AT-Network November 2018

at-network@lists.umanitoba.ca

5 participants
17 discussions

2019 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Action Plan

by Mark Cohoe

Hi everyone, The city has put out the 2019 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Action Plan, which will go before the Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works Committee on November 20th. Its report #7 on the agenda. http://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/dmis/ViewDoc.asp?DocId=17409&SectionId=&InitUrl= Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

5 years, 5 months

Minnesota College Becomes First to Offer Degree in Bike-Building

by Beth McKechnie

Minnesota College Becomes First to Offer Degree in Bike-Building STUDENTS AT MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGE SOUTHEAST CAN SOON EARN A TWO-YEAR DEGREE IN BICYCLE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING https://www.bicycling.com/news/a25013049/bicycle-design-manufacturing-degre… -- *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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

5 years, 5 months

WFP: City seeks feedback on bike lanes (Nov13'18)

by Beth McKechnie

*City seeks feedback on bike lanes* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-asks-wolseley-residents-for-in… IN a part of Winnipeg renowned for its environmental friendliness, a bike route shouldn’t be a hard sell. Still, residents of Wolseley are being asked by the city what they’d like to see. “What would a new bike route look like here?” new Wolseley-to-downtown walk-bike project signs posted by the city last week on Wolseley Avenue ask. They ask passersby to “tell us what you think.” Area resident Elena Howard-Scott likes the idea of Wolseley Avenue having a lane for bikes. “I think it’ll increase accessibility,” said Howard-Scott, who was walking her dog Ziggy in the area on Monday. The student, who works, said it might even persuade her to get back to riding her bicycle in the city. Cindy Gilroy, councillor for the area, said the goal is to make the traffic situation better for everyone, whether they’re walking, biking or driving. “What we are doing, is a greenway study looking at all modes of transportation on both Wolseley and Westminster,” Gilroy said. “It’s about finding ways we can all make sure that, holistically, we can live together with active transportation or driving a car,” said Gilroy, who was re-elected Oct. 24 in Daniel McIntyre. “Traffic’s been a big issue in Wolseley. It’s been pretty crazy,” said the councillor, who heard area residents’ complaints about it when she was campaigning door to door. She said the idea for the yellow and blue “Please Slow Down” lawn signs that she gives to people in her ward who request them came from a Wolseley resident that wanted to see traffic-calming measures taken. “How do we reduce traffic?” Gilroy asked. She said “traffic-calming” measures and active transportation can help. “It could be a variety of many different things,” she said, including making some residential streets one-way streets to eliminate cut-through traffic. “We do see a lot of cut-through traffic,” as more and more motorists use residential side streets to get where they’re going, rather than main traffic corridors, she said. The afternoon rush hour is especially bad, Gilroy said. “It’s piled up” with drivers trying to get onto the Maryland Bridge, she said. The traffic on Wolseley Avenue is especially frustrating on Sundays in the summer, when it is supposed to be closed to through traffic, said Shelagh Weedon. She’s lived in the area for nearly 30 years and said it’s not safe for her to walk her dogs on summer Sundays on the Wolseley Avenue roadway because so many drivers ignore the signs saying it’s closed to through traffic from dawn until dusk. She wondered what effect a bike lane there would have on vehicular traffic. “I’d like more clarification,” said Weedon, who planned to find out more online. “This is the first phase in public engagement,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. The advocacy group presents background information and bike-friendly recommendations to as many government agencies and related organizations as it can manage with its limited resources. “What they’re looking at is connections through Wolseley from Empress (Street) and Omand Park all the way through to Osborne Street and Assiniboine Avenue.” There’s an online survey Winnipeggers can take about the Wolseley-todowntown walk-bike project and opportunities to meet the planners in person at different times and locations in the neighbourhood. Even though it’s almost winter, Cohoe expects the city will receive a lot of public feedback from Wolseley residents. “The good thing about that neighbourhood is there’s a lot of people who cycle in that area of the city,” he said. “It has the highest cycling rates.” In 2018, the city budgeted $250,000 for the preliminary design of bike routes along Wolseley and Westminster avenues.

