North Winnipeg councillors concerned Chief Peguis Trail left off federal funding wish list

Mayor Brian Bowman's inner circle has approved a plan to devote federal infrastructure fundsto road renewal over objections from a pair of north Winnipeg councillors who are concernedthe western extension of Chief Peguis Trail has been overlooked.

Council's executive policy committee approved a plan on Wednesday to ask Ottawa to spend $182 million over five years on Winnipeg road renewalinstead of asking for those funds to pay for major projects such as Chief PeguisTrail, the widening of Kenaston Boulevard or the replacement of the Arlington Bridge.

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The last time the city createda federalinfrastructure-fundingwishlist, in 2015, the city listed theWaverleyunderpass as the top priority. That project is now under construction.

Bowman said road renewals make sense as the new priority because the city and province already do this work and would not be required to spend more money to receive the federal funds, which are granted under cost sharing agreements. The mayor also pointed to polling data that suggests fixing existing roads is voters' top priority in Winnipeg and said other major projects are not ready for federal funding.

Initially, opposition councillorssuch as Russ Wyatt (Transcona), Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) and Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) supported Bowman's plan, which still must be approved by council on July 19.

On Wednesday, council speaker Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) appeared before the executive policy committee to express concernthat the extension of Chief PeguisTrail west of Main Street will not be in the federal funding plan.

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Eadiesaid all three levels of government have spent considerable dollars in southwest Winnipeg on projects such as the southern extension of Kenaston Boulevard through WaverleyWest and the ongoing Waverleyunderpass project.

Sharma said the planning of thewestern extension of Chief PeguisTrail is farther along than administrators characterized in their report toexecutive policy committee.

She said there had been no discussionof the city's infrastructure-funding priorities since 2015 and suggested city staff ought to have consulted with councillors.

"If we're going to be going after federal funding as a council, we should be getting together and having conversations and not just the week before we're supposed to vote on something. So I expect a little more in dialogue along these lines and I'm going to be calling on the mayor to do that," Sharma said.

Both Sharma and Eadiesaid there has been little opportunity to speak to city staff since Bowman made his road-renewal preference public on Friday.