City unveils final design for Osborne Village cycle route

The city's final design for bike lanes through Osborne Village has been announced and a cycling advocate is calling the design a positive step.

The design includes protected lanes, which will separate cyclists from vehicles using a raised curb.

The lanes will be installed on River Avenue, Stradbrook Avenue and Wellington Crescent. The bike route will stretch from Wellington to the Rapid Transit Harkness Avenue Station near Donald Street.

"We're really excited to see these coming in. It's going to make a big difference for people," said Mark Cohoe, the executive director of Bike Winnipeg.

"This Fort Rouge area is sort of a little triangle that really funnels into the downtown, so if you are coming from the south, it helps connects in there. So for a lot of people, this will be part of their commute, and it's going to make it a lot better."

Cohoe said the protected lanes means cyclists won't have to compete with drivers for road space, which he thinks will encourage more people to bike in the area.

"This has been nice work by the city on this. It's one that has been going through the planning process and coming forward…we're going to get a good design that is really going to make it simpler for people to get out on the bike. I think right from the get-go on this we are going to have people on it and using it."

The bike lanes are part of a larger road renewal project in the area and the construction for the lanes is expected to start in early June of 2023.

Work will begin first on Stradbrook, following by River Avenue west of Osborne and Wellington and River Avenue east of Osborne.

Construction is scheduled to wrap up at the end of October.

A survey on the final design in currently open on the City of Winnipeg's website so people can give their opinion on the project.