Downtown speed limit drives debate at city hall
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/downtown-speed-limit-drive-debate-a…
THE idea of lowering the speed limit on some downtown residential streets
has triggered debate at city hall.
At Wednesday’s public works committee meeting, Coun. Janice Lukes said a
slower speed limit, either 40 km/h or 30 km/h, should be tested on
residential streets in the city core, though she did not specify an exact
zone.
“In the downtown, the streets are still designed the same (as in
residential areas) but there’s much more congestion, there’s much more
development, there’s many more people. And, if you look at where the
collisions are occurring and the crashes with injuries for pedestrians,
it’s downtown,” said Lukes.
In an interview, the councillor stressed that she is not recommending the
change for busy regional roads like Portage Avenue or Main Street. She
noted other Canadian cities, including Toronto, have reduced speed limits
for many downtown residential roads.
“Cities all over the world are slowing traffic in their downtowns and
there’s got to be a reason for that and it’s to get more people downtown …
The thing about slowing traffic, which is really important, is not only
does it reduce death and injury, it improves quality of life,” she said.
The head of the Exchange District BIZ said his organization is open to the
idea but the context of each street must be considered before any change.
“To talk about the downtown in… broad terms is problematic because people
will start getting visions of Portage Avenue or Main Street being reduced
speeds,” said David Pensato, executive director of the BIZ.
Pensato said the BIZ recently suggested the city consider a “shared street”
pilot project in the Exchange District. The would test the concept of
reduced-speed routes that commingle pedestrians, cyclists and cars. He said
some sections of Alexander Avenue, Albert Street or Adelaide Street could
be suited to such a trial.
About 4,000 residents live in or within a few blocks of the Exchange
District, and Pensato said some are pushing for slower speeds on their
streets.
“I would definitely say the residents in the East Exchange almost entirely
say that they would like to see a slower speed on Waterfront Drive… as that
becomes a bit of a cut-through for people trying to avoid Main Street,” he
said.
On Wednesday, Lukes asked the public works committee to add a downtown zone
to a one-year pilot project that’s set to slow down residential streets
from the standard 50 km/h speed limit in four neighbourhoods, including
Worthington, Richmond West, Tyndall Park South and Bourkevale.
Public works gave final approval to the plan that will involve the speed
limit being reduced to 30 km/h in two neighbourhoods and dropped to 40 km/h
in two others, adding a requirement that the 40 km/h limit be set for
Worthington and Richmond West.
Coun. Jeff Browaty was the only committee member to oppose the vote,
arguing the 30 km/h limit is simply too slow.
“I think we’re trying to fix something that’s not broken here. I think
we’re going to create a lot of problems for certain areas,” said Browaty.
On Thursday, he said he doesn’t support pursuing the idea on downtown
residential streets for the same reason.
David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation planning, told the
public works committee that a downtown speed reduction could be tested in a
future project but would be difficult to add in to the neighbourhood
reduced speed trial at this point.
Coun. Matt Allard, chairperson of the public works committee, said he plans
to work with Lukes on options for a future test of reduced speed limits on
downtown residential streets.
“I think it’s important to look at the downtown or part of the downtown …
because it’s a missing link (in the current reduced speed pilot project),”
said Allard.
joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca
Time to re-set snow-clearing priority
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/time-to-re-set-snow-clea…
SPRING has arrived, the snow is finally melting, and the skating rinks that
were our sidewalks and streets have been turned into swimming pools. With
the sudden warming of the weather, our attention is quickly turning to
thoughts of summer and the activities that go along with it.
But let’s not move too quickly to forget the past several months.
Throughout the winter, there was a non-stop flurry of messages to the City
of Winnipeg that it was failing us with its snow clearing. From the very
first storm of the season, Winnipeggers were using every means possible to
share their stories of the challenges of getting around in anything other
than a car.
In November 2021, Mayor Brian Bowman acknowledged the calls for
improvements when he said the city needed to do better. He recognized the
challenges inflicted on pedestrians and anyone with mobility issues, and
indicated the city would do better. Remember, this was the first snowstorm
of the year, back in mid-November, long before we heard the “excuse” of
record snowfall.
Since that time in mid-November 2021, the snow has kept falling and the
complaints and concerns have kept piling up along with it. Rather than
addressing the concerns of seniors and those with disabilities, which
Bowman said he shared, we have continued to see, week after week, the
concerns and challenges of every day Winnipeggers being ignored when it
comes to getting around our city.
A quick scan of the Free Press archive shows at least 20 articles over the
past five months specifically concerning the challenges of getting around
in anything other than a car. In November, the mayor said, “We are a winter
city, and as a council we accept that.” While this is a case of stating the
most obvious, it should actually mean something.
