*** Friendly reminder about tomorrow's webinar viewing ***
Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local
viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar:
*Street Lighting - Best Practices and Innovations in Illumination
Technology*
*Wednesday, November 15 | 2:00 - 3:00 pm CDT *
The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303
Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications
for those who wish to stay.
RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then!
Cheers,
Heather
* * * * *
*Street Lighting - Best Practices and InnovationsWed, Nov 15th | 2-3
p.m. CST*
Join us to view the November APBP webinar on lighting innovations. The
panel will identify promising technological innovations in lighting,
including smart/adaptive lighting, LEDs, bollard lighting, and programmable
lighting.
We'll discuss the potential adverse environmental impacts and controversial
aspects of lighting enhancements and explain methods of prioritizing
lighting improvements. And, we'll examine case studies from UC Davis with a
campus-wide exterior lighting retrofit and from Seattle on their experience
in planning and implementing pedestrian scale lighting.
Presenters:
- Frank Markowitz, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
- Nicole Graeber, University of California at Davis, California Lighting
Technology Center
- James Le, Seattle Department of Transportation
--
*Heather Mitchell *
Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> | 3rd floor, 303
Portage Avenue
(204) 925-3777 ext:107
Green Action Centre is your green living hub.
Support our work by becoming a member
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at
CanadaHelps.org
<https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/green-action-centre/>.
<http://canadahelps.org/>
<https://www.gomanitoba.ca/Public/Home.aspx>
You are invited to the launch of Winnipeg's Climate Action Plan: Planning
for Climate Change, Acting for People.
*The kick-off event is scheduled for Friday, Nov 10th at the University of
Winnipeg; doors open at 6:30pm. Please RSVP here *www.climateactionwinnipeg.
eventbrite.ca
For more information, please see the attached poster and visit these links
to related websites and reports:
* The City of Winnipeg news release that announced<http://www.winnipeg.
ca/cao/media/news/nr_2017/nr_20171026.stm#2> Winnipeg's Climate Action Plan
and the invite to attend the kickoff event.
* A link to our Sustainability and Climate Action website<
http://www.winnipeg.ca/Sustainability/PublicEngagement/
ClimateActionPlan/default.stm> for more information on how to get involved
* A link to the technical report describing the City of Winnipeg Community
2011 GHG Inventory and Forecast<http://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/ViewDoc.asp?
DocId=15709&SectionId=&InitUrl>
Lindsay Mierau
Environmental Coordinator
Urban Planning and Design Division, Planning, Property and Development
City of Winnipeg
Phone: (204) 986-8598
Email: lmierau(a)winnipeg.ca<mailto:lmierau@winnipeg.ca>
Please pass this along. Please note that The WRENCH is still short of kids
bikes for the event. Please drop off any bikes to either of the 4 R Depots
(Brady or Pacific) as space at th shop is also a bit tight.
Thanks
Dave
o
_ ( \ _
(X)\ /(X)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cycle of Giving <cog(a)thewrench.ca>
Date: Fri, Nov 3, 2017 at 1:28 PM
Subject: Cycle of Giving 2017!
To:
[image: Inline images 2]
*The Cycle Of Giving 24 hour kids bike building marathon* is bringing
volunteer mechanics together to build over 300 bicycles for kids in need.
We aim to raise $15,000 to support free bike programming for children and
families in 2018.
>From *12 pm December 2**nd** to 12 pm December 3**rd*, the Orioles
Community Centre will be transformed into a magic workshop where salvaged
and donated used bicycles are turned into holiday dreams come true. Help us
give to more kids than ever before!
*You can be part of the Cycle of Giving!*
*Volunteer *
<http://thewrench.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/volunteerLINK.pdf>
*Donate*
<http://thewrench.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Donate-to-the-Cycl…>
*[image: Donate online]
<https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-wrench-the-winnipeg-repair-edu…>*
*Tell a friend or Like **WRENCH* <https://www.facebook.com/theWRENCHwpg/>*
on facebook*
*Top doctor says Winnipeg could reinvent itself and improve access to
healthy choices*
* Food options limited in inner city *
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/food-options-limited-in-inner-city-…
Find report here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/chief-public-h…
OTTAWA — Canada’s top doctor says Winnipeg could be a leader for North
America, by reinventing itself from a car-dominated metropolis to a city
focused on public transit, walkability and affordable food.
Her comments come as new research suggests low-income Winnipeggers are
using taxis to find cheaper food due to poor bus service and relying on
convenience-store shelves to feed their families.
Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, sees great challenges
but also possibilities for Winnipeg, where one-tenth of residents live in
“food deserts,” areas where poor people lack access to affordable, healthy
food.
