Green Action Centre and Bike to the Future invite you to join us for a
local viewing of the APBP webinar* "*Emerging Technologies for Pedestrian
and Bicycle Planning*" *at the EcoCentre (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave)
followed by group discussion.
RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then!
cheers,
Beth
925-3772
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) presents:
Emerging Technologies for Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning
Wednesday, January • 2:00 to 3:15 pm CST
Through a series of short presentations, this webinar will survey several
applications with the potential to help engineers and planners improve
conditions for bicycling and walking. [image: gps]The examples covered in
this session will offer an overview of a range of situations where
technological advances can aid professionals in their work to develop plans
and programs. Due to the number of examples, attendees should plan to be in
the webinar for 75 minutes.
The session will include:
1. An overview of the newest web and mobile apps and devices, with
suggestions for their application to the 5 Es.
2. A description of Cycloplan, an application in development at the
University of Minnesota that will leverage data collected in the geo-wiki
Cyclopath to create a tool for analyzing cycling networks and managing
bikeways.
3. An example from St. Louis' new Gateway Bike Plan of using technology
to engage the public and help build a new regional bicycle master plan.
4. Information about GPS-enabled data collection equipment used for
pedestrian access inventories, plus pedestrian access shed analysis
methodology.
Presenters are James Andrew, Senior Transportation Planner, Metropolitan
Council of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul; Terra Curtis,
MCRP candidate, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; RJ Eldridge,
Director of Planning, Toole Design Group; and Julie Padberg-White,
Principal, FPA Group.
--
*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/>
Peg City Car Co-op <http://pegcitycarcoop.ca> is working to change the way
people think about getting around Winnipeg. Bike, walk, bus, and use a
vehicle only when you need it.
Peg City recently received a grant from Assiniboine Credit Union to create
four short videos that feature our co-op members and why they choose to
carshare.
Enjoy this video that features Amanda's story on how the car co-op supports
her do the things she loves: http://vimeo.com/34035273
Stay tuned over the next four weeks to follow their personal stories.
Co-ops build a better world - International Year of the Co-op
2012<http://www.copac.coop/iyc/index.html>
.
Thank you,
Shoni
FYI. This is some timely and interesting research and they are looking for
participants. See the request below. If you know anyone or any organization
willing to share this survey with their members, please forward it along
with the attachments.
Hello,
We are occupational therapy researchers at the University of Manitoba, who
are interested in learning about how winter weather affects the ability of
people who use wheeled mobility devices (i.e. wheelchairs and scooters) to
take part in activities that are meaningful to them.
The purpose of this study is to answer the question “What challenges arise
with wheelchair/scooter use in cold weather climates?”, and to identify
what aspects of wheelchair/scooter products, natural and built environments
(e.g. public buildings and parks or the home), social attitudes, and
policy-level environment are most problematic in the wintertime in
Manitoba. The results will be used to guide future research and address
change needed in these areas.
As one part of a broader research study, we have developed the Winter Use
of Wheeled Mobility Devices survey that takes about 35-40 minutes to
complete. It will be available to for people to complete throughout the
winter months (January - May 2012), and is available to be done on-line, on
paper, or over the phone.
We are using posters, hand-outs, mail-outs, and word-of-mouth advertising
to recruit people to participate in completing our survey. We are looking
for a variation of wheeled mobility types (manual and power wheelchairs and
scooters), geographic locations, age, and employment status. We greatly
appreciate any and all help in getting the word out about our study,
helping us to reach a broad group of people to better represent this
population with our research.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Pam
Whaley by email at winterweather.research(a)gmail.com or by phone at
977-5617. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
The Winter Weather Research Team
--
Anders Swanson
Active Transportation Project Coordinator
Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba | www.pacm.ca
activetransportation(a)pacm.ca
[Thanks to Ian Hall for sending this along...]
**
"More Twin Cities residents than ever are getting around by bike or on
foot. Bicycling in the Twin Cities has increased by 52 percent since 2007,
and walking by 18 percent. Twin Cities bicycling, in particular,
experienced a sharp year-over-year increase - up 22 percent from 2010 to
2011."
http://www.bikewalktwincities.org/news-events/bicycling-and-walking-counts-…
Engineering News-Record (ENR.com) - From the Transportation Front...
*
A Traffic Engineer's Lament*
*Sam Schwartz, former New York City traffic commissioner and head highway
and bridge engineer, is chief executive of Sam Schwartz Engineering in New
York City. He writes about everything related to transportation and
engineering practice.*
Traffic engineers are being marginalized and viewed as anachronisms, like
Mad Men from a bygone age. As Christopher B. Leinberger, senior fellow at
The Brookings Institution and professor of planning at the University of
Michigan, writes in a recent *NY Times*
op-ed<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/opinion/the-death-of-the-fringe-suburb.ht…>,
“traffic engineers dismissively call [bus and light-rail systems, bike
lanes and pedestrian improvements] ‘alternative transportation.’”
In saying so, he, and planners around the world, are being dismissive of me
and my profession. We are the GEICO Neanderthals of society.
And who’s to blame? Yes, we deserve a lot of it. We, as a profession,
continued to build more roads, wider roads, and faster roads while knowing
full well we were running out of capacity and making transport systems less
efficient.
An example I've used time and time again in New York City is that the
Brooklyn Bridge, when it was largely a rail and walking bridge, handled
430,000 people daily. In the 1940’s, we ‘modernized’ it by removing the
rail; its daily person carrying volume dropped to 180,000.
