Route 78 Crosstown West - Getting to IKEA

Winnipeg's first IKEA store opened at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 28 at Kenaston Boulevard and Sterling Lyon Parkway. I have been wondering if it is possible to get there on the bus. Using the Winnipeg Transit NAVIGO trip planner system, I have inserted several different origins for the trip (St. Vital, Pembina Highway, Downtown, St. James, North Main Street, Henderson Highway, Maryland) all trying to get to Kenaston @ Sterling Lyon Parkway as the destination. There is only one way to get there....connect to the #78 Crosstown West.**  Just as it was with the #29 Sherbrook that I rode last week, this route is really two routes, one using Kenaston to reach the University of Manitoba, the other going down Corydon to Cambridge to Waverley Street. They are indicated as Kenaston or Cambridge on the schedule. Weekdays during the morning rush hour there are 2-3 Cambridge buses for every 1 Kenaston bus. During the off peak hours, they simply alternate. This means that the Kenaston bus leaves Polo Park every 42 minutes. So if you miss the one you want, you have a long wait. There is no service after 7:00 PM. On Saturday the buses to Kenaston run every 70 minutes; there is no Sunday service. I guess the staff at IKEA have to have cars to get to work.

To check out the Route 78 Crosstown - Kenaston. I arrive at Polo Park to catch the 10:01 bus. The bus arrives early and sits at the Polo Park Transit loop. Several young people who look like they could be university students get on the bus. I ask the driver if the bus stops at Kenaston and Sterling Lyon and he smiles, laughs and says, "Oh, yes. We stop at IKEA." He tells me that the IKEA is on the west side of Kenaston.

The bus pulls out on to Portage Avenue and crosses St James Street. Then it takes the on-ramp to Route 90 South (Kenaston). The new fire station being built on the cloverleaf at Portage and Route 90 is really big. It will be interesting to see how it will affect traffic when the emergency vehicles have to pull out right into the on-ramp traffic.

(The roads were slushy so the spattered windows made it hard to take photos.)

  On Kenaston we cross Tuxedo, Corydon and Grant and pass the Manitoba Youth Centre and the former Canadian Forces Base and all those small houses that used to be part of base housing. Even before we get to Taylor Avenue, I can see the very tall IKEA sign. Wow, it is really tall...and big .

The bus is a little early so it sits at Taylor for a minute or two before moving on to Sterling Lyon Parkway. I have a very nice bus driver and we start to chat about the limited service on this route. He says that they added more buses a little while ago and that maybe they will add more now that IKEA is open. I tell him that I am riding the bus and writing a blog. He asks if I ever write about the drivers! I said he would be mentioned in this post.

As I get off the bus, I am joined by four of the young people on the bus who all work at IKEA. They also wish there were more buses. One young woman missed the earlier bus so she is now going to be late for work. The store opens at 10:00 and it is now 10:15. For an average walker it takes about 4 minutes to get from the bus stop to the store. You have to climb a small hill up to the parking lot, and then it is a long walk to the store entrance at the far end of the building.

So, you can get to IKEA on the bus. The sidewalks have been cleared of snow, but not too well.  I don't know if there will be a pathway or sidewalk up the small hill to the parking lot, or if it will be landscaped once the snow is gone. And I wonder how easy it will be to get up that hill as we get more snow.

After a short stop at the store (making 3 small purchases and using the self-service check out), I am back at the bus stop with time to spare to get the next #78 to continue the route to the University of Manitoba.

The simple part of the route is over. Now things get complicated. The route not only meanders here, there and everywhere, the scenery is also less than exciting. This bus services the shopping and industrial park areas along this part of Kenaston. The bus turns  left and continues along Lowson Crescent industrial area until it meets Rothwell which takes the bus across Kenaston into the Tuxedo Industrial Park where it turns around and heads back onto Kenaston. Then it turns left again onto Lindenwood Drive East and the big box/outlet stores located in this area. The bus finally comes out of this area at McGillivray Boulevard and the new Cineplex Odeon McGillivray and VIP Cinemas.

The bus stays on McGillivray and crosses Kenaston and then finally turns at Columbia Drive and follows that all the way to Scurfield Boulevard.  It does a jog through the West Fort Gary Industrial area passing the Winnipeg Technical College and the Pembina Trails School Division offices. Finally we join up with Waverly Street. But not for long. The bus turns on Bishop Grandin Boulevard and heads to Pembina Highway. We join Pembina near University Crescent. But the bus does not take the University Crescent route to the University. Instead we stay on Pembina Highway until we reach Bison Drive and Chancellor Matheson Drive. Along the way we pass Victoria General Hospital and lots of shopping areas.

As we enter the campus, I am again struck by the size of the new Blue Bomber Football Stadium.The arches are so high they really dominate the view from this side of the campus. At last we arrive at the University of Manitoba Bus Station. I decide that I just can't take that long wandering route back to Polo Park (a 49 minute ride and I would still have to transfer to another bus to get home!). So I get off the bus to wait 5 minutes fort the #36 Northwest Super Express which will take me within 2 blocks of home in just 20 minutes! While I am waiting I notice the new ARTlab building that connects to Tache Hall.

