Good idea seeking champion

Since November of 2006, a recommendation has been bouncing around between different committees at City Hall, that the Winnipeg Parking Authority, the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone, and the ward Councillor (Mike Pagtakhan) "work together... to explore" converting the short block of Arthur St. from Bannatyne to McDermot to angled parking instead of the current paralell parking allowed on this street.

Arthur Street stands as a symbol of the proliferation of idiotic traffic engineering: the street is only two blocks long, in the centre of the Exchange District, has low traffic counts (without even the daily evacuation that the TD Centre inflicts on Albert St.) Given its unimportance as a traffic route and the width of its roadway, the entire length of Arthur St. could (and should) be converted to two-way traffic and have angled parking on both sides of the street without hurting anyone's commute times.

Currently, this recommendation sits on the shelf of the Standing Committee for Downtown Development, and was last brought up May 4, 2009. It would not be hard to turn this recommendation from inspecific fluff to quick and easy action, if someone only started the process. For the parking authority, angled parking would mean more parked cars to collect money from, for the BIZ it would offer more places for visitors to park (that are free evenings and weekends), and for Councillor Pagtakhan (who faces the re-election fight of his life later this year) and everyone else, it would be good publicity.

What's the hold up?


Angled parking and two-way traffic on Albert Street, c.1925