Hi all,
The public handoff of the Provincial Active Transportation Advisory Group's
report occurred today, at the corner of Shorehill Dr. and Bishop Grandin
Blvd, in conjunction with a funding announcement for the 'Shorehill Trail'.
Minister Lemieux and Minister Selby had great remarks - I've attached my
remarks, as Chair of the advisory group.
The report can be found here
<http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/pdf/atag_report6.pdf>
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/pdf/atag_report6.pdf
We had a super turn out of AT supporters representing key organizations in
the far southeast corner of Winnipeg - considering we had a 3 hour notice.
Thank you - and have a great Canada Day!
Janice Lukes
952-4222
Bike-friendliness of Vancouver neighbourhoods mapped by UBC
VIVIAN LUK
VANCOUVER - Globe and Mail Update
In a city where bicycle paths are separated from traffic, racks are
accessible, cycling routes are connected, and the way from home to work is
smooth and flat, more people may actually want to ride their bikes.
And if more people bike rather than drive, they will be much healthier, and
the city much greener.
That is the argument that a team of University of British Columbia
researchers are presenting with the *Bikeability Index*, an innovative
mapping tool that scores Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods on how accommodating
they are to cyclists. According to the study, the way communities are
designed directly influences people’s level of physical activity.
“If you make cycling and walking the easier choice, then people will be more
likely to choose it because it’s faster to get [somewhere] than sitting in
traffic,” said lead researcher Meghan Winters. “Then people will be less
likely to choose their cars, they’ll be more likely to engage in physical
activity, and that will reduce congestion in the city.”
The project, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the
Heart and Stroke Foundation, surveyed 2,100 people about factors that
influence their cycling behaviour, Ms. Winters said. Most answered they are
concerned about biking next to cars, biking up and down hills, the
availability of racks to lock up their bikes, and the connectivity of
bike-friendly streets.
Based on these factors, Ms. Winters and her team created online,
colour-coded maps (green depicts bike-friendly areas and red shows where
cycling conditions need to be improved) that compare the bike friendliness
of Vancouver and surrounding municipalities, as well as the bike
friendliness within each municipality. The maps show the availability of
bike facilities, bike route density, topography and land use.
According to the Bikeability Index, Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster
rank highest in bike friendliness because they have denser cycling
infrastructure. The team plans to deliver the maps to Metro Vancouver urban
planners.
“What we’ve done is highlight areas that are good for cycling, and areas
where there are challenges,” she said. “We hope this will demonstrate where
gaps are happening and where improvements are needed, like maybe there needs
to be more bike facilities there, or separated bike lanes for people who are
less confident on their bikes.”
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has provided the team with
additional funds so that they can make up bikeability indexes for Victoria,
Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown,
Moncton and St. John's by 2012.
The maps can be viewed at *www.cher.ubc/ca/**cyclingincities/tools.html*.
Cyclists can also search for routes based on preferred distances, air
pollution levels and elevation gain. Future renderings will also allow users
to click and zoom on the maps.
