Sunday drivers get warningIn future, tickets will be issued to motorists
violating ban
By: Jessica Botelho-Urbanski
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sunday-drivers-get-warning-304884591…
Motorists on four Winnipeg streets got off with verbal warnings Sunday, but
hefty fines loom for those who drive too far on them on restricted days.
A traffic bylaw introduced by the city last August will result in more
action in the coming weeks as police begin to ticket those who drive more
than one block on Wellington Crescent, Lyndale Drive, Wolseley Avenue and
Scotia Street on Sundays and holidays.
>From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., those streets are meant to be enjoyed by cyclists
and pedestrians with reduced traffic, Const. Jason Michalyshen said Sunday.
The dates are fixed, with the restrictions occurring annually from the
Sunday preceding Victoria Day to Thanksgiving, including all Sundays and
statutory holidays between those dates, regardless of weather.
Drivers face a fine of $190.80 for driving more than the allotted one block
through the bike routes.
There were previously barricades up on the four streets, reminding drivers
that roadways were for "local traffic only" on Sundays and holidays. The
barricades were removed this year and replaced with white signs at
intersections, which read, "Motor vehicle travel limited to one block,
8:00-20:00, Sundays and holidays."
"I think over time there was a lot of confusion as to what those barricades
meant," Michalyshen said. "We have to realize there are people who live in
this community and who have to gain access to their homes and so forth. But
also, there are roadways like Wellington Crescent, Lyndale, Wolseley and
Scotia, that are streets that people really like to enjoy on those Sundays
and holidays, with reduced traffic and a little bit more tranquillity."
Wellington Crescent was teeming with cyclists, joggers and pedestrians
Sunday as police began their soft launch of the new bylaw program. Two
officers stopped nearly 300 vehicles driving down Wellington at Oxford
Street, alerting them to the Sunday road rules still in place, regardless
of the lack of barricades. All got off with a verbal warning.
Chris Frayer was stopped by the traffic unit Sunday and said he didn't know
there were new signs replacing the barricades.
"I don't know what the problem would be with barricades going up, honestly.
It's a pretty profound reminder that you're not supposed to be doing this,"
he said.
Frayer said he is in favour of the Sunday and holiday street closures, but
could see police's traffic ticketing being misinterpreted.
"They're just going to get criticized as a cash grab, too, when they start
cracking down on it, like another revenue generator," Frayer said. "They
have to really balance the public message."
Laura Lazo and John Markham were walking their dog on Wellington Crescent
when they saw police stopping vehicles. They've lived on Montrose Street
for 15 years and don't usually see this much action.
"Sometimes there will be someone going maybe more than a block, but it's
really slow, so it's not a problem. But every now and then, there's someone
who's really cruising down," Markham said.
"I remember one time somebody swearing at me because I was riding my bike
on a Sunday on the street," Lazo said. "For me, this (bylaw) is an asset
for Winnipeg."
Not having the barricades in place to warn drivers of wrongdoing will take
some getting used to, police and pedestrians realize. But having a
clear-cut bylaw in place will help police respond to infractions fairly,
said Michalyshen.
"By getting rid of that ambiguity, we have a little more teeth with respect
to what we can do with that particular driver," said Michalyshen. "Every
situation is different, but again, this isn't about ticketing. This isn't
about handing out a (hand) full of tickets. It's about changing behaviours."
*Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 25, 2015 0*
Plan would redefine downtownPedestrians and cyclists key to urban renewal
On Architecture By: Brent Bellamy
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/128193938.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/plan-would-redefine-dow…
Most mid-sized North American cities have struggled to maintain a healthy
downtown retail market. Winnipeg is no different. Shops that once lined
Portage Avenue have been replaced by government offices and for lease
signs. Longtime anchors such as Eaton's and Holt Renfrew are now only a
memory and The Bay is withering away like a fruit clinging to a branch in
late autumn.
The city's sprawling suburbs are served by big-box stores floating in
oceans of asphalt parking.
The shape of the city has changed and so have our shopping habits. In the
late 1980s, Portage Place mall was constructed as a last-ditch effort to
out suburb the suburbs, but it has struggled almost since the day it opened.
Even with downtown's large surface parking lots and 35,000 stalls, it is
unlikely there will ever be enough parking to compete with the convenience
of suburban shopping. Portage Place has demonstrated that even connected to
a large, heated parkade, downtown retail struggles as a commuter
destination. The perception remains, however, that urban restaurants,
services and retailers must cater to drive-up customers to be successful.
This issue came into the spotlight two weeks ago as Winnipeg's new
bike-and-pedestrian strategy was being presented to city council.
Responding to the proposed plan, Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) wrote a
letter to downtown business owners, warning them 13 new protected bike
lanes to be built over the next 20 years may lead to a loss of some of the
city's 2,000 on-street parking stalls. While this is likely true, the
notion the success of downtown retail is tied to the availability of
parking is one that will likely have to change if businesses are to find
long-term success.
Almost exclusively, North American cities with prosperous retail cores are
those with a dense residential neighbourhood at their centre. One of the
few proven models to establish urban commercial viability is to create an
active, diverse, pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood that supports the shops
as a local market and focuses on growing foot traffic above commuter
vehicle traffic.
Understanding this and other benefits of a strong downtown population has
led to a concentrated effort to attract new residents to Winnipeg's city
centre over the last decade. Many excellent initiatives have found success,
with 1,800 new residential units being built in that time and 1,650 more
currently under construction or being planned. With 17,000 residents, there
are more people living downtown today than ever. Despite these gains,
almost all of those residential units has been built with government help,
through residential development and heritage grants or tax-increment
financing programs.
To maintain growth in the downtown, the economics of real estate
development must be self-supporting. Lower demand means rental and
condominium sale prices do not yet match higher construction costs,
requiring government assistance to bridge the financial gap. To increase
market demand and balance the development equation, the focus of urban
renewal must not only concentrate on increasing the population, but on
building a neighbourhood that offers the amenities that make urban living a
unique and attractive option.
The fundamental quality of life incentive to attract urban residents is the
ability to connect to amenities such as school or work, restaurants,
grocery stores, shopping and services, without the use of a vehicle.
Transforming downtown into a walkable city centre that focuses on the
pedestrian and cyclist experience first is the most important investment
Winnipeg can make to promote an urban lifestyle different from the suburbs.
It is an important concept in the creation of a downtown community with a
self-sustaining real estate market that will in turn support a prosperous
central retail sector.
The bike-and-pedestrian strategy will directly respond to this idea by
vastly improving Winnipeg's non-vehicular mobility downtown. It will build
strong bridges between the islands of existing residential development in
the city centre, creating a cohesive multi-modal circulation network that
allows residents to easily access amenities across the core area. Few
initiatives could be more transformational for the quality of urban living
in Winnipeg than implementing a plan to prioritize the pedestrian and
cycling experience.
The proposed bicycle network is based on a city-wide 'hub and spoke'
concept. Almost 80 kilometres of protected bicycle lanes will establish a
series of radial arteries along key corridors that connect the central city
to a comprehensive set of neighbourhood greenways and off-street paths. The
entire system comes with a projected cost similar to that of a single
roadway project such as building an underpass on Waverley Street or the
widening of Kenaston Boulevard. The vast network of protected bike lanes
planned for downtown would cost only $7 million if implemented today.
Winnipeg is not alone in fearing the loss of on-street parking and it's
affect on downtown business. The debate happens in almost every city when
bike-lane plans first emerge. Winnipeg has the advantage of being able to
learn from those who have already implemented such plans. From Portland to
Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, Fort Worth, Texas, and Memphis, the economic
impact has been studied over and over again. Each time, a similar
conclusion is reached: Losing parking to bike lanes has little negative
impact on local business and in many cases, improves it. Studies found
cyclists spend more than drivers and visit more often. The addition of bike
lanes to a street also has a calming effect on traffic, which attracts even
more people. It is often found downtown streets with bike lanes become the
most successful commercial corridors, commanding the highest property
values.
After 60 years of designing a city overwhelmingly for the needs of the
automobile, the progressive ideas in the bike-and-pedestrian strategy will
finally begin to put people first. It is a visionary plan that, if
implemented, would redefine the city and instantly make Winnipeg an
active-transportation leader in North America. The plan will unify
Winnipeg's large and disconnected city centre, improve the quality of life
for downtown residents and be a strong catalyst in the establishment of a
connected, self-sufficient urban community that is a permanent and local
pedestrian market for the businesses that will inevitably lose the
parking-convenience war against their suburban competition.
Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.
bbellamy(a)numberten.com
*Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 25, 2015 B4*
‘Use it or lose it’ money rule hurts city
By: Bartley Kives
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/33841564.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/Use-it-or-lose-it-money…
To opponents of new downtown bike lanes, any expansion of Winnipeg’s
cycling and pedestrian infrastructure will push cars off the road, force
toddlers to work in salt mines and hasten the coming of the Apocalypse to
the point where it’d be unwise to purchase T-bills that mature in more than
90 days.
OK, so maybe no one’s actually talking about child slavery or the end of
the world, but the hyperbolic chatter about the supposed evils of bike
lanes is getting tough to tolerate.
This is not just because most North American cities are becoming more like
their European counterparts in trying to make movement easier for commuter
cyclists. It’s also not just because of the positive economic results of
improving pedestrian streetscapes in built-up urban areas.
Rather, anti-bike baloney is tough to take because the creation of new
bicycle lanes does little to hinder motorists, at least where
parking-protected bike lanes are concerned.
When the City of Winnipeg moved over a lane of parking on Sherbrook Street
in West Broadway, there was initial skepticism. The resulting improvement
to the streetscape, however, turned out to be dramatic, as pedestrians now
wait for buses on the new transit islands and business has thrived on both
side of the road.
This demonstrates how people can be drawn to streets designed for human
beings as well as cars. The motor-vehicle capacity of Sherbrook Street was
barely affected.
Now, the city has drawn up plans to create more parking-protected lanes on
inner-city streets. These are cheaper and easier to create than building
bike lanes that are completely separate from roads.
So where, you may ask, is the opposition coming from? The answer lies with
previous city mistakes when it comes to creating cycling infrastructure.
Opponents of commuter cycling are justified in criticizing the way the city
rolled out a $21-million infrastructure upgrade in 2010, when there wasn’t
enough time or city staff to properly plan, tender and build an
unprecedented package of new lanes for cyclists and pedestrians.
The problem at the time, however, had nothing to do with the imagined evils
of cycling infrastructure. Rather, it had everything to do with the flawed
federal pot of infrastructure money known as the Building Canada Fund.
In theory, money from this kitty flows when three levels of government —
Ottawa, the province and the city — all agree on the importance of a
project. In reality, Ottawa shows up with a pile of money and tells the
city and the province they can use it or lose it.
As a result, projects go ahead before they’re ready, as panicky municipal
politicians hastily sign on the dotted line in fear of losing out on the
latest morsel of federal money.
The 2010 upgrade turned out to be a mess because the city didn’t have the
capacity to implement it. There were no qualified staff on hand because of
a previous decision to eliminate dozens of middle managers for the ironic
sake of finding efficiencies.
But hey, when Ottawa offers money, you take it, right?
As a recent scathing audit demonstrated, a similar stupidity was at work
with Waverley West arterial roads, which had an original price tag of $55
million. After the project ballooned to $70 million, council demanded to
know why. Auditors said the original estimate was so rough, there was no
way the city could have predicted the final cost and got lucky it only rose
to $70 million.
Why would the city proceed with a project without knowing what it would
cost? The answer, again, is the Building Canada Fund.
Ottawa came to the city looking for a "shovel-ready" project. The Waverley
West plan, nowhere near shovel-ready, was identified in vote-rich southwest
Winnipeg. So ahead it went, in a format where the city wound up paying for
all of the additional costs because the deal locked in the federal and
provincial contributions at the outset.
Following the Waverley West cost overrun, few Winnipeggers are demanding an
end to the expansion of the city’s regional road network. It’s telling that
a small but vocal anti-bike contingent wants to put the brakes on new bike
lanes and that’s about it.
What all Winnipeggers should demand is more freedom for the city to build
whatever it needs to build, free of provincial and federal interference.
Roads aren’t evil and bike lanes aren’t evil. Politicians who try to use
infrastructure money to buy votes are the villains here.
bartley.kives(a)freepress.mb.ca
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