Drag racing in North Winnipeg getting worse, residents say

Some residents of a Winnipeg North End community say their front street has become a Sunday night drag strip.

Roxanne Pohl, who lives north of Inkster Boulevard on Brookside Boulevard said a police crackdown on Portage Avenue a few years ago has chased the drag racers to more remote areas. Residents estimate the racers are hitting speeds of more than 160 kilometers per hour.

Pohl said police should patrol streets other than Portage Avenue on Sunday nights, adding the racing that takes place in her area has become very dangerous.

"There was actually a guy last year or the year before who was drag racing and it was just getting dark and he was on a motorcycle with another guy and they were racing and he was doing a wheelie," she said. "He ended up crashing right in front of our place."

She said the racers gather in the parking lots of nearby trucking firms as it gets dark on Sunday evenings.

"They start at the Maple Leaf silo plant, do a quarter-mile run, screech to a halt in front of our place, and then do a turn-around and go back, and then it's different cars every time," she said.

Police agree cruise night has become a citywide phenomenon and they have begun patrolling different neighbourhoods.

Last weekend, officers pulled over a speeding automobile on McPhillips Street, charged the driver with racing under the Highway Traffic Act and seized his vehicle.

Police will continue to operate dedicated patrols all summer long and are reminding drivers of a public awareness campaign that urges them to Just Slow Down.