A while ago a 'little bird' told me that the new fire hall being built in the middle of a cloverleaf in Winnipeg wasn't up to snuff with the city's traffic engineers.

Remember, this is the same fire hall that is a couple million dollars over budget and the one where bureaucrats refused to fess-up for weeks as to who approved making it 33% larger than originally planned. It's uniquely located in a cloverleaf at Portage Ave and Route 90 and is the same one bureaucrats initially thought should include a mini fire truck museum - cause you, know cloverleafs are known for ample parking if anyone actually wanted to see it.

Aaaanyway, the 'little bird' suggested the city's traffic engineers advised against putting a fire hall there, but someone higher up ruled against the decision and the city went ahead with building it there anyway.

Once the fire hall saga in this city kicked into high gear, I elevated the tip to a higher priority and got off my duff to file a freedom of information request with the city for original traffic reports/studies for that decision. 

After receiving a delay notice, I called the city and spoke with the Deputy Fire Chief of Operations. I was told they would respond with the name of the firm that conducted the traffic study, along with the cost of the study, but I just had to wait as the response was going through the proper process.

Well, after several more weeks of waiting, the city has refused the request. You can view their response by clicking here.

Really? What could be so secretive about a traffic study on where to locate a fire hall? What's the cost? Who did the report?

For a city that's trying to move beyond the fire hall saga they're sure fanning the flames by refusing simple requests like the one I filed...unless of course there really is something to the 'little bird's' claims? Let's see if we can find out...

Photo Credit: Winnipeg Free Press