Police seek help in hit-and-run
A cyclist is recovering in hospital after a hit-and-run Friday, police say.
Winnipeg police say they responded to a report of a vehicle-cyclist
collision at the intersection of Isabel Street and Notre Dame Avenue Friday
at 8 p.m., according to a release.
At the scene, police found a 63-year-old man unconscious on the road. He
was taken to hospital in unstable condition and later downgraded to
critical but stable condition. The vehicle fled the scene.
Police later located an abandoned “heavily damaged” grey 2007 Pontiac G6 in
the 100 block of Juno Street. Four men were seen fleeing the vehicle.
When traffic collision investigators took over, they learned that the
cyclist was crossing Notre Dame Avenue and Isabel Street against a red
light when the vehicle struck him, projecting him onto the road.
Those with information are asked to contact traffic division investigators
at 204-986-7085 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
*Bike safety programs roll on, active transportation concerns persist*
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/30/bike-safety-progr…
Sharee Hochman wants Winnipeggers to choose active transportation over cars.
“Simply, the way our city is built is just not prioritizing people to get
out of their cars to move in different ways,” said Hochman, a sustainable
active transportation program co-ordinator with the Green Action Centre.
“(The city) is still focusing on providing more space, more money and more
capacity to vehicles, rather than trying to provide safer and reliable
options.”
On average, 200 cyclists are injured or killed on Manitoba roads each year,
making cycling dangerous, especially when riders have to share the road
with vehicles.
In the hope of reducing fatalities, Manitoba Public Insurance has expanded
free cycling safety programs.
MPI expects to reach a whopping 50,000 Manitobans of all ages, said Kristy
Rydz, manager of communication.
The Crown auto insurer estimates 13,000 children will be educated through
its Cycle Safely Bike Rodeos — the widest reach in the program’s 50-year
history.
Since 2015, the Bicycle Education & Skills Training in Schools program has
had great success in educating middle school students about bike safety.
Every year, a fleet of bicycles travels from school to school to deliver
hands-on safety training to middle schoolers in the Seven Oaks School
Division, thanks to a partnership between MPI, Bike Winnipeg, WRENCH and
Green Action Centre.
“Those instructors are providing cycling skills, information, things like
road positioning, parts of the bike, signals, what to watch out for, where
the hazards are, different things like that,” said Mark Cohoe, executive
director of Bike Winnipeg.
Despite the expansion of MPI programs, Winnipeg was given a failing grade
of 32 out of 100 on bike safety by PeopleForBikes, which is based in
Colorado.
To boost the city’s score, Hochman suggests installing additional protected
bike lanes, offering bike parking and dedicating more municipal funding to
infrastructure.
Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) said that while progress has been made on
the active transportation front over the past several years, more must be
done.
As an avid cyclist himself, he said the main problem is the lack of
connectivity between designated cycling routes.
“We know that a lot of people aren’t using their bicycles because they
don’t feel safe on the streets,” Allard said Friday. “Until we have a
complete network, there are a whole lot of people that won’t be using their
bicycles to get around the city.”
Compared to past years, the City of Winnipeg has allocated more funding to
active transportation, which includes walking, cycling and other forms of
human-powered transportation. In the 2023 preliminary budget, it committed
$17.6 million to active transportation projects, subject to council
approval — an $8 million increase from 2022.
Winnipeg also has more protected bike lanes than it did five years ago. In
2021, the Wolseley-to-downtown bike lane was completed, equipping the
neighbourhood with protected lanes on Westminister Avenue/Young
Street/Balmoral Street between Maryland and Osborne streets.
This year, protected lanes will be installed on River and Stradbrook
avenues, and Wellington Crescent.
Without proper infrastructure, cyclists are forced to ride with vehicular
traffic, which turns off many would-be cyclists, Cohoe said.
“If you’re on a street with buses, with trucks, and a fair bit of traffic,
that’s a thing that really discourages people,” he said. “It’s really a
no-go situation for a lot of people.”
Recent municipal consultations suggest demand is high for protected bike
lanes.
Seventy-seven per cent of St. Boniface residents consulted by the city were
in favour of installing one-way lanes on Provencher Boulevard, a major
thoroughfare in the neighbourhood.
Describing 2023 as the “worst year for traffic,” Allard believes drivers
who dread rush-hour congestion would benefit from more robust cycling
infrastructure.
“Usually, people riding bicycles on roads are riding at speeds that are
less than people who are driving automobiles,” he said. “I would suggest
that every time a new cycling facility is introduced, particularly
separated facilities, that’s good for commuters.”
Hochman credits advocacy by active transportation groups for boosting
awareness and a desire for safer conditions on the road. At the same time,
she knows they can’t do it alone.
She wants civic government to be more responsive.
“A lot of this does need the support from the city to help make this a more
safe, attractive and reliable option for a lot of people,” Hochman said.
“There’s only so much that organizations can do. We do need the decision
makers to support this shift.”
cierra.bettens(a)freepress.mb.ca