Graham Avenue Transit Mall in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Transport in Winnipeg involves various

transportation system A transport network, or transportation network, is a network or graph in geographic space, describing an infrastructure that permits and constrains movement or flow. Examples include but are not limited to road networks, railways, air routes, ...

s, including both private and public services, and

modes of transport Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes rails or railways, road and off-road t ...

in the capital city of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. According to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, in 2011, the dominant form of travel in Winnipeg was by car as a driver (69%), followed by commute trips using public transit (15%), as a car passenger (7%), walking (6%), bicycle (2%), and other modes (1%). In the province of

, transportation is the largest contributor to

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

, representing almost half of the personal emissions for households. As such, the City of Winnipeg government aims for its residents to ultimately adopt

sustainable transport Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...

methods—i.e., walking,

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

, and

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

—as their preferred choice of transportation. Transportation structures within the city are the responsibility of the Winnipeg government's Public Works Department. More generally, transportation in Manitoba is regulated by ''The Driver and Vehicles Act'' and ''The Highway Traffic Act''. Moreover, insurance is mandatory in the province, and is made available via

Manitoba Public Insurance Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPI; french: Société d'assurance publique du Manitoba) is the non-profit Crown corporation which administers public auto insurance, motor vehicle registration, and driver licensing in Manitoba. Establishe ...

and

Autopac Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPI; french: Société d'assurance publique du Manitoba) is the non-profit Crown corporation which administers public auto insurance, motor vehicle registration, and driver licensing in Manitoba. Established ...

brokers.

Pre-incorporation

For thousands of years, the region's

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

used various networks of rivers across what is now known as the province of

. Situated at the confluence of the Red and the Assiniboine rivers in what is now

downtown Winnipeg Downtown Winnipeg is an area of Winnipeg located near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. It is the oldest urban area in Winnipeg, and is home to the city's commercial core, city hall, the seat of Manitoba's provincial government, ...

, The Forks became an early meeting place for the purpose of trade and would prove to be the most important location for European and First Nations trade in Manitoba. The common method of transportation on these waterways during this time were often

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, craftin ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

s generally used by the Indigenous peoples, while European traders would tend to use

York boat The York boat was a type of inland boat used by the Hudson's Bay Company to carry furs and trade goods along inland waterways in Rupert's Land, the watershed stretching from Hudson Bay to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. It was named aft ...

s. Overland transport in the 19th century was often by ox-drawn

Red River cart The Red River cart is a large two-wheeled cart made entirely of non-metallic materials. Often drawn by oxen, though also by horses or mules, these carts were used throughout most of the 19th century in the fur trade and in westward expansion in Ca ...

, which could be built and maintained using only locally obtained material. Winnipeg was incorporation as a city on 8 November 1873, and has since continued to grow and expand, along with its transportation needs and its inventory of structures.

Roads and expressways

overpass An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpass'' together for ...

es) or go under ( underpasses) railroad tracks and/or roadways. As the street network developed and expanded, the City built various other structures (

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

s) in order for the creeks within Winnipeg (e.g. Bunn's Creek, Omand's Creek,

Sturgeon Creek Sturgeon Creek is a former provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1969, and was abolished in 1999. Sturgeon Creek was located in the northwestern area section of Winnipeg. It was ...

, etc.) to flow under the newly-constructed streets. Today, the City of Winnipeg's Public Works Department is responsible for street and sidewalk maintenance and for managing structures within the city. Arlington St Bridge, Winnipeg (470281) (9444495127)

Arlington St Bridge, Winnipeg (470281) (9444495127)

The Department's Bridge Operations Branch is responsible for the "inspection, maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction of all bridges; overpasses; underpasses, major culverts; overhead traffic sign support structures, roadside safety installations, and related structures" in Winnipeg. , the Branch is responsible for the maintenance of the following structures: * 47 vehicular bridges over water * 13 vehicular bridge

es * 54 pedestrian bridges * 22 railway underpasses * 1 roadway underpass * 5 pedestrian underpasses * 70 major

s * 231 overhead sign structures * 73 roadside safety crash reduction devices * 340 roadside safety guardrail installations * 5 noise reduction barriers * 4 slope stability structures The Public Works Department's "Streets Program" includes the maintenance of paved and unpaved surfaces, and associated ditches and

s, alley, and railway crossings. This maintenance includes

patching Patching is a small village and civil parish that lies amid the fields and woods of the southern slopes of the South Downs in the National Park in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It has a visible hill-workings history going back t ...