5 years, 5 months

WFP: New York state of mind needed for downtown (Nov12'18)

by Beth McKechnie

*New York state of mind needed for downtown * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/new-york-state-of-mind-500254872.ht… THE envy washed over me like a bucket of cold water. It was a hauntingly temperate Wednesday evening, and New York City’s legendary Times Square was fulfilling my every expectation. It buzzed and throbbed and shimmered and glowed. Panhandlers in Marvel and Disney costumes lurched about, attempting to lure tourists into costly photo opportunities. Spoken-word artists pleaded their case as well, asking for any denomination of donation in exchange for some spontaneous free verse. Amateur photographers mixed with working stiffs passing through the intersection trying to escape the working day. In case you haven’t visited NYC lately, Times Square is no longer just an intersection. It’s a pedestrian plaza where automobiles are limited and pedestrians dominate. The result is a potpourri of humanity, strangers loitering, strolling and consuming the heartbeat of one of the world’s great cities. The pedestrian plazas started out in 2009 as an experiment by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced several lanes of traffic on Broadway from 42nd Street to 47th Street would be closed on a trial basis. The same thing was done in Herald Square, at the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) between 33rd and 35th streets. Bloomberg’s plan was part urbanist nirvana, part environmental statement, with a dash of traffic safety thrown in. The famed intersection had become a giant parking lot, where motor vehicles sat in endless gridlock. When traffic did flow, it was often interrupted by a violent meeting between pedestrian — forced from the overpopulated sidewalks into traffic — and vehicle. It was one of the most unsafe intersections in the city. Rather than fence or wall in the pedestrians, Bloomberg went all-in on another solution: limit traffic and give the intersection back to the pedestrians. His theory was that by making Times Square less of an option for cars and trucks, it would be safer for pedestrians, and in the process create a more engaging meeting place for visitors and residents. Initially, lanes of Broadway were just blocked off. The city put clutches of plastic patio furniture at various spots along the deactivated roadway to function as makeshift meeting places. After a period of initial skepticism, more and more New York decision makers bought into Bloomberg’s vision. Starting in 2010, Bloomberg started a five-year, US$50-million project to permanently transform Times Square into the pedestrian plaza. Today, the asphalt has been replaced by art deco-inspired concrete stones. Small metal discs embedded in those paving stones help reflect the luminous glow of the enormous video and neon signs that encircle the intersection. Fifteen-metre-long polished granite benches create small pockets of respite for visitors trying to escape the torrent of pedestrian traffic. Open-air cafés and restaurants have added to the ambience. It truly is a marriage of practical infrastructure and urbanist art. There are lingering concerns: aggressive panhandling by costumed characters; security concerns about exposing pedestrians to vehicle-assisted terrorist attacks; pedestrian traffic that has exceeded even the wildest estimates. Still, I couldn’t help but wish that Winnipeggers could somehow find their way into the mindset that led New York to this audacious statement. There is still an ugly stench surrounding the plebiscite result from last month’s civic election, which killed plans to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians. The plebiscite result has not, however, settled the future of the intersection. Major concerns exist about the state of the underground concourse. Repairs to the membrane that separates above ground precipitation from below ground concourses may turn out to be so significant that pedestrian barriers will have to be removed as part of the repair process. It will take years to figure out what has to be done, how much it will cost and what will happen to the barriers. If we’re lucky, the mayor and council will use that as an opportunity to rethink the intersection and surrounding neighbourhood. This isn’t about taking another run at reopening the intersection. Winnipeggers drove a stake through that idea, although “no” votes were mostly predicated on misunderstanding, or outright misinformation, about the consequences of reopening the intersection. Even so, that does not mean city council should not consider some other ideas of Bloombergian magnitude. I wrote a column some time back about cities around the world that have created pedestrian malls, platforms and bridges above busy intersections. Although much more expensive than the simple streetscaping the Team Open forces advocated in the plebiscite campaign, it is a project that could be more transformative for all of downtown. And if Portage and Main proves to be a no-go zone for transformative change, then perhaps local government could look at creating a permanent pedestrian mall west of Main that encompasses Albert and Arthur streets from Notre Dame north to McDermot, and ultimately to Bannatyne and Old Market Square. It does not solve the nagging ugliness of pedestrian barriers at our signature intersection, but it would still be cool. The most important point here is for city hall to continue to look for ideas to enhance and transform downtown. The plebiscite result was disappointing for all those who saw an opportunity to change downtown for the better. That defeat should not become an excuse for neglecting the future of the intersection and the neighbourhood that surrounds it. dan.lett(a)freepress.mb.ca

