Graham Avenue Transit Mall

Having been in the planning stages since the 1970s, Graham Mall was completed in 1995. The Mall saw 1,800 buses and 100,000 transit users every day. It is built mostly of highway-grade concrete and featured cobblestone brick at all intersections.

In 2025, the transit mall was decommissioned, and all routes were moved off Graham Ave on June 29, 2025. The City of Winnipeg plans to convert Graham Avenue into a "vibrant people-first destination".

History

Before the Mall was constructed, planning for a transit corridor in Winnipeg's downtown had been debated for several years since at least 1990. Construction of the Graham Avenue Transit Mall began in May 1994, and after two years (1994-95) opened on September 16, 1995. Then city councilors Terry Dugald and Glen Murray were key supporters of the project, with Dugald commenting that the project would "Revitalize the whole area".

When it was completed, the Transit Mall featured granite curbs, heated bus shelters, and unique streetlights which were intended to provide better lighting for pedestrians. Blue holland pavers were used to decorate the sidewalks.

In recent years, road work around the mall began to degrade and is in need of serious maintenance work on concrete and cobblestones to keep the roadway smooth. In December 2018, to improve safety, a Transit Inspector Station was constructed at Graham Avenue and Fort Street.

In 2021, City council approved the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan, which advocated for reducing the number of routes going through downtown. This meant that most routes using the transit mall would be discontinued. An exception is the BLUE route which would be moved to Portage Avenue. Throughout May and June 2025, the city dismantled physical infrastructure such as shelters, benches and electronic bus stop signs, with the bus routes being moved or discontinued on June 29, 2025. After the new network launched, only two bus stops remained on Graham Ave which are between Garry and Main Street.