Published on Tuesday, Jun. 28, 2011 8:00AM EDT
--
*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) 925-3772 | Find us
here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support our work by becoming a
member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>
As this is an Active Transportation list serve -
I am compelled to ask that when you review / provide input at the
Transportation Master Plan Open House - you consider the following related
to the CentrePort Canada initiative:
CentrePort Canada http://www.centreportcanada.ca/
* is a public - private partnership which is the driving force behind
unprecedented road investments in Winnipeg - and ultimately highways
accessing Winnipeg
* is recognized as one of North America's top infrastructure projects
* all levels of gov't (Feds / Province / City) are making tremendous
investments in the development of CentrePort with the vision of significant
economic impact for Manitoba
* roadways to from and around Winnipeg must be designed as expressways
to accommodate the development of the international multi modal
transportation hub
* the attached CentrePort Business Plan provides a clear overview of
the investment / goals, etc. - some interesting long weekend reading
TODAY, we are seeing active transportation routes impacted by the
development / preparation of roadways related to CentrePort - in both a
negative - and positive (when challenged) way:
* Perimeter Hwy median closures eliminating trail connectivity from
Winnipeg to the greater capital region (Harte Trail to Headingley Grand
Trunk Trail, Northeast Pioneers Greenway Trail to town of Birds Hill trail
system)
* Elimination of service roads around the Perimeter Hwy - often used
as active transportation routes
* Construction of Inkster pathway as part of Inkster roadway expansion
(a link in the CentrePort network)
* Construction of a ped / cycle flyover - over the expansion of the
Chief Peguis Expressway (a link in the CentrePort network)
* Kenaston expansion - may or may not include active transportation on
both sides - and may or man not include a ped/cycle flyover to schools on
either side (a link in the CentrePort network)
My comments aren't on the pros / cons of CentrePort - just that you
CONSIDER:
* the tremendous financial investments in roadways to support
development of CentrePort
* the transportation infrastructure required to develop a global multi
modal transportation hub
* the tremendous commitment by gov'ts and private industry to support
the development of CentrePort
* the consideration of active transportation in the development of
CentrePort
* the historic approach / default mode - when developing active
transportation in Winnipeg
* the many obstacles continually faced when moving active
transportation forward in Winnipeg
Will the ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION vision reflected in the Transportation Master
Plan enable Winnipeg to truly be a 'transportation hub' - for all modes of
transportation?
Having had the opportunity to provide input on Winnipeg's Transportation
Master Plan - I look forward to the open house.
Janice Lukes
Winnipeg Trails Association
* * * * * * * *
A few selected Free Press articles & quotes related to CentrePort Canada Way
o "Toews said that once complete, CentrePort will increase Canada's
opportunities on the world stage. CentrePort Canada is definitely a key
component of Canada's economic prosperity as we emerge from the recession,"
o Selinger said the road projects will link CentrePort with the port
of Churchill and Hudson's Bay, continental U.S. and Mexico and Canada's east
and west coasts
o "CentrePort ...has the ability to do what nothing else can
accomplish for our city (for) economic impact and creating phenomenal jobs,"
Katz said. "This is the beginning of something very wonderful and very
special."
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/new-expressway-seen-as-a-road-to-
riches-96712199.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/new-expressway-seen-as-a-road-to-r
iches-96712199.html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/300-million-in-road-construct
ion-vital-to-inland-port--starts-96661709.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/300-million-in-road-constructi
on-vital-to-inland-port--starts-96661709.html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/300-million-in-road-construct
ion-vital-to-inland-port--starts-96661709.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/300-million-in-road-constructi
on-vital-to-inland-port--starts-96661709.html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/a-centreport-trade-coup-111312584
.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/a-centreport-trade-coup-111312584.
html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/times/Inkster-Street-road-
widening-work-continues--99880789.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/times/Inkster-Street-road-w
idening-work-continues--99880789.html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/federal-funding-at-stake-at-arcti
c-gateway-summit-107020833.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/federal-funding-at-stake-at-arctic
-gateway-summit-107020833.html
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/CentrePort-a-key
-issue--in-Rosser-reeve-race-105285718.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/CentrePort-a-key-
issue--in-Rosser-reeve-race-105285718.html
-----Original Message-----
From: at-network-bounces(a)lists.umanitoba.ca
[mailto:at-network-bounces@lists.umanitoba.ca] On Behalf Of Beth McKechnie
Sent: June 27, 2011 4:57 PM
To: AT network
Subject: [At-network] Transportation Master Plan Open House - July 6, 2011
** Please share widely **
WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN
PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE INVITATION
The City of Winnipeg staff and consultant team invite you to attend the
second Open House for the Transportation Master Plan (TMP). Drop by to view
the main comments received from the public and stakeholders meetings and
review the key directions and opportunities for the following transportation
components:
* Transit
* Roads
* Goods Movement
* Active Transportation
* Transportation Demand Management
* Funding, Financing, and Governance
We would like to hear from you on this important stage of the process!
WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN OPEN HOUSE
Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Time: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: The Forks Market Atrium (at the base of the Forks Tower)
Format: Drop in anytime - no formal presentation.
Staff will be on hand to answer questions and collect feedback you may have.