, restoration, pavement raising, crack sealing, and curb maintenance; as well as grading,

dust control Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes ...

, and gravelling. One noted feature of Winnipeg's urban road network is

Confusion Corner Osborne Junction, more commonly known as Confusion Corner, is a street intersection in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Located at the junction of City Route 62 and City Route 42 in the city's Fort Rouge neighbourhood, the intersection is a major traffic hub ...

, a complex intersection where four arterial roads and a special Winnipeg Transit bus lane are funnelled into a rhomboid-shaped loop of one-way streets at a junction with Osborne Street.David A. Wyatt
Winnipeg Transit and Osborne Junction (Confusion Corner)

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.one-way, often making navigation in the area frustrating. Other than downtown and around Polo Park, however, one-way streets in Winnipeg are rare. On a separate note, photo traffic enforcement in the city may be used in any school zone within Winnipeg, regardless of whether there is a speed reduction. In 2014, the city presented plans to: * widen Kenaston to six lanes from Ness to Taylor. * widen Marion * extend

Chief Peguis Trail Route 17, also known as Chief Peguis Trail, or CPT, is a major highway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The highway connects Routes 52 (Main Street) and 20 (Lagimodiere Boulevard). Route description Route 17 is the lowest numbered Winnipeg c ...

to McPhillips * widen St Mary's Road at St. Anne's to Marion.

Vehicle bridges

As the City is situated at the confluence of the Red and the Assiniboine rivers, it was necessary for Winnipeg in its early years to construct various bridges, allowing the city to grow and enabling those on opposite sides of the rivers to be united. Today, the Bridge Operations Branch of the Department of Public Works is responsible for the "inspection, maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction of all bridges; overpasses; underpasses, major culverts; overhead traffic sign support structures, roadside safety installations, and related structures" in Winnipeg. , the Branch is responsible for the maintenance of the following bridge structures: * 47 vehicular bridges over water * 13 vehicular bridge

es * 54 pedestrian bridges * 70 major

s * 340 roadside safety guardrail installations For new bridge construction in Winnipeg today, standard cross-sections with "roadside safety features" have been developed—significant, recent examples include the Provencher Bridge, the Norwood Bridge, and the Maryland Twin Bridges. Now, when a structure in Winnipeg is scheduled for major rehabilitation, the standard cross-section is incorporated into the design. The Disraeli Bridges, part of the Disraeli Freeway on

Winnipeg Route 42 Route 42 is a major arterial road located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It connects the suburbs of North Kildonan, East Kildonan, Fort Rouge, Fort Garry, and St. Norbert with the city's downtown core. In the north, it is a continuation of Manitob ...

, stretch over the Red River, going from Main Street to Henderson Highway, and are integral in connecting the City's downtown and northeastern areas. Originally constructed in 1959/60 and named after

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

,History in Winnipeg Street Names
from the Manitoba Historical Society. the Bridges were authorized for rehabilitation in 2008, and subsequently became Winnipeg's largest bridge project in history ().

Highways

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

is unique among cities its size in that it does not have

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s within the urban area. Beginning in 1958, the primarily suburban

Metropolitan council The Metropolitan Council, commonly abbreviated Met Council or Metro Council, is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area, accounting for over 55 pe ...

proposed a system of freeways, including one that would have bisected the downtown area. The plan culminated in the monumental " Winnipeg Area Transportation Study" (WATS) of 1968. The extensive freeway plan faced stiff community opposition and was deemed over-ambitious. It was not implemented as a concerted undertaking, but construction of major traffic corridors follows the study to this day, including

expressways Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limi ...

such as Route 165/Bishop Grandin Blvd., although most are in the form of urban arterial roads, and no freeways are likely to be constructed within the urban area anytime soon. However, a one-mile stretch of freeway was built in the late 1950s, called the Disraeli Freeway (part of the Disraeli Bridge project), which is part of Route 42. Winnipeg is one of the first Canadian cities of its size to have a ring road (the Perimeter Highway) which provides a by-pass for travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway. Within the city, the Trans-Canada Highway follows regular city streets. The Perimeter Highway is a four-lane highway that bypasses the city entirely—as it is located around the city (i.e. a ring road), mostly as an expressway with interchanges and

at-grade intersections An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ...

