Mayor Sam Katz is lukewarm to a proposed $312-million transit overhaul, saying yesterday he wants to improve the city's existing bus system before investing in rapid transit.

Last night, Katz dropped by an open house hosted by the rapid transit task force, which is gathering public feedback on its plan to build a bus rapid transit (BRT) network.

The concept calls for $90 million in fixes to the existing system, such as upgraded bus shelters and diamond lanes, which are traffic lanes restricted to buses, as well as construction of two short chunks of dedicated, high-speed bus corridor through Confusion Corner and down ad stretch of Nairn Avenue.

Over the next 20 years, the city would build the dedicated corridor — a walled-off route separate from other traffic — to the University of Manitoba, as well as a downtown light rail system connecting The Forks with Portage Place and the Exchange.

"I very much like the fact that they've addressed the key issue of taking our system and seeing how they can make it better with what we've got before we start spending capital dollars," Katz said.

"It's important to find out what the public is thinking, and a lot of people still don't consider rapid transit a priority. Period."

Katz said his priority is fixing the city's roads and bridges as well as improving the existing bus system before building dedicated bus transit corridors. He said he met recently with 75 bus drivers, many of whom suggested the city postpone rapid transit and invest first ii heated bus shelters, real-time schedule information, new fare collection boxes and traffic-signal technology that allows buses to jump ahead of cars.

"Rapid transit is certainly important to some people," Katz said. "I guess it all comes down to dollars and cents."

Coun. Donald Benham, a longtime supporter of BRT, said Katz's comments stand in stark contrast to his pledge last fall to support a rapid transit system once the task force had explored all the options.

"The implication was always there that he was a supporter of rapid transit, Benham said. "I would have to say I'm disappointed, to say the least."

Last fall, Katz killed the first phase of a citywide bus rapid transit plan that would have seen a high-speed bus-only corridor built between the downtown through Confusion Corner to the Pembina/Jubilee interchange. Buses would have been used diamond lines down to the University of Manitoba.

Instead, Katz won the federal government's approval to spend $34 million earmarked for BRT on recreation centres and formed the rapid transit task force.

The task force has spent the last several months consulting riders, city planners and transit experts to come up with their three-phase plan.

• During the first phase, "quality" corridors would be developed along existing roadways, including Main Street, Henderson Highway, Portage Avenue, Pembina Highway and St. Mary's Road. Buses on these routes would use red diamond lanes and have the ability to override traffic signals. Transit fares would be collected at kiosks at the stations to speed loading and allow passengers to get on the buses at the front and back doors. Two busways would also be built on Nairn Avenue and through Confusion Corner, where Osborne and Donald streets, Corydon Avenue and Pembina Highway meet.
• Phase 2 would see diamond lanes created on Notre Dame Avenue, McPhillips Street, Regent Avenue and St. Anne's Road. The Nairn Avenue busway would also be expanded.
• Phase 3, which is likely 10 to 20 years away, involves the creation of a busway along Pembina from Wardlaw Avenue to Bison Drive, and diamond lanes on Archibald Street, Kenaston Boulevard, Marion Street, Broadway and Vaughn Street. Phase 3 also includes the construction of the downtown light-rail transit system.

David Leibl, a member of Winnipeggers for Bus Rapid Transit, spent Saturday studying the plan at the task force's first open house.

He said the complicated plan amounts to "some very half-steps in the right direction."

"It might be a little bit generous to call it rapid transit," Leibl said. "Again, it seems Winnipeg is settling for the cautious middle ground."

Leibl noted the lack of commuter bike lanes and wondered how many new riders the system would attract and exactly how much it would cut ride times. He joked that few people would ever take the downtown LRT unless they wanted to pop to The Forks for a Skinner's hot dog for lunch.

The task force will present its final proposal to the city next month.