Latest news with #JaniceLukes
CTV News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
New cricket facility opens in La Barrière Park
A new high-performance cricket facility officially opened on Saturday in La Barrière Park. City officials joined members of the Manitoba Cricket Association (MCA) and community partners Saturday morning, to celebrate the launch of the cricket fields. The site is on city-owned land leased to the MCA. It now features three high-performance pitches, four practice nets, a batting cage, three shade structures and more than 100 newly planted trees. 'As Winnipeg grows through immigration, the game of cricket is growing just as rapidly,' said Waverley West councillor Janice Lukes, in media release. 'But cricket is more than just a game – in Winnipeg it's a powerful bridge that brings diverse communities together through shared passion and friendly rivalry.' Ahad Khojazada is a member of the Manitoba Eagles Cricket Club, and said this opening means more opportunities. 'There's money involved, there's sponsorship involved. 20 years back, we didn't have that. Now, a local player can hope of playing in bigger leagues, playing for the country to represent. 'It just makes me happy that we are where we dreamed of 20 years ago. I continue to hope and see it grow. That's my dream – to see our Winnipeg team win the national level.' The project began in 2018 with a single pitch being built. Since the start, more than $1.1 million was funded from various sources. About $950,000 of the funding came from Lukes' ward allocation. Other contributions came from councillors Markus Chambers of St. Norbert-Seine River, Brian Mayes of St. Vital, Devi Sharma of Old Kildonan, Matt Allard of St. Boniface, along with former councillors of St. James and Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood.
Global News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Global News
‘More than a game': New cricket facility opens in Winnipeg
A high-performance cricket facility at La Barrière Park is officially open, the City of Winnipeg announced Saturday. The La Barrière Park Cricket Fields, on city land leased by the Manitoba Cricket Association (MCA), include three pitches, four practice nets, a batting cage, new signage and three shade structures, as well as more than 100 trees. The city said more than $1.1 million in funding for the project has come from a combination of land dedication reserve funds and money from individual councillors and their wards — including Couns. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River), Brian Mayes (St. Vital), Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), and Matt Allard (St. Boniface). The project began in 2018, and past councillors in the St. James and Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood wards also contributed. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Additional funding also came via the province. Lukes, whose ward contributed the bulk of the funding — more than $950,000, according a statement from the city — said she's seen the number of cricket players in Winnipeg continue to increase since the project was first announced. Story continues below advertisement 'As Winnipeg grows through immigration, the game of cricket is growing just as rapidly,' Lukes said. 'But cricket is more than just a game, in Winnipeg it's a powerful bridge that brings diverse communities together through share passion and a friendly rivalry.' MCA president Paramjit Shahi said the facilities will continue to have an impact on the quality of local cricketers. 'With these improved facilities we've seen a notable increase in player engagement and development,' Shahi said. 'We are especially proud to have had two players represent Cricket Canada, including one who is part of the World Cup team, and four players selected to the Prairie Zonal Team, with two Under-17 players representing Manitoba in national competitions in Toronto this year.'
Global News
29-07-2025
- General
- Global News
A month into new transit system, Winnipeg councillor says city wants rider feedback
The City of Winnipeg says it's encouraging more feedback on its transit overhaul, which launched a month ago Tuesday. Coun. Janice Lukes, city hall's public works chair, told 680 CJOB's Connecting Winnipeg the comments she's received so far have been a mixed bag, with a lot of them coming from frustrated bus riders, but said the feedback is necessary to help the city make tweaks to the system. 'People send me a lot of feedback. I know (Winnipeg) Transit has received a lot of feedback through 311 … and transit's analyzing all this data,' Lukes said. 'We've always said, all along, there's going to be some humps and bumps in the transition, and sometimes the only way you find out what those humps and bumps are is to make the transition and then deal with it. 'It's been a bit of a rough ride, I'd say. Change is not always rapidly embraced. Change for some is positive, and change for others … not so positive.' Story continues below advertisement 0:42 Winnipeg mayor responds to transit network complaints Lukes said the city will likely refine aspects of the system, like bus stop locations and transit hours, but one key element of the new spine-and-feeder model that won't change is the emphasis on transfers. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The backbone, the foundation of this model, is it's based on transfers, and I know a lot of people are worked up about that,' she said. 'I'm hearing that they come out of their residential neighbourhoods, and then they transfer to get on a main line, to get on the spine. This is something that won't change … we're going to be making some adjustments, but the essence of transfers won't change.' Lukes said members of council will meet on Wednesday with transit officials to discuss the feedback they've received and start working toward improvements, noting that any changes will happen throughout the year as the city's bus usage tends to be seasonal, with fewer riders in the summer and the heaviest usage beginning in the fall, when students return to school. Story continues below advertisement 'Come fall, it's a completely different game. I expect people will be seeing changes throughout the year. To what degree? I don't have any answers for that yet. 'But please, please send in the feedback. It's one thing to complain, it's another to be doing constructive complaints and send it in.' 4:00 Testing the new transit system