I get on the #36 and since it is an express, it only stops once on Pembina Highway between the University and the turn onto Stafford Street (at the Salisbury House). To reward myself I get off at Stella's Bakery on Sherbrook Street for a treat before heading home.

It should be noted that while the final destination of the #78 Crosstown West is The University of Manitoba, it is not the best, fastest or easiest way to get to the U of M from Polo Park. I think the easiest way would be to take an Express bus (#21, #24 or #22) to Portage and Maryland to transfer to the #36 Northwest Super Express. Or depending on the timing, take an Express to downtown Winnipeg and transfer to the #160 University of Manitoba bus which uses the Rapid Transit Corridor.

NEXT WEEK: The Route 78 Crosstown West - Via Cambridge. This route has a slightly more direct route from Polo Park through River Heights to the University of Manitoba. Maybe I'll take the complete Route 36 Northwest Super Express too.


**There was one exception. For some routes Navigo suggested connecting with the # 86 Whyte Ridge near Grant Avenue. However this would mean a minimum 10 minute walk from the stop at Lorimer and Serling Lyon Parkway to the IKEA store.

Route 29 Sherbrook

The Route 29 Sherbrook bus route is really two different routes. One route goes from Sherbrook and Logan to City Hall, the other route starts at the same place, but goes to Pembina and Windemere. The section from Logan to Broadway is the same for both routes.

I get the bus at the stop on Broadway at Maryland. Riding down West Broadway, I realize that this stretch has a number of hairdressers. At Broadway and Furby there is Hair on Broadway.  At Spence Street it is Edward Carriere, a fixture in the neighborhood for many years. Edward Carriere supports the community ice rink and other services in the area.  Just a few blocks farther, on the north side of  Broadway at Balmoral there is Hunter and Gunn almost next door to Grace Hair & Esthetics.

I try taking some pictures from the bus today, and it is very difficult. The windows are spattered with slush from the roads, and part of the windows on my bus are covered with advertising. I get a few photos, but they are of poor quality.

There is work being done on the Manitoba Legislature to replace the skylight over the main staircase. It was supposed to be completed in mid-September. From the outside it looks like the work is still taking place.

The Route 29 Sherbrook to City Hall bus, continues down Broadway to Fort Street where it turns north. The bus follows Fort across Portage Avenue where it becomes Notre Dame. The bus turns on King Street into the Exchange District., past The Cube and City Hall. It enters China Town and turns on Rupert where it waits for a couple of minutes before heading down Princess Street past Red River College Princess Street Campus. It turns and takes McDermot to Main Street. The bus continues down Main Street, past Times Change(d), and turns on to Broadway at Union Station.

As we travel down Broadway toward Osborne Street, I begin to think that the recent recession may have been more serious than I realized. It seems that Santa Claus can no longer survive with just a toy workshop at the North Pole. He has had to open a convenience store to make ends meet.

The bus follows along West Broadway and turns north on Sherbrook Street, heading toward the Health Sciences Centre. At the corner of Sargent and Sherbrook I see Prairie Stained Glass. If you get off the bus at Sargent Avenue, it is just a couple of blocks to X-Cues, where you can get the best cappuccino in the city (in my humble opinion).

Just off the corner of Sherbrook and Notre Dame is the Manitoba Clinic. Across the street is a very large Shopper's Drug Mart. At William and Sherbrook, across from the Health Sciences Centre and Children's Hospital is the construction of the new Women's Hospital. It is a huge hole in the ground filled with pilings.

The bus continues down Sherbrook and passes Rossbrook House. Started by Sister Geraldine McNamara, its motto is "No child who does not want to be alone should ever have to be."


We continue on Sherbrook and cross Logan to turn on Henry and then to Gunnell where the bus waits outside West Rock Battery. The driver looks at me and asks, "Where are you going?" I have to laugh and tell him that I'm not going anywhere! I tell him that I just like to ride different routes and see where they go. He laughs at that and continues to check his text messages.


After a short wait the bus continues on to Logan. As we come to the Logan/Sherbrook intersection, I notice a large warehouse building on the corner with a banner that reads, Marvellous Mascots & Everything Else. They provide the Buzz and Boomer mascots for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and also Goldie for the Goldeyes. They also supply costumes and they have Sumos!

The bus passes HSC and joins Maryland where it branches off Notre Dame. It continues down Maryland, across Sargent, Ellice and Portage Avenues before turning on to West Broadway to begin the trip to City Hall again. I get off at this stop to cross the street and wait for the #29 Sherbrook to Windemere at Maryland and Knappen.

I take advantage of the break to go into the Halal Meat Centre & Specialty Foods. It is full of wonderful spices, pita bread, and foods from the Middle East. The staff are very helpful. You will probably recognize the building if you have ever driven down Maryland. They recently repainted the building. (I got this photo from their Face Book page. I forgot to take one!)

It is a bright blue day and I can't resist taking a photo of the sky as I am waiting for the next #29 Windemere.