Visit the following Website to view or download the latest version of the
TMP Newsletter: http://transportation.speakupwinnipeg.com
Please forward this email to anyone that you feel would be interested in
attending. Thank You!
--
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) 925-3772 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options
/>
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/> our work by
becoming a member
>From University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute
http://www.peri.umass.edu/
"The benefits of pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure such as sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails-reduced congestion, better air quality, safer travel routes, and improved health outcomes-are well documented. But in this study, Heidi Garrett-Peltier examines another dimension of these public investments: the employment impacts of building and refurbishing this infrastructure, as well as construction and rehabilitation of roads without cycling or walking facilities. Using data from eleven cities, Garrett-Peltier finds that bike and pedestrian projects are effective job creation engines, notably more so than investing at similar levels in road construction for cars."
Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure: A National Study of Employment Impacts by Heidi Garrett-Peltier http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_ABikes_June201…
Cheers
Stacy Matwick
Information Centre
International Institute for Sustainable Development
161 Portage Ave. E., 6th floor
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 0Y4
Voice: (204)958-7755 Fax: (204)958-7710 Email: smatwick(a)iisd.ca<mailto:smatwick@iisd.ca>
IISD Research Library web page: http://www.iisd.org/ic
SD-Cite: IISD Research Library database: http://sd-cite.iisd.org<http://sd-cite.iisd.org/>
GENERata web-magazine: http://www.iisd.org/generata/
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" Groucho Marx
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on the MTS High Speed Mobility Network
-----Original Message-----
From: Andraea Sartison <andraea.sartison(a)biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org>
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:00:18
Subject: Bike to Work Day 2011, please forward
Good afternoon!
Friday, June 24th was Bike to Work Day 2011. The event boasted *2700
registered cyclists* (that's way more than 2122 last year!), *325* of which
enjoyed a party at the Forks afterwork, there were *22 pit stops* around
town and we gave out *400 shirts*, *625 morning snacks* and* 300 burgers or
hot dogs*! With 24 degrees and sunny weather the streets were busy with
cyclists! In fact, in addition to our registered cyclists each pit stop
reported dozens of cyclists who passed by without stopping on their way to
work. Knowing that there were even more people on bikes than we registered
helps us to emphasize the importance of our event and cycling advocacy, and
gives us hope that participation will continue to grow annually. Our goal
for next year is to increase registration, promotion and the quality of the
event yet again. So stay tuned.
The success of this year's event is attributed to our wide network of
sponsors, volunteers, partners and riders. We couldn't have done it without
you! See you out on the bike paths and for the 5th annual Bike to Work Day
Winnipeg in 2012!
Please feel free to forward your comments or questions (or suggestions!)
about Bike to Work Day to me.
Cheers-Andraea
--
*Andraea Sartison*
*Event Coordinator*
*Bike to Work Day 2011*
*333-2666*
www.biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org
Subject: Re: NYT: Europe Stifles Drivers in Favor of Mass Transit and
Walking
ZURICH - While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve
traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European
cities are doing the opposite: creating environments openly hostile to cars.
The methods vary, but the mission is clear - to make car use expensive and
just plain miserable enough to tilt drivers toward more environmentally
friendly modes of transportation.
Cities including Vienna to Munich and Copenhagen have closed vast swaths of
streets to car traffic. Barcelona and Paris have had car lanes eroded by
popular bike-sharing programs. Drivers in London and Stockholm pay hefty
congestion charges just for entering the heart of the city. And over the
past two years, dozens of German cities have joined a national network of
"environmental zones" where only cars with low carbon dioxide emissions may
enter.
Likeminded cities welcome new shopping malls and apartment buildings but
severely restrict the allowable number of parking spaces. On-street parking
is vanishing. In recent years, even former car capitals like Munich have
evolved into "walkers' paradises," said Lee Schipper, a senior research
engineer at Stanford University who specializes in sustainable
transportation.
"In the United States, there has been much more of a tendency to adapt
cities to accommodate driving," said Peder Jensen, head of the Energy and
Transport Group at the European Environment Agency. "Here there has been
more movement to make cities more livable for people, to get cities
relatively free of cars."
