Pedestrian safety key to Portage and Main reopening
ALDO SANTIN
www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/re-opening-portage-and-
main-could-take-years-403621966.html
IT will take two years of planning before work can begin on reopening the
Portage and Main intersection to pedestrians, a senior city official said.
Lester Deane, director of public works, told reporters Tuesday that a
consulting firm hired to carry out a traffic analysis found no obstacles or
concerns that would prevent foot traffic at the iconic intersection.
But Deane said measures would have to be taken to ensure pedestrians are
safe when crossing and accessibility is achieved for everyone.
“We believe we can open the intersections, it’s just a question of having a
good plan going forward and working with the owners so they’re comfortable
with the overall picture,” Deane said. “We know we can do it, it’s just a
question of painting the big picture and getting costs associated with
delivering that.”
Deane said the analysis found that there would be delays to traffic flows
through the intersection for both private vehicles and transit buses, but
he added that was expected.
However, no funds have been set aside in the preliminary 2017 city budget
for work that would lead to reopening the corner.
Mayor Brian Bowman said last week, when he tabled the budget that funds
weren’t included because the city is still talking to the property owners.
“Some of the issues that have been raised (by the property owners) is a
desire for more investments — for the city to do its part — while the
property owners have been investing millions of dollars in upgrades to
their exterior and interior,” Bowman said.
The famous intersection was closed to pedestrians in 1979 in a deal between
city hall and developers to facilitate the construction of the underground
concourse and adjoining underground Winnipeg Square shopping mall.
Deane said the most problematic area for pedestrians would be near the Bank
of Montreal, at the intersection’s southeast corner, explaining there is
little land available for the infrastructure needed to accommodate
pedestrians.
The boulevard in front of the bank building also poses accessibility
issues, he said, as it is a two-metre drop to the street. Deane said the
city would likely have to acquire some of the property from the bank before
work could proceed.
“It’s the most difficult corner to introduce pedestrian access,” Deane
said. “To make things safe and to meet our accessibility requirements,
there is a lot of additional work that would have to be done.”
Deane said the study, which has not been made public, contained early
estimates for some of the work involved, but he added more analysis and
designs would be required to determine an accurate cost.
aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca
City earmarks $15 million for 44 pedestrian, cycling projects
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-hall-has-plans-to-spend-big-on-…
City hall plans to spend $4.7 million on new pedestrian and cycling paths
and sidewalks in 2017, with another $10.8 million on similar projects
during the following two years.
Councillors on the public works committee will get their first look at the
city’s pedestrian and cycling action plan for 2017 at a meeting Tuesday.
An administrative report from the public works department details 44
projects it wants to undertake over the next three years.
If the committee approves the $4.7 million planned for 2017, the
administration wants councillors to give the director of public works the
authority to prioritize which projects will be completed in 2017.
The administration has identified 13 projects, with a combined price tag of
$67.9 million, that it is proposing be constructed in the years 2019-21,
but only if additional funding can be provided by other levels of
government.
The cycling and pedestrian paths and corridors were approved by council for
a long-term strategy, but council required the public works committee to
approve the projects that will be constructed each year after consultations
with area councillors.
Public works is proposing for the next three years:
• $2.7 million to install sidewalks in more than a dozen locations
• $5.2 million for bicycle corridors
• $6.5 million on 10 recreational walkways and bicycle paths
• $1.1 million on public education, awareness and promotion projects
The department’s $67.9 million wish list of projects for 2019-2021 includes:
• $31 million on construction of four new pedestrian/cycling bridges: Fort
Rouge to McFadyen Park Bridge over the Assiniboine River (2019); Bishop
Grandin Greenway over Pembina Highway (2019); Maple Street through-pass of
the CPR Mainline (2020); a new crossing over the Seine River (2019)
• $15 million for McDermot/Bannatyne protected bike lane and road renewal
(2020)
• $10 million for Ruby/Banning neighbourhood greenway construction and road
renewal project (2020)
• $5 million for Chief Peguis Greenway, from Henderson Highway to Main
Street, along the Kildonan Settlers Bridge (2020)
aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca
Bike grid could boost business: Winnipeg Chamber of CommerceCoun. Janice
Lukes will try to keep the downtown bike grid plan alive with a pitch at
the Nov. 29 infrastructure and public works committee meeting.
http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/11/24/winnipeg-chamber-of-commer…
It’s time for Winnipeg to embrace a more bike-friendly future, according to
the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
President Loren Remillard doesn’t mince words when discussing the potential
of a fast-tracked bike grid
<http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/11/10/winnipeg-councillor-pushin…>,
as Coun. Janice Lukes will try to move one forward at the city’s next
infrastructure committee meeting, Tuesday.
“We’re very supportive of all measures to promote active transportation
(AT) in our city” Remillard said. “A downtown bike grid is part of that
conversation, one I think Winnipeg should embrace.”
