Hello All,
Please find attached 2 job postings for The WRENCH.
The WRENCH is a newly established non-profit organization that has developed
out of a partnership between individuals, community groups, and the City of
Winnipeg. We envision a city where people of all ages, genders, ethnicities
and economic backgrounds are empowered to build, maintain, and use bicycles.
Our mission is to make bicycles and cycling accessible to the public by
providing programming, education and resources for community members and
organizations while supporting new and existing community bike shops.
Application Deadline: Thursday, October 7th, 2010
--
*Stephanie Fulford*
Green Action Centre
204.925.3774
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a non-profit organization. Please consider making a
donation.
Check out this interesting new backpack with LED lights to indicate left and
right turns:
http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translate_url_content?.intl=fr&lp=fr_en&trurl
=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fubiz.net%2f2010%2f09%2f29%2fseil-bag%2f#more-104802
Regards,
Erik Dickson B.Sc. (Hons)
Marr Consulting Services
8th Floor - 136 Market Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 0P4
Phone: (204) 927-3456 ext. 242
Fax: (204) 927-3443
Please consider our environment before printing this message.
Winnipeg Free Press
Letters to the Editor: Have your say
*Causes of congestion*
Re: *Bragging rights gone* (Letters, Sept. 27). Tim Kwiatkowski's argument
that diamond lanes and red-light cameras have caused increased commute times
in Winnipeg is completely illogical. There are two real causes of this, in
fact.
One deals with drivers. There are more cars and trucks on the roadways than
ever before (a high proportion of which are driver-only, i.e. without
passengers), more impatient drivers who are cutting others off and getting
into accidents, and drivers who are (still!) illegally operating a cellphone
and adding to the accident rates.
The other cause is city planning and outward migration. The uncontrolled and
accelerating suburban sprawl (despite a low rate of population growth)
without consideration for public transportation makes it next to impossible
for people to take the bus, further clogging the roads with more cars and
trucks.
Kwiatkowski's argument is completely off-base. The reason driving times have
increased is because of increased automobile traffic, not because of a few
buses or cyclists.
Stephen Berg
Winnipeg
* * * * *
*Bragging rights gone*
There was a time, not too long ago, when most Winnipeggers could brag about
the pleasure of being able to get from any Point A to Point B in less than
20 minutes of driving. Those days are long since gone.
Thanks to the advent of diamond lanes and red-light camera intersections, we
now have much longer, smoggier and costly commutes to and from work. We can
see the bottlenecked effect on our roadways daily.
I could see putting up with the costly bumper-to-bumper traffic if the
changes implemented were practical and cost-effective. But such is not the
case. It doesn't make sense to force all road traffic into three-quarters of
available traffic lanes during the busiest periods of the day, just to
maintain a free lane for the occasional transit bus, bicycler or pedestrian
on roller blades. I thought this is why we had restricted parking during
rush hour.
Furthermore, would it have been difficult to implement a yield to transit
bus law to expedite the bus traffic? And we know that the red-light camera
intersections are not influencing an over-all decline in traffic accidents.
I feel that reasonable forethought was not given to these issues. I can say
that the current administration has not secured my vote in the upcoming
civic election. I know my pocketbook is hurting and our bragging rights are
gone. Maybe it is time for change?
TIM KWIATKOWSKI
Winnipeg
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC
Winnipeg Free Press Editorial
Not so fast, Mr. Katz
Mayor Sam Katz, clearly hearing a backlash from neighbourhoods where streets
are being torn up and redesigned for cyclists, tried distancing himself
Monday from the city's "active transportation" plan -- an ambitious venture
that this year saw 36 projects undertaken around Winnipeg. Not so fast, Mr.
Mayor.
Mr. Katz said he was never a part of and did not see the plans for the
street redesigns. Further, he has concluded not nearly enough consultation
happened before shovels went in the ground on the bike lanes, traffic
circles and curb bump-outs.
Mr. Katz's conclusions on consultation are inescapable -- inviting affected
residents to come to a public information session does not substitute for
good warning of the street alterations that happened as, or after, local
projects went to community committees, where hearings and decisions on ward
issues are made. As Mr. Katz concedes, some of the details discussed at
initial information sessions varied substantially from the blueprints that
rolled out in the neighbourhoods.
And postcards or flyers announcing change, but sent to some residents in
affected areas, do not constitute sufficient notice to communities.
Councillors agree that the process was rushed to qualify the projects for
the federal government's stimulus spending program, which ends in March.
But Mr. Katz's explanation of how this one got past him is disingenuous --
he is the mayor, he advocated for this active transportation plan, and he
voted for the $20 million (and the city's one-third share of it) as part of
the capital budget. The plans are available on the city's website, right
under his nose.
Mr. Katz can sense a rising tide of anger -- and this is election time. On
Monday, he said he would have a talk with the chief administrative officer
(who has quit and has been replaced with an interim CAO) on halting active
transportation projects not yet underway. Within hours, a plan for McDermot
Avenue was cancelled. Assiniboine Avenue, which raised the ire of residents
and business owners dismayed about the implementation of a one-way control
for a block there, is essentially complete and cannot be changed, Mr. Katz
said.
The 11th-hour turnabout is an ominous message to send on active
transportation. The mayor wishes to deflect blame to local councillors, who
saw the details, and the administration, which executed the plans. But, as
he admitted, the buck stops at his office. That the process saw redesigns
pass with little notice to residents is a sign of poor communication.
Residents rely on city council -- a body led by the mayor, a man who brags
that he gets things done with an often fractious council by consensus -- for
information about changing traffic patterns in their neighbourhoods.
Mr. Katz cannot claim on one hand to be a master of consensus, a maestro of
a disparate group of politicians, and on the other plead ignorance of what
has been the city's largest active transportation project ever. And how can
a mayor who has claimed credit for the building of more miles of bike trails
than any other now back away from accounting for the biggest piece of active
transportation rolled out to date?
The unfortunate cock-up of what should have been vigorous, early community
engagement in a movement to share streets with bicycles has instead pitted
motorists and residents -- who lose traffic lanes and parking spaces --
against cyclists trying to find their way to work while staying fit.
Mr. Katz has vowed that the next time such construction is contemplated the
city will go "beyond above and beyond" what has been considered adequate in
consultation. That's admirable. But Mr. Katz on Monday sounded very much
like a mayor pulling the rug out from underneath an administration
(effectively two civil servants in charge of the $20-million project) that
was left to implement a plan written hastily in 36 parts, under the nose of
an apparently distracted mayor. Mr. Katz needs to find why the plan's
consultation and execution got muddled, and ensure active transportation
does not again get bogged down in acrimony.
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC
Winnipeg Free Press
Bike-path work overkill: official Bureaucrat concedes workload daunting for
city, residents
By: Bartley Kives
The official in charge of Winnipeg's $20.4-million active-transportation
upgrade that has sparked criticism and controversy says he hopes the city
won't attempt such an ambitious bike-and-pedestrian overhaul in a single
year ever again.
In an interview with the *Free Press*, public works project manager Bill
Woroby suggested what Mayor Sam Katz and other senior officials have refused
to concede over the past week -- that this year's 36-project upgrade was too
ambitious to tackle over the course of one construction season.
"Hopefully not," said Woroby when asked whether Winnipeg should ever repeat
this year's attempt to add 102 kilometres of cycling routes to the city's
existing 274-kilometre network. All three levels of government paid for the
project, the largest commuter-cycling upgrade ever attempted in Winnipeg.
"It's hard to deliver 30-odd projects in one year. Not only are there 30-odd
projects, you're undertaking public consultation at the same time and
introducing people to new facilities they're not used to," Woroby said.
"This has certainly challenged the delivery. It has not given the public the
opportunity to appreciate the facilities we have in place. Once people see
the completed project, they will see it as a great addition to the city."
Katz and other officials have repeatedly said the tight time frame for the
ambitious slate of projects had nothing to do with a public-consultation
process both he and mayoral challenger Judy Wasylycia-Leis have described as
a failure.
Federal infrastructure-funding rules require the projects to be finished
before the end of March 2011, which effectively means all but three parts of
the upgrade must be finished before the winter, when snowfall makes it
impossible to lay concrete.
