---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Wrench Volunteers <wrenchvolunteer(a)gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 1:37 PM
Subject: *Exciting event alert!* BIKE!BIKE! Aug 24-27
Okay everyone, *we've got something very very exciting on the horizon!*
*Next month (August 24-27th) our lil' prairie city is hosting Bike!Bike! ;
an international Community Bike Shop conference!*
Bike!Bike! is a gathering of folks from all around North America (even
Mexico!) who are committed to using bicycles as a vehicle for social
change. We'll be hosting 200-300 bike nerds & geeks from all over the
continent and we're gonna need a lil help from y'all;
1.*Hosting conference attendees*; Got a floor? Couch? Spare bed? Even a
patch of grass would be great! *Conference attendees get billeted out with
local hosts and we need hosts to sign up online.* There's a short survey
that's part of the Bike!Bike! registration
<https://en.bikebike.org/conferences/Winnipeg2017/register/> about how much
space you have, location, pets, loaner bikes, etc. If you're able and
willing to host even one person please sign up asap! Just register for the
conference as a host rather than a participant. It only takes 3 minutes!
2.*Participate*!: Bike!Bike! isn't just about bike nerdery but more-so
about social justice and how we're trying to make the world a more
equitable, sustainable, radical place using bikes and bike-based
education. If you think you have any sort of knowledge or skills that
would be useful to share with a bunch of other rad, eager-to-learn peoples
then please register to attend and put together a workshop. Registration
fees are pay-what-you-can (suggested $50-$100) with 2 meals a day and free
entry to a bunch of great parties. Please inquire with me if you're not
sure whether your workshop would be a good fit or not. Register or submit a
workshop here <https://en.bikebike.org/conferences/Winnipeg2017/register/>.
3.*Volunteer/Loaner bikes* - We're looking for volunteers to help out of
course. Most volunteers will be needed in the week or two leading up to
the conference and tasks are many and varied. We also may need some loaner
bikes for attendees to borrow. If you're able to volunteer or loan a
bike there's
a quick volunteer survey here that you can fill out; https://goo.gl/forms/
gt0MPFASygvRXoFg1
*4. Please share the Facebook event page / Pass this info on to other folks
who might be interested in attending!*
Bike!Bike! Facebook event page HERE
<https://www.facebook.com/events/344539605974805/?context=create&previousact…>
Thanks! Greatly appreciate your help on this!
Cheers,
Sarah Thiessen
*Volunteer Coordinator*
The *W*innipeg *R*epair* E*ducation '*N*' *C*ycling *H*ub
1057 Logan Ave, Winnipeg
204.296.3389 <(204)%20296-3389>
www.thewrench.ca
The simple act of walking is sometimes criminalized in the United States.
Anti-jaywalking statutes and ordinances—originally motivated by
auto-industry lobbyists in the 1920s—call for fines and, sometimes,
imprisonment for crossing the street. Additionally, some localities have
interpreted statutes against “child neglect” to encompass a parent’s
decision to let their kid walk outside alone. The result of this
criminalization? Such policies have reduced pedestrian liberty, increased
automobile traffic and pollution, and created a disincentive for physical
activity in the midst of an obesity and diabetes epidemic. In addition to
discussing these effects, this Article argues that the purported safety
benefits of criminalizing walking pale in comparison to those of
decriminalization. In the context of currently vague child neglect laws,
this Article suggests a bright-line rule that would empower parents’
decision to allow their children to do the unthinkable: walk themselves to
school.
Download full article
<https://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lewyn.pdf> [pdf]
from *University of* *Illinois Law Review*
A few highlights are provided in another article
<http://www.placemakers.com/2017/05/16/the-irrational-criminalization-of-wal…>(which
also includes an interesting personal anecdote):
Lewyn examines all this through the lens of jaywalking laws and child
endangerment statutes, pointing out the irrationality inherent in the
justifications used to defend both. A few tidbits:
- Where jaywalking is not an offense or in areas where it’s not enforced
or enforced with inconsequential penalties, rates of pedestrian deaths are
greatly reduced.
- Statistically speaking, were a parent intentionally seeking to have
their child abducted they would need to leave them outside, unattended, for
500,000 years before it would be likely to happen.
- An American child is fifty times more likely to die from a car crash
than from an abduction by a stranger.
--
*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) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here
<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>
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 <http://canadahelps.org/>
*New outdoor bike repair station on greenway*
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/New-outdoor-bike-rep…
Cyclists in Winnipeg who enjoy life in the saddle now have even more reason
to get their fix.
Two new outdoor bike repair stations were opened recently, one donated by
Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) and one donated by Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort
Rouge-East Fort Garry).
