It's now a little easier to commute across Portage la Prairie's north end on foot or bicycle.

The Fisher Avenue active transportation pathway is now completely paved from 18th Street NW to 6th Street NE. Work was finished recently to complete Phase 2 of the surfacing -- costing about $40,000 --- which saw the path get a fresh coat of asphalt from 8th Street NW eastwards, past the Tupper Street Bridge to 6th Street NE. The path also has lighting installed along the entire route.

"In a continuation of what the paving project accomplished last year, a good distance of paving the active transportation path is now done," says Coun. Melissa Draycott. "The overall goal of city council, I think, is to be able to connect a lot of different paths that we have in the city and to create new paths where they don't exist already. As we know from past experience and from looking at what came through in the Parks Master Plan, there are a lot of areas of the city that are lacking in terms of active transportation ... It's great for our quality of life in Portage to have our pathways paved as it makes it a little easier to get around without vehicles."

"Going forward, we would like to see more pathways created and paved."

The Fisher Avenue Active Transportation Path runs right under the Tupper Street Bridge and has lighting installed along the route. (photo by Matt Hermiz)

Ian Wassink, a member of the Portage Active Transportation Committee (PATC), says the paved Fisher Avenue path will help make Portage more active and age friendly.

"It's a major accomplishment for the PATC," Wassink explains. "It finishes off a major link between the east and west parts of Portage la Prairie. This is a multi-use pathway for walking, rolling, cycling and skateboarding. It's a separated space that allows folks to travel for recreation and daily commuting."

"It's part of the initiative that we want to see happen, and that's connecting the city with these types of multi-use pathways, so it's easier for folks to walk and cycle around town."

The area of the Fisher Avenue pathway to be paved this summer was extended, Wassink notes — from 3rd Street NE to 6th Street NE — thanks to a decrease in the price of asphalt. While the path is paved, there's still some aesthetic work to be done around the walkway.

"People are using it and can use it, but they will be putting gravel along the sides to build a small shoulder and make sure there's not a big drop-off at the edge," Wassink explains. “That will probably been done sometime next week.”

There are no additional active transportation pathways to be built or paved this summer, Wassink adds. In 2018, the PATC is working to have a gravel/limestone path paved that runs along 3rd Street NW from Goodale Drive to Scott Avenue.

"That was fund-raised to be built by PATC a few years ago with the Portage Rotary Club to provide materials and then the city would install it," Wassink says. "Hopefully that will be paved next year."