One project, a $1-million bridge in Omand Park, was cancelled and replaced
with $100,000 worth of path improvements. A second, the $250,000
Bannatyne-McDermot Bikeway, is in limbo to allow more dialogue with
residents and businesses.
A third, the Assiniboine Bikeway, is nearing completion despite a lawsuit
six Broadway-Assiniboine businesses have launched. There's also opposition
to projects along Berry Street, Grosvenor Avenue, Sherbrook Street and
Harrow Street.
As of Tuesday, 32 out of 34 green-lighted projects were either under
construction or nearing completion, said Woroby. Construction on the final
two will begin shortly.
Woroby dismissed suggestions a round of cuts to the public service last year
had any effect on the projects or their public consultation. "We did what
was required, with the resources we had in hand," he said.
The city employed seven consulting firms to engineer what were originally 36
projects, while two other firms were hired to co-ordinate the upgrade. The
city asked private firms to conduct the public consultations last November,
but cancelled the search four days before it closed.
Former city communications manager Ed Shiller said he felt $125,000 was too
much to spend on public relations consultants. He said the city did a good
job engaging the public on its own early this year, beginning at Katz's
state of the city address in January.
"We produced fantastic literature, describing every single one of the
projects then under consideration. Then we set up a whole series of public
consultations," said Shiller, who left the city at the end of March.
After his departure, private consulting firms took over the communications
strategy as well as the public-consultation meetings. Woroby said the city
responded to the advice it received at all of the meetings.
But even active-transportation proponents say the public ignored these
events.
"I was at 99 per cent of those consultations and the turnout was minimal,"
said Janice Lukes, executive director of the Winnipeg Trails Association.
"No one reads the notices, but when the bulldozers are on the street, then
people perk up. It's too bad. I just hope someone has the balls to keep
things moving forward."
Others want more projects placed on hold. Ellice Cafe and Theatre manager
Belinda Squance, for example, plans to meet with public works director Brad
Sacher this week to convince the city to shelve the $228,000
Sherbrook/Maryland bike-lane project until parking issues in the West End
are addressed. Squance said she supports cyclists but wishes the city
actually studied where they go.
Other cycling advocates complain the upgrade was a rush job.
"A tight timeline for the project and the need to spend federal funds within
this timeline no doubt was the issue in regards to actively engaging
others," said Downtown BIZ director Stefano Grande. "Active transportation
has to be part of the overall infrastructure strategy, not an afterthought
(that involves) trying to fit a peg in a hole."
Katz's campaign described the ongoing headaches as "growing pains."
bartley.kives(a)freepress.mb.ca
Cash for cycling routes
Spending on active-transportation in Winnipeg over the past five years:
2006: $200,000
2007: $1.75 million
2008: $2.65 million
2009: $4.4 million
2010: $20.4 million (allocated)
The 2010 active-transportation plan
On Sept. 11, 2009, all three levels of government pledged to spend a
combined $20.4 million on 36 active-transportation projects in Winnipeg. The
cash was supposed to add 102 kilometres of cycling and walking routes to an
existing 274-kilometre network.
Here's what the project was supposed to build:
New pathways dedicated for cyclists: 28 kilometres, for 15 separate
projects.
New separated bike lanes on city streets (the Assiniboine Bikeway): Two
kilometres.
New bike lanes on streets with "sharrows" (the Bannatyne-McDermot Bikeway):
Eight kilometres.
Other new cycling routes on city streets (18 separate projects): 64
kilometres.
New bike-and-pedestrian bridge (Omand Park Bridge): One.
Here's where the projects stand right now:
Projects completed or nearing completion: Eight.
Projects under construction: 24.
Projects awaiting construction, with tenders awarded: Two.
Projects on hold: One. The city has put the brakes on the $250,000
Bannatyne-McDermot Bikeway.
Cancelled projects: One. Wolseley residents rejected plans for the
$1-million Omand Park Bridge. It's been replaced by $100,000 worth of path
upgrades in the park.
*-- Sources: City of Winnipeg*
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC
Please find attached a poster for the upcoming Downtown Mayoral Forum taking
place Thursday, October 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Manitoba Hydro Place atrium
(360 Portage Ave).