 The #29 Windemere heads down Maryland towards Miserecordia Health Centre. It crosses the Maryland Bridge and joins Academy Road, turning on to Stafford at Kelvin High School.  At the Stafford and Grosvenor intersection you can get a meal at The Grove (pub style restaurant), pick up some sweet treats at Lilac Bakery, or do some shopping for home accessories at These Four Walls. Spuntino's Restaurant closed recently, but should soon be replaced by Tre Visi Café.

The bus continues along Stafford crossing Corydon and Grant before reaching Pembina Highway and the now notorious Salisbury House Restaurant there. The bus heads south on Pembina and stops at The Original Pancake House then heads to the bus loop at Windemere where it turns around and returns down Stafford to Sherbrook and on to Logan (the Broadway to Logan route is the same as the #29 City Hall).


COMING SOON: How to get to the new IKEA by bus.
                              Getting to the Richardson International Airport by bus.

Route 24 Ness Express

Note to email subscribers: Last Saturday I posted  My Bus Theme Song. However, the video/music did not come attached to the email (you will find it in the original post). To see the video and hear The Guess Who singing Bus Rider just click here.

This week I am riding the #24 Ness Express. Because Market Street is closed for construction, I can't get the bus at the usual stop on Market beside the Centennial Concert Hall. I am not sure how the bus is being re-routed, so I decide to catch the bus on Main Street at Lombard, just across the street from The Millennium Centre. I love this old building, but have never known what the Millennium Centre actually was. Thanks to this trip I now know that it is a site for weddings, banquets, concerts and other events.

The Millennium Centre - Former Canadian Bank of Commerce Building

The bus turns and makes the trip west on Portage Avenue through the downtown. (I covered a lot of this when I rode the #55 bus.) At 268 Portage Ave (where The Chocolate Shop used to be) I see my new favourite restaurant, Arkadash Bistro. The food is Moroccan/Turkish/Mediterranean. Everything is delicious.

Arkadash Bistro

The bus fills up at the stop outside the Investor's Building; mostly students from the University of Winnipeg. Surprisingly the stop at the University only adds about 3 new riders.

After the stop at the University of Winnipeg, this bus is an Express to Polo Park. That means it only stops at cross streets where the route intersects with other bus routes: Sherbrook St, Maryland, Burnell (Arlington), and Valour Road (here it connects with the #12 William).

At the Maryland stop there is a lot of jostling as a mother with a stroller gets off, and two women with strollers and another child get on. The front seats are lifted up and people get up out of their seats and move to stand by the back door. As I hear the older child (a boy about 4-5 yrs old) talking, it becomes clear that one woman is the grandmother (with a small baby in a stroller), the other woman is the mother with a toddler in what we used to call an "umbrella" stroller. As the bus moves on, the little boy starts calling (not loudly) "back door." Those of you who have ever ridden the bus will be familiar with this call. It usually means someone wanting to leave by the back door is still waiting for the door to open. People call "back door" because they think that the driver has forgotten to release the back door. However, right above the door there is a green light. When this light is on, the door has been released. Usually the door has been released, but people just get impatient.

Continuing my story of the boy calling "back door"...His mother tells him to stop it, that no one is trying to get out the back door. After a moment of silence, the boy calls out "back door" again, just a little louder. So his mother again tells him to stop it and gives him a little swat. After a second I hear the boy say "fuck you" to his mother in a soft voice. Not aggressive, not mean, not yelling. Just a matter of fact comment. His mother's shoulders slump slightly and she looks at him and says "stop it" in a soft voice. I don't hear him talk again until they get off on Ness  Avenue.

That was a first for me. I have heard lots of people swear and use the F word on the bus. But I have never heard a 4 year old say "fuck you" to his mother. I shudder to think what that family dynamic will be in a few years.

As we pull into the stop at Polo Park Shopping Centre, most of the passengers leave the bus. A few more get on, but the bus full but not crowded. We turn onto St James Street for a short distance until we reach Ness and turn west.

Recently, I have noticed that Sushi Restaurants have become ubiquitous in Winnipeg. As we cross Route 90, I see clear proof of this. There is a Domo Gas Bar with Dai Gill Sushi. The sushi restaurant is located in what is usually a convenience store at other gas stations. You can get sushi anywhere!

Dai Gill Sushi and Domo Gas Bar on Ness Avenue

The sides streets along Ness are all residential. Ness itself is mostly commercial with small strip malls and tanning salons, pizza restaurants, hair salons, donut shops, and the Red Boot Drive in. I notice Sew Inspiring, a store that sells and repairs sewing machines. After we cross Sackville Street the area is more residential with fewer businesses. We hit a stretch that includes The Assiniboine Golf Club, Deer Lodge Tennis Club and the St James Civic Centre which has a huge recycling depot. Will that close now that Winnipeg has its new waste removal system?

Just past the Assiniboine Golf Club we see the large fighter jet. This is at the entry to Air Force Way and leads to the Air Force Heritage Park that features 11 aircraft that trace the history of military flight in Canada.

Soon we pass The Living Prairie Museum. If you look for images on Google you can see how it looks in the summer. Right now it mostly dead and dying grasses and flowers.

