Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/11/2013 (2488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you don't mind braving the traffic, tonight's the night to tell city hall what you think about a $30-million plan to improve roads and intersections in the congested Polo Park neighbourhood.

The city plans to hold an open house at Canad Inns Polo Park tonight from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. to hear what Winnipeggers have to say about its infrastructure-improvement plan for the busy shopping district.

CITY OF WINNIPEG The plan calls for extending St. Matthews Avenue, widening existing portions of the avenue, improving St. James Street as well as the Ellice-St. James intersection.

The city earmarked $10 million worth of spending over two years to fund the Polo Park improvements

The plan, which would involve two summers of construction, calls for extending St. Matthews Avenue from Empress Street to Route 90, widening existing portions of St. Matthews in the area, improving St. James Street from Maroons Road to Ellice Avenue and improving the Ellice-St. James intersection.

The extension of St. Matthews from Empress to Route 90 will require property acquisition, and if that winds up being too expensive, this portion of the project could be jettisoned, public works director Brad Sacher said in 2012, when the city announced the plan.

The city earmarked $10 million worth of spending over two years to fund the Polo Park improvements, carving out $5 million in the 2013 capital budget and another $5 million in the 2014 budget, which will be tabled on Friday.

The remaining $20 million came from the $30.25-million sale of the Canad Inns Stadium site to Cadillac Fairview and Shindico Realty. The two firms' redevelopment plan for the site has started with the construction of the city's first purpose-built Target store, which is rising on the northwest corner of what used to be the stadium parking lot.

The next phase of the stadium-site redevelopment may involve a mixed-use development of some sort, including retailers, office space and a hotel. The original plan to redevelop Canad Inns Stadium called for a residential component, but that would prove tricky, because the Polo Park neighbourhood falls within a special zoning area that covers land near Richardson International Airport.

The city plans to align its own infrastructure work with the Canad Inns Stadium redevelopment in order to minimize the disruption in the area due to construction.

Easing traffic congestion in the longer term could increase sales for retailers in Polo Park, as some Winnipeggers avoid the area during peak shopping periods -- such as Saturdays -- because of the traffic congestion.

There is a precedent for government spending to benefit the retail sector. As an incentive for IKEA to open up shop in Winnipeg, the city and province spent a combined $22 million on infrastructure to serve the Seasons of Tuxedo development west of the intersection of Sterling Lyon Parkway and Kenaston Boulevard.

In that case, IKEA Canada and developer Fairweather Properties conducted $26.5 million worth of infrastructure work up front. They will be paid back with the help of new city and provincial property taxes flowing from the area.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca