Some River Heights residents say they want a barricade that was recently constructed as part of the city's active transportation plan to be taken down.
The barricade at Harrow Street and Academy Road was put up to stop cars from using the intersection to bypass traffic in the area, city officials say.
However, residents say they see cars on Harrow Street pull up to the barricade, realize the road is blocked off, and then try to find another way to reach Academy Road by cutting through back lanes.
Resident Leila Alvare says that in just three hours she counted more than 200 vehicles cutting through her back lane, putting people who live there at risk.
"There are children who play in our back lane," she says. "There are children riding bicycles."
Residents, including Arnold Cohn, say they were kept in the dark about the barricade until it was built.
"I don't know the reason why this was built," Cohn said. "There was no notice to the neighborhood whatsoever."
However, city officials say people were given a chance to learn about the active transportation plan and have their say at information sessions and workshops that were held across Winnipeg, long before changes were made to the area.
They say those sessions informed residents who attended them about 35 proposed active transportation routes and gave them a chance to voice concerns months before construction began.
However, residents still say they didn't know about the barricade – or the information sessions – until it was too late.
- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