“Winter city should be pedestrian friendly,” a Free Press editorial on Nov.
22, captured well the litany of challenges, inequities and barriers a huge
proportion of residents face every winter. All that was before we began to
see record accumulations of snow, before council members faced a winter of
being snowed under with complaints about the state of our sidewalks.
And yet, there is hope to be found in this past winter of our discontent.
Winnipeggers have loudly and overwhelmingly stated the status quo is no
longer acceptable. The vast majority of the complaints and commentary this
past winter have been about sidewalks, with people from all walks of life
and in every corner of the city expressing concerns about the ability of
pedestrians to get around.
There is a recognition that a large proportion of those who have any kind
of mobility challenge are functionally trapped in their home for four or
five months of the year — that includes people with disabilities, the
elderly, parents with strollers, and people who use wheelchairs and
walkers. Most of us will be on that list of the isolated and neglected at
one point or another.
Over the past two pandemic years, more people have gone outside to discover
and rediscover their community in person. Residents are out walking and
biking around their communities, connecting with their neighbourhoods.
COVID-19 has shifted the way we engage with our communities, and the city
has in many ways responded.
We have more open streets, sidewalk patios, pop-up spaces for people to
socialize and connect. This has continued through the winter, with activity
along the rivers and at The Forks. Outdoor spaces have added a vibrancy to
our lives that we didn’t know we were missing.
We have adapted the way we live in this city. With the pandemic, rising
climate change and now the increased cost of living, we are engaging with
our city in new ways. People are walking and biking around the city like
never before. We are thinking more about supporting our neighbours. And we
are being better for it.
As in most Canadian cities, the history of snow-clearing complaints in
Winnipeg has largely been about the state of our streets for cars. But this
past winter has seen that shift: residents are now placing people, rather
than cars, at the centre of the narrative. Our community priorities are
shifting away from car dominance to ones in which people come first; from
focusing on convenience for cars to emphasizing the vibrancy of our
neighbourhoods.
The City of Winnipeg’s snow-clearing policy needs to follow. We need to see
our municipal leaders clearly indicate people matter more than cars. We
need policies that don’t relegate significant numbers of our neighbours to
being trapped in their homes.
Winnipeggers are stating clearly that people come first. We need to see the
same commitment from our mayor and councillors.
*Brian Pincott is the executive director of Vélo Canada Bikes. Prior to
moving to Winnipeg he was a city councillor in Calgary for 10 years.*
Four areas eyed for lower speed limits on residential streets
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/four-areas-eyed-for-lower-speed-lim…
FOUR Winnipeg neighbourhoods have been recommended for a project to assess
the effect of reduced speed limits on residential streets.
After an extensive debate, city staff pinpointed places where the standard
50 km/h residential speed limit should be reduced.
Pending approval by the public works committee, the limit would drop to 30
km/h in two neighbourhoods and 40 km/h in two others. A consultant would
decide where each exact limit should apply.
The one-year trials are proposed for the Worthington, Richmond West,
Tyndall Park South and Bourkevale neighbourhoods, though locations could
change depending on feedback from city hall.
An advocacy group that has long lobbied the city to reduce the speed on
residential streets welcomed the plan.
“I think that it’s great that they’re doing trial neighbourhoods instead of
trial streets. That way, people in the neighbourhoods can try them out,
hopefully feel a little more confident letting their kids walk to school or
walk to their friends’ houses, or feel more comfortable themselves getting
on their bicycles or walking to the store,” said Ian Walker, the chairman
of Safe Speeds Winnipeg.
Walker said many folks may at times choose to drive down residential
streets because they don’t feel safe walking or cycling. While collisions
are typically concentrated on busier roads, the city should aim to prevent
the risk entirely, he said.
“I think a lot of people actually don’t use the roads because they’re not
safe. Rather than taking the bike or walking to the store, people are
taking their cars… There’s not a lot of (residential street) collisions but
we should be designing our streets so that there aren’t collisions (at
all),” said Walker.
Many Winnipeggers have publicly pushed council to reduce the city’s default
50 km/h speed limit on residential roads, arguing that would lower the risk
of fatal crashes and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
However, a petition against lowering the limit to 30 km/h had gathered
just under 10,000 signatures by Thursday.
Derek Rolstone is one of the Winnipeggers who opposes the change.
“I have no interest in driving those slow speeds, that’s ridiculous and I
can (see) it being a cash grab by the city,” said Rolstone. “There’s some
risk in our society but 50 km/h is the right speed for residential (roads).”
