'There's still two camps': Zipper merge divides Winnipeg drivers
'There's still two camps': Zipper merge divides Winnipeg drivers
Spring is here, which means road work is once again ramping up in Winnipeg. But with the onset of construction season comes a renewed discussion about a controversial traffic management strategy.
Zipper merging is not a new thing in Winnipeg, having been first introduced as a pilot project in 2015. St. Boniface councillor Matt Allard has been championing the concept ever since, but he said it's been an uphill battle.
“There’s still two camps of those who think we shouldn’t do and those who think we should do it," said Allard. "But when you look at it from a traffic flow perspective, it really is a no cost way of moving traffic.”
In a zipper merge, drivers should continue travelling in their lane until they approach a lane closure. At the barricade, drivers are expected to take turns, one-by-one, proceeding through the construction zone.
Allard said zipper merging reduces traffic congestion and wait times. “If Winnipeggers adopt it, culturally, if we all decide to zipper merge together, it’ll improve traffic flow."
It's a sentiment echoed by Bronwyn Smith, walking by the construction zone at the St. Vital Bridge, “I like zipper merges when they work, like when everyone takes turns and is cooperative. But if no one’s cooperative and it doesn’t work, it’s just a nightmare. It’s just a mess,” she said.
“It’s way more efficient and it’s just the right thing to do,” said Ralph, who was walking through South Osborne on Friday afternoon. “And if everybody does it properly, it does work.”
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) said in an email to CTV News that a common misconception about zipper merging is that all vehicles should be in the lane that isn’t closed. This is not the case, and just leads to traffic backing up at an even greater distance.
MPI added that drivers who are changing lanes must signal their intention, and once you merge, consider giving a wave to the driver behind you.
The City of Winnipeg said zipper merge signage is typically found in construction zones with higher posted speed limits, and where work is expected to take more than a few days.
However, the city does encourage motorists to zipper merge at any location where a lane is closed.
“It’s just a little bit of common sense,” Ralph said. “Be courteous to the next person and if everybody does that, it’s not a big deal.”
The St. Vital bridge rehabilitation project is currently the only construction zone in Winnipeg with zipper merge signage in place. The city said starting next week, a project on northbound Oak Point Highway will have them as well.
Meta is planning to run a test that will block news for some Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram in response to the Liberal government's controversial online news bill.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada
Gatineau police say officers responded to a call from staff at l’école l'Oiseau Bleu on Nelligan Street just after 10 a.m. Friday about a camera found in the washroom.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
The wedding of Jordan's crown prince to the scion of a prominent Saudi family began on Thursday in a palace celebration that drew massive crowds and a mood of excitement around the kingdom, while presenting the young Hashemite royal as a new player on the global stage.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh slammed foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's refusal to heed the House of Commons' call for him to step down as 'tone-deaf.'
The elevated walkway in Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar that collapsed during a school field trip, sending 16 children and one adult to hospital, was last repaired a decade ago.
The family of an engaged couple who were shot dead following a dispute with their landlord in Stoney Creek over the weekend released a statement of their loved ones, remembering them as 'two beautiful souls.'
Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, is part of a group of people found guilty of breaking COVID-19 public health rules in Regina two years ago.
A protest at Saskatoon’s Catholic school division over a leaked email described as discriminatory of the queer community led to a tense exchange with its director of education on Thursday.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
'That '70s Show' star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third girl in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
Mike Mercredi is staying back to protect his northern Alberta community from a nearby wildfire after hundreds of people were forced to evacuate the area.
Krispy Kreme will soon have a drive-thru and dine-in location in the Alberta capital, and that's just the beginning, the global doughnut giant and a local developer announced Thursday.
An Ontario man with a genetic disorder said he was shocked when he got his latest prescription filled for a medication he has been taking for the past ten years.
Suncor Energy Inc. will cut 1,500 jobs by the end of the year, as new CEO Rich Kruger forges ahead with his mandate to reduce costs and improve the company's lagging financial performance.
Calgary police are hoping the public can help them identify a man wanted in the attempted sexual assault of a woman in the community of Royal Oak last week.
Residents who wish to speak with the City of Montreal by calling 311 now have to attest they can receive services in English because of Bill 96. New provisions of the language law came into effect Thursday.
Several regions of the province have been hit by power outages. The total of Quebec customers without electricity stood at around 42,000 as of 8:30 p.m. Thursday. At its peak, Hydro-Quebec said 250 thousand customers had lost power.
As the Rainbow flag flew at schools across Ottawa on Thursday, the public school board says some parents kept their children home from school due to possible Pride activities.
An Iranian family living in Ottawa is desperately pleading for help and struggling to stay in Canada with their two young kids, after falling out of status and losing their jobs.
Premier Tim Houston repeated his calls for urgent firefighting help Thursday, asking Ottawa to “be proactive” with aid as multiple wildfires continue to burn out of control.
Halifax deputy fire chief David Meldrum says a new fire started Thursday afternoon on Prospect Road, near St. Margaret’s Bay Road, and “a large area of forest and brush are involved.”
Police say a man appeared to suffer from a medical incident while driving in Guelph, causing his vehicle to go off the road and hit a woman who was sitting on the grass.
The manufacturing company Injection Technologies Inc. has filed for bankruptcy and insolvency and a number of former Kitchener employees tell CTV News they have been terminated.
Last Door Recovery Society says it fired a contractor as soon as allegations of sexual assault surfaced online, but others say the organization was slow to act.
British Columbia wildfire officials say crews are making progress in their efforts to suppress a large forest fire on northern Vancouver Island, though the 160-hectare blaze was still burning out of control Thursday.
