https://www.fastcompany.com/3029299/these-simple-devices-tur
n-every-sign-post-into-a-bike-rack
These Simple Devices Turn Every Sign Post Into A Bike Rack | Fast Company
One of the challenges of urban cycling is finding a place to park your
bike. A simple design from U.K.-based Smartstreets
<http://www.smartstreets.co.uk/> might help: The Cyclepark, made of two
metal loops, hooks around existing lampposts and street signs to provide
extra bike parking on every block.
“By making use of what’s already there, you’re not adding obstacles on the
pavement for pedestrians,” says Andrew Farish, one of the designers of the
Cyclepark. “And the less stuff you have on the street, the better the
street looks.”
People already tend to lock bikes to sign posts and railings when they
can’t find a bike rack, but without something more substantial to latch
onto, it’s easy for bikes to fall over or even be lifted over the pole and
stolen. It’s also often illegal to use a street post if there isn’t an
official rack.
The Cyclepark is a little like the circular racks that some cities have added
to old parking meters
<http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/01/09/nyc-dot-prepares-for-12000-parking-me…>,
but street posts are even more ubiquitous than meters, making it easier to
create a broad network of parking. In New York, for example, there are
250,000 posts for lighting alone, and countless other street signs. “This
stuff is already there,” says Farish. “Often something like a signpost
literally does one thing. They have to have a sign there that explains what
parking is, or what a single yellow line means, so they’ve got this post
and literally all it’s doing is holding up a tiny little
eight-by-eight-inch sign. By converting that into a bike park, you’ve
released new value from that infrastructure.”
The brightly colored Cycleparks can also double as markers for bike routes
around a city, leading cyclists down a particular path. They’re cheaper to
install than a typical rack, since the process takes around 10 minutes and
there’s no need to jackhammer holes into the pavement (there’s also likely
less need for permitting and consultations, since the change is so minor).
Farish says the racks are a way to improve the look of a city by reducing
clutter. “It’s a rare opportunity to give a visible upgrade to a street,”
he says, explaining that much of the work that cities do often goes
unnoticed by the public. “It’s really a way of encouraging cycling and
doing it a way that doesn’t compromise the street’s aesthetic.”
*Winnipeg looking at innovative ways to clear roads and sidewalks*
* City behind the curve on snow removal *
DECLAN SCHROEDER
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-behind-the-curve-on-snow-remov…
LAST fall, a one-sentence directive contained within a mandate letter from
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman to infrastructure and public works committee
chairman Coun. Marty Morantz, presented a pile of opportunities larger than
a Winnipeg snowbank: “Review and research innovative snow-clearing
opportunities with a view to finding savings, efficiencies and
improvements.”
In Winnipeg, swirling snowfalls are simply a reality of existence.
Surviving them— and not allowing them to kibosh going to the Jets game or
making theweekly grocery run — is a rite of passage for many Winnipeggers,
for whomhardiness is next to godliness. Others choose to simply hunker down.
One group that cannot pull the blinds and pour another cup of cocoa is
Winnipeg’s public works department. After flakes fly, it’s up to city
employees and private subcontractors to hit the streets with heavy machines
and clear snow and ice.
Compared with other cities, Canadian and otherwise— which have found novel
and innovative solutions to moving the white stuff — Winnipeg’s snow
clearing is behind the times.
The report regarding innovation is tardy, too. Jim Berezowsky, Winnipeg’s
acting director of public works, was supposed to present a report to the
standing policy committee on infrastructure renewal and public works Sept.
11.
He didn’t. Snow will likely hit Winnipeg before Berezowsky’s report lands
on Morantz’s desk. Morantz said he knew Berezowsky would ask for a 90-day
extension, which the councillor granted.
Plowing problems came to a head in the city last winter. In December, after
Winnipeg got dumped with more than 68 centimetres of snow thanks to two
Colorado lows and numerous Alberta clippers, the city proved incapable of
clearing it in a timely fashion. Traffic on city streets was snarled for
days and sidewalks remained snowed in for longer.
“Because we had those two massive snowfalls, it was quite a challenge,”
Morantz said.
“Basically, most of the complaints that we received after the last two
years were around sidewalk clearing.”
Berezowsky said when crews plow high-volume streets, they use boulevards to
store snow. However, due to “lack of snow storage space,” it often piles
onto sidewalks.
In Montreal, which has an annual snow-clearing budget of $155 million,
crews use an innovative strategy that emulates crop harvesting.
Instead of pushing the snow onto the boulevard, a plow with a blower
attachment sends the snow directly from the road into a five-ton dump truck
driving in tandem. When one truck is full, it peels out and another one
rolls up. There are limitations — the blower can make quickwork of loose
snow, but can’t move big chunks packed down by the vehicles that venture
onto snowy streets.
This strategy prevents obstructed sightlines caused by high snowbanks at
intersections, eliminates the need for crews to return and remove them
later, and ensures snow doesn’t pile up on sidewalks when operators run out
of space.
That’s not the only innovation Montreal has undertaken. They’ve also been
inspired by Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.
There, pipes under the sidewalks carry geothermally heated water that melts
the snow off of them.
The system covers 50,000 square metres, according to the National Energy
Authority of Iceland. Montreal is launching a $26-million pilot project
with a similar system on 670 metres of high-traffic Rue Sainte-Catherine
sidewalk.
While that price tag would nearly melt through the entirety of Winnipeg’s
$33.8-million snow-clearing budget, quicker sidewalk clearing would save
people like St. James resident Cassandra Jones a lot of frustration.
Jones, who uses an electric wheelchair, is sometimes stranded inside her
home because sidewalks aren’t clear.
“It can be a bit of a pain sometimes, because if they don’t plow them very
well, it can be really hard to get around,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s days and days and days and they just don’t bother. They do
downtown really well… but they don’t seem to bother with residential
sidewalks as much.”
Jones said she’s thankful for her friend John Wiebe. Wiebe, who has one
arm, takes his snow blower and clears a path so Jones can get to
Sundayworship.
“That’s pretty bad when someone has to buy a snow blower just so I can get
to church.”
In many Canadian cities, clearing the city sidewalk isn’t just neighbourly
— it’s the law.
In Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina and Toronto, the onus is on the
homeowner to clear walks adjacent to their properties.
Homeowners in Edmonton, for example, have 48 hours after a snowfall to
clear the snow or risk a $100 fine.
Don Turenne, management supervisor of Edmonton’s parks and roads services
department, said Edmontonians, generally, have no problem clearing city
sidewalks.
“It’s been that way for years,” Turenne said. “... I don’t hear a lot
either from the media or through complaints. We’ve been doing it for so
long that citizens just treat it as one of the expectations.”
Turenne’s inklings are backed up by statistics.
Troy Courtoreille, Edmonton’s acting director of the complaints and
investigations section of the community standards branch, provided
specifics.
“We see a varying compliance rate that averages 77 per cent during most
winters, but it can drop as low as 65 per cent or increase to about 90 per
cent,” he wrote in an email, noting variables such as “fluctuating weather,
educational campaigns, and enforcement targeting” affect the numbers.
“Generally, homeowners follow the bylaw, but there are known problematic
neighbourhoods whose compliance rate(s) (are) lower than average.”
Winnipeg’s policy, by comparison, is opaque. It doesn’t outlinewhen work
should start after a snowfall, and simply says residential sidewalks will
be “completed within five working days following the commencement of work”
by city crews or private contractors.
Berezowsky called requiring homeowners to clear sidewalks an “alternative”
and said it doesn’t fit in within the definition of innovation.
“Innovation is not putting the responsibility back onto someone else at a
cost,” he said. “That’s called service reduction.”