To that end, the municipal Traffic Planning Department here in Zurich has
been working overtime in recent years to torment drivers. Closely spaced red
lights have been added on roads into town, causing delays and angst for
commuters. Pedestrian underpasses that once allowed traffic to flow freely
across major intersections have been removed. Operators in the city's ever
expanding tram system can turn traffic lights in their favor as they
approach, forcing cars to halt.
Around Löwenplatz, one of Zurich's busiest squares, cars are now banned on
many blocks. Where permitted, their speed is limited to a snail's pace so
that crosswalks and crossing signs can be removed entirely, giving people on
foot the right to cross anywhere they like at any time.
As he stood watching a few cars inch through a mass of bicycles and
pedestrians, the city's chief traffic planner, Andy Fellmann, smiled.
"Driving is a stop-and-go experience," he said. "That's what we like! Our
goal is to reconquer public space for pedestrians, not to make it easy for
drivers."
While some American cities - notably San Francisco, which has
"pedestrianized" parts of Market Street - have made similar efforts, they
are still the exception in the United States, where it has been difficult to
get people to imagine a life where cars are not entrenched, Dr. Schipper
said.
Europe's cities generally have stronger incentives to act. Built for the
most part before the advent of cars, their narrow roads are poor at handling
heavy traffic. Public transportation is generally better in Europe than in
the United States, and gas often costs over $8 a gallon, contributing to
driving costs that are two to three times greater per mile than in the
United States, Dr. Schipper said.
What is more, European Union countries probably cannot meet a commitment
under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions unless
they curb driving. The United States never ratified that pact.
Globally, emissions from transportation continue a relentless rise, with
half of them coming from personal cars. Yet an important impulse behind
Europe's traffic reforms will be familiar to mayors in Los Angeles and
Vienna alike: to make cities more inviting, with cleaner air and less
traffic.
Michael Kodransky, global research manager at the Institute for
Transportation and Development Policy in New York, which works with cities
to reduce transport emissions, said that Europe was previously "on the same
trajectory as the United States, with more people wanting to own more cars."
But in the past decade, there had been "a conscious shift in thinking, and
firm policy," he said. And it is having an effect.
After two decades of car ownership, Hans Von Matt, 52, who works in the
insurance industry, sold his vehicle and now gets around Zurich by tram or
bicycle, using a car-sharing service for trips out of the city. Carless
households have increased from 40 to 45 percent in the last decade, and car
owners use their vehicles less, city statistics show.
"There were big fights over whether to close this road or not - but now it
is closed, and people got used to it," he said, alighting from his bicycle
on Limmatquai, a riverside pedestrian zone lined with cafes that used to be
two lanes of gridlock. Each major road closing has to be approved in a
referendum.
Today 91 percent of the delegates to the Swiss Parliament take the tram to
work.
Still, there is grumbling. "There are all these zones where you can only
drive 20 or 30 kilometers per hour [about 12 to 18 miles an hour], which is
rather stressful," Thomas Rickli, a consultant, said as he parked his Jaguar
in a lot at the edge of town. "It's useless."
Urban planners generally agree that a rise in car commuting is not desirable
for cities anywhere.
Mr. Fellmann calculated that a person using a car took up 115 cubic meters
(roughly 4,000 cubic feet) of urban space in Zurich while a pedestrian took
three. "So it's not really fair to everyone else if you take the car," he
said.
European cities also realized they could not meet increasingly strict World
Health Organization guidelines for fine-particulate air pollution if cars
continued to reign. Many American cities are likewise in "nonattainment" of
their Clean Air Act requirements, but that fact "is just accepted here,"
said Mr. Kodransky of the New York-based transportation institute.
It often takes extreme measures to get people out of their cars, and
providing good public transportation is a crucial first step. One novel
strategy in Europe is intentionally making it harder and more costly to
park. "Parking is everywhere in the United States, but it's disappearing
from the urban space in Europe," said Mr. Kodransky, whose recent report
"Europe's Parking U-Turn" surveys the shift.
Sihl City, a new Zurich mall, is three times the size of Brooklyn's Atlantic
Mall but has only half the number of parking spaces, and as a result, 70
percent of visitors get there by public transport, Mr. Kodransky said.
In Copenhagen, Mr. Jensen, at the European Environment Agency, said that his
office building had more than 150 spaces for bicycles and only one for a
car, to accommodate a disabled person.
While many building codes in Europe cap the number of parking spaces in new
buildings to discourage car ownership, American codes conversely tend to
stipulate a minimum number. New apartment complexes built along the light
rail line in Denver devote their bottom eight floors to parking, making it
"too easy" to get in the car rather than take advantage of rail transit, Mr.
Kodransky said.
While Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has generated controversy in New York by
"pedestrianizing" a few areas like Times Square, many European cities have
already closed vast areas to car traffic. Store owners in Zurich had worried
that the closings would mean a drop in business, but that fear has proved
unfounded, Mr. Fellmann said, because pedestrian traffic increased 30 to 40
percent where cars were banned.
With politicians and most citizens still largely behind them, Zurich's
planners continue their traffic-taming quest, shortening the green-light
periods and lengthening the red with the goal that pedestrians wait no more
than 20 seconds to cross.
"We would never synchronize green lights for cars with our philosophy," said
Pio Marzolini, a city official. "When I'm in other cities, I feel like I'm
always waiting to cross a street. I can't get used to the idea that I am
worth less than a car."
Walk this lovely little way Winnipeg's picturesque parkways city's best-kept
secret
By: Julie Carl
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/walk-this-lovely-little-way-12463564…
Shhhhhh.
It's Winnipeg's prettiest little secret, and we wouldn't want word to get
out.
It's not marked on city maps, not even the trail maps.
And there's precious few signs pointing the way.
But unbeknownst to most Winnipeggers, there's a web of six parkways that
link park to park to park along the city's rivers, following quiet streets
where necessary, but mainly hugging the riverbanks.
And if you venture just north of the corner of Glenwood Crescent and
Harbison Avenue West, you'll discover perhaps the most picturesque spot of
all of Winnipeg's parkways, Elmwood Park, part of the Kildonan Parkway.
"I can't believe no one, either media or just a person, has asked about
this," said Janice Lukes, manager of special projects with the Winnipeg
Trails Association and Rivers West, Red River co-ordinator. "But no one
has."
Many people may be travelling the parkways in bits and pieces but don't
realize they all join up. On a recent sunny day, cyclists were whizzing
through Elmwood Park and south along the parkway, while a couple walked two
enormous dogs and some would-be explorers checked out two mysterious
staircases near the river.
The Kildonan Parkway, where it wends through Elmwood, might be the most
pleasant of the parkways, given to leisurely meandering, snaking along
tree-shaded neighbourhoods and sun-dappled parks by the river.
The parkways all end at The Forks -- or start there, depending on how you
look at it. The South Winnipeg Parkway runs south of The Forks, west of the
Red, and the Boni-Vital Parkway, also running south, is east of the Red.
There's the North Assiniboine Parkway and South Assiniboine Parkway, their
directions self-explanatory. The North Winnipeg Parkway runs north of The
Forks on the west side of the river, and the Kildonan Parkway runs north on
the Red's east side.
The parkway system was started 20 years ago by a forward-thinking city with
a vision to make the most of its rivers, Lukes says. There were 18 smaller
trails then, a very confusing labyrinth of paths, but officials organized
them into six parkways to keep things simple.
Until trailheads and route maps are placed on the parkways -- planned for
this fall, along with signs indicating points of interest, a very pleased
Lukes reports -- bikers, hikers and dog-walkers need to be a little creative
to find the parkways in many spots. They are signed, but signs are small and
placement is a bit sketchy.
