Winnipeg’s The Forks to receive cycling upgrades

An old two-lane road that runs through The Forks in Winnipeg is getting re-imagined, and it’s a win for local cyclists. It’s also an example of how the uptick in Winnipeg’s overall numbers of active cyclists is transforming the city, one bit of infrastructure at a time.

“This is an old roadway that was never designed for pedestrians, wheelchairs, strollers or bikes,” said Paul Jordan, CEO of The Forks North Portage Partnership, in an interview with the CBC earlier this week, “so we’re taking the opportunity now to start this first phase of a cycle track.” The conversion of the old road is a response, he said, to the spike in the numbers of commuting cyclists in downtown Winnipeg. The bikeway that’s planned, zigzagging through the heart of The Forks, is intended to bring more riders through the riverside green space and National Historic Site—and Jordan suggests that making The Forks more accessible to cyclists is long overdue.

“Of course, people aren’t going to use if it doesn’t go anywhere,” Jordan said, “but when it starts connecting and it starts going places, people will start using it.” Linking various disconnected nearby points is a big part of The Forks’ cycling overhaul. With a number of paths following the Assiniboine River, the new cycle track would join them, serving as a bridge for cyclists travelling between Osborne Village, on the west side of the Red River, and Saint Boniface in the east.

“People drive cars, people ride bikes and people walk and we need to have an answer for all of them,” Jordan added.

With year-round snow clearing, too, the bikeway will be accessible to cyclists no matter what the season.