This Tuesday Bike Week 2015 will have our media launch. We are also having a
"Suit Ride" to the launch.
The suit ride starts at 12:30 pm from the canopy at the Forks. The launch
starts at 1:00 pm and we need as many people on their bikes as possible.
It's a great opportunity to show our new mayor (who will be speaking at the
launch) how important bikes are. Get dressed in your best and join us for a
ride or just drop by for the launch.
Bike Week starts on Saturday the 13th and we will also be having our 2nd
annual free pancake breakfast on Monday the 15th kick things off. Check out
all the great activities planned for Bike Week at
http://www.bikeweekwinnipeg.com/about/events-schedule/.
Make Magazine is the top resource for the maker and DIY community (think
people who are into 3D printers, CNC machines, soldering and/or robotics.
This article is where the Maker/Urban Cyclist venn diagram intersect:
>From Kickstarter to Collaboration, Taking Urban Biking to the Next Level
http://makezine.com/2015/06/04/kickstarter-collaboration-taking-urban-bikin…
*STUDY: QUEBEC CYCLE TOURISTS SPEND MORE, STAY LONGER, VISIT MORE OFTEN *
Cycle tourists spend more, take frequent trips and travel for longer
periods of time than the typical leisure tourist. And because they schedule
their trips as early as June and as late as September, cycle tourists are
helping to extend Quebec’s tourist season. These are some of the highlights
of a study released by UQAM’s Transat Chair in Tourism. (Study Highlights:
http://bit.ly/1Jkrl8s
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Ge_2-y9_Cuk0bgJ2Einl1w1ntGWEDlko0SxuwqciTG8k…>
)
Interesting study on parklets from University City District of Philadelphia:
*"The Case for Parklets: Measuring the Impact on Sidewalk Vitality and
Neighbourhood Businesses"*
http://www.universitycity.org/sites/default/files/documents/The%20Case%20fo…
Couple of key points that jumped out at me:
*Parklets are not just for patrons.* A common concern is that Parklets may
be interpreted by potential users as private space intended only for
patrons of the adjacent businesses. In fact though, Parklets attracted a
large number of non-patron users, with the busiest Parklets attracting the
most non-patrons.
*Parklet installation coincided with a substantial boost in sales*. The
majority of host businesses were able to provide sales data for the one to
two weeks preceding and following the installation of their adjacent
Parklets2. Among them, the sales impact of the Parklets was substantial:
following the introduction of the Parklets, sales were up by an average of
20% (the number of transactions increased by an average of 17% at the two
businesses reporting that additional statistic). Several of the reporting
businesses had been in operation for less than one year, so it was not
possible to compare the year over year change in sales. Based on the
typical increase in sales, a new Parklet is likely to pay for itself after
just one to two seasons, particularly when multiple businesses benefit from
its presence and can share in the cost
--
*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/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>
<http://canadahelps.org/>
[Note reference to transit and cycling below, highlighted in yellow.]
We're No. 4 (in large Canadian cities) and that's OK
By: Kevin Rollason
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/biographies/305362361.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/were-no-4-in-large-canadian-cities-a…
WINNIPEG may have slipped a few spots overall on MoneySense magazine's
annual list of the best places to live in Canada, but in terms of big
cities, it has gone up a notch in the rankings.
And for organizations that promote Winnipeg, that is the key finding.
MoneySense, a personal finance magazine, lists Winnipeg as the 24th-best
place to live in Canada in 2015 -- a drop from 19th last year, and
continuing the city's fall from 16th in 2013, and 10th in 2012.
But in terms of the survey's 15 large Canadian cities, Winnipeg jumped up
to fourth place from fifth, surpassing Edmonton, which plunged to 33rd from
eighth overall in 2014. The centres ahead of Winnipeg are Ottawa, Quebec
City and Calgary.
Marina James, the CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., said she
believes the large city ranking is the more relevant ranking for Winnipeg.
"I'm so pleased we moved from fifth to fourth in big cities," James said
Monday.
"As an economic development agency we will promote that... I do believe any
time we are in the top list it is very valuable for Winnipeg."
The annual list puts small-sized Boucherville, Que., as number 1 of 209
Canadian cities to live in, edging out Ottawa.
Brandon, in 26th place, is the next Manitoba entry after Winnipeg on the
list, climbing up from 42nd.
Other listed Manitoba communities are Steinbach at 149 (down from 85),
Selkirk at 155 (the first time it has appeared on MoneySense's list),
Portage la Prairie at 170 (down from 144) and Thompson at 177 (down from
121).
Mark Brown, the author of the article, said Winnipeg mainly dropped down in
the rankings because other cities popped up.
"If another city has improvements, Winnipeg might be just as good as last
year, but you can lose ground," he said.
Brown said Winnipeg has several things going for it, including a population
growth slightly higher than the national average, good access to health
care and public transit, and ease in getting around on bicycle or foot.
"You are 30th best for public transit -- that's positive," he said.
"And two per cent of your population takes a bicycle to work -- that's
really good and puts you 27th in the country."
Brown said several Alberta cities have dropped because the massive influx
in their populations in recent years have left them struggling to provide
public services such as accessible health care.
Loren Remillard of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce said in itself a drop
to 24th place from 19th is not bad news.
"Overall, this is more a case of small and medium-sized cities rocketing up
the survey," Remillard said.
"These aren't the communities Winnipeg is competing against for community
investment... we didn't drop so much as smaller cities (went) up. "Being
fourth bodes well for Winnipeg."
kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca
*Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 2, 2015 A2*
I have done this before. It's a lot of fun. But my pedicab days are over.
Passing along for anyone interested. I hear the $ can be pretty good.
See below
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Darren Downey <Darren.Downey(a)tf-np.ca>
Date: Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 6:04 PM
Subject: Pedi-Cab Drivers for The Forks
To: "andersswanson(a)gmail.com" <andersswanson(a)gmail.com>
Hi Anders,
Please see the attached job opportunity at The Forks. You may know some
bike enthusiastic people interested in this position. Please share with
whomever.
Thanks
*Darren Downey, CAPP*
*Manager, Business Operations and Parking*
*The Forks North Portage*
*259 - 393 Portage Avenue*
*Winnipeg, MB R3B 3H6*
*t: 204-987-4381 <204-987-4381>*
*f: 204-942-5216 <204-942-5216>*