Novel ideas don’t end at sidewalks, of course. Many cities use a strategy
called “pre-wetting” to help chemicals stick to roads and reduce the amount
used. A study on the effectiveness of pre-wetting, done by members of the
department of civil engineering at the University of Waterloo, found
pre-wet salt outperformed dry salt by between 14 and 38 per cent in 2002-03.
In Ottawa, a liquid de-icer is applied to rock salt to help it bind better
to the road. Salt usage has been reduced by one-fifth as a result.
Starting this winter, Edmonton will undertake a similar policy. Crews will
spray roads with a brine solution before snowfalls to prevent it from
sticking. The hope — although this remains to be seen — is that pre-wetting
can prevent the need to plow in some cases, potentially saving the city
from spending the entirety of its $54-million budget.
Other jurisdictions have cut down on salt use by using unconventional
alternatives, including beet juice (which Winnipeg has been experimenting
with for a fewyears), cheese brine and molasses.
While Winnipeg’s report on the future of snow clearing is delayed, it’s not
moving quite as slow as molasses — Morantz and Berezowsky have been looking
at many newpossibilities.
Morantz wouldn’t speculate on the final contents of the report, but talked
about some approaches that caught his eye. Specifically, he described a
plow with a “snowgate” attachment— one that plows the road and clears
windrows in one fell swoop — as having piqued his interest.
Berezowsky also outlined several potential measures, including tools inside
equipment that sense the exact temperatures of roadways, entirely
chloride-free ice-melting methods and expanding the city’s limited
pre-wetting program.
While improvementsmay eventually come, Winnipeggers will keep having to
take perverse pride in navigating snow-plugged streets and sidewalks. It
may take until 2019 before any of the report’s recommendations are
implemented, as it will come too late to factor into the city’s 2018 budget
talks.
“If there’s additional budgetary requirements, by that time, most of the
planning for the 2018 budget will be complete,” Morantz said.
“It’s quite possible we’d have to refer to the ’19 budget, which will not
be considered until later next year.”
Berezowsky warned implementation can be slow.
“Industry would never go ahead and fully implement something without a
policy change requirement by the city— which would have to be proposed and
passed through council.”
Declan Schroeder is a senior journalism student in the creative
communications program at Red River College in Winnipeg. This article was a
product of a featurewriting assignment.
dschroeder42(a)academic.rrc.ca
*EPC backs revamp plan of intersection *
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/bowman-epc-back-intersection-revamp…
A PLAN to upgrade the Portage and Main intersection with the intention of
eventually opening it up to pedestrians was endorsed unanimously Wednesday
by Mayor Brian Bowman and members of his executive policy committee.
The proposal would see the city spend $3.5 million to revamp the areas
around the intersection, including:
• $1.5 million for further engineering and architectural work needed to
allow pedestrians to cross.
• $500,000 for new sidewalks, curbs and street trees for the plaza area
directly in front of the Richardson Building
• $1.5 million to upgrade the underground concourse underneath the tower at
201 Portage Ave.
Bowman said he was pleased with the unanimous vote, adding it marks a
milestone for Winnipeg city council.
“This is four decades to get us where we are today,” Bowman told reporters
following the EPC meeting.
The vote came after nine downtown business leaders spent more than an hour
in the morning urging EPC members to approve the plan.
Two early dissenters on EPC — Couns. Scott Gillingham and Brian Mayes —
eventually voted for the proposal after Bowman agreed to include minor
amendments from both of them.
Gillingham wanted a written assurance that the intersection will not be
reopened to pedestrians until a report detailing cost estimates and traffic
impacts is presented to council. Mayes secured an agreement that the
administration will consider the impact of a potential north Main Street
transit corridor will have on the project.
The proposal requires council to:
• Commit to re-opening the intersection to pedestrians through a phased
approach.
• Appoint a Portage Avenue and Main Street Working Group.
• Approve a single-source contract with Harvard Developments for
reimbursement of renovation and upgrade costs up to $500,000 for work
Harvard Developments is doing in the underground concourse in conjunction
with upgrades to Harvard underground property.
• Sign an agreement with the adjacent property owners for at-grade
pedestrian activity at the intersection, which would include termination of
the original lease provisions that prohibit atgrade activity.
The proposal needs at least a majority of nine votes at council.
aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca
*** Friendly reminder about tomorrow's webinar viewing ***
Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local
viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar.
The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303
Portage Ave
<https://maps.google.com/?q=3rd+floor,+303+Portage+Ave&entry=gmail&source=g>)
and will be followed by group discussion of local applications for those
who wish to stay.
RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then!
cheers,
Beth
* * * * *
*Designing Transit to Support Active Transportation, and Vice VersaWed, Oct
18th | 2-3 p.m. CDT*
At the October webinar, Andy and Lia will begin by discussing accommodating
buses and bicycles together on the streets of L.A. county. Innovative
strategies relating to street design and driver/rider education have
recently been employed in Los Angeles County to reduce bus/bicycle
conflicts and improve multi-modal operations and safety. This webinar will
examine the findings from a recent study of 15 shared bicycle/transit
corridors and share recommendations for improving operator training and
infrastructure design. Then, Sandra will discuss how pedestrian
improvements at bus stops improve conditions for all pedestrians. She'll
review what to do with data that is collected and how to prioritize stops
for improvement, with examples from projects. Sandra will also discuss ways
that active transportation projects can support transit. For example, when
engineering walkways and designing ped environment, thinking about how it
will transition into the bus stop area and meet ADA requirements.
Presenters:
- Andy Kosinski, Fehr & Peers
- Lia Yim, LA Metro
- Sandra Clarey, McMahon Associates
--
*Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre
<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/>
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your green living hub
Support our work by becoming a member
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>
<http://www.gomanitoba.ca>
Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local
viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar.
The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303
Portage Ave
<https://maps.google.com/?q=3rd+floor,+303+Portage+Ave&entry=gmail&source=g>)
and will be followed by group discussion of local applications for those
who wish to stay.
RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then!
cheers,
Mel
* * * * *
*Designing Transit to Support Active Transportation, and Vice VersaWed, Oct
18th | 2-3 p.m. CDT*
At the October webinar, Andy and Lia will begin by discussing accommodating
buses and bicycles together on the streets of L.A. county. Innovative
strategies relating to street design and driver/rider education have
recently been employed in Los Angeles County to reduce bus/bicycle
conflicts and improve multi-modal operations and safety. This webinar will
examine the findings from a recent study of 15 shared bicycle/transit
corridors and share recommendations for improving operator training and
infrastructure design. Then, Sandra will discuss how pedestrian
improvements at bus stops improve conditions for all pedestrians. She'll
review what to do with data that is collected and how to prioritize stops
for improvement, with examples from projects. Sandra will also discuss ways
that active transportation projects can support transit. For example, when
engineering walkways and designing ped environment, thinking about how it
will transition into the bus stop area and meet ADA requirements.
*Mel Marginet* | Workplace Commuter Options
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre
<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/>
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x112 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your green living hub
Support our work by becoming a member
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>
<http://www.gomanitoba.ca>
*A better way to fight bike theft *
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/a-better-way-to-fight-bike-theft-44…
OFFICER Rob Brunt recalls the first time he walked into Vancouver Police
Department’s (VPD) property office in 2015. Hundreds of seized bikes lined
the floor and hung from rotating racks above his head, like clothing at a
dry cleaner.
“Holy cow,” Brunt thought. “My whole career I’ve been seizing these bikes,
and I find out… the department returns about two to four per cent of them.”
Brunt has worked for the VPD for more than 25 years. He spent most of that
time as a deputy, patrolling the streets of Vancouver.
After learning how many stolen bikes were auctioned off, unable to be
returned to their owners, Brunt focused his policing efforts on preventing
bike theft. He designed and distributed posters to bike shops — instructing
cyclists on how to properly lock a bike and encouraging them to use U-locks
instead of cable locks. Then he looked into what other Canadian cities were
doing to combat the problem.