During my lifetime, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and
Staten Island was built with 12 car lanes but no bikeway, walkway or
transit right-of-way. As a teenager I was able to bike from Brooklyn to
Staten Island by taking a ferry. Once the bridge opened, the ferry stopped
running and driving was the only choice—here in transit-rich New York City.
Most of the Interstate System built in the past half-century had no
provisions for walkers, bike riders or transitways.
Why weren’t we as engineers screaming, “This is folly!”? It’s no wonder
the transportation leadership of cities around the country is no longer in
the hands of transportation engineers. In fact, we haven’t had an engineer
at the helm of USDOT in nearly 20 years.
Now is the time to re-assume a leadership role in planning of our future
for cities, towns and suburbs. We can do it by joining the medical
professionals by demanding and designing healthy communities. It turns out
that healthy neighborhoods are transportation efficient and safe. I
stumbled across the field of Active Transportation a couple of years ago
and now I preach it. Here’s what it’s about:
Active transportation is any method of travel that is all or partly
human-powered. The term refers to transportation that supports walking,
stair use, cycling, and transit. It includes long-term land use and
transportation planning to encourage alternate (non-motor vehicle) forms of
transport.
The proven health benefits of active transportation are overwhelming:
prevention of weight gain, lowered risk of type-2 diabetes, lower high
blood pressure and cholesterol, decreased risk of colon and breast cancers,
and increased life expectancy.
We as engineers have the technical know-how to implement active
transportation. The methods are deceptively easy: Build good transit
systems and integrate them into existing infrastructure. Design
transportation systems with pedestrians and cyclists in mind. Construct
multiple, direct connections within dense, mixed land-use developments.
Coordinate transit, walking, cycling, and automobile networks.
For far too long, we’ve considered these concerns outside of our job
descriptions, even though we know better.
If we continue to stand by when politicians like Senator Tom Coburn,
R-Okla., deride pedestrian and bicyclist funding as wasteful
extravagances<http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=2feae725-00…>,
we deserve all the derision that planners like Leinberger can throw at us.
Worse yet, we risk getting pushed out of the transportation planning
process entirely.
*
*
Co-written with Laura MacNeil
http://enr.construction.com/opinions/blogs/schwartz.asp?plckController=Blog…
Hello AT Network,
Please share this with your colleagues and networks. We will have more
information on the PACM website <http://www.pacm.ca> and registration open
late next week. Apologize if this was already sent to the list.
- Cara
*
*
*Gaining Ground: Connecting People and Knowledge *
*Portage La Prairie, March 21, 2012*
*
*
*A Provincial conference on Active Transportation and Recreation*
The conference is bringing together leaders, experts and people with a
passion to share knowledge, ideas, challenges and successes. IF you are a
municipal leader, parks and recreation practitioner, health professional,
trail advocate, cycling enthusiast, pedestrian, planner, engineer, elder,
community volunteer or resident of Manitoba – YOU have something to share
and to learn!
- PACM is putting the spotlight on 3 smaller Manitoba communities who
are gaining ground in their pursuit to increase the quality of life in
their community. Hear how distinctly different, tailor-made solutions are
being developing and put into action.
- *You* are invited to submit, present & share your own community’s
success stories in our ‘5 slides / 5 minutes/5 highlights’ session!
- Connect *coast to coast* with leaders who are working directly in
communities with local, provincial and national governments to integrate
active transportation, recreation, and and development with research and
the very critical funding component!
~British Columbia – *Dr. Larry Frank*, Professor & J. Armand
Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Urban Transportation Systems, University of
British Columbia
~Nova Scotia – *Mike Arthur*, Manager of Physical Activity, Provincial
Dept. of Health & Wellness
Hear key recommendations from the Manitoba Active Transportation Advisory
Group report: *Greater Strides: Taking Action on Active Transportation *
**Round trip shuttle service from Winnipeg to Portage La Prairie for
conference attendees**
For info visit www.pacm.ca or contact Cara Fisher, PACM Project Assistant
by email at conference(a)pacm.ca or by phone at 204-294-7027
REGISTRATION OPENS IN EARLY JANUARY
PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITATION WIDELY WITH COLLEAGUES, STAFF AND COMMUNITY.
Conference hosted by PACM and funding assistance provided by Manitoba in *
motion*
What is New York City Bike Share?
Introducing NYC Bike Share, a revolutionary new way for you to get around
New York City, scheduled to launch summer 2012. Bike sharing expands your
transportation options; it empowers you to go your own way.
NYC Bike Share is a self-service system that provides members with easy
access to a network of thousands of bicycles. Pick up a bike close to home
or work, ride, then return it to any of the hundreds of stations to be
located throughout the city.
NYC Bike Share will consist of 600 stations, 10,000 bikes in Manhattan and
Brooklyn, potentially stretching to Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. It
will be privately sponsored, privately launched and privately operated,
with no public funding. Additional information for interested potential
sponsors is available at www.nycbikesharesponsorship.com.
It’s more than just a different way to get to work. 54% of all trips New
Yorkers make are less than two miles. Bike sharing is a great mobility
choice for short trips that are too far to walk, but too short for a cab or
subway ride. Sustainable, convenient, expeditious and safe – NYC Bike Share
will benefit you and your community.
Find more: http://nycitybikeshare.com/