Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg ({{coor dm |49|53|N|97|09|W|type:city(620000)_scale:300000_region:CA-MB}}, CST) is a Canadian city and the provincial capital of the province of Manitoba. Located in Western Canada, Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education. It is known as the Gateway to the West.

Transportation

Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars. It had electric streetcars from 1891 until 1955, and electric trolley buses from 1938 until 1970. Winnipeg Transit now operates entirely with diesel buses. For decades, the city has explored the idea of a rapid transit link, either bus or rail, from downtown to the University of Manitoba's suburban campus. The most recent proposal calls for several enhanced bus routes, which would extend across the city. These routes would use bus-only lanes for most of their length, with separate busways being built around congested sections. In 2004 Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz effectively shelved these plans and the rail-based option is now seen as more viable (and more desirable). Winnipeg is home to large transit bus manufacturers, including New Flyer Industries and Motor Coach Industries. New Flyer Industries supplies transit buses for many major North American cities including New York City and Vancouver.

Related Topics:
1880s - 1891 - 1955 - 1938 - 1970 - Winnipeg Transit - University of Manitoba - Busways - Sam Katz - New Flyer Industries - Motor Coach Industries - New York City - Vancouver

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Winnipeg is unique among North American cities its size in that it does not have freeways within the urban area. Beginning in 1958, the primarily suburban Metropolitan council proposed a system of freeways, including one that would have bisected the downtown area. The plan culminated in the monumental Winnipeg area transportation study of 1968. The extensive freeway plan faced stiff community opposition and was deemed over-ambitious. It was not implemented as a concerted undertaking, but construction of major traffic corridors follows the study to this day, although most are in the form of urban arterial roads, and no freeways are likely to be constructed within the urban area anytime soon. A modern four-lane highway (the Perimeter Highway, which is mostly an expressway around the city with interchanges and at-grade intersections) bypasses the city entirely, allowing travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway to avoid the city and continue east or west uninterrupted.

Related Topics:
Freeway - 1958 - 1968 - Arterial road - Perimeter Highway - Expressway - Trans-Canada Highway

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The most important highways entering the city are Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway) which runs east-west across Canada, and Highway 75, which is a northern extension of Interstate 29. Other primary highways that reach Winnipeg are:

Related Topics:
Highway 1 - Highway 75 - Interstate 29

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• Highway 2 (meets with Highway 3 at the southwest Perimeter)
• Highway 3
• Highway 6 (main highway to northern Manitoba)
• Highway 7
• Highway 8
• Highway 9
• Highway 15
• Highway 59 (northern extension of US 59; the only other highway that crosses the city)

Reference: Winnipeg Streets and Transit Division, Winnipeg area transportation study, 1968. The Council of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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Winnipeg is currently served by Winnipeg International Airport. The city is slated to receive a new airport terminal in early 2008 that will replace the existing terminal which was constructed in the early 1960s.

Related Topics:
Winnipeg International Airport - 2008 - 1960s

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External link

• Winnipeg Transit Homepage