—allowing travellers on the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

to avoid the city and continue east or west. The Perimeter Highway was chosen over the freeways that would have been in the city. Now, the city has planned to create an Inner Perimeter Highway with Route 17, Route 90, Route 165, and Route 20. Many Manitoba provincial highways enter Winnipeg, but the majority lose their highway designation and become Winnipeg Routes once they reach the Perimeter Highway. At present, only two provincial highways pass entirely through the Winnipeg area: *

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

; and * Highway 59 (which is a northern continuation of US 59) and is also designated as Route 20 (i.e., Lagimodière Boulevard) in Winnipeg. Several highways also converge on Winnipeg without passing entirely through the city. These include: * Highway 2, which meets with Hwy 3 at the southwest Perimeter; * Highway 3, which becomes Route 155 (i.e., McGillivray Boulevard) in Winnipeg; *

Highway 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH6 (highway), Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * :de:Nationalstraße 6 (Albanien), National Road SH6 Argentina * P ...

, which is the main highway to northern Manitoba; * Highway 7, which becomes Route 90 (known through various street names) in Winnipeg; * Highway 8, which becomes Route 180 (i.e., McPhillips Street) in Winnipeg; * Highway 9, which becomes Route 52 (i.e., Main Street) in Winnipeg; * Highway 15, which becomes Route 115 (i.e., Dugald Road) in Winnipeg; and * Highway 75 (a northern continuation of I-29 and US 75), which becomes Route 42 (i.e., Pembina Hwy) in Winnipeg. This road is an exception to the rule that only two provincial highways penetrate the Perimeter Highway, as Highway 75 actually continues until the intersection with Bison Drive / Chancellor Matheson Road (which leads to the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

with Manitoba Premier Gary Doer announced at James Richardson that both the federal and provincial governments would contribute CA$212.5 million towards a divided four-lane expressway called CentrePort Canada Way. Created as a hub for national and international trading corridors, as well as to attract new transportation logistics development to the

city area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as city, cit ...

, CentrePort Canada Way has since been completed and links Inkster Boulevard to the Perimeter Highway. The expressway allows for 5 minutes to .https://www.centreportcanada.ca/uploads/document/translogistics_web.t1556910421.pdf

Public transit

Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars, then electric streetcars from 1891 until 1955, and electric trolley buses from 1938 until 1970. The current local public transit system in the city is provided by Winnipeg Transit, which now operates entirely with diesel buses. In 2011, public transit was the form of travel for 15% of commuters in Winnipeg. Today, the City of Winnipeg government aims for its residents to ultimately adopt public transit and other methods of

as their preferred choice of transportation. Winnipeg is home to many large transit bus manufacturers, including

New Flyer Industries New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Cana ...

and Motor Coach Industries. The former supplies transit buses for many major North American cities including

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Winnipeg Transit

Local public transit services in Winnipeg are primarily provided through Winnipeg Transit's regularly-scheduled bus service. Winnipeg Transit operates a fleet of approximately 585, all of which are

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

easy-access buses, covering 89 routes throughout the city. Winnipeg Transit 469

Primary bus routes run from 5:30 a.m. until just before 2:00 a.m. Monday to Saturday, and until just after midnight on Sunday. As of June 2019, 89 fixed routes plus four DART routes run throughout the city. There are three types of routes: * Main line routes provide service from suburban neighbourhoods to downtown, observing all bus stops, and normally operate seven days a week. Some routes operate as crosstown routes, which means buses operate from one suburban area to another, in most cases passing through the downtown area. * Express routes operate mainly during rush hour from suburban neighbourhoods, observing a limited number of bus stops to downtown. * Suburban feeders generally provide service in suburban areas where ridership demand is lower. Downtown Spirit—provided by Winnipeg Transit in conjunction with Downtown BIZ and The Forks North Portage Partnership—is a free downtown transit service that runs in

via Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard and back to The Forks. McPhillips@Mountain (4469156386)

In 2006, the City government began a multi-year comprehensive transit improvement program that involved: * "An accelerated program of fleet replacements with low-floor accessible buses;" * "The implementation of upgrades to major stops and terminals;" * "On-street transit priority measures (i.e. diamond lanes, queue jump lanes, priority signals);" * "Implementation of leading-edge Intelligent Transportation System technologies on buses to facilitate real-time updates on route schedules;" * "Establishing a variety of new park-and-ride facilities;" and * Outfitting Winnipeg Transit's "entire fleet with a GPS-based Automatic Vehicle Location system."