“I think Canadians can be real innovators in how to be active, even in the
most remote, in the most cold or extremes of climates,” she said in a
recent interview.
“It will challenge people to come up with some really great ideas.”
Tam took on the job, Canada’s equivalent to the United States’ surgeon
general, in June. Her first annual report
<https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/chief-public-h…>,
published last week, details how Canadian cities have been built in ways
that make Canadians physically and mentally unhealthy.
Tam, who’s lived in Saskatoon and Edmonton, says Prairie cities need to get
people moving through connected streets, bike paths and good public
transit, as well as areas that mix homes, shops and schools. The idea is to
build smarter subdivisions and retrofit existing urban sprawl with better
transit and walkable paths.
“If we could build our environments so people can use what I call the human
engine — to walk or take public transport to get to the grocery store, or
get to work or school — they’remore likely to be in a healthier state,” she
said.
“Even within the suburb itself, you can create the right physical
environment for people to be more active.”the
These interventions might slow the rise of diabetes, diagnosed in almost
one-tenth of adult Canadians in 2011, a rate that almost doubles for
Indigenous people in Manitoba, including in Winnipeg.
Cities can also improve mental health, Tamsays, through recreational
features such as green spaces, walking paths and sports facilities. Budding
research shows that murals, parks and public space (cafés, parks,
libraries) can prevent isolation and promote better mental health. She even
suggests building homes with front porches and yards to increase social
interactions.
Part of the report offers advice for fixing food deserts, which can be
affected by grocery-store locations and hours. It says cities can consider
zoning restrictions that limit fast-food restaurants and convenience
stores, or promote community gardens for fruit and vegetables.
Tam said that’s needed most outside of fancy condos and white-picket
fences. “Whatever we do, in terms of our community design, must bear in
mind that we need to serve the most vulnerable within our populations. If
you are in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, we need to pay attention.”
Her report comes on the heels of research published by the Public Health
Agency of Canada, which found nine per cent of Winnipeggers lived in food
deserts in 2014.
The research said Winnipeg Transit leaves much to be desired. It found that
those living close to downtown struggle to get to suburban grocery stores
with more food, as buses “are often sporadic and inconvenient”.
Alarmingly, it said some poor people rely on taxis to get cheaper
groceries, partially because bus fares don’t offer good discounts for a
parent with children.
In the peer-reviewed studies, researchers tabulated neighbourhoods’
census-reported incomes, alongside grocery stores. They found multiple
downtown areas more than 500 metres from a supermarket and similar problems
in the inner parts of Inkster, Seven Oaks and Elmwood.
Yet the study found the problem is less severe than originally thought. The
researchers noted that previous studies had only included national chains,
which incorrectly pegged 14 per cent of Winnipeg residents as living in a
food desert.
The researchers suggest how to replicate their study and get an accurate
sense of where governments can intervene.
Rob Moquin, policy manager with Food Matters Manitoba, said the research is
part of a growing recognition of trouble accessing food, though experts
have talked about these problems for decades.
“It’s a combination of built environments and other societal, structural
issues,” he said. “Social change takes a long time.”
Moquin pointed to previous research on “food swamps” where low-income
neighbourhoods can only access unhealthy fast food, and more recent
findings on “food mirages” where upmarket grocery stores sell products that
nearby residents can’t afford.
“People in Winnipeg should have access to a full-service grocer in close
proximity to where they live,” Moquin said, something that can only be done
if city officials confront the biases that cause food deserts, instead of
simply improving grocery-store options.
For example, Moquin said that even when food is available, it’s not always
culturally appropriate. Immigrants find it difficult to find ingredients
they’re familiar with (which can be harder for older, recently arrived
family members), while Indigenous people used to country foods pay
exorbitant amounts for conventionally farmed bison.
Tam describes her report as a call to action, one that must include cities,
provinces, grocery stores, charities and businesses.
Her 70-page report uses 692 footnotes, walking readers through where
decades of research align, and where studies contradict.
Her report notes diverging health outcomes for places people live, with
cities experiencing lower rates of suicide, car accidents and obesity, but
more pollution, stress and isolation than rural areas. The research on
suburbs “is complicated and sometimes contradictory,” she notes.
dylan.robertson(a)freepress.mb.ca
>From PeopleforBikes:
At its annual conference Tuesday in Chicago, the National Association of
City Transportation Officials <http://nacto.org/> released a new,
free-to-access 16-page document that makes one of the first comprehensive
attempts to answer a seemingly simple question: *Which streets need
protected bike lanes?*
In advance of NACTO’s full digital rollout (coming in a couple weeks),
we’ve got a sneak peek at the contents.
http://peopleforbikes.org/blog/sneak-peak-nactos-new-guide-advises-when-to-…