St. Boniface Councillor Dan Vandal wants his constituents to be able to have a beer in peace and quiet, so he has proposed banning trucks on Provencher Blvd. That detour could end up costing the city $600,000, the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA) said today.
According to various media reports, Vandal wants Provencher to be more patio-friendly for pedestrians, and that means banning trucks so that the decibel level drops a few points.
But that peace and quiet could end up costing the city.
"Based on City of Winnipeg traffic counts, and the suggested detours of Marion and Goulet streets, we estimate the financial burden to Winnipeg industries of banning trucks from Provencher to be almost $600,000 annually," said Terry Shaw, General Manager, MTA.
Banning trucks from Provencher to support a handful of businesses is also unfair to the rest of the city, Shaw said.
"There are hundreds of commercial vehicles that use Provencher Boulevard every day," Shaw explained. "Some might suggest pointing this out might be helping the argument of those looking to bans trucks. We dispute that and are presenting this fact to highlight just how important Provencher is to the road network of Winnipeg. Provencher hosts over 27,000 vehicles daily, and only a very small fraction of which are trucks. Provencher is constructed and designed to be a truck route, it connects major business districts in Winnipeg, it also connects Winnipeg with Provincial Truck Highways and it provides a crossing of the Red River. It only makes sense therefore that vehicles of all kinds will be found on it regularly."
It's a public roadway, MTA said. "How is it acceptable that any safe and legal vehicle is being considered for discrimination based on the desires of a handful of residents?"
The trucking industry doesn't want or expect any special treatment, said MTA President Norm Blagden. "We are simply asking for the same rights and privileges as any other constituent of Winnipeg, access to its public roadways."
