City takes next step in proposed expansion of Kenaston By: Aldo Santin Posted: 6:39 PM CDT Thursday, Jun. 14, 2018 Last Modified: 9:19 PM CDT Thursday, Jun. 14, 2018 Updates

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This article was published 13/06/2018 (2290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Development of the Kenaston Boulevard–St. James bridges project has moved into a phase that includes a new preliminary design — but area residents remain concerned about what they don’t know about the undertaking.

Winnipeg city hall and its consultants are meeting residents directly affected by the proposed, high-priority roads project — one with an uncertain future, as there is yet no funding — in a series of six by-invitation-only meetings. The first was Tuesday; a second meeting was planned for Thursday night.

“The city is guilty of many sins of omissions on this project,” Ken Klassen, whose home the city will have to acquire and demolish if the project goes ahead, told the Free Press.

Klassen claimed city hall has played down the escalating cost of the project and excluded the residents most affected from membership on an advisory committee.

The city plans to widen Kenaston Boulevard to six lanes from four, and widen the St. James bridges spanning the Assiniboine River. The project will require the acquisition — through purchase or expropriation — of 136 properties: 94 single-family homes and 21 duplex units, 81 of which are owned by the Department of National Defence.

“I have no doubt the city will offer fair value for the houses if and when they need them, but right now, the issue is what do the owners do in the meantime?” Klassen said. “The city has basically left those homes unsellable, with the city the only buyer.

"Older people who are thinking of selling can’t now, and no one is going to invest in their properties if they have to sell them down the road.”

Klassen, a consultant in the sustainable building sector, said the public and local politicians should be concerned about several aspects of the project, including the estimated cost starting out at $129 million in 2011, climbing to $375 million in 2015, and now it sitting at $450 million.

Vaibhav Banthia, the City of Winnipeg’s project manager, said residents were fully briefed on the project at the first meeting, adding their unease is expected.

“Generally, people were appreciative of the (information), however, when you affect people’s homes there is going to be some type of anxiety and a bit of anger as well,” Banthia said Thursday.

He said the decision to exclude area residents from the advisory committee was deliberate, adding the members were chosen to represent the broader Winnipeg community. “We don’t want people with very, very specific or personal interests on the project” to be on the committee.

Banthia said the consult will prepare a final design and a more accurate cost estimate by the end of February 2019.

A report with recommendations is expected to go to city council in the spring of 2019.

Banthia said acquiring private property for the Kenaston Boulevard project is expected to take 18 to 24 months and construction, if approved, is expected to last three to four years.

Ward Coun. John Orlikow said he’s pleased with how the project has been progressing to date, adding however he recognizes property owners whose homes might be expropriated will have concerns.

“Feedback from the residents overall has been very positive,” Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said, adding the proposed corridor changes are expected to greatly reduce or eliminate much of the cut-through traffic from motorists trying to avoid congestion.

“We’re trying to minimize the impact for those people and trying to figure out the buffering for the people who live behind those (impacted) homes with berms, trees and different landscaping ideas."

Residents concerned a widened Kenaston will be a freeway have been dealt with, Orlikow said, adding the speed limit will only be increased to 60 km/h (from 50 km/h) once the project is completed.

However, Orlikow said city hall can’t afford to proceed with the project on its own, adding it will need financial help from either the provincial or federal governments — or both.

Aaron Dolyniuk, business operations manager with the Manitoba Trucking Association and a member of the advisory committee, said the trucking industry is looking forward to the project being completed, adding the corridor is a key link between industrial areas in the city’s north and south ends.

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“I don’t think there is ever a such a thing as a perfect solution that incorporates all users perfectly, but I think everybody has the same goals — usability, flow of traffic, and safety,” Dolyniuk said. “The way they’re approaching it is they’re trying to solve problems that currently exist. At least try to make things better than they are now.”

Anders Swanson, executive director of the Winnipeg Trails Association, said he’s struggling to understand why city hall is preparing to spend a half-billion dollars for a project he thinks will only be a temporary solution to the area’s traffic congestion.

Area resident Larry D’Argis said neighbours also wonder if the city shouldn’t be considering a different solution.

D’Argis (who writes a classic car column for the Free Press) said congestion is definitely a problem, but the project as designed will not improve the neighbourhood.

“Look, I’m a car guy through-and-through, but $450 million is a huge amount of money just to improve a road,” said the chairman of a local residents group. “It will likely cost a lot more when the design is finished, and that kind of money could be better spend elsewhere in the city.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca