ManitobaWinnipeg city council has approved $5 million in next year’s budget to start acquiring more than 100 properties in one of its first concrete steps toward widening Kenaston Boulevard.Newly sworn-in Elmwood-East Kildonan councillor cast 1 of 2 dissenting votesCameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 7:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe city has identified 78 private homes, 50 federally owned properties and 14 city-owned parcels that may be fully or partly taken to accommodate the expansion of Kenaston Boulevard. (Travis Golby/CBC)Winnipeg city council has approved $5 million in next year’s budget to start acquiring more than 100 properties in one of its first concrete steps toward widening Kenaston Boulevard.The vote, which passed 11-2 at Thursday’s council meeting, sets in motion a process that could ultimately lead to one of the city’s most expensive infrastructure projects. The plan calls for widening Route 90 to six lanes between Taylor and Ness avenues, replacing the aging St. James bridges, and overhauling underground sewers and land drainage.Mayor Scott Gillingham called the decision a necessary move to prepare for the city’s growth and give long-frustrated homeowners some clarity.”It’s all about our future … and unlocking our future potential as a city,” Gillingham told reporters on Thursday.He argued the widening is essential to handle new development in Winnipeg’s southwest and northwest, as well as the Naawi-Oodena redevelopment, which is expected to bring 3,100 housing units and 1 million square feet of commercial space to the former Kapyong Barracks site.”To accommodate the growth that’s going to come right in that area, we need to widen the street.”WATCH | $5M approved to begin acquiring Kenaston Boulevard properties:$5M approved to begin acquiring Kenaston Boulevard propertiesWinnipeg city council has approved funding to start buying properties along Kenaston Boulevard, the first step in the process of widening the road.The city says the project now carries a price tag of $757 million, including construction and financing costs. Officials estimate it would take until 2032 or 2033 to complete if all the work proceeds, with construction to begin no later than 2027.The city has identified 78 private homes, 50 federally owned properties and 14 city-owned parcels that may be fully or partly taken to accommodate the expansion. For years, residents along Kenaston have waited to learn whether their homes would eventually be expropriated.River Heights homeowner Carol Styles, who has lived near Kenaston since 2001, told CBC News earlier this month the limbo has been exhausting. “People are just tired of the uncertainty,” she said.New councillor casts dissenting voteFreshly sworn-in Elmwood-East Kildonan Coun. Emma Durand-Wood cast one of the two opposing votes, sticking with the stance she took during the byelection campaign, which was triggered by the death of her predecessor, Jason Schreyer.”It’s just a very unaffordable project that takes away resources from other priorities,” Durand-Wood, who was elected Saturday, said after council’s Thursday vote.”It’s been part of my values for a long time that we need to think about … [how] we’re expanding our transportation capacity,” she said. “I think the way that we need to do that is … through public transportation and through active transportation.”Gillingham, who welcomed Durand-Wood to council on her first day, said he respected her for keeping her campaign promise.”I went over to her, and I said, ‘I respect you for your integrity of doing what you said you would do,” he said. “That’s not always easy for elected officials to do, so I commend her for that. On the other hand, obviously, I don’t agree with her on this issue.”Coun. Janice Lukes, the chair of the city’s public works committee, defended the move, arguing Kenaston is more than a commuter route.”Transportation is the backbone of our economy. We need to move people and we need to move goods. And Route 90 is doing all of that,” she said.The project would need major funding from Ottawa and the province. Gillingham said he hopes all three levels of government will split the cost equally. Without that help, Winnipeg could be forced to focus solely on replacing the St. James bridges, which carry 78,000 vehicles a day and are nearing the end of their life.City officials warn doing the bridges separately could mean years of single-lane traffic in both directions, a scenario Gillingham called “traffic chaos.”On-request expansionBeginning Dec. 14, Winnipeg Transit will extend its on-request service until 2 a.m. in most zones, after council approved the change Thursday.It’s meant to address complaints from late-night riders and shift workers, who said the current 10:15 p.m. end time for the service, following Transit’s major route overhaul, leaves them without a way to get home at the end of the night. About 15 more operators will be needed to run the service. Lawsuit settlementCouncil also on Thursday approved a $7-million contribution toward a settlement for Brian Anderson, Allan Woodhouse and Clarence Woodhouse, three First Nations men wrongfully convicted of a 1973 murder. The city’s share will come from its financial stabilization reserve, with the province and Ottawa also contributing.Ride-hailing zones pausedCouncil has also parked the idea of creating dedicated loading zones for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. City staff had proposed a new bylaw to create three dedicated loading areas near the Canada Life Centre and the Burton Cummings Theatre. It would have set aside 10 spots for drivers with ride-hailing services to pick up passengers, similar to zones dedicated to taxis.City council’s executive policy committee voted last week to send the plan back to the public works committee. Coun. Lukes told CBC News Thursday they wanted to do more consultation with industry stakeholders.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.
Winnipeg city council approves $5M to begin buying Kenaston properties
