(This is old news, as I'm catching up after a week away.)
*Council extends cycling, walking routes till Sept. 7 *
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/council-extends-cycling-walking-rou…
AS Winnipeg city council extended temporary active transportation routes
until September, one councillor successfully lobbied for his ward’s route
to be removed.
Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) called to close the route
along Assiniboine Avenue, from Bedson Street to Westwood Drive, arguing
some cyclists and pedestrians disregard “the basic rules of the road.”
“We’ve had several close calls with bikes and pedestrians… It makes for a
potential danger spot when someone is riding a bike or is walking,” he said
Friday.
Klein said the busy stretch of Assiniboine Avenue isn’t a good fit for such
use, largely since it’s a bus route. Residents have complained of cyclists
and pedestrians taking up the entire road and not allowing cars to pass, he
said.
The AT routes limit vehicular traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
daily, to allow more room for cyclists and pedestrians.
Klein’s motion to close the Assiniboine link, which council approved, also
called for city staff to consult with him to find an alternative route in
his ward.
The councillor said he decided to call for the elimination of the route,
after 84 residents signed such a petition, including 67 Assiniboine Avenue
residents.
At the same meeting, council voted unanimously to extend eight other AT
routes: sections of Lyndale Drive, Scotia Street, Wellington Crescent,
Wolseley Avenue, Churchill Drive, Egerton Road, Kildonan Drive and Kilkenny
Drive. The extension will keep them open until Sept. 7, instead of July 6.
Meanwhile, another councillor successfully called to have a route added in
his ward.
Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) requested an AT route be placed on Rover
Avenue, between Hallet and Stephens streets. The area is part of the North
Winnipeg Parkway, which Eadie’s motion states is slated for medicine
plant-filled boxes to help calm traffic in the area, as part of a
reconciliation effort.
The motion describes the area as well-suited to the change, with “no
cross-traffic, low traffic volumes and low traffic speeds.”
The routes were first promoted as an option for socially distanced exercise
during the pandemic.
— Joyanne Pursaga
Globe and mail editorial today:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-edmonton-fights-b
ack-against-the-hidden-costs-of-parking-with-the/
.. Some cities have started to move away from parking requirements for new
buildings, but they are doing it slowly, and usually only in specific
circumstances.
Edmonton, however, decided to go further. Last week, city council
<https://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-Release---Edmonton-first-major-Can
adian-municipality-to-eliminate-parking-minimums.html?soid=1127191170163&aid
=hSRVUDLmF1Q> eliminated parking minimums from its zoning rules for all
developments across the city, the first big city in Canada to do so.
All Canadian cities should take inspiration. Edmonton is thinking about what
kind of city it wants to be in 2050. To quote a guiding maxim of a famous
former Edmontonian: "Skate to where the puck's going and not where it's
been."
..
Sadly, their front page points to another trend:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-here-in-my-car-i-feel-safest-of
-all-and-in-a-covid-19-pandemic-it/
"Here in my car, I feel safest of all - and in a COVID-19 pandemic, it's the
only way to live".
Charles Feaver
11 Harvard Ave
Winnipeg R3M 0J6
204.293.6332