We also pass the new Sturgeon Heights Collegiate. The school came together as the amalgamation of Sturgeon Creek Regional Secondary School and Collège Silver Heights Collegiate. It is an impressive sight.

I can't help noticing that most of the houses in the area along Ness have fenced their front yards. It gives the neighbourhood a strange look.

These pictures show the fenced in yards along Ness.

We cross Sturgeon Creek and come to Cavalier Drive. Ness is not a through street at this point so we turn left and do a loop to Hamilton Avenue. As we approach Buchanan Boulevard we pass  John Taylor Collegiate. What do I see across from the school? A convenience store, a pizza shop and Sushi Paradise!

We take Buchanan to Portage Avenue. I am surprised to see a Howard Johnson's Express Inn there. I didn't know that there were any Howard Johnson's in Winnipeg. Every bus trip I learn something new!

The bus takes a left on Portage Avenue and goes a short distance to Unicity Smart Complex. I have not been here since a few years before the old Unicity Mall was demolished and this new big box shopping area was created. The new Smart Complex was created in 2000. There is a bus loop here and we wait about 5 minutes before making the return trip to downtown Winnipeg. While we are waiting a flock a geese heading south fly over.

As we are heading back downtown, I am taking photos. The man sitting next to me asks if after taking the pictures I am able to put them on my computer. I tell him yes. He says that he is technically illiterate. He finds it interesting that I can take pictures from the moving bus and they aren't all blurred. I tell him I am riding all the bus routes in Winnipeg and writing a blog. He says, "And then you'll make it a book." There are now so many books that started as blogs, it is assumed that blogs will become books!

When the bus returns to  downtown it goes down Portage Avenue and turns north on Main Street. I get off at the Centennial Concert Hall because I am not sure how it will be re-routed.

Centennial Concert Hall

It normally turns off Main onto Pacific and then stops at Pacific and Martha as the terminus of the route. Then it takes Martha to Lily and and turns on Market. I am not sure where it is going  now that Market is closed. But it does get back to Main Street.


The #24 Ness Express travels from Unicity to Downtown and return only during the day on Mon-Sat. The last bus to leave downtown and go to Unicity is at 6:25 PM. During the evening hours the bus only goes from Unicity-Polo Park and return. On Sunday the bus only goes from Unicity-Polo Park and return.

NEXT: Route 29 Sherbrook - Logan.
My next post will be in November. Look for it around November 2nd.

My Bus Theme Song

When I created this Blog, I had the option of adding background music. I chose not to do that, saving my readers a lot of irritation. But, if I had a theme song playing in the background, it would be Bus Rider by The Guess Who.  What could be better....a song about riding the bus from a Winnipeg group!

I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving Holiday Long Weekend edition of Exploring Our Routes. I also hope that you will be humming this song before the weekend is over! (I can hear your cursing me now!)               Happy Thanksgiving.

Route 99 Downtown-Osborne Village

Today Winnipeg is definitely feeling like "Winterpeg." The rain/snow/ice pellets are coming at me horizontally, sticking to my clothes and getting in behind my glasses. It is 1 degree Celsius and very windy. A great day for a bus ride!

The #99 bus actually has two different routes. The downtown portion of the route is the same for both buses. I am taking the #99 Misericordia-City Hall Bus first. The bus I am on is a "commuter" bus. It is small with only 2 rows of seats at the front of the bus (two seats facing in, and two seats facing the driver), then the steps lead to the rear, and no side door. This bus begins its route on Wolseley across from the Misericordia Health Centre (on the North side of the street). The bus turns on Maryland, crosses the bridge and then turns left onto Wellington Crescent at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue and St. Mary's Academy.

Shaarey Zedek Synagogue

St. Mary's Academy

 The bus has several stops along the Crescent and then takes Stradbrook to Osborne Street/Osborne Village. This is great! I now have a direct bus route to Segovia, one of my favourite restaurants. The bus continues on Stradbrook, across Donald Street, to Harkness Street Station, one of the new Rapid Transit Stops.  This is the first time I have seen one of the stations from the street; not inside the station. The question that comes to mind is: will the snow be cleared in a timely manner for easy access to the station, by riders, in the winter?

Harkness Street Rapid Transit Station

 Now the bus keeps to the left to take the cut-off over to River Avenue. We follow River to Donald and turn right to cross the Midtown Bridge.  And we are now on Smith Street heading towards Portage Avenue. On the right is the HMCS Chippewa, home of the Naval Reserve. Along Smith I can see the progress they are making on converting the old Canada Post Building into the new Police Station/Public Safety Building. It is really hard to tell what is happening. They are putting on a new exterior.

Just before reaching Portage Avenue, there is the St Regis Hotel on the right and on the left at 280 Smith Street is the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC). After crossing Portage the bus turns on King Street to the Exchange District, Old Market Square, City Hall and on to China Town where it turns on Rupert and waits for a few minutes. This is the downtown terminus of the route.

Chinese Cultural Centre

Coming back along Princess Street we pass the Princess Street Campus of Red River College. They kept the facades of the old buildings and gutted the interiors to develop the site, but still keep the look of the Exchange District.