Rapid transit

The Winnipeg RT is a 3-kilometre bus transitway between Harkness and Jubilee Station. A Phase 2 extension between Beaumont &

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

link, either bus or rail, from downtown to the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.bus-only lanes for most of their length, with separate

busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Great Lakes, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia. History The orig ...

being built around congested sections. There are plans to add additional transit corridors, each connecting various areas in Winnipeg to downtown. These include: Eastern Transitway (downtown to

Transcona Transcona is a ward and suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, located about east of the downtown area. Until 1972, it was a separate municipality, having been incorporated first as the Town of Transcona on 6 April 1912 and then as the City of Tr ...

), West Transitway (downtown to St. James and the

Winnipeg Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh ...

), and North Transitway (downtown to

West Kildonan West Kildonan is a residential suburb within the Old Kildonan and Mynarski city wards of Winnipeg, Manitoba, lying on the west side of the Red River, and immediately north of the old City of Winnipeg in the north-central part of the city. I ...

Bus terminals

The

Winnipeg Bus Terminal The Winnipeg Bus Terminal was an intercity bus station, located beside the Winnipeg International Airport. History Union Bus Depot The Union Bus Depot was constructed in the 1930s, opened on December 12, 1936, and operated out of 264 Har ...

was located at the

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh b ...

. Beaver Bus Lines commuter service between Selkirk and Winnipeg ended on 30 June 2016, after 68 years in service (1948–2016). Thereafter, two succeeding companies—Exclusive Bus Lines and Kasper Transportation—tried unsuccessfully to keep Winnipeg–Selkirk service running. Since 31 October 2018, Greyhound Canada no longer serves the Canadian Prairies.

Pedestrians and cycling

Every year, the Winnipeg government dedicates funds to improve, upgrade, and expand upon the city's pedestrian and cycling networks. Moreover, the Public Works Department of the City of Winnipeg recommends an annual list of projects in the Pedestrian and Cycling Action Plan. Before going to the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

for final approval, the adoption of annual pedestrian and cycling projects requires approval from the Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works. Driving through certain corridors in Winnipeg, one may come across dedicated pedestrian and cyclist traffic signals in addition to typical

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

s (i.e., through-traffic and left-turning). The city also has a number of multi-use paths, which are paved or unpaved routes shared by both pedestrians and cyclists and are physically separated from motor vehicles. Ultimately, pedestrians have the

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

over traffic in Winnipeg, just as elsewhere; both drivers and cyclists must yield to them when crossing the road, a bike lane, etc., and cyclists must yield to them on shared paths.

Cycling

In 2019, the City of Winnipeg rolled out new bike infrastructure throughout the city, including

sharrows A shared lane marking, shared-lane marking, or sharrow is a street marking installed at various locations worldwide, such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Spain, and the United States. This marking is placed in the travel lane to indicate where ...

, on-street and off-street bike lanes, and cycling priority

traffic signals Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

. Winnipeg was one of the first cities in Canada to pilot the bicycle layer on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

. Protected bike lanes are located within the road right-of-way, but are physically separated from motor-vehicle lanes by concrete curbs, planters, vehicle parking, etc. Some protected lanes allow for only one-way bicycle traffic, while others accommodate travel in both directions. (The direction of these lanes are irrespective of the direction of regular traffic. For example, a two-way street can have a one-way bike lane.) Similarly, contraflow bike lanes allow cyclists to travel in the opposite direction of motor vehicle traffic, either on one-way streets or on the opposite side of the road. These lanes can be protected or painted, but are always separated with a yellow line to signify the opposing direction of travel. Some bikeways have dedicated bike signals, providing greater visibility for cyclists. Most of these signals will grant cyclists a few seconds of lead time over vehicle signals in order to allow a head start. In addition to regular bike lanes, the City has also introduced 'floating' travel lanes at transit stops, which allow a protected space for cyclists to bypass buses/passengers while they load and unload. Cyclists in Winnipeg are also able to take their bikes in Winnipeg Transit buses using free racks installed on the front of select buses (2 bikes per bus), in all seasons but winter.

