As of August 2020, residents and patrons of businesses on Blumberg Trail in Headingley, MB have been unable to (legally) turn left onto or out of Blumberg Trail onto the #1 Highway / Portage Avenue due to No Left Turn/Right Turn Only signs put up by Manitoba Infrastructure. It was suggested to residents and businesses that vehicles needed to access Blumberg Trail should make a U-Turn - on the TransCanada Highway - at either John Blumberg Park, or Camp Manitou Rd. 

This has already had an immensely negative effect on both the residents and the businesses of Blumberg Trail. 

Residents with children going to daycare or elementary school in Headingley are unable to turn left out of the development in the morning - and both daycares in the town are west of Blumberg Trail. Several services serving the residents of Blumberg Trail are also affected by this - including sewer service, garbage service, and even the local school buses. Currently several of these drivers are forced to use local business parking lots to turn around (e.g. Blumberg Park, Flying J) because they are unable to make the U-Turns suggested by Manitoba Infrastructure, due to the size of their vehicles.

Residents working in Headingley - the place in which they live - cannot turn left to get to the majority of the businesses in town that they're likely to work at, and residents working in Winnipeg cannot turn left to get back to their homes. It is, ironically, legal to turn left into or out of the half-dozen businesses on Portage Avenue directly adjacent to Blumberg Trail, despite the same safety concerns existing.

Patrons of businesses on Blumberg Trail - including Motel 6, Total Storage, and BTB Trailer Rentals & Hauling - are also affected. This has resulted in many complaints and likely loss of customers for these businesses. Many of these businesses serve customers with vehicles that are unable to perform a U-Turn to get into the development, and no doubt many customers just don't want the inconvenience and will pass by businesses such as the hotel in favor of more convenient locations now.

It is our understanding that the left turn restriction was put in place due to accidents at the intersection - which is understandable, if the accidents were caused by people turning left in a dangerous manner, which they do not seem to have been. Many, if not all, of these accidents have been rear-end collisions caused by speeding and unsafe driving by OTHER drivers on Portage avenue. 

Furthermore, the restriction is not effective. Many drivers still turn left into and out of Blumberg Trail, or use loopholes such as turning into a private business and then left turning back onto Portage Avenue to make a right turn onto Blumberg Trail. That's not to speak of the absurd suggestion that making a U-Turn on the TransCanada Highway is somehow safer than making a left turn off of it - especially at Camp Manitou Rd, where the U-Turn is likely to be performed with oncoming traffic having a green light. Trucks also frequently run the red light at Blumberg Field.

Therefore, we have the following recommendations as temporary short-term solutions, pending a formal traffic study and a permanent solution:

1. Remove, or reduce the left turn restrictions. 
2. Improve street lighting at the intersection of Blumberg Trail and Portage Avenue.
3. Reduce the speed limit of the undivided section of Portage Avenue.
4. Conduct a Traffic Volume Study to determine the left turn volume at the intersection and publish the results.

Possible long term solutions:

1. Add a westbound left turn storage lane, so turning traffic can yield the lane to through traffic.
2. Add a westbound centre merge lane, so traffic turning west from Blumberg are not turning into an active highway lane.
3. Increase traffic enforcement on this stretch of the TransCanada! Accidents are due to unsafe drivers speeding, tailgating, and making last minute lane changes, NOT drivers turning left!