Although the chamber hasn’t surveyed its members on the specific plan Lukes
has put forward, Remillard said there is near-unanimous “recognition of
value in AT and a desire to see Winnipeg move forward as quickly as
possible.”
He explained the business community feels increasing transportation options
through offerings like bus rapid transit (BRT) and AT make Winnipeg a more
attractive destination and aids in talent retention.
“From an employer standpoint… employers out there are trying to compete for
the best and brightest, and particularly among the millennial generation
they’re actively pursuing (transportation) options,” Remillard said. “If
you have AT infrastructure they can actively engage in it makes attracting
that talent easier.”
Bike Winnipeg has vocally supported Lukes’ plan
<http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/11/23/winnipeg-bike-path-plans-s…>
for
similar reasons, with executive director Mark Cohoe saying the current AT
offerings of Winnipeg’s present and near-future are a “bit scattered” and
lack the “connectivity people want.”
Remillard also thinks a downtown grid would be a boon for business by
increasing pedestrian traffic.
“In many other cities where their downtowns have an energy and a vibrancy,
that’s not from traffic flow of cars, that’s feet on the street, people
engaging on sidewalks, physical personal presence,” he explained. “Bikes
really in this case allow for that in a much more robust way by getting
people out of their cars.
“Instead of driving by many of these shops, again that bike allows you to
interact with offerings in the downtown in a more immediate and physical
way—it definitely adds to that sense of vibrancy.”
Remillard and the chamber will not speak in favour of the bike grid at the
Nov. 29 committee meeting, but he said he hopes Lukes’ plan gets support
because it would send “a message about what our city is like and where it
is going in the future.”
“’We are a modern city, we offer our citizens a multitude of options, not
just a vehicle option.’”
No money for Portage and Main, but Bowman hopefulDraft budget doesn't
include any cash for initiative
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/portage-and-main-
unlikely-to-be-open-to-pedestrians-by-summer-2017-402522565.html
Mayor Brian Bowman's dream of seeing Portage and Main opened to pedestrians
by the 2017 Canada Summer Games is all but dashed after the city's
preliminary budget didn't allocate any money for the project.
Bowman made removing barriers at the intersection one of his chief campaign
pledges in the last municipal election and in June expressed a desire to
see it open before the two-week event opens in July.
However, continued financial wrangling with owners of the buildings at the
intersection prevented the city from including the project in the budget,
Bowman told reporters Tuesday.
"It is premature to put anything in the budget when those discussions are
happening with the property owners," he said. "It is not in the budget
because we are not at the stage yet where there is something for council to
consider... some of the issues that have been raised (by the property
owners) is a desire for more investments — for the city to do its part —
while the property owners have been investing millions of dollars in
upgrades to their exterior and interior."
Budget documents outline more than $20 million in projects either cancelled
($10.6 million) or deferred ($9.5 million) to a later date.
The deferrals include a $2-million plan for fire and paramedic station
maintenance, $300,000 for land acquisition, $500,000 for library
refurbishment and $600,000 of library technical upgrades.
"The (preliminary) budget maps what we want to spend money on; the asks far
surpass what are you are going to see in the (final) budget," Bowman said.
The city signed a 40-year agreement with property owners at Portage and
Main in 1979 closing pedestrian traffic at street level, forcing people
into the underground shopping mall.
The estimated cost of opening the intersection remains unclear. A traffic
study prepared by Dillon Consulting has been in the hands of the city's
administration for months.
Bowman isn't ready to throw in the towel for a summer opening.
"If we aren't able to do it by that date, we will try and get it done as
soon as possible... it is being driven by discussions with the property
owners," he said.
kristin.annable(a)freepress.mb.ca
Globe and Mail editorial: “Hey driver, check your privilege. Pedestrians have rights, too”
Says; The killing of pedestrians is an overlooked tragedy in a car-centred culture that prefers to regard road deaths as both accidental and inevitable.
They are neither – at least not if you’re determined to make our cities safe places where people can go for a walk without fear of sudden death or disability.
...
It is time to undo this destructive choice – by dropping speed limits, narrowing roads, extending curbs at crossings, and providing safety islands on broad, busy streets. Politicians must find the courage to resist the crude war-on-the-car arguments that will inevitably result. Pedestrians already have priority under the law. It is time they had it in reality.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/hey-driver-check-your-pri…
Road safety by design
By: Brent Bellamy
<http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/biographies/304929281.html>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/road-safet
y-by-design-402202515.html
If flying were as dangerous as crossing the street, steamships and
passenger trains would still be a thing.
On average, about 600 people die in plane crashes across the entire world
each year, while in Canada alone, one pedestrian per day is killed in a
vehicle collision. In Manitoba, a pedestrian is hit and injured by a car
five times per week, resulting in death once per month.
