ManitobaA River Heights resident who lobbied the City of Winnipeg for years to implement traffic-calming measures on his street says recent temporary modifications have already had an effect on driver behaviour. Drivers finding alternatives to residential River Heights street, says traffic safety advocateCameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2025 7:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoAn advocate for traffic-calming measures on Cambridge Street says temporary curbs have helped deter drivers from cutting through his neighbourhood. (Darin Morash/CBC)A River Heights resident who lobbied the City of Winnipeg for years to implement traffic-calming measures on his street says recent temporary modifications have already had an effect on driver behaviour. “I saw a driver stop for a kid that was trying to cross the street mid-block. I’d never seen that before on our block,” said Tim Fennell, who lives on Cambridge Street.”I was, like, ‘Yes, the traffic is finally slowing down.'”The section of Cambridge where he lives, between Academy Road and Corydon Avenue, is only meant to handle up to 1,000 vehicles per day, but Fennell says he’s recorded daily traffic volumes four to five times that — data that he has used to pressure city officials.He and a group of his neighbours have advocated for slower speeds and physical changes to the residential street to discourage drivers from using Cambridge as a quick route to get from the south end of the city to downtown.Last month, the city installed temporary curbs on Cambridge Street, as part of a citywide effort to calm traffic in neighbourhoods.The city’s 2025 quick-build traffic-calming program aims to speed up construction of temporary solutions to traffic safety problems.Among the quick fixes are curbs made of highly visible yellow concrete, 2.4 metres long and weighing a little over 900 kg — “about the same as a bison,” according to the City of Winnipeg.Cambridge Street traffic-calming measures having an effectA resident of Cambridge Street in Winnipeg’s River Heights neighbourhood says drivers are starting to find alternative routes after the city installed temporary traffic-calming curbs last month. The city is putting the curbs near schools, in dense residential areas and at points where multi-use paths cross a street. The city says it will try different configurations and measure their impact on traffic speeds and volumes.”If they don’t work, we can move them, right? They’re not permanent,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who chairs the city’s public works committee.”Then, when we find what works the best, when it comes time for a street renewal, we make it permanent.”Fennell says the road-narrowing curbs on Cambridge Street between Corydon and Grant avenues, combined with speed bumps north of Corydon, are already having an effect.”I saw one person commenting online that they’re annoyed by all this stuff, they’re going to take a different route. And I was like, well, yeah, that’s kind of the point,” he said.”That shows that it’s working, because people are choosing a different route besides driving through residential neighbourhoods.”Lukes cautioned that the city has to take into account how changes to one street affect surrounding areas. So far, though, she says she hasn’t heard any complaints.”In this job, silence is golden. So yes … I take that as a good sign,” she said, noting that the project started just a few weeks ago.”But the bottom line is people are driving too fast. And honestly, I’ve never seen worse driving in my entire life than I have in these last couple of years,” she said.Fennell says it will take time for drivers to adjust their habits, but once they do, it will make the city safer for everyone.”I think more will have to be done, and they’ll have to continue to study the larger area to see how these things are impacting,” he said.”But I think it’s overall a positive effect and I think it’s a win, and I think we should be seeing this kind of action all over the city.”ABOUT THE AUTHORCameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.
Cambridge Street traffic-calming curbs having an effect, resident says
