ManitobaCalls are growing for improved pedestrian safety and lowered speed limits outside of a Winnipeg Sikh temple, after a woman was hit by a car outside the temple on Monday and suffered serious injuries.’Terrible accident’ Monday night near Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar on King Edward left woman injuredDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Sep 17, 2025 9:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 18Harpal Kaur Sidhu lives near the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar on King Edward Street in Winnipeg. She said she’s concerned about pedestrian safety in the area following a collision involving a pedestrian on Monday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)Calls are growing for improved pedestrian safety and lowered speed limits outside of a Winnipeg Sikh temple, after a woman was hit by a car outside the temple on Monday and suffered serious injuries. “It was a terrible accident,” said Harpal Kaur Sidhu, who lives in the area and says she saw the collision right outside her window.”It was very scary, because she was hit hard and she rolled over on the road and then she was still, and I was scared that maybe she’s OK or not.”A disturbing video posted online shows a woman crossing King Edward Street south of Jefferson Avenue, near the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar, around 8:30 p.m. Monday, when she is struck by a vehicle.A family member has told CBC she is in hospital with serious injuries.Sidhu said Monday is not the first time pedestrians have been put in danger in the area. “I am very much concerned, because I see all people are going and coming from the gurdwara, and there is no pedestrian crossing,” she said. Pedestrians are seen crossing on King Edward Street near the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar temple on Wednesday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)There are people coming and going from the King Edward Street temple at all times of the day and night, including many elderly people who spend time there, along with parents with young children who cross the road, said Sidhu.With the population growing in the area and many people walking to the temple, she wants to see improved pedestrian safety in the area, including a controlled pedestrian crosswalk and a reduction of the current 60 kilometre per hour speed limit.”It is 60, but it should be like a school zone,” she said, referring to areas where the speed limit is reduced to 30 kilometres per hour during school hours.Prabhjot Singh says his family will no longer allow his grandmother to walk to the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar after Monday’s collision, fearing it’s too dangerous for her. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)Prabhjot Singh, who also lives in the area, said that after Monday’s crash, his family has forbidden his grandmother from walking to the temple, fearing it’s too dangerous. “My grandma used to come every day in the evening, but because of the accident we don’t let her go anymore,” he said.The family doesn’t want her to start walking there again until there are improvements for pedestrians.”That could be my grandmother too,” Singh said about Monday’s crash victim. “So that’s why we stopped her.”Jagdev Singh, who also lives in the area and regularly attends the temple, also wants to see a pedestrian crossing and a lowered speed limit in the area.Jagdev Singh lives near and regularly attends the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar. He’s also concerned about pedestrian safety in the area. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)He always takes precautions before crossing the road because of how dangerous it can be, he said.”I try to keep safe by looking at both sides, and then when I am sure that I can cross the road, then I do it,” he said. Devi Sharma, the city councillor for the Old Kildonan ward, where the temple is located, said there are plans for an expansion of the temple in the coming months. Meanwhile, the population in the area continues to grow, and other development projects are expected in the area, she said.She also believes improved pedestrian safety is needed in the area, but admitted that could take time.”It’s a bit of a process,” Sharma said. “That way, we can make the connections appropriately, whether it be roadways, sidewalks, an active transportation corridor — but it’s hard to do things piecemeal, it has to be a co-ordinated effort,” which involves looking at planning and design, and finding funding, she said.A vehicle is seen travelling down King Edward Street near the Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar on Wednesday. A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said the public works department has identified the need to upgrade King Edward Street from Inkster Boulevard to Old Commonwealth Path, in the area of the temple. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)In an email, a City of Winnipeg spokesperson said the public works department has identified the need to upgrade King Edward Street from Inkster Boulevard to Old Commonwealth Path, in the area of the temple, from a single, rural cross-section road with ditches to an urbanized, twin-lane road, which would include sidewalks, a multi-use path and pedestrian crossings.The city says that the project is currently unfunded. Preliminary design work for the project was noted in the 2025 budget as an anticipated project in 2030, the city says.WATCH | Pedestrian hit crossing King Edward Street: Safety concerns raised after pedestrian hit by vehicle outside Sikh templeResidents in northwest Winnipeg are calling for changes along King Edward Street after a woman crossing the street from a Sikh temple Monday night was hit by a driver. The temple serves a growing population but the road lacks sidewalks and bike paths, and some say it needs another pedestrian crossing. ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.
Crash that left pedestrian badly injured raises safety concerns near Winnipeg Sikh temple