5 years, 5 months

Event - Active School Travel Community Night: These Boots Were Made for Walking

by Heather Mitchell

*Please share with your networks! Thank you!* *Link*: *https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/active-school-travel-community-night-these-boots-were-made-for-walking-tickets-52280819338 <https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/active-school-travel-community-night-these-boot…> * -- [image: Social Media Photo.png] Green Action Centre invites parents, guardians, and community members to join them for a free information session on active school travel and independent mobility by their Active and Safe Routes to School program and two guest speakers, Katharina Nuss (Free Range Parenting Petition) and Tanya Hoover. Guests will learn about the Active and Safe Routes to School program, the benefits of walking and cycling to school, strategies for overcoming common barriers, and more. Approximate Timeline - 6:00-6:45 pm – doors open, refreshments served, and community networking - 6:45-8:00 pm – presentations by Green Action Centre, Tanya Hoover, and Katharina Nuss, followed by Q&A - 8:00-8:30 pm – Final discussion and community networking - 8:30 pm – Event concluded Encouraging your child to walk or bike to school is an important part of living a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle. We strongly encourage you to join us in this movement! The space is limited to 40 participants. If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact Heather at (204) 925-3777 ext 107 or heather[at]greenactioncentre.ca. REGISTER HERE <https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/active-school-travel-community-night-these-boot…> -- *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>

5 years, 5 months

AT Webinar: Ten Years of Safe Routes to School (Wed, Oct 17th, 2-3pm)

by Beth McKechnie

Please join Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg for a group viewing of the monthly APBP webinar in the EcoCentre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/uncategorized/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-o…> boardroom. This will be followed by discussion for those who wish to stay. cheers, Beth *AT Webinar: Wed, Oct 17th, 2-3pm* Ten Years of Safe Routes to School - Where do we go from here? It’s been over a decade since the Safe Routes to School movement launched in the US and times have changed, but Safe Routes to School initiatives are continuing to improve safety and get more kids walking and rolling to school. Join this webinar to hear about continued successes from state and local level programs. You will also hear thoughts on the exciting future of the movement from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. *Presenters:* - Sara Zimmerman, National SRTS, Program and Policy Director - Katie Alexander, Michigan Fitness Foundation, Director of SRTS - Bryan Armstrong, Michigan DOT, SRTS Program Manager - Katherine Swidarski, Columbus, OH SRTS Program Manager -- *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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

5 years, 5 months

Winter Cycling Congress Calgary this Feburary

by Anders Swanson

FYI: The 7th Annual Winter Cycling Congress is coming to Calgary February 6-8, 2019. We invite all interested participants to submit a proposal to help us create an exciting conference program. This year we want to explore how winter cycling contributes to building an accessible, equitable and resilient city. Northern cities have a lot to learn from one another and we look forward to sharing best practices and learnings (success and failures) on how to support winter policies for transportation, recreation and overall citizen wellbeing. We have a number of session formats including: - Breakout Sessions (practitioner and academic) - Workshop or Panel Discussion - Mobile Tour - Pecha Kucha Important dates: November 16, 2018- Deadline to submit proposals December 7, 2018- Presenters notified Learn more and submit a conference proposal at calgary.ca/wcc2019 <http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation/TP/Pages/Cycling/Winter-Cycling-Congre…> .

5 years, 5 months

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AT-Network November 2018