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC
Unfortunately, it appears that the new AT infrastructure projects (which
must be completed before the snow falls or the funding from the province and
feds is lost) are being used as a political football with the upcoming
election. An easy mark, perhaps.
Please note that the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is hosting a Mayoral Forum next
Thursday, October 7, 5:30-7:30 pm at Manitoba Hydro Place. Richard Cloutier
(CJOB) and Dan Lett (Winnipeg Free Press) will lead the candidates in a
dynamic discussion about downtown issues, including bike lanes, rapid
transit, etc. This should be an excellent opportunity for input and
discussion.I will circulate a notice for the forum shortly.
cheers,
Beth
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
__________________________________________________________________________
Bike-pedestrian project stalls Katz, Wasylycia-Leis call upgrade a
public-consultation failure
By: Bartley Kives
The City of Winnipeg has put the brakes on another bike-and-pedestrian
project as both of Winnipeg's leading mayoral candidates described the
city's $20.4-million active-transportation upgrade as a public-consultation
failure.
On Monday afternoon, incumbent Mayor Sam Katz told reporters he wants to
halt construction on the $250,000 Bannatyne-McDermot bikeway, one of 36
active-transportation projects the city planned to conduct this year with
the help of federal and provincial infrastructure money.
Hours later, the city placed the project on hold, citing the need to conduct
more talks with residents and businesses along the route, which runs from
Waterfront Drive to Sherbrook Street.
"During projects such as this, sometimes dialogue with the community results
in improvements to the project through design change," city spokesman Steve
West said in a statement. "With regard to the McDermot Bikeway, we have
concluded that more dialogue will be beneficial."
The move comes as another blow to an active-transportation project all three
levels of government have hailed as a long overdue upgrade to the city's
network of bike-and-pedestrian corridors. The $20.4 million in spending
represents nearly an eight-fold increase over the $2.6 million the city
typically spends every year to build recreational and commuter cycling
routes as well as other pathways.
Several of the projects have angered residents and businesses, who claim the
city failed to consult with them properly about the changes.
A $1-million bridge planned for Omand Park was struck from the project list
this spring. At the end of the summer, six Broadway-Assiniboine businesses
sued the city over the $125,000 Assiniboine Bikeway.
Work on the Assiniboine Avenue project continues, but the Bannatyne-McDermot
project has now been shelved, leading Katz to criticize city staff about the
project for the fourth time in six days.
"This city does not have to go the extra mile. It has to go the extra 10
miles in consultation," Katz told reporters after a mayoral-candidate forum
at the Fort Garry Hotel. "When anything like this happens in the future, you
will see consultation above and beyond."
Katz told reporters he did not personally vote in favour of the projects,
which he said were approved by community committees. In fact, the mayor and
12 out of 15 councillors approved the active-transportation upgrade on Dec.
15, 2009, when council approved the 2010 capital budget.
And the project details merely came before community committees as
information. Only the capital budget provides authority for the spending.
In a scrum with reporters, Katz accepted responsibility. "I am the mayor. No
matter where you draw the line, the buck ends up at my table," he said.
Mayoral challenger Judy Wasylycia-Leis said Katz should also halt the
Assiniboine Bikeway if he's serious about public consultation.
"It's a little late in the game, in an election period, saying he's going to
halt construction," she told reporters. "He's acknowledging he made a
strategic error in planning and consulting."
After a round of public-service cuts at the management level in 2009, the
city has two senior staffers working on the active-transportation upgrade.
Private consultants were also hired to engage in public consultation.
Katz has dismissed suggestions meagre resources are not to blame for the
city's performance. He also said tight timelines associated with the federal
funding for the active-transportation upgrade are to blame.
The projects must be finished before the end of March to qualify for federal
infrastructure money. All but three must be completed before the snow falls
because they involve laying concrete.
bartley.kives(a)freepress.mb.ca
Hi all,
The Winnipeg Trails Association (WTA) is a coalition of volunteer trail
builders and trail users. For the past 6+ years, the WTA's volunteer chair
has been Paul Jordan, who is also COO of The Forks. Paul has been providing
brilliant direction, guidance and advice in growing Winnipeg's trails
network. For the past 4 years, the WTA has been able to secure funding
through multiple organizations and levels of government to hire a
coordinator for various trail related projects.
This past spring the WTA received a verbal commitment from the Province of
Manitoba that project based funding would be forthcoming. As of yet, this
funding has not been secured but we are optimistic it will come through to
enable the continued development of trailheads, KM marker installations,
website, the sharing of information between groups, and broadening the
awareness of the benefits of trails - through events and various
initiatives.
As the WTA coordinator, I have been volunteering my time since April and am
focusing on the following initiatives:
NORTHEAST PIONEERS GREENWAY - Pedestrian / cyclist's separated bridge or
'flyover'
The city is spending $110 M to extend the Chief Peguis freeway from
Henderson to Lagimodiere - which passes directly through one of the busiest
multi use trails in the Province - the Northeast Pioneers Greenway. I am
ecstatic to say, through the very very hard work of volunteers AND the
support of Mayor Katz, the city will be building a separate pedestrian /
cyclists bridge OVER the freeway. Think of the bridge over the William B.
Clement Parkway (formerly known as the Charleswood Parkway). From a larger
perspective, and in a short few years - this flyover will be part of a
stellar route enabling people to travel safely from south Winnipeg to Birds
Hill Provincial Park. THANK YOU to Sigrun Bailey, Louise Balaban, Anders
Swanson AND Mayor Katz for helping to move this forward. You can catch a bit
more info on this project on CJOB news and in today's Free Press.
TRAILHEADS:
The trailhead sign design for the trailheads for Harte, Bishop, Cordite and
Northeast Pioneers Greenway trails are finalized. The city will include
these in their Parkway trailhead sign tender for production this fall.
Recall the structures design was finalized and structure installations have
occurred on the above trails. This was a complex process to determine the
details / requirements for the components of trailheads, but it lays the
standards for all future trailheads. We expect Transcona, Bois des Esprit,
Yellow Ribbon Pathway and more to be next on the list to complete.
SECURING BALANCE of PROVINCIAL FUNDING COMMITMENT:
During the 2007 Provincial election, the NDP made a funding commitment of
$1.8M to the Winnipeg Trails Association to construct trails in Winnipeg. Of
that amount ~ $1.3 has been used to construct the Bishop Grandin West,
Harte, Transcona, and Seine River South trails. We are in the process of
securing the remaining ~$500,000 of the WTA commitment to use along Pembina
Hwy (between Plaza and Chevrier).
CITY OF WINNIPEG - ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ATAC)
As a member of ATAC, I have been attending various meetings and providing
input regarding development of the City's AT network. I expect that during
the winter, a broad outreach to trail groups and the public will occur to
gather additional information for next construction season. Current visible
trail and on road construction, news articles, issues, and pending deadlines
have all combined to raise a broader public interest - which hopefully
engage more people in when the next round of public input occurs.
PROVINCIAL ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP (ATAG)
Last September, the Province of Manitoba formed a Provincial Active
Transportation Advisory Group with the focus aimed at providing active
transportation recommendations to government. For the past year, the group
has been consulting Manitobans, organizations, and reviewing best practices
throughout the world. I sit on that group as chair. We have completed our
recommendations which will be handed off for internal gov't review next
week, and are finalizing report production details. We expect the report to
be made public once the Legislature sits again in November.
IN SUMMARY:
There are many other projects that need attention, but from my volunteer
capacity I am unable to attend to.
The role of WTA coordinator in these current times is a very demanding but
very very rewarding. IF anyone is interested in learning more about the WTA
coordinator position and would like to volunteer on some super interesting
projects, please feel free to contact me.
THANK YOU
Janice Lukes
Winnipeg Trails Coordinator
Winnipeg Trails Association
202 - One Forks Market Road
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4L9
Cell (204) 952-4222
Fax (204) 943-7915
<mailto:jlukes@shaw.ca> jlukes(a)shaw.ca
winnipegtrails.com
Member of City of Winnipeg Active Transportation Advisory Committee
Chair, Province of Manitoba Active Transportation Advisory Group
*Winnipeg Free Press*
Bikeway to be built before ruling Legal delay means project will be complete
prior to court decision on it
By: Bartley Kives
An attempt to put the brakes on the Assiniboine Bikeway probably won't make
it to court until construction on the contentious Assiniboine Avenue project
is complete.