He said he isn’t convinced the current speed limit poses a notable safety
risk.
While the reduced speed trial has been contemplated for several months, the
change isn’t imminent. A request for proposals to support the project
should be awarded by May but the date of implementation has yet to be
determined, said spokesperson Julie Horbal Dooley, in an emailed statement.
A city report says the neighbourhoods were selected to include two mature
communities and two recently constructed ones, with varied layouts and
amenities.
The city expects to spend about $400,000 on the pilot project, which
council’s public works committee will debate on April 6.
Joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
Proposed program would reopen 14 routes for cyclists
City seeks to tweak open-streets blueprint
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-seeks-to-tweak-open-streets-bl…
WINNIPEG’S 2022 version of “open streets” could look much different, with
rules that vary by route — though all will slow down drivers in an effort
to welcome cyclists.
If city council approves, the proposed “enhanced summer bike route program”
will reopen 14 of the 17 routes tested last year, with speed limits reduced
to 30 km/h from 50 km/h, from May 1 to Oct. 31. Each route could also have
its own additional rules and barricades that apply at yet-to-be determined
times throughout July and August, and on weekends during May, June,
September and October.
During those times, two of the routes (on Wolseley Avenue and Scotia
Street) would keep the one-block vehicle travel restriction that aimed to
offer more space for active transportation in previous years, while “no
thru traffic limits” (which require vehicles to turn right or left) would
be placed at some “strategic locations,” a City of Winnipeg staff report
notes.
(Open streets were renamed enhanced summer bike routes, and restricted to
cyclists last year, after the city discovered inviting pedestrians to use
them broke traffic laws.)
Ian Walker, who relies on cycling as his main mode of transportation,
welcomed the speed reduction.
“If the road is going to be shared as an active transportation (route with)
automobiles… people should be going (closer to) the same speed just so that
everybody’s comfortable on it,” said Walker, who also serves as chairman of
Safe Speeds Winnipeg, which advocates for slower residential speed limits.
He said imposing the slower speed on a 24-7 basis should support more
commuting by bike, making it safer to choose green transportation at any
hour.
“Getting on to a bicycle is a really easy way for a lot of people to (cut
their carbon emissions), but people will only get on to a bicycle or use
another mode of transportation if they feel comfortable and safe doing it,”
said Walker.
However, the project also has its critics.
Wolseley resident Ray Hignell said he felt perfectly safe cycling in his
neighbourhood for many years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, without such
routes in place, leading him to believe the changes aren’t needed.
“I’ve ridden a bicycle for a long time and… I never had a problem,” said
Hignell, adding he’s concerned the proposed bike routes will lead drivers
to seek out alternate routes, which could have several downsides.
“You are changing traffic patterns, which changes the value of people’s
houses. You are making people drive longer distances, which wastes their
time, and… it is causing people to burn extra fuel.”
However, the head of council’s public works committee said the city has
heard plenty of support for the routes.
Coun. Matt Allard expects to support the proposal, which would require full
council approval.
“In order to be sustainable as a city, economically and environmentally, we
need to give people transportation options and safe transportation options. I
think any improvement that makes it safe and more pleasant to use a
bicycle, as opposed to other modes of transportation, is going in the right
direction,” he said.
And while 2022 appears set to mark a major shift from one-block vehicle
limits to reduced speed limits on most of the cycling routes, Allard said
he expects the new rules should be clear for drivers.
“At the end of the day, drivers are to observe the traffic regulations on
every street… I think through communication, particularly with the signage…
it’ll be pretty obvious to drivers what to expect on the streets,” he said.
The original “open streets” concept began in 2020, as a way to allow
socially distanced outdoor exercise during the pandemic, with the one-block
travel restriction intended to ensure more room for cyclists and
pedestrians.
In an email, city spokeswoman Julie Horbal Dooley said this year’s site
specific rule changes reflect public feedback.
“We heard that residents living on the routes broadly enjoy having some
element of cycling accommodations through their neighbourhood but do not
widely support the daily oneblock restrictions on their respective streets.
With this in mind, we developed street-specific measures we feel would
strike a balance between providing local access and creating a safe and
comfortable cycling environment,” said Horbal Dooley.
The “individualized approach” also reflects each street’s traffic count,
she noted, with more restrictions on busier routes.
The proposal also calls to reduce the total number of enhanced bike routes
by three this year, eliminating routes on Assiniboine Avenue (since it’s
recommended for a separate speed limit-reduction trial project), Rose Lake
Court (due to low use) and Wellington Avenue (where a protected bike lane
would be preferred), according to a city report.
Proposed rule changes can be found at wfp.to/Qzu
joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