Campaigns and initiatives

The City of Winnipeg publishes an annual cycling map, typically available in public libraries, bike retailers, hotels, and other tourist hotspots, as well as online. The map is developed in partnership with Bike Winnipeg, Winnipeg Trails Association, Manitoba Cycling Association, Climate Change Connection, Green Action Centre, Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba, and Winnipeg in motion. Bike Winnipeg is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, working as an inclusive group of people and organizations, that helps and advocates for cycling as a year-round mode of transportation in Winnipeg. The organization came as result of a forum organized by a group of cyclists and held at the University of Winnipeg on 20 September 2006. More than 100 cyclists attended the event to discuss the development of cycling in Winnipeg, and Bike Winnipeg was officially incorporated as an NPO in February 2007 (as Bike to the Future). The organization decided to change their name in April 2013. Bike Week Winnipeg is a weeklong celebration of events aimed at encouraging Winnipeg residents to ride their bikes. It originally began as Bike to Work Day, but has since turned into a weeklong event.

Pedestrians

, the Public Works Department's Bridge Operations Branch is responsible for the maintenance of 54 pedestrian bridges and 5 pedestrian underpasses. Ultimately, pedestrians have the

over traffic in Winnipeg, just as elsewhere; both drivers and cyclists must yield to them when crossing the road, a bike lane, etc., and cyclists must yield to them on shared paths. The

Winnipeg Skywalk The Winnipeg Walkway System, also known as the Winnipeg Skywalk, is a network of pedestrian skyways and tunnels connecting a significant portion of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The City of Winnipeg described the Walkway as a system of 14 skyways ...

is a network of pedestrian 14 skyways and 7 tunnels connecting a significant portion of

. The Skywalk is joined by all of the buildings around Portage & Main, including Winnipeg Square, Cityplace, Portage Place, the Millennium Library, and the Canada Life Centre. Connecting 38 buildings in total, the Skywalk allows for a maximum walk of .

Airports

Winnipeg is currently served by the

(

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...

: YWG,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: CYWG), which was redeveloped with a new passenger terminal completed in 2010. The old terminal was constructed in the early 1960s, is demolished. The airport is operational 24 hours per day, handling about 3.5 million passengers annually, and is part of the national airports system of Canada. From 1937 to 1949, the airport was the headquarters and site of the national maintenance base of Air Canada, which has since moved to Montreal-Dorval. The freight terminal of the Winnipeg International is part of the CentrePort Canada dry port, offering 24/7 worldwide

air cargo Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use th ...

operations. Major carriers on site include Air Canada Cargo,

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operat ...

Cargojet Cargojet Inc. () is a scheduled cargo airline based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It operates cargo services in Canada and internationally, as well as full aircraft charters. Its main base is John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. Car ...

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

, Purolator, and UPS. YWG is ranked #1 in all of Canada for "dedicated freighter aircraft movements" and, as such, it is the only international airport between

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

capable of handling large freighter aircraft.

Railways

Union Station Winnipeg - Main St entrance

There are approximately 5,000 people employed in Winnipeg in the rail transportation industry. Not only is Winnipeg the only city between Vancouver, BC, and Thunder Bay, Ontario, with direct US connections, it is the only major Canadian city on the prairies served by 3 continental class I railways:

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CNR),

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

(CPR), and BNSF. The City is also currently served by Via Rail and the Central Manitoba Railway (CEMR). The CPR and the CNR were especially instrumental railroads in the early development of Winnipeg as a city. They now operate large rail yards, customer service operations, and intermodal facilities inside Winnipeg. In particular, Symington Yard is the largest of CNR's rail classification yards in Canada, one of 20 intermodal facilities and one of the largest rail yards in the world. Via Rail operates out of Winnipeg's Union Station, a grand neoclassical structure near The Forks in downtown Winnipeg. The station was built by the Canadian Northern Railway & National Transcontinental/ Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, and was designed by the same architects responsible for

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

. , CentrePort Canada is in the middle of developing its "Rail Park" on of land, providing colocation services for rail-oriented companies. In addition to the major commercial railways, the City of Winnipeg owns and operates the

Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway The Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway is a industrial railway from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Waugh on Shoal Lake near Manitoba's eastern boundary. The railway was built between 1914 and 1916 to assist in the construction and maintenance of the ...

, which runs parallel to the city aqueduct to Shoal Lake.