Winnipeg Free Press
25-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Transit hydrogen fuelling station expected before end of year
Winnipeg Transit expects to have a new multimillion-dollar hydrogen fuelling station in place before the end of this year. Since the city now has eight fuel-cell battery-electric buses and expects to order another 10, council's public works chairwoman expects the facility will be well-utilized. 'Eventually, they're not going to make diesel buses anymore and we will be dealing with hydrogen and electric, so this is not, by any means, a waste of money. This is going to serve what we have (now) and for the future,' said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). A city tender seeks a company to build a new hydrogen generation and dispensing station to accommodate up to 20 of the fuel-cell buses. Transit confirmed it has set aside about $9 million for equipment, design and construction management so far. The cost of the current contract will be added to that but won't be known until the tender is awarded. The station would be placed outdoors at Transit's Fort Rouge garage property at 421 Osborne St., as part of the city's zero-emission bus program. A $280-million tri-government Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program agreement announced in 2022 will allow between 90 and 100 green buses to be added overall, with the rest being battery-electric (non-fuel-cell) models. The hydrogen fuelling station was planned before city council voted to return to buying only diesel buses in 2027. However, Lukes said she's 'very optimistic' more senior government funding will become available, so the city can afford to further expand Transit's green fleet. 'Long-term, the goal is to continue with hydrogen and alternative (fuel) sources…. Hopefully, we're going to be receiving federal and provincial support to do our fleet conversion,' she said. Higher prices have always been an obstacle in the city's transition from diesel to zero-emission buses. In February, Transit said a 12-metre diesel bus now costs approximately $900,000, while the city will pay about $1.56 million for each electric bus of the same size and $1.9 million per fuel-cell version. Lukes said she expects a federal transit fund promised in March could help, which is expected to provide Winnipeg $11.5 million annually for transit planning and infrastructure. The federal Liberals said that fund would last 10 years, starting in 2026. The city unveiled its first hydrogen fuel-cell battery-electric bus in February and now has eight of the vehicles, along with six of eight battery-electric vehicles it's ordered so far. It expects to order 10 more fuel-cell models under ICIP, Transit confirmed Friday. In an email, Transit spokesman Brandon Logan said the fuelling station is also supported by the tri-government agreement and current buses will make good use of it. 'Fuel-cell battery-electric buses have a design life of 18 years, so the station is planned to be in service for at least 18 years. If fewer than 20 buses are ultimately purchased, there would be capacity to support additional vehicles. The station can support fuelling other hydrogen vehicles, as (it) is equipped with a standard nozzle and wireless communication,' wrote Logan. He said the hydrogen production could also be 'scaled up or down' based on demand. The city's current hydrogen buses arrived with a fuel supply, Logan noted. Transit did not grant an interview request Friday. The city expects the fuelling station to be completed by Nov. 30. City staff estimate each green bus replacement of a diesel vehicle would remove about 62 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions per year. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
13 temporary concrete curbs to calm traffic throughout Winnipeg 'will save lives': public works chair
'People still seem to drive fast' despite other traffic calming measures, Coun. Janice Lukes says The head of Winnipeg's public works committee says temporary concrete curbs to calm traffic are an interim solution to slow persistent speeding drivers in select areas throughout the city. The traffic calming curbs will be installed at 13 sites throughout Winnipeg, including near schools and dense residential areas that are known for speeding issues, intersections with wide corners and crosswalks with poor visibility, the city said in a Monday news release. The city says the installations are a quick and cost-effective way of temporarily changing roadway layouts to reduce safety risks until permanent measures can be made, in addition to minimizing conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. The curbs are made of yellow concrete, and are about 2½ metres long and weigh around 2,000 pounds each, which the city noted is similar to a bison. Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of public works, says putting up markers and sending police to reduce speeds only does so much, and that the most successful way to calm traffic is to change the built environment for drivers. "This is an interim solution," she told CBC News on Monday. "Put them in, trial them, then when the road comes up for renewal — if the trial proves to be effective — put them in permanently." The first curbs will be installed on Chancellor Drive this week, a city spokesperson told CBC News. Lukes says she gets a lot of feedback about that site in southwest Winnipeg, which is in her riding of Waverley West. "I get constant calls of people speeding up and down Chancellor all the time," she said. "We've studied it, studied it, studied it — one of the tools in the tool kit is going to be the traffic curbs." Winnipeg is an older city that's increasing in population but "people still seem to drive fast," said Lukes. "I really wish people would just slow down, and become more observant of what's around them, [because] it will save everyone money and it will save lives." More of the curbs are expected to be installed in August, with ongoing monitoring, assessments and reviews scheduled between September and next April, according to the city. The city is also partnering with Art City to install asphalt in some areas to boost visibility and "beautify the neighbourhood," the city said.