Amid the mix of trendy shops and restaurants along Princess, a neon sign stand out. Del's Electric Motor Supply.

 I

In the window there are many examples of small electric motors, all very clean and neat. Somehow I expect a motor supply company to have a grimy look! 

Princess melds into Donald Street, and there are several lanes closed due to construction of the Centre Point Development at Portage and Donald. There are also lane closures on Donald beside the MTS Centre. As we pass cityplace shopping centre, two women are waving for the bus to stop (there are also lanes closed on this portion of Donald Street). As they get on the bus, one of the women says, "311 told me to just stand on the street and wave." I realize that this is a new phrase I am hearing a lot ..".311 told me."  It seems to be the new excuse people use to explain their actions.

My bus continues along Donald, across the Midtown Bridge and then turns down River Avenue. We take River all the way to Wellington Crescent and then follow the Crescent to Academy/Sherbrook. As we approach Sherbrook we pass the lovely Munson Park.

We turn on Sherbrook and then turn on Wolsely and we are back where we started. That is the #99 Misericordia-City Hall route.

Now I have to get to the #99 Pembina/Windemere-City Hall bus. Since the downtown portions of both routes are the same, I go downtown to Donald Street to catch it as it heads out of downtown. This bus crosses the Midtown Bridge and continues along Donald to McMillan Street. At McMillan and Osborne Street we turn onto Osborne Street to Confusion Corner. From here we head south on Pembina Highway.  We pass Grant Avenue, Stafford Street, take the Jubilee Underpass and pass my favourite fruit/vegetable store, Vic's Fruit Market (Vic's has lots of local fruit and veggies in season). I forgot to  mention Vic's when I rode the #160, so I thought I would remedy that on this trip.

Vic's Fruit Market, Pembina Highway

We pull off on the transit loop at Pembina and Windemere. We sit here for a few minutes until it is time to head back downtown. Again the bus turns at the Pembina/Osborne/Corydon intersection to take Donald Street across the Midtown Bridge and into the downtown through the Exchange District to the terminus at Rupert and Princess.

Here is the question: Why do we have this new route? When they started the Rapid Transit routes, the #66 Grant and the #62 Pembina/University of Manitoba buses no longer traveled along Smith St/Donald St./Midtown Bridge and an area of Pembina Highway was not being serviced. So the #99 is the answer...with some additions. While the Rapid Transit routes are great for many people, some areas lost service. Within a week of Rapid Transit starting in April, they had to return some service on the #60 route. It was supposed to disappear and become only the #160. The  Route 60 signs had disappeared from all the bus stops along the Graham Transit Mall. But suddenly the #60 bus appeared again, running less often than before.

NEXT: Route #24 Ness Express. It is time to hit St James Assiniboia! Who knows maybe my bus driver will be the "Good Samaritan."

Route 160 Downtown - University of Manitoba

As I leave home this morning it is 8 degrees Celsius. There is no sun. The forecast high is 20+ degrees. With no sun, I can't imagine that we will make it. But I do love watching people during this transitional weather. On my bus downtown to transfer to the #160 Downtown - University of Manitoba bus, I see a man who is a regular on my route. All summer he wears shorts, running shoes with white sport socks up to mid-calf, and a sleeveless shirt. Some of these shirts are tank tops or some type that is made with no sleeves, others have obviously had the sleeves cut off. Today he wears "track" pants, a sleeveless shirt and a down vest. He likes to show off his muscular arms! He looks like he could be anywhere between 50-70 years old. Another passenger is wearing sandals, and another has a light parka. I guess one is an optimist and one is a pessimist.

 It is time to get the #160. I catch it at Balmoral Station. This is the old downtown Greyhound/Grey Goose bus station across from the University of Winnipeg on Balmoral Street.

The bus is almost full as it pulls out and turns on to Ellice Avenue. From there it turns on to Vaughan and goes across Portage Avenue to the Graham Avenue Transit Mall. By the time it reaches the turn on to Main Street, there are people standing in the aisle. There are also more people than usual drinking coffee on this bus. I have never seen so many Tim Horton's cups on one bus...I can actually smell the coffee. Except for about 3 passengers, all the rest look like students. They are reading text books and highlighting worksheets. Some are texting or talking on the phone. Many wear headphones or ear buds.

As we pass Main Street and Broadway, I notice Fort Gary Place. I have never understood the design of that building. The first 3 or 4 floors are done in some sort of neoclassical style, the exterior decorated with statues. Then the upper stories are in a modern style. Very strange.

A close up of those statues that surround the lower floors.

The "neoclassical" bottom floors with the tall modern portion behind.

After crossing the Assiniboine River, the bus enters the Rapid Transit Corridor...no traffic lights, no other traffic. The first stop is Harkness Station. This is at Harkness Road, just past the back of the Winnipeg Winter Club. Next Osborne Station. A lot of passengers get on here. We enter a tunnel (actually an underpass with the CN Rail line above it). As we come out of the tunnel you can see the Fort Rouge rail yards with stacked container cars on the right. When we come up to Jubilee, we meld into the Jubilee overpass with the other traffic. That is the end of this first phase of Rapid Transit. During rush hour it is great to miss all the traffic across the Mid-town Bridge and Confusion Corner. For many passengers it is a longer walk to the bus stop....to reach the RT Stations.