Taxi and car-sharing services

Taxi services

Winnipeg is served by several taxi companies, the three largest (in order of size) being Unicity, Duffy's, and Spring Taxi. Fifty percent of Winnipeg residents can be expected to use a taxi at least once during the year. Both Unicity and Duffy's Taxi are

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s (co-ops), wherein the individual drivers of participating co-ops own their own license and supply their own vehicle; Spring Taxi, in contrast, owns a significant portion of its taxi fleet. Unicity is a cooperative that collectively owns the assets of the Unicity dispatch or taxi call center, and it is the largest taxi operation in Winnipeg. Unicity Taxi was formed by three smaller companies in the mid-1970s—Moore's, Grosvenor and Yellow Taxi. The company has subsequently brought many smaller independent companies into its fleet and now offers 165 cars as well as an ultra-modern dispatching (DDS Pathfinder) and accounting (taxicharger) systems to serve its customers. Duffy's Taxi is a cooperative taxi firm that operates 154 vehicles, with a large call center that accepts approximately 2,800 calls per day. The organization was formed in the 1950s as an amalgamation of the original and much smaller Duffy's Taxi with Vets Nash Taxi, which was a cooperative of war veterans. Spring Taxi is the newest and smallest centrally-dispatched taxi company in Winnipeg. Spring Taxi owns 16 of the 32 vehicles that run under the company, with the remaining 16 being owner-operated. Other taxi services in Winnipeg include Blueline Taxi and Dignity Taxi. Limousine services include Ambassador Limos, Executive Limos, Five Star Limos, Friendly Limos, Hollywood Limos, London Limos, Tony's Team Transport, and Winnipeg Limos.

Splash Dash water services

Splash Dash is a

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or ...

shuttle service, created in the summer of 1992 after the Forks opened, that runs between various downtown areas. This is still the most western of the terminals for the River Spirit Water Bus Service, as it is officially known. Initial fares were $2 for a "dock to dock return ticket" or $5 for a day pass. Three pontoon boats were utilized to transport passengers along the rivers. Service hours were from 11am till 8pm with 30 minute headways most of the day except during the lunch hour where headways were 20 minutes. In the early 2000s, Hugo Dock was added. , the current one-way fare is $3.50, and an unlimited day-pass is $15.00. Splash Dash has struggled to operate since opening, due to the problem of high water on both the Red and Assiniboine Rivers during most years. After the ice melt in spring, it may take several weeks, sometimes until late June or early July, for the waters of the two rivers to recede enough to allow the installation of the fixed and floating portions of the docks in use. Expansion plans had earlier called for the Splash Dash to run as far west as the Sherbrook-Maryland Bridge by 2007.

Carsharing and carpooling

''GoManitoba'' is a province-wide website that helps to facilitate carpools and promote the use of public transit. The platform allows individuals to choose to commute either with others from their workplace or campus, or with those who are travelling on the same route as them. The Peg City Car Co-op is a

carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pr ...

(

) service that includes nearly 90 vehicles and over 3000 members. It was officially launched by a group of five volunteers on 24 June 2011 with just three vehicles. The cooperative claims that every car in its fleet represents 13 to 15 cars taken off the road. In 2023, the co-op announced they will be adding 35 additional vehicles and launch free-floating car sharing in Winnipeg. Ride-sharing services in the city include My Cab App by Greencity, ReRyde, Uride, WinRyde and

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...

Sustainability

In the province of

, transportation is the largest contributor to

, representing almost half of the personal emissions for households. As such, the City of Winnipeg government aims for its residents to ultimately adopt

methods—i.e., walking,

, and

—as their preferred choice of transportation. The Winnipeg Trails Association is an organization dedicated to the development of sustainability in Winnipeg, primarily through

active transportation Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of active mobility are walkin ...

. Main activities of the WTA related to transportation include:

academic research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

and data collection; infrastructure usage audits;

project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...

and implementation; transportation infrastructure design; and policy development, among others. Founded in 2003 and incorporated as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in 2017, the WTA says that its biggest priority for the past 5 years has been to "accelerate trail development" into

; to incorporate "sustainable transportation in long term planning, including inevitable connections along major commercial corridors;" and to fix the considerable "lack of recreational and transportation options in Winnipeg’s Northwest quadrant." The city has announced plans to connect

Active Transportation Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of active mobility are walkin ...

missing links, with a bridge across the rail yards between Arlington and Salter, and a bridge across the Red River at Matheson.

Park & Ride

Winnipeg Transit provides a park-and-ride service (Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm), whereby people can park their car at one of the 11 designated locations in the city and then take the transit service to their destination.

References

External links

Major construction projects in Winnipeg
City of Winnipeg maps
Cycling maps (2020)Regional Street Network mapRoad Construction interactive mapStreet Conditions interactive mapTraffic Flow map (2018)Truck Routes map (2017)
Other
Splash Dash website

Duffy's Taxi website
{{Winnipeg