Half-block of McTavish to close permanently

A small stretch of McTavish Avenue in Brandon is set to be permanently closed to allow for easier access for the Brandon Police Service at its headquarters.

The 1000 block of McTavish Avenue was originally closed in September 2022 to allow for the construction of the BPS detention facility, which opened last year. It has remained fenced off since.

“What we’re looking for is an opportunity to have a safe space,” BPS Deputy Chief Greg Hebert said during a council meeting earlier this month.

“Originally we talked about needing more space, but really it’s to transfer our detainees into our building.”

BPS does have a sally port for three vehicles, which allows officers to drive their vehicles indoors to move detainees. But the sally port is often full, Hebert said.

The closure will only be for the eastern half of the 1000 block of McTavish. The other half will be open for public use, which also allows access to a back lane.

BPS headquarters often has a completely full parking lot, a council report said. The grounds currently have 136 parking spaces available, some of which are taken by its 40 operations vehicles. BPS also has 114 staff and needs room for visitor and detective parking.

An illustration contained in the council report shows that the road closure allows for 15 new parking spaces on the road. It also creates an additional 17 new spaces on existing BPS land and allows more room for vehicles to enter the facility.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said that since the 17 detention cells were installed, and paramedics moved in to take care of detainees in July, the city sees the need for the addition.

“Getting the paramedics has been a great value, but it has added to how we have to do the operations,” Fawcett said. “We have the data that justifies it now.”

Council unanimously approved the permanent closure at its Dec. 15 meeting.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) said he has heard from residents that the closure, which is also across the road from the Real Canadian Superstore, has helped alleviate traffic congestion.

“One comment I do know that citizens reflected on is how much easier it is to turn onto 10th Street (from) McTavish … since this road closure has taken place,” Luebke said.

“It’s actually maybe a good thing as far as traffic flow’s concerned on 10th Street.”

He said the original plan was to close the entire block, but other city departments, including sanitation, said that keeping half the block open would allow them easier access to the back lane.

The recommended partial closure was one of three options given to council. The other options were to do nothing, which the council report said “is not feasible due to the rapid growth” of BPS, and to build a parking garage, which would have cost an estimated $7 million and service 50 to 75 additional spaces.

The city and BPS will need to pay for work, including curb repair, fencing — including automated gates for BPS vehicles — and, potentially, light standards. No price on the work was given by the city, but a council report said some of the cost will be covered by funds left over from the detention-unit project.

» alambert@brandonsun.com