Six businesses located near the Midtown Bridge have been trying to halt the
$125,000 bikeway since construction began in late August, complaining that a
recent tweak to the plan will cause traffic chaos in downtown's
Broadway-Assiniboine neighbourhood.
That amendment was made after a city council committee reviewed the plans
for the bikeway, which changes the flow of traffic along Assiniboine Avenue
to prevent motor vehicles from shortcutting through the neighbourhood.
But when the case came before the Court of Queen's Bench on Thursday, the
City of Winnipeg filed a motion to have the claim dismissed as baseless --
and also remove the plaintiff's lawyer, Joey Pollock, from the case.
That effectively means it will take months before the case makes its way to
court.
"There will be snow on the ground before this matter will be heard," said
Pollock, a partner in the law firm Campbell Marr. "It certainly could be
December or later."
The city wants to remove Pollock because his Campbell Marr partner Douglas
Mackenzie swore an affidavit in the case, in his role as president of 10
Donald St., one of the six businesses suing the city. Campbell Marr is
housed inside 10 Donald St.
"The city contends no member of the Campbell Marr law firm can represent the
businesses because Mr. Pollock's partner Doug Mackenzie has given evidence
in this matter dealing with his role as counsel for the businesses about
matters at issue in the litigation," city spokesman Steve West said in a
statement.
The city also wants to dismiss the claim itself because it contends the
bikeway amendment did not have to come back before a council committee. The
original report was "received as information," which means it did not
progress to council itself.
"The need to consult occurs when a street is closed, but the city is not
closing a street. Assiniboine Avenue had motor-vehicle and bicycle traffic
and it will continue to do so," West said.
Pollock said he recognizes the city's right to raise procedural issues but
considers the city's motion frivolous. Both he and the city's legal counsel
are due in court today to set the time frame to hear the city's motion.
Although originally planned for 2008, the Assiniboine Bikeway is part of a
$20.4-million city-wide bike-and-pedestrian upgrade that includes 34 other
projects this year.
Several have been the subject of intense criticism from residents, leading
politicians such as Mayor Sam Katz and River Heights Coun. John Orlikow to
complain about the way the city notified the public.
"What pains me the most is that something that you wanted to be embraced by
all citizens -- I'm talking about active transportation -- unfortunately
turns out to not be the case and I think part of it appears to be with the
way the public consultation was done," Katz told reporters Thursday. "I've
heard some stories that were extremely disconcerting to me, to be very frank
with you."
One of the plaintiffs on Assiniboine said he was notified by a notice taped
to his door.
City active-transportation co-ordinator Kevin Nixon has said the city has
held more consultation on the active-transportation upgrade than private
developers ever do. Resistance in Wolseley to a bike-and-pedestrian bridge
over Omand's Creek led that project to be struck from the plan.
But there is no going back on the Assiniboine Bikeway, Katz suggested.
"If you were actually to take a walk, which I did this week, you'd see the
majority of the work is done," he said.
Katz has rejected the suggestion the headaches stem from tight timelines to
complete the active-transportation project, which is funded by all three
levels of government -- provided all the work is completed before April.
-- With files from Mary Agnes Welch
bartley.kives(a)freepress.mb.ca
*Pedestrian bridge for Chief Peguis Trail*
A bike-and-pedestrian bridge has been added to the Chief Peguis Trail
extension without increasing the council-approved $110-million project cost,
North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty announced Thursday.
In July, city council voted to increase the scope of the Chief Peguis
public-private partnership to allow the construction of an underpass at
Rothesay Avenue, as area residents feared an intersection at Rothesay might
endanger pedestrians.
At the same meeting, the Winnipeg Trails Association appeared before council
to request a pedestrian bridge at the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, which
runs parallel to Raleigh Street and Gateway Road. WTA director Janice Lukes
said an intersection with the bicycle-commuter route would also be
dangerous.
