St. Boniface residents, businesses add their voices to scrap massive interchange

Coun. Matt Allard wants to scrap the plans for a major overhaul at the intersection of Marion and Archibald streets in Winnipeg.

The councillor for St. Boniface says the project, now estimated to cost more than $250 million, has gotten out of hand and may balloon to$500 million.

"[It's] not appropriate, not viable for Winnipeg and also [not] in consideration of the neighbourhood it would be built in. It's big. I don't know that many people realize the scale and the size of what was being proposed," he said.

Improving the flow of traffic at the busy intersection isa priority for city planners, butAllard wants them to go back to the drawing board.

• Marion Street widening plan panned by some St. Boniface residents

The plan requires arealignment of Marion that would affect about 140 properties, some of which could face expropriation.

"Quite a few businesses that would have to be [expropriated]as part of this project, and that's part of their neighbourhood," Allard said.

Some area residents are so upset about the plan, they began circulating a petition against it earlier this year.

"I also want to stress that with the people that I've been talking to, there's been almost universal opposition to this proposed option from people who don't live near the neighbourhood, just people that are interested in the project. I just think this isn't the right option,"Allardsaid.

Resident worried about emergency access

Ted Borra who lives on DenisetStreet, isworried about the project's design which calls fora noise barrieron his street that he sayscouldchange theneighbourhood.

"We're going to be closed in, so in an emergency, how are you going to get out? You're going to have one outlet here I believe on CussonStreet." he said.

Borra is also concerned about the potential formore traffic in the area, and on his street.

Business owners angry

Georgia Skarpias, whoowns Hair Passion on Marion Street, isone of dozens of business owners in the area facing expropriation.

"The night I found out we were going tobeexpropriated was a shock to me." Skarpias said.

Skarpias said she is not againstthe idea of having an underpass on Marionbut she had no idea how massive the construction project was going to be.

"Why can't they do something small? Why do they have to destroy us?"Skarpiassaid.

She said city officials told her she would get market value for her property, but she said it falls way short.

"They would havemaybe given me $200,000 or$190 000," she said."I have spent $200,000 to buy this building and another $70 000 to fix it to what I wanted."

Skarpiaswasalsosurprised to hear that Allard is now pushing for the project to be scrapped.

She said that's a change, since hedidn't seem interested in listening to residents and business owners when they expressed theirconcerns inApril.

She's now part of thegroup that started a petition to have the proposal thrown out.

"Why didn't he listen to us from the beginning?" she said.

"It caused us so much grief and so much walking from door to door, hundreds ofhouses," she said.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he is happy to see Allard has feedback from the neighbourhood, and he looks forward to discussing options with the councillor.

Allardwill ask the infrastructure and public works committee to receive the interchange plans as information, but ask the administration to go back to the drawing board to find a more workable solution to the traffic problems in the neighbourhood.

Thefinal plan must eventually be approved by city council.