resistance from several neighbouring municipalities. While some, such as the City of Selkirk, were initially opposed to joining the Metro Region at all, others, including the Town of Niverville, sought modifications to or the cancellation of the Plan 20-50 framework. Now, municipalities will be free to cooperate on their own terms.