The Osborne Street Station

Pembina Highway is in bad shape in many areas. There is a lot of construction....as always. I have never been there, but I always like the name of Delicious Vegetarian Restaurant. I always wonder if it is....delicious. We only pick up a few passengers along this part of Pembina. We pass Winnipeg Technical College and Value Village. As other traffic bears to the left to enter University Crescent, the bus keeps to the right and enters a Transit loop just before the Earl's Restaurant. Then the bus has its own traffic light as it crosses Pembina and enters University Crescent. Summerland Apartments on the right still looks very inviting after all these years. The trees along this route are just turning colour and they look lovely with lots of yellow and red among the green. Suddenly to the right I am amazed by the size of the new Stadium. It really is big, both in area and in height. It certainly looks like there is a lot more work to be done before it can be used.

The bus takes the scenic route around the perimeter of the University of Manitoba before it turns on to Dafoe Road and stops at the bus stop there across from Tache Hall which is being refurbished.The bus schedule says that the bus should arrive here at 10:48 AM....and it arrives exactly on time.

Everyone gets off the bus here. It sits here until 10:54. While we are waiting, I notice a man in the bus shelter having a very animated conversation. Because of a pole I can't see who he is talking to. So I move and take a look. The man is alone in the shelter. In the "old" days, I would have thought he was talking to himself. But these days he may be talking on his cell with a bluetooth headset. I look carefully. He is about 50 years old...he is wearing what looks a Blue Bomber jogging suit, a small Spider Man back pack, and two carryall  bags over his arms. I can not see any sign of a headset. Yes, he is talking to himself.

This frame for a sign is empty. Looks sad.

On the trip to the U of M, the bus was so crowded that I could not see much along Pembina Highway. As we head back to the downtown there are only about 10 people on the bus, so I can see that between University Crescent and Oakenwald/McGillivray things are looking shabby. There are empty buildings and signs with the lights missing. All the apartments, condos, commercial/retail buildings and hotels used to look vibrant, now they are looking tired.

We join the Rapid Transit Corridor again and enter the Fort Rouge Station. I look around and it is hard to tell how people get to this station, or where they come from. (I had to look at a map to see that it serves people from the Lord Roberts area. I am not too familiar with that part of the city.) As we pull out and move along, I can see that we are behind the Transit Garage on Osborne Street.

Returning to downtown, the Rapid Transit Corridor ends at Harkness. The bus goes along Harkness to Mayfair and then up to Main Street. It takes Main Street to the Graham Transit Mall.  At The Bay the bus turns right and heads to Portage where it turns left and heads back to Balmoral Station.

I noticed a new sculpture by the Graham Avenue entrance to the Manitoba Hydro Building. There are large bison sculptures inside the building. I am not sure how long this calf has been outside.

NOTE: There is also a #161 University Super Express. This is the same route...except...It is non-stop between Jubilee and University Crescent at Dysart Road. This bus leaves the downtown starting at 7:14 AM until 2:50 PM. It travels from the University of Manitoba to downtown starting at 9:27 AM until 5:43 PM. Weekdays Only.

NEXT: Route #99 Downtown - Osborne Village. New Service linking Osborne Village, Harkness Station, and Downtown via Donald Street. There is a stop about a block away from my home, so I want to try it.

Route 55 St Anne's

Winnipeg has been buzzing this week with the story of the Transit driver who got off the bus, on a cold morning, and gave his shoes to a barefoot man on the sidewalk. I wish I had been on that bus! It remains to be seen if my trip will have any of that kind of drama.

Too bad my bus driver on the the #17 was not as good hearted as that other driver. There was a woman on the bus who was trying to get off and transfer to the #20 which was just in front of us. She got off the bus and rushed to the #20, but it pulled away, so she rushed back to our bus. This happened at three stops. Our bus driver could have honked to alert the driver of the #20--drivers do this all the time--but he didn't. Finally in front of the Legislature, she managed to make the transfer.

I got off the #17 at The Bay and walked to the The University of Winnipeg Terminal on Spence St. to begin my journey on the Route #55 St Anne's. At least that is the terminus listed on the bus schedule. When I got there, I was greeted with this sign:

The sign said the new terminal would be in front of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Luckily I looked at the map and saw that the #55 stopped on Portage Avenue just across the street from the U of W, so I didn't have to hike all the way to the Art Gallery. I had just enough time to get to the Portage Avenue stop.

Most of us are familiar with the sights along Portage Avenue. But things have been brightened up by the placement of "marble" sculptures along the median. I think the best grouping is just across from the MTS Centre.

Some even have plants growing out of them!

There are other changes on Portage Avenue: the construction of the new complex across from the MTS Centre and about two blocks closer to Main St, I see the Avenue on Portage, a new condo development with the balconies looking over the Avenue. The condos are very small with partitions between the living area and the "bedroom". These are definitely for young professionals who spend all their time at work or in the clubs. Not for someone who spends a lot of time at home.