We have engineered our Canadian cities for speed. Our streets have got
bigger; lanes have got wider and traffic flow has been given priority over
the safety of other transportation modes, such as walking and cycling.
Speed reduces reaction times, increases stopping distances and has a
significant effect on accident severity. A pedestrian struck by a car
travelling 50 kilometres per hour has an 80 per cent chance of being
killed, compared with only five per cent at 30 km/h.
Reducing vehicle speeds is key to road safety, but it’s not as easy as
putting up signs and red-light cameras.
Drivers respond to the physical design of streets and surrounding
conditions. Most of us have experienced driving on a road designed for high
speeds with a low posted limit. It’s instinctively difficult not to go
faster. If we hope to make streets safer, physical design will be a
necessary part of the solution.
The residential areas of downtown are a significant point of interaction
between high volumes of vehicles and pedestrians. A few simple design
features could be implemented to make areas such as South Broadway, Central
Park and the Exchange District safer, quieter and more comfortable urban
neighbourhoods.
A first design idea might be to reconfigure the lower-volume, one-way
streets in these areas back to two-way circulation. One-way streets are
built to funnel traffic quickly, encouraging drivers to increase their
speed. Without oncoming vehicles, driver concentration can be reduced, with
less awareness of surrounding movements.
A study in Hamilton in 2000 found children are 2½ times more likely to be
injured crossing a one-way street than a two-way.
Another important strategy to increase safety is to begin narrowing
roadways where appropriate. As a driver’s field of vision expands, speeds
intuitively increase. As an example, regardless of speed limits, we
instinctively drive faster on Pembina Highway than on Albert Street.
A precedent for road narrowing is Donald Street, where in 2013 a lane was
removed beside MTS Centre. The sidewalk was widened; trees were planted and
benches and lighting were installed. This made the street feel more
enclosed and intimate, a condition that could be replicated on many local
downtown streets, having a great effect on pedestrian safety and urban
quality without significant change to traffic congestion.
Road narrowing also provides an opportunity to install curbed bike lanes,
further buffering pedestrians from traffic and protecting cyclists.
Where streets can’t be narrowed, curb extensions, or bump-outs, can be
built to expand the sidewalk into the parking lane at intersections, where
the majority of pedestrian accidents occur. This has the effect of
increasing pedestrian visibility as well as reducing the distance and time
it takes to cross. The Montreal Public Health Agency estimates that for
every extra vehicle lane at an intersection, there are 75 per cent more
injured pedestrians.
A design tool to increase pedestrian safety used in many cities is the
elevated plateau crosswalk. This raises the street crossing to the height
of the sidewalk, making pedestrians more visible as they cross and
providing a physical reminder to drivers that they are entering a
pedestrian zone.
The plateau is gently sloped on each side and much lower than a speed bump,
making them easy to clear of snow in winter. They are generally the width
of the sidewalk and are often marked with contrasting paint or constructed
with paving stones to give the appearance that the sidewalk is continuous
as it crosses the road.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the gold-standard city for pedestrian and bike
safety, raised crosswalks are a common element at intersections. Renowned
Danish urban designer Jan Gehl has remarked that because of these features,
when his granddaughter walks to school, she feels like she never crosses a
street.
This anecdote demonstrates that raised crosswalks would not only be
effective traffic-calming elements in downtown neighbourhoods, but they
could also be implemented throughout suburban residential areas,
particularly in school zones, where more than 4,000 Canadian children are
hit by motor vehicles each year. A few Winnipeg schools have already begun
building raised crosswalks as a model to study.
In response to recent pedestrian accidents, Coun. Janice Lukes has been
calling for Winnipeg to follow other Canadian cities and adopt Vision Zero,
a global initiative that promotes a holistic approach to road safety. A
fundamental pillar of the strategy is to use tools such as these to design
physical environments that intuitively calm traffic downtown and in
residential neighbourhoods.
Slowing traffic is never a popular suggestion, but when designed carefully,
these initiatives can be implemented without increasing congestion and may
have valuable side benefits beyond pedestrian safety. Safe streets are
inviting streets. Their slower pace creates a more comfortable physical
environment that attracts people. This gravity supports commercial growth,
increases property values and improves the quality of life in our
communities.
Great walking cities have suburban subdivisions with sidewalks on every
street, school zones and residential intersections that are prioritized to
foot traffic and complete urban streets that are designed equally for all
users: transit riders, cyclists, drivers and pedestrians.
*Brent Bellamy is chairman of CentreVenture’s board and the creative
director at Number Ten Architectural Group.*
Interesting/informative/entertaining 6:16 TEDx talk by the creator of the Bikeyface comic strip blog.
I had to hit pause for most of her comic slides because there is so much to read/see in them and she's changing slides quite
quickly.
http://bikeyface.com/2015/10/08/moving-people-bikeyface-at-tedxsomerville/
Kevin Miller
k.a.miller(a)mts.net