DBF2, the construction consortium responsible for the project, came up with
a way to add the bridge without increasing costs, Browaty said.
"They were able to find a little more value with other aspects of the
project," he said. "Everybody appreciated the Northeast Pioneers Greenway is
a well-used amenity."
Chief Peguis Trail is being extended east from Henderson Highway to
Lagimodiere Boulevard. The city hopes to extend it west from Main Street to
McPhillips Street in the coming decades as part of an effort to complete an
inner ring road.
-- Kives
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC
*Winnipeg Free Press*
Inspired to have only good and great days on my bike
By: Margo Goodhand
I've been inspired by a lot of people these days. Collectively, they are the
reason I ride two wheels to work now instead of four.
One of them, longtime *Free Press* colleague and cycling enthusiast Jon
Thordarson, has been on my mind ever since I dragged the bike out of the
basement.
He took it up years ago before he started battling cancer, but I think
cycling kept him strong through some extraordinarily dark days. When he
finally succumbed this spring, his brother and cycling colleagues attended
the wake in his honour in their bright yellow cycling jerseys.
Jon is famous for scoffing at whiners with a "You're not made of sugar." And
he toughed out that five-year fight with cancer like he toughed out a
long-distance race with just one lung.
He led by example, a life of courage and singular grace, fiercely
optimistic, kind, generous. He never proselytized. He always said there were
"only good days and great days."
Other cyclists have inspired by example.
My kids' beloved elementary schoolteacher Andrea Stuart, who has the shape
and the vitality to be a rolling advertisement for 'active transport',
commuted every day for years. When I marvelled at her commitment, she simply
said she loved it.
Many of my Wolseley neighbours cycle to work every day, and I always admired
them as I clambered, frazzled, into my car.
Then I started running into colleagues who were also leading by example: *Free
Press* reporter Geoff Kirbyson; page designer Leesa Dahl; publisher Bob Cox;
copy editor David Fuller, photographer Wayne Glowacki. The head of U of W's
trendy new Global College, Marilou McPhedran, who doesn't even own a car.
The smart and sassy U of W prof Shannon Sampert, who is also a pretty
impressive "biker chick" on the weekends.
My impoverished son (who points out that he "didn't exactly have a choice"),
last June took up a 40-minute cycling commute to his new workplace and is
now in the best shape of his life.
None of them proselytized. None of them told me cycling to work would give
me more energy, more strength, less stress, and make each day a little more
fun.
I'm not nearly so subtle. I tell anybody who laughs at my bike-helmeted head
that this is a no-brainer. It takes an extra 15 minutes to get to work by
bike -- in total, a 30-minute ride. But that extra 15 minutes on my morning
commute works out to an hour of exercise and fresh air every day. An hour I
didn't have to pay to go to a gym, or work out in my basement, or try to
tack something on to an already long day.
I can get even more sanctimonious. I am saving city roads, lessening traffic
noise and pollution, not using up non-renewable resources such as oil or
gas. Laugh at my helmet hair if you wish, but I am following in the
panniered path of a lot of smart, interesting, healthy people.
It might be catching on. Comment editor Gerald Flood was checking out my
bike the other day. Some colleagues have asked about my route. Two very dear
friends tried out the new Bishop Grandin 'active transportation' trail last
weekend, and both said they were trying to map out safe and not-too-scary
cycling routes to their jobs.
I've vowed to stay on my bike as long as my other inspiration, buddy Diane
Skogstad -- who last year commuted to the end of October, and was back in
the saddle by April.
I feel younger, stronger and more alive on a bike. I like to think that's
how Jon felt, too.
On windy days, I tell myself I'm just getting a better workout. On rainy
days, I say I'm not made of sugar.
And on bad days? There are no bad days.
Only good days and great.
margo.goodhand(a)freepress.mb.ca
--
Beth McKechnie
Workplace Commuter Options
Green Action Centre
204.925.3772
www.greenactioncentre.ca
Green Action Centre is a registered charity. Please consider making a
donation.
*Coming to the EcoCentre?* (3rd floor, 303 Portage at Donald, MEC bldg)
Enter via the elevator just inside MEC's front doors
Bike racks are located in front of MEC