Killarney / Kirkbridge / Pembina Hwy Intersection Improvements

Killarney / Kirkbridge and Pembina Highway is a very busy intersection. Pembina Highway is a north-south six-lane divided major arterial and a full-time Truck Route. The average weekday daily traffic volume on this segment of Pembina Highway is approximately 32,500 vehicles per day and it has a posted speed of 60 km/h. Pembina Highway is a primary transit route and there are painted and buffered bike lanes on both sides of Pembina Highway. In addition there is a higher number of pedestrians crossing at this intersection compared to nearby intersections on Pembina Highway. This is due to several factors including the proximity to Fort Richmond Collegiate, adjacent commercial land use, and having a high transit transfer location.

I called for a report to see if anything could be done to increase safety at this intersection as I see so many pedestrians crossing. City of Winnipeg traffic engineers conducted a study – of which the Killarney and Pembina report includes collision data that I find concerning:

Data from 2012-2022 showed 436 collisions at the intersection. These resulted in:

• Zero fatalities
• Two major injuries
• 95 minimal/minor injuries, and
• 339 property damage only collisions.

The city engineers traffic signals branch completed a review of signal timing at the intersection and has optimized the signal timing.

• The intersection timing was changed to provide an additional five seconds each cycle for the southbound left turn during the afternoon peak period timing plan. This will better accommodate the higher volume of southbound left turns during this time.

The study additionally identified some potential pedestrian safety improvements, but these improvements are typically done as part of planned construction projects. Construction is not currently planned on either Killarney Avenue or Pembina Highway.  I’ve discussed improving the road painting at this intersection with the department, and now that they have an additional painting machine, I expect that we will see paint improvements in 2026. While I’d like to have seen ‘structural’ improvements, there are no upgrades planned in the short term.