It's worth seeking the signs because, really, a whole other world within
Winnipeg opens up once you set foot or wheel on a parkway.
julie.carl(a)freepress.mb.ca
Great places: how livable streets make us happier humans
by Sarah Goodyear <http://www.grist.org/people/Sarah+Goodyear>
23 Jun 2011 12:30 PM
*
http://www.grist.org/urbanism/2011-06-23-great-places-how-livable-streets-m…
*
**
**
*This post follows up on David Roberts' series on "great
places<http://www.grist.org/article/2011-05-23-great-places-reorienting-progressiv…>
."*
I found out yesterday that one of my neighbors, a lady in her 70s, had been
taken to the hospital with heart problems. Her middle-aged daughter, who
lives with her, was the one who told me, when we met on the stretch of
sidewalk between our two houses. We often stop to chat like this, trading
news and gossip and small talk.
I expressed my concern and asked if there was anything that I could do. The
daughter thanked me, and said she would pass along my well-wishes. Later, I
found out from another neighbor that the older woman is going to be just
fine. Phew.
So what does this have to do with the "great
places<http://www.grist.org/article/2011-05-23-great-places-reorienting-progressiv…>"
idea David Roberts began exploring a few weeks back?
Here's what: Great places have to be sustainable not just environmentally,
but socially, too. Because human beings are social animals.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/sminor/4458106816/>
Those brief talks I had with my neighbors were typical -- among dozens of
similar interactions I have every week on my block and the streets around
it. My dense, walkable, transit-rich neighborhood does a lot of great things
for my carbon footprint (no car required, Zipcar within walking distance if
I need one, farmers market only a few blocks away). But what it does for my
soul might, in the end, be more important.
Over the years, I have traded dog-sitting services with one neighbor. A
store around the corner has accepted packages for me when I've been out.
I've gotten, and given, career advice while sitting on the stoop. I've
dropped my wallet on the sidewalk and had it returned by a woman whom I know
could have used the money inside. She didn't touch the cash.
My son has ridden his scooter up and down the sidewalk, and we've played
stickball with the neighbor kids in the street. I've shoveled the snow in
front of the house of the old couple next door. I've given hugs, picked up
trash, and offered my shoulder to cry on.
The street I live on is not just an address for me. It is an extension of my
home.
That sense I have -- that my living room extends into the street -- is,
sadly, a privilege in this day and age. It's made possible by relatively low
car traffic and high density of dwelling units on my block. This combination
opens up a way of life that used to be common -- in which human beings
naturally connect with each other over time, forming networks that can then
be called upon when the going gets rough.
Back in the late 1960s, a man named Donald
Appleyard<http://www.pps.org/articles/dappleyard/>did some
groundbreaking research into the way that car traffic kills street
life and degrades the quality of urban
communities<http://www.grist.org/article/2010-11-04-how-automobiles-make-our-streets-le…>.
It was published in a book called *Livable
Streets<http://www.amazon.com/Livable-Streets-Donald-Appleyard/dp/0415610648/ref=sr…>,
*which will be back in print next year. He found that on streets with light
car traffic, people felt more connected to their neighbors and their
physical surroundings. The heavier the traffic, the more those connections
suffered. The more the people suffered.
The video below, from Streetfilms <http://www.streetfilms.org/>, is an
excellent illustration of his work.
Revisiting Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets <http://vimeo.com/16399180>from
Streetfilms <http://vimeo.com/streetfilms> on Vimeo <http://vimeo.com/>.
Since Appleyard did his research in San Francisco, automobiles have only
grown more dominant on our streets. Recently, a British graduate student
named Joshua Hart set out to replicate Appleyard's
findings<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/19/ethicalliving.automotive>,
and the quotes from his
dissertation<http://www2.grist.org/grist-images/2011/June/6-20/DTESummary.pdf>[PDF]
dramatize the toll autocentrism takes on human lives. Here's what one
man in his 50s said about the street where he lives:
[The traffic is] like a mountain range, cutting you off from the other side
of the road.....it's hellishly busy....a bloody nightmare. The buses and
lorries shake the house when they come by. The air pollution can be quite
bad out the front, sometimes during rush hour you feel the air getting
thicker and thicker.....
Other recent studies have
found<http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/12/walkable-ne…>that
"social capital" -- that is, the number and quality of human
interactions -- is higher in walkable
communities<http://www.springerlink.com/content/xtq06270p27r1v0h/>.
And even small increases in connectedness and activity can have significant
health benefits<http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_small-day-to-day-changes-could-lead-t…>
.
Take a look at the video below (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVW8BCFsT3c)
as well, from Mike Biddulph of Cardiff
University<http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/cplan/contactsandpeople/stafflist/a-b/biddulph-mik…>.
It compares two different streets in Cardiff, Wales, at the same time of
day. One is what is known in the U.K. as a "home
zone<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_zone>"
-- a street that is designed with people as its primary focus, not cars. The
other is a street with some traffic-calming measures in place, but where
automobiles still dominate the streetscape visually and in terms of the
space they occupy.
It becomes clear very quickly which street makes it inviting for people --
especially children -- to come out of their homes and do what primates
generally like to do, which is to socialize with one another.
The concept of walkable, or livable, streets has slowly but surely been
coming back into the mainstream conversation, in part because of the work of
grassroots activists like Dan Burden <http://www.walkable.org/about.html>.
Burden has worked many hours (and walked many miles) to try to convince
municipal officials that they should design their cities and towns for
people instead of cars. People are taking
notice<http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/walking-expert-prescribes-ro…>.
Streets are changing. More and more communities are passing "complete
streets <http://www.completestreets.org/>" legislation that requires streets
to be designed with pedestrians and bikes in mind, not just cars. It
shouldn't just be 19th-century neighborhoods like mine that have a happy
street life. It shouldn't just be rich neighborhoods. It should be all
neighborhoods.
But there are still way too many places in America where streets are for
cars, and you take your life into your hands just trying to cross on
foot<http://www.grist.org/slideshow/2011-05-25-do-not-walk-here>
.
Changing our streets to bring them back to human scale will take
generations. It's a process, but at least the work has begun in earnest.
Here's what Donald Appleyard said about the tension over street design:
People have always lived on streets. They have been the places where
children first learned about the world, where neighbors met, the social
centers of towns and cities, the rallying points for revolts, the scenes of
repression.... The street has always been the scene of this conflict,
between living and access, between resident and traveler, between street
life and the threat of death.
Appleyard would likely be thrilled to see how his ideas are being taken up
by a new generation. Sadly, he's not around to do so. He was struck by a car
and killed in 1982 <http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Donald+Appleyard>.
Sarah Goodyear is Grist’s cities editor. She’s also on
Twitter<http://twitter.com/buttermilk1>
.
--
*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) 925-3772 | Find us
here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support our work by becoming a
member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>
** Please share widely **
*WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN*
*PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE INVITATION*
** **
The City of Winnipeg staff and consultant team invite you to attend the
second Open House for the Transportation Master Plan (TMP). Drop by to view
the main comments received from the public and stakeholders meetings and
review the key directions and opportunities for the following transportation
components:
- Transit
- Roads
- Goods Movement
- Active Transportation
- Transportation Demand Management
- Funding, Financing, and Governance
We would like to hear from you on this important stage of the process!****
** **
WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN OPEN HOUSE****
Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 ****
Time: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM****
Where: The Forks Market Atrium (at the base of the Forks Tower)****
Format: Drop in anytime – no formal presentation. ****
** **
Staff will be on hand to answer questions and collect feedback you may have.
****
** **
Visit the following Website to view or download the latest version of the
TMP Newsletter: http://transportation.speakupwinnipeg.com****
** **
Please forward this email to anyone that you feel would be interested in
attending. Thank You!****
** **
--
*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) 925-3772 | Find us
here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living.
Support our work by becoming a
member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>
His passion is the wheel thing Winnipeg cyclist tireless advocate for active
transportation
By: William Burr
When he goes on a canoe trip, Anders Swanson likes to be the one holding the
map.
The walls of his apartment are covered in them.
Control freak or visionary, Swanson likes to know where he's headed.
And he knows where he wants to take Winnipeg: toward a full-fledged embrace
of the bicycle.
Probably Winnipeg's most famous cycling advocate, his membership on the
steering committee for Bike to Work Day, coming up Friday, is just the tip
of the iceberg of Swanson's involvement.
He sits on six advisory committees for active transportation, including
Manitoba's and Winnipeg's. He participates in seven environmental
organizations, some of which he started himself, such as the Orioles Bike
Cage, a co-operative where cyclists go to learn how to repair their own
bikes.
His volunteer work is basically all he does outside his part-time jobs at
the Natural Cycle shop and the Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba.
"You get emails from Anders in the middle of the night all the time. I don't
know when he sleeps," says Kevin Nixon, Winnipeg's active-transportation
co-ordinator.
Curt Hull, who works on Bike to Work Day with Swanson, is another peer who
sings his praises. "It's his quiet, infectious enthusiasm and how he brings
energy into a room -- I've seen him light up a city council meeting," Hull
says.
"He's pleasant to work with and funny, and he breaks up the gruelling agony
-- he's got a good wit about him," says Janice Lukes, who sits on the city's
active-transportation advisory committee with Swanson.
She says he understands that cycling is more than a "niche market."
"People generalize and think cyclists are spandex racer types. But they're
not. They're the masses. And he gets it."
Lukes says Swanson has been effective at selling cycling to people who were
what she calls "tough nuts to crack," such as Mayor Sam Katz and city Coun.
John Orlikow.
Both speak highly of Swanson. "I'm a big fan of Anders, no question about
it. That doesn't mean we're always going to agree," Katz says.
"He's an advocate. We have many advocates in the city. We listen to them
all, and we take a balanced approach after that," says Orlikow, but adds,
"He's passionate and committed and a good community member, for sure."
Swanson is a tall, burly, youthful 33-year-old and he has a thick, brown
beard. He lives with his girlfriend in a spacious apartment downtown. A bike
Swanson is working on sits upside down on the floor, wheels in the air.
But he wasn't always a cycling enthusiast. When he was 16, he wanted nothing
more than his own car, and he would eventually own several -- but not
anymore.
The cycling bug only bit him in 2004, when he bought a $25 bike to get to
work and learned how to equip it for the winter. Beating Winnipeg's cold
gave him a sense of accomplishment, and he was hooked.
Shortly after that, he applied to work at Natural Cycle. Senior mechanic
David Geisel says the cover letter Swanson wrote was so convincing they had
to hire him.
"He somehow touched on the cultural aspect of cycling and just made it sound
as if nothing else mattered," Geisel says.
While repairing bikes at Natural Cycle, Swanson heard many stories from
commuters. "You get into discussions with customers and every second one has
a story about this or that close call or this or that pathway that floods or
doesn't go the right direction or doesn't connect, and I guess a penchant
for mapping was making me connect all these dots in my head."
He started OneGreenCity.com, a website where people share ideas about what
kind of cycling infrastructure they would like to see in Winnipeg and then
map it out digitally.
One project led to another, and suddenly cycling advocacy was all he did.
"It got pretty out of hand. All of a sudden there were so many trails to be
built and events that people wanted to plan -- so anyways I started being on
a lot of committees."
Seeing ideas being turned into real changes to the city's landscape, such as
new bike lanes, helps motivate him to sit through so many meetings. "When
you see it come out in reality and then you see little kids biking down
there, big smiles on their face, then it's like, OK, maybe this is pretty
awesome," he says.
Despite the bicycling inroads, it will be decades before Manitobans have the
cycling infrastructure that other cities have, he says. "Even just to catch
up, there's a lot of mapping and ideas and people to connect."
william.burr(a)freepress.mb.ca
*Put away the car keys... Friday is Bike to Work Day*
BIKE to Work Day this year will feature over 20 "pit stops" spread out
throughout the city where participants can meet up with each other and get
free snacks, coffee, T-shirts and prizes.
Largest pit stop will be at Bonnycastle Park -- at the corner of Main Street
and Assiniboine Avenue -- where there will be a live TV broadcast.
During and following the afternoon commute on Bike to Work Day, from 4 p.m.
to 7 p.m., there will be a barbecue at The Forks with free hotdogs, veggie
dogs or burgers for the first 300 cyclists and a prize draw.
To register for this year's Bike to Work Day, map your route and find a pit
stop, visit biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org