“I look north, south, east, west — nobody’s doing nothing,” Brunt says.
Winnipeg statistics suggest we also have a big bike theft problem.
In Winnipeg in 2016, more than 2,500 bikes were reported stolen to police.
That number is down four per cent from 2015. But theft reports soared 39
per cent from 2014 to 2016. Winnipeg police say they don’t keep track of
the number of bikes returned to owners. But the city advertised more than
250 bikes for sale during its April 2017 bike auction.
In Vancouver, the number of bikes reported stolen fell 35 per cent from May
2016 to May 2017. Almost 800 fewer bikes were reported stolen in that time,
even though the city is recording more bike usage on bike paths than in
previous years. The return of stolen bikes to their owners also jumped from
an average of four per cent to 10 per cent.
Brunt says the secret to the decline in bike theft has been the VPD’s
partnership with Project 529.
Project 529 is a bike-theft prevention program that police departments,
schools and cities can partner with. It uses an app, 529 Garage, as a bike
registry. Users log their bike information — colour, make, model, serial
number and bike nickname — then, when a user’s bike is stolen, they can
send out an alert to other users in the city, telling them to keep their
eyes peeled for the missing bike.
Police who partner with the project can run serial numbers through the
software to find the owner of a seized or found bike, just like they can
for a stolen car.
Using the app has helped the VPD get bikes back to their owners faster and
more consistently. However, the creator of the app, J Allard, says it’s
really just a tool and it’s the people who promote the app who make Project
529 a success.
Allard says leadership is essential to getting the project off the ground,
but that’s what many cities are lacking.
“Problem No. 1 is nobody knows who’s in charge,” Allard says.
In Winnipeg, bike theft is handled by the evidence control unit, which
deals with any stolen or found property in the city.
In Vancouver, Brunt heads up the initiative. His title is Project 529
liaison officer, and preventing bike theft is his full-time job. In other
jurisdictions, such as Oregon, they’ve created a bike theft task force,
dedicated to fighting the rising issue.
Allard says getting enough human resources to help run the program is a big
challenge. Cyclists need to be convinced that registering their bike is
worthwhile, and that takes lots of promotional efforts.
“If maintaining your bike properly is like brushing your teeth… I learned
that even with a slick and simple-to-use app, registering your bike is like
flossing your teeth,” Allard says.
Allard says a community has to strive and work to fix the problem for the
project to succeed.
Signs of this community already exist in Winnipeg. Residents are sharing
photos of missing and found bikes through social media. But again, there is
no clear leader in the fight against bike theft.
Allard and Brunt say getting police involved is the first step to making
the program a success.
The VPD focuses a lot of energy on community outreach. Brunt has been able
to register more than 10,000 bikes in Vancouver over seven months through a
handful of cycling and registration events. Each rider receives a 529
Garage sticker for free if they register at an event. Going into the
community and making registration accessible and easy is a key element of
the VPD’s approach.
Winnipeg police offer bike registration and a sticker for $6.50. To
register a bike, you need to fill out a form and return it to the
recreation services division’s building on Main Street.
After getting police involved, Brunt says, the next step is getting the
cycling community on board. The best way he’s found to reach that community
is through bike shops.
Some shops in Winnipeg have their own registration systems, but since
they’re limited to the bikes bought or repaired at the stores, they don’t
do much to help prevent citywide thefts.
“What would work even better than just a localized system… would be just a
universal system throughout the city,” says Justin Debattista, who has
worked at Woodcock Cycle Works for 2 ½ years.
Woodcock Cycle Works records serial numbers and uses stickers to help
police verify ownership through the store.
“It’s a simple system, and it tends to work as long as the sticker isn’t
removed,” Debattista says.
Because Project 529 is not active in Winnipeg, Debattista says a good lock
is still the best investment to make for your bike.
Kit Muir is a senior journalism student in the Creative Communications
program at Red River College in Winnipeg. This article was a product of a
feature writing assignment.
kitmuir(a)me.com