Push to better protect pedestrians along Osborne stretch

A local councillor wants the city to study how traffic could be slowed along a stretch of Osborne Street. CTV’s Jeff Keele reports.

Walking through Osborne Village, Doug Schwartz says you have to keep a close watch when crossing the street.

“It seems to be a very minimal regard to foot traffic, that’s just my take, and riding a bike, you can forget about that,” said Schwartz.

Others say drivers are going too fast, and there is not enough time for people to cross safely at intersections.

Brenda Lafreniere avoids walking around during rush hour.

“The cars coming from Osborne do not let the pedestrians go when they have the chance,” said Lafreniere.

Area councillor Sherri Rollins is calling on the city to do a safety review of Osborne Street from Broadway to the St. Vital Bridge.

She wants planners to come up with measures to better protect pedestrians and slow traffic down. She says that could include lowering the speed limit, narrowing the road, and making pedestrian signals last longer.

“To be able to make sure there’s less accidents and on-road deaths on Osborne,” said Rollins.

The call comes after the death of a woman who was hit by a vehicle in November. A young boy was also recently injured crossing the street.

According to MPI, between 2021 and 2025, there were 35 collisions involving a pedestrian on Osborne Street from Broadway to the St. Vital Bridge.

The push to slow vehicles down might go beyond safety.

Osborne Village Biz Executive Director Zohreh Gervais says this could also help businesses.

“It would open the opportunity for people to actually sit and enjoy their coffee on a patio on one of the sidewalks. Right now it’s so noisy and there’s so much traffic,” said Gervais.

But there are concerns about potential traffic delays.

That was one of the reasons the city gave when rejecting a pedestrian scramble crossing for Osborne and River Ave. On top of that, Osborne is a major road that funnels traffic to and from downtown.

The city’s public works committee asked the department to come back with a report on this in 6 months.