The station donated by Mayes was officially opened on June 20 in St. Vital
on the Bishop Grandin Greenway and the Dakota/Dunkirk Pathway at the
northeast corner of Bishop Grandin Boulevard and Dakota Street, while the
station donated by Gerbasi officially opened on June 22 in West Broadway at
the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre at 187 Young St.
Mayes said he became motivated to support the creation of the station after
Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) supported one in her ward
last year. He said the station will serve the hundreds of cyclists that use
the greenway on a daily basis.
The stations are made in Manitoba by Rackworks, and they provide cyclists
with free access to a variety of tools necessary to perform basic bike
repair and maintenance.
The stations consist of an air pump, and a repair stand that includes a
selection of tools such as screwdrivers, levers, and wrenches that are
attached to the stand by wires.
"The whole idea is that there’s help if you have an issue with your bike,"
said key organizer Currie Gillespie of Rackworks, an avid cyclist and St.
Vital resident, at the opening ceremony.
"You might need air in your tires, or your seat might be slipping, or your
handlebars need tightening up. There are more than 15 commonly-used tools
here, and the stand is designed for all bikes."
Gillespie is not only encouraging community members to enjoy the station,
but also to help ensure it remains in good working order.
"It’s a community repair stand, and it’s here for the community, so if
somebody vandalizes it, it takes away the ability of the community to use
it. If someone sees any vandalism, they can contact us at Rackworks,"
Gillespie said.
He said the greenway and the many interconnecting bike paths and active
transportation trails in the south end of the city are a massive boon.
"The south end of the city is the best part of the city for cycling," he
said. "For example, I can ride from my house in St. Vital to The Forks
without playing with traffic."
Mayes added the location of the repair station is a perfect one in light of
the volume of bicycle traffic.
"It fits in with the greenway, and it’s at the intersection of two main
bike routes, so it’s a great place to do it. Currie has been great with
this," he said.
simon.fuller(a)canstarnews.com
City seeks bids for Route 90 redesign
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-wants-consultants-route-90-rede…
CITY hall is taking steps to prepare for the long-awaited widening of
Kenaston Boulevard and the rebuilding of the St. James bridges.
A formal request for proposals (RFP) was issued recently, asking potential
consultants to develop preliminary designs for the Route 90 project
Winnipeg city council approved in principle in January 2012.
Senior councillors denied the RFP has been issued in anticipation of a
resolution to the dispute between Ottawa and First Nations over the Kapyong
barracks property.
Ward Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of the property and development
committee, said concern over the structural viability of the St. James
bridges prompted city hall to have designs in place.
“The St. James bridges take so much traffic, it’s a crucial transportation
link,” said Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), adding it’s not necessary
for the Kapyong barracks situation to be resolved before work begins on the
bridges but it would be preferable.
“We can work on that one project if we have to, but we’d like to see the
whole thing done at once.”
City hall has budgeted $2.5 million for the consulting contract.
While the 2009 estimated cost of the project had been $129 million, the
city acknowledged it was a rough estimate. The consultant’s final report
will be expected to include revised cost estimates that would be accurate
within a range of minus-20 per cent to plus-30per cent, known as a Class 3
estimate.
The designs will be based on “Option 4,” one of five widening designs
presented to the public during a series of open houses. It will widen the
west side of Kenaston Boulevard between Taylor Avenue and Tuxedo Boulevard
and the east side between Tuxedo and the bridges.
According to the RFP document, the city will have to acquire 136 properties
along Kenaston: 94 single homes and 21 duplex units; 52 of them are
privately owned and 81 belong to the Department of National Defence.
The plan to widen Kenaston provides for sidewalks on both sides, plus a
three-metre-wide cycling and pedestrian pathway on the west side from
Taylor to Wellington Crescent.
The RFP advises potential consultants widening Kenaston will require
closing several side streets. Option 4 also envisions a pedestrian bridge
across Kenaston at Lockston Avenue.
For the bridge project, the RFP states both northbound and southbound spans
will be widened to four lanes and accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, and
will tie into future cycling networks.
The city wants a realignment of the eastward off-ramp to Portage Avenue,
which cuts through the Viscount Gort Hotel property.
For the southbound span, Orlikow said the city is going to require the
roadway to be realigned and straightened.
The RFP is requiring the consultant team to include at least one “industry
recognized bicycle facilities design expert with extensive knowledge and
experience in the design of complex bicycle facilities in North America.”
The RFP closes at noon on July 21. The city expects to award a contract by
the end of August and the winning consultant will be required to produce a
draft preliminary design by Aug. 31, 2018.
The tentative date for a public open house to review the preliminary
designs is set for Nov. 1, 2018.
aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca