Part Two: Route 78 Crosstown West - Cambridge

Now that the holidays are over, it is time for me to get back to riding the bus. On December 1, 2012, I took the Route 78 Crosstown West to IKEA and the University of Manitoba. The #78 alternates between taking Kenaston Boulevard to get to the University of Manitoba, and taking Corydon Avenue/ Cambridge Street/Waverley Street.  It is time to get on the #78 Crosstown - Cambridge.

Once again I start my ride at the Polo Park Transit Loop. The bus arrives about 7 minutes early. There are already about 10 people waiting. We all get on the bus and I notice that most of the passengers look like university students. While we are waiting, the driver uses the time to clean some of the windows on the bus. With the recent warm weather, the roads in Winnipeg are very wet, and the bus windows are spattered with slush. I am not going to try to take any pictures through those windows. If I add any photos they will have to come from the web.

The first part of the route; leaving Polo Park and crossing the Assiniboine River and taking Kenaston Boulevard south, are the same as I reported on in my last post.  Things change as we approach Corydon. The bus moves over to the left lane to turn east on Corydon. 

Corydon is an interesting blend of residential and shopping areas. Within a few blocks of the turn, we come to Corydon Village Mall and shopping area on both sides of Corydon at Lanark St. You can enjoy a great deli meal at Bernsteins's Deli, decorate pottery at Brush Fire, or get some Italian food at Mona Lisa Ristorante (they make their own Calabrese sausage).

As we approach Waterloo Street, we come to another shopping area. Bonfire Bistro (one of my favourite restaurants), The Paper Gallery, and The Greek Market (great food to take home) are some of the highlights.

An older photo of Bonfire Bistro. It has since taken over the space of the store on the left.

The Greek Market moussaka is delicious.

Some of the great dishes available for take out at The Greek Market

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I should mention that starting from the time the bus turned on to Corydon, there has been standing room only on the bus. We are picking up passengers at each bus stop on Corydon and Cambridge. I haven't been on such a crowded bus at 10:30 in morning before. This is more like a rush hour crowd. I guess a lot of people have later classes.  I want to take a picture, but I am so wedged into my seat that I can't get my camera out without dropping my notebook!

There is a Park and Ride stop at Cambridge and Grant Avenue. More passengers get on here. The bus turns west on Taylor Avenue and comes to the Taylor and Waverley intersection. This is the home of La Grotta Mediterranean Market; a place to pick up Italian food to take home, plus wine, fruit, vegetables and other groceries.

The route is very straight-forward from here.  We follow Waverley Street South  to the intersection with Scurfield Boulevard. From here on the route is the same as the #78 Crosstown - Kenaston which was covered in the Dec1 post.

The Cambridge route is a little more direct to the University of Manitoba. It takes 12 minutes less to reach the University than riding the Kenaston route ( 37 minutes versus 49 minutes). The Cambridge route is much busier serving the residential area of River Heights. I admit I did have to hop off the bus on the way home and pick up some moussaka and Greek salad from the Greek Market! Riding the bus does work up an appetite. I was able to get a #18 bus to get home since they come more often than the #78.

NEXT: I think it is time for a trip to the Richardson International Airport by bus. Which route is best: the #20 or the #15?  I"ll let you know.