A whiteout is heading to Winnipeg this weekend, as the Jets face off against the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.
The Winnipeg Jets begin the series at home, with games one and two scheduled for Saturday and Monday at the Canada Life Centre.
To cheer on our team, the city is hosting its Whiteout Street Parties, which will see fans take over the streets of downtown Winnipeg to celebrate the Jets when they play at home.
To accommodate these parties, a number of road closures and transit reroutes will be in place, including:
- Southbound Donald Street between Ellice Avenue and St. Mary Avenue will be closed from Saturday at 6 a.m. until Tuesday at 7 a.m. These streets will not reopen on Sunday between games.
- Eastbound and westbound Graham Avenue between Hargrave Street and Smith Street will be closed on Saturday at 6 a.m. until Sunday at 7 a.m. These streets will close again on Monday from 9 a.m. until Tuesday at 7 a.m.
- Winnipeg Transit buses will be rerouted off Graham Avenue between Kennedy Street and Smith Street starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Regular service will resume on Sunday, with the reroute starting again at 9 a.m. on Monday and ending on Tuesday.
Passengers who want to catch the buses impacted by the reroutes should go to the bus stops at Graham Avenue and Vaughan Street or Graham Avenue and Fort Street.
During the reroutes, the following Transit Plus loading zones will be temporarily relocated:
- The loading zone on southbound Donald Street at Graham Avenue will be moved to eastbound Portage Avenue near the Radisson Hotel.
- The Millennium Library loading zone will be relocated to the eastbound front driveway of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.
- The City Place loading zone will be relocated to northbound Hargrave Street on the north side of St. Mary Avenue.
The Millennium Library will be closing at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The library’s parkade Donald Street entrance will be closed starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday and again at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Safety tips
The Winnipeg Police Service will deploy additional officers on game days to ensure a safe environment at the Whiteout Street Parties.
Officers are reminding Winnipeggers that private drone use is prohibited over crowds, and can only be operated away from bystanders, crowds, emergency operations or advertised events.
Police also urge Whiteout Street Party attendees to keep personal belongings to a minimum, drink responsibly, designate a meeting place with family and friends, and consider carpooling to the event.
