Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/2/2012 (3138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press archives The new rapid-transit station will be effectively cut off from the Osborne Village and Corydon Avenue neighbourhoods by Confusion Corner.

My guess is that the impending arrival of rapid transit will highlight the trouble spot that is Confusion Corner.

This beauty of an intersection, which offers sweeping views of both gravel and paved parking lots obstructed only by the smiling face of the Burger King, is situated at the crossroads of two of the densest, liveliest and most distinct neighbourhoods in town. Its cold, sterile hideousness serves as a barrier convincing pedestrians on either Osborne Street or Corydon Avenue to turn around and return to the small stretch of walkable urban streetside that they came from.

Confusion Corner will now also serve as a barrier between the Osborne rapid-transit station and the villages of Osborne and Corydon that it is designed to serve. Something will have to be done about the configuration of this important intersection if the city wishes to cash in on the gold mine that shall be transit-oriented development. If I were in the market for condos in an urban environment, Confusion Corner wouldn't be at the top of my list. It's one thing to be close to amenities, but it's quite another when the view out your front door makes you gag.

Solving the traffic-flow issues won't be simple, and bridging the pedestrian gap between rapid transit, Osborne Village and Corydon Avenue is next to impossible without putting all or some of the streets underground, which is never gonna happen.

When I spoke with a planner last summer, he recognized the disconnect between Corydon Avenue and the rapid-transit station and suggested that pedestrian accessibility around Confusion Corner would have to be improved, though he didn't offer any ideas of how that would be done.

So here's an idea.

Creating a controlled roundabout would open up the core of Confusion Corner to a public square and create an attractive link between Osborne Village and the Corydon strip. Pedestrians using controlled crosswalks that provide access to the square would no longer have to contend with left-hand turning vehicles or traffic turning southwest onto Pembina Highway from southbound Osborne Street on their walking signal.

Developing a mixed-use retail/office/residential complex within the roundabout, adjacent to a sizable parking structure tucked in behind to appease our city's unquenchable thirst for parking, would add density and diversity to what is now essentially a poor man's suburban strip mall. The buildings would create a backdrop for the square that might give one the impression that yes, you were in the heart of the city and not lost in an industrial wasteland.

I'm just throwing this idea out there. I know this city's got a lot of areas that are fit for redevelopment, but if we're really serious about rapid transit, we should maybe give some thought to how we can make it work and to how it could serve as a catalyst for urban regeneration. Rather than annexing neighbouring municipalities for growth, why don't we make better use of the land we've already got?

See writer's sketch of his proposal at http://thecoldcoldground.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-fun-with-paint-confusion-corner.html