 At the corner of Portage and Main, the bus turns south and we pass one of my favourite building in Winnipeg, The Victory Building at 269 Main Street. It houses some Government of Canada offices.

Looking east towards the Forks, the skyline is dominated by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights...still unfinished. Today they added the last glass panel to the exterior, on the Tower of Hope. It is gigantic! I think it is out of proportion to its surroundings. The top of that tower is higher than the Golden Boy on the Legislative Building.

We also pass Union Station and the Upper Fort Gary Gate. The lots surrounding the gate and wall are still empty. No developments as yet.

The route crosses both the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. I could get off at Marion Street to visit Saint Boniface. I was expecting to see the Poulin's Exterminators building on my right...but it is gone! That building with the bug on the side has been there forever. Now it is a huge Santa Lucia Pizza restaurant. That was a surprise!

The bus heads along St Mary's Road until you come to the divide where St Anne's road goes off to the left and St Mary's continues straight ahead. Within a few blocks I spotted the brightly painted Mikes General Store. It sells collectables and antiques.  A fun place to visit.

Somewhere along the way we picked up one of the most frequent travelers on Winnipeg buses in the late summer and early autumn....the WASP....and I do mean the flying insect!  I used to "worry" when I encountered a wasp on the bus. But I have learned to ignore them. This wasp was very interested in the hair of a woman sitting in front of me. Her hair was what I could best describe as a modified Afro....instead of being big and curly, it was big and straight and spiky. She had to swat the wasp away several times, but she remained calm! When presented with a wasp, many riders change seats and look anxious for the entire trip. This wasp gave up on the woman's hair and disappeared to the back of the bus.

After we pass Fermor (Highway 1) and Niakwa, I notice the CAA Manitoba building. I didn't know that they had locations other than Empress Street. I should get to this side of town more often!

Along this part of St Anne's there are blocks and blocks of apartment buildings and strip malls. We turn on to Dakota Street and reach Dakota Collegiate and Victor Mager School. Then we turn down some residential streets before arriving at Bishop Grandin  and heading into the St. Vital Centre.

I chose this route because I knew that the Children's Hospital Foundation's used book sale was taking place at the mall starting September 20th. The bus loop at the Mall is outside the Bay and the Silver City Cinemas. I went in and found the book sales. I did buy a few books, but I couldn't wait to leave the mall. They have been "up-grading" for a long time, and it is such a mess that I felt tired just being there. The floors are uneven rough cement....very tiring to walk on. After a quick bite to eat at the Food Court, I was back at the bus loop and got the #16 for the fastest route to downtown.

NEXT: It is time to travel the new Rapid Transit System on the Route # 160 University of Manitoba-Downtown.

Route 77 Crosstown - North

I have often seen the #77 Crosstown - Kildonan Place at the Transit Loop at Polo Park Shopping Centre. I often thought that if I needed to go to Kildonan Place that I could take that bus. Well....that would be a mistake. Oh, it does go to Kildonan Place, but by the most circular, out-of-the-way route possible. And it takes an hour and a half to get there! If you are at Polo Park and you want to go to Kildonan Place, get a bus heading downtown on Portage Avenue and transfer to the #47.

But I digress....back to my ride on the #77. The bus leaves the Polo Park Transit Loop right on time at 11:10 AM and heads down St. James Street....a retail marvel. If you need it, you can probably find it on St. James Street.....especially furniture and mattresses! One store-front that catches my eye is The Arthur Murray Dance Studio (They were at the height of popularity in the 1950's and 60's. I didn't think they were still in business.). If Dancing With The Stars inspires you to take up Ballroom Dancing...this is the place to go.

The bus turns on Notre Dame and you see the edges of the Weston Area with all the small houses originally built to serve the rail workers.

Then it enters the Red River College campus. When it leaves the college, it takes King Edward  to Logan. This is mostly a commercial/industrial area with a few small houses sprinkled between the business locations. As the bus turns on Keewatin, I notice a soccer field with about a dozen Canada Geese standing and watching the traffic go by.

Next I see the CP Rail Yards. This is the western end of the yards. I could not see this area from the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge when I was riding the #17 last week. There is a large transfer center where the containers that were off-loaded from the trains are put on trucks to continue their journey.

We pass a large vegetable garden that takes up an entire empty lot at the intersection of Keewatin and Selkirk. I wonder if it is a community garden, or if it belongs to the neighboring house. Next the bus passes the Billy Mosienko Arena, named for a former NHL player from Winnipeg. He is in The Hockey Hall of Fame!

The bus turns on Burrows and moves through residential areas (Tyndall Park, Inkster Gardens, Meadows West, Mandalay West). Again I see some huge homes. Along Santa Fe Drive there is a large duck pond and it is circled by the back yards of some very large homes. The yards are terraced down to the pond.These homes are 3 stories high in the back with walk-out basements. They look like glass towers as each floor contains floor to ceiling windows.

The bus is back on Inkster and we pass  the Library & Archives Canada building. Then the bus moves into The Maples and covers some of the same area as the #17. We pick up students at Maples Collegiate (it is now 11:51 AM). We pass Seven Oaks Hospital and pull  into the Transit Loop at Garden City Shopping Centre. We are almost half way through the route!

