New biking, walking pathway to connect Morden, Winkler by fall
Local commuter says trail will make travel more affordable, safer
People in the Morden-Winkler area of southern Manitoba will soon have a new biking and walking trail connecting the twin cities, as well as linking Winkler and some of its neighbouring communities to the Trans Canada Trail network.
"It's really a triple win," James Friesen, chair of the committee behind the Stanley Community Pathway, told CBC News last week.
The pathway will run the approximately 10-kilometre stretch between the two cities, along the south side of Highway 3/14.
Friesen's committee recently got approval from Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure to build the trail near the highway, and construction is expected to begin this spring, following a tender process, and finish by fall, he said.
"It's become a very strong symbol I think for unifying communities," said Friesen.
The committee — made up of city planners and representatives from Morden and Winkler, along with the surrounding Rural Municipality of Stanley and the Stanley Trail Association — has been working on the plan for the paved three-metre-wide trail for more than four years, although Friesen says the idea has been around for decades.
"Early on in the planning, of course, the pandemic hit, and so a lot of the conversation during planning at that time was aware of the tensions that were being experienced across the world," Friesen said.
"The pathway to us really signifies sort of a physical bond between two communities that are so close together."
Friesen met with CBC near the Morden Research and Development Centre, where the trail will extend east from the city through the RM of Stanley.
The pathway will eventually curve down to a rest stop at the Boundary Trails Health Centre, before looping back up and east to Winkler's Partridge Crescent area.
Trail will make travel more affordable, safer: cyclist
Craig Doell bikes along the highway from Morden to the regional hospital for work, and said he expects the new trail will mean he'll see more people commuting.
"It's going to be big," Doell told CBC on his ride home, as dozens of cars and commercial trucks zoomed by.
"I can see why people wouldn't want to be on this highway."
Doell is a familiar sight on the road, with his flashing lights and high-visibility gear. He's been cycling his 20- to 45-minute commute most days for the last two decades, rain or shine, he said.
He looks forward to having a safer ride on the pathway, especially during blustery, foggy and icy weather, he said.
In all his years cycling the highway, both the population and traffic have exploded in the area, with many people relying on cars to get to and from Morden and Winkler and neighbouring communities, he said.
WATCH | New bike path will connect Morden, Winkler:
Between 2011 to 2021, Morden's population grew by 27 per cent to nearly 10,000 people, according to Statistics Canada. Winkler's jumped from 12,000 to nearly 14,000 during that time, a rise that was largely driven by immigration.
"I think it definitely will connect the two communities for newcomers that just can't afford to drive, and now they have this option, that safe option," Doell said.
RM of Stanley Reeve Ike Friesen agrees it will improve safety for the many commuters in his municipality.
The pathway committee is close to breaking ground on the nearly $4.2-million trail, he said, thanks to business and community donations and federal, provincial and municipal funding, including a combined $750,000 from Morden, Winkler and the RM of Stanley.
"We do other projects together, and this is just another way to connect our whole community," Friesen said.
"We've finally got to this point. It's very exciting for us."
The trail will connect Winkler, along with neighbouring Reinfeld and Schanzenfeld, to Morden's Minnewasta Lake Trail and the Stanley Trail that is part of the Trans Canada Trail network, which runs along the Pembina escarpment west of Morden, he said.
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