When main roads are blocked, some drivers turn to secondary routes to avoid traffic.

However, residents of the East Kildonan neighborhood say they are fed up with makeshift detours down their lane.

The rear lane, located between Simpson and Concordia avenues, is largely accessible to cars and without obstacles. While the speed limit is set at 30 kilometers per hour, residents believe that vehicles are traveling faster and more often.

“People try to use this as a shortcut,” Ritik Ranga said. “They try to get around all the cars so they can get to their house faster.”

Ranga said the alley has become a popular “parking lot,” where parents wait to pick up and drop off their children at nearby schools.

It became a nuisance and a safety issue, Randy Bercier said.

“I have a family here,” he said. “We try to play as much as we can, we try to use this green space to play and it’s just a super dangerous place right now.”

Bercier has lived in the area for nearly a decade. He said he and his neighbors have been looking for a solution to the problem for years and even petitioned the city, but haven’t had much luck.

“It’s just getting out of hand,” he said.

Elmwood-East Kildonan County. Jason Schreyer said he hopes to get the situation under control soon with the help of Winnipeg police.

“We’re going to be monitoring again and we’re going to look at the idea, the possibility of having some sort of more permanent logging for a period of time,” Schreyer said.

Schreyer added that police will be responsible for monitoring traffic volumes and speeds, but he can’t say when that will be done.

“They won’t tell us,” he said. “That’s how surveillance works.”

Bercier said he hopes something will be done soon and expects more concrete actions from the city.

“You can put up road signs or stop signs or ‘Slow down, children are playing.’ People are going to ignore it like they do anyway, whereas something that could damage your vehicle if you go too fast, I think is a better measure at this point,” Bercier said.

Schreyer said speed bumps in rear lanes are not common but could be implemented, provided there is a petition to the city’s public works committee and a motion can be made .

In the meantime, the Winnipeg Police Service is advising pedestrians and residents using the alley to remain cautious and vigilant. It also asks drivers to stay on main roads and use caution if traveling in alleys.