We leave the Shopping Centre and  head down Leila to Main Street. On Main we pass Kildonan Park and Golf Course and take Chief Peguis Trail and cross the Kildonan Settlers Bridge to Henderson Highway. We turn on McLeod (at River City Sports) and meander through residential areas. I love the name of one street: Tu-Pelo (I think of Tupelo, Mississippi, birthplace of Elvis Presley.). We pass Concordia Hospital and the Winnipeg Tax Centre on Reenders Drive. At last the end of the route at Kildonan Place Shopping Centre. I get off the bus and walk out to Regent to take the #47 bus to downtown. It is 12:45 and I can see Chicken Wings on Wheels across Regent in the parking lot. Too bad I don't have time to get across the street and get some before my bus comes!

NEXT: Route #55 St. Anne's (Yes, I will end up at yet another Shopping Centre!)

Route 17 McGregor

I have gathered my traveling supplies (notebook, pen, Fair Trade chocolate bar, Fair Trade dried pineapple , water, music, bus schedules, and of course something to carry it all in.) I am expecting that this bus travel will work up an appetite!

For many years I took the #17 bus from Wolseley to downtown. I boarded in front of the Misericordia Health Centre and got off on Graham Avenue. In my quest to ride all Winnipeg Transit routes, I am going to start with this route. It is time I found out where it goes from downtown.

Starting at Misericordia Health Centre the bus moves down Sherbrook Street to Broadway. No matter where you look, you will find a restaurant: from sushi to Subway, from The Nook to Stella's, Indian, Danish, vegan, fondue. You won't go hungry on this street. We head down West Broadway to the Legislature, then we turn down Memorial and head to The Bay and the Graham Transit Mall. Turning on Fort Street the bus heads across Portage Avenue and turns on Notre Dame. You can get off at Albert Street to visit The Exchange or The Burton Cummings Theatre. Heading down Notre Dame we turn onto Isabel (the street of many names...Osborne, Memorial, Balmoral, Isabel, Salter) You could get off and stop at Bueno Brothers Supermarket for some Filipino specialties. Before crossing the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge I saw Freight House Community Centre housed in a fantastic old building. You really need to get off the bus and walk down the side of the building to see the old loading docks that now house the different activities that take place in the building--- a drop-in centre, sports, bingo, among many others.

Crossing the Slaw Rebchuk Bridge it is easy to understand why people want to see the CP Rail yards relocated to outside the city. They stretch from this bridge to the Arlington Street Bridge and beyond.  From the top of the bridge you see nothing but rail yards as you look west.

CP Rail Yards looking West from Slaw Rebchuk Bridge.

We are now on Salter Street but soon turn to Dufferin Avenue. If you like fish and seafood, you will love Dufferin Avenue. Here you have Marine Neptune Fish and Gimli Fish Market. Well worth the trip.

You can't miss the brightly painted Neptune Fish store.

At the Gimli Fish Market the bus turns on to McGregor.  At 374 McGregor I saw New Line Furniture - The Stool Professionals. Neat....if I need bar stools I'll know where to go.

The street is looking a little tired at this point-lots of boarded up buildings including Alycia's Restaurant. As you approach Inkster Boulevard things change. It is now a pleasant residential neighborhood.

The bus turns on Leila, a wide divided roadway lined by neat, well-kept houses, and heads to Garden City Shopping Centre. It pulls into a bus loop there. Then it is out and across McPhillips to Seven Oaks Hospital and the Wellness Institute. Now the bus heads either to Amber Trails or Maples (the route is the same - just goes in opposite directions and returns to Seven Oaks Hospital).
 
On Watson Street in the Maples, there is  a group of town houses called Dial-A-Life Housing. These provide homes for aboriginal families facing end stage renal failure. They have to come to Winnipeg from their home communities for dialysis. Here they have safe, affordable housing in the city. I love learning new things about this city.

The "end" point of the route is across from Maples Collegiate on Jefferson and Adsum. We wait here a few minutes before continuing.

In the Amber Trails area I see huge homes, many with 3 car garages, with nothing but bare fields beyond. These are the type of houses I think of in Linden Woods or Island Lakes. I did not associate them with the North of Winnipeg. I am quite excited to have my blinders removed and to see my city in a new way....thanks to Winnipeg Transit!

The bus heads back into the bus loop at Garden City and then follows the same route on the return trip. On Isabel the bus turns up McDermot to Main Street. This provides another opportunity to stop in The Exchange. After turning onto Main Street, it crosses Portage Avenue and again turns onto Graham Avenue. From there it is down to The Bay, over to the Legislature and down West Broadway to Maryland. I was back to the Misericordia Health Centre.

I started my trip at 10:19 AM and returned at 12:12 PM. We reached the mid-point at Maples Collegiate at 11:11 AM. Time well spent. Hop on a bus and go somewhere, you'll be surprised what you find!

NEXT: Route #77 - Crosstown North. Just imagine the most circular, indirect, out-of-the-way route between Polo Park and Kildonan Place.