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WFP Editorial: Closing roads to cars showed promise (Sep14'20)
by Beth McKechnie 14 Sep '20

14 Sep '20

Closing roads to cars showed promise https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/closing-roads-to-cars-… AMONG the many assumptions the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to confront is: why are we driving everywhere? An initiative that let people physically distance while getting fresh air and exercise was the restriction of motorized traffic on certain city streets. It was instituted in the spring and city council voted to extend the restrictions through the summer. The limitations were lifted on Tuesday. In a city where many events were cancelled, fitness and entertainment venues were shuttered, and many people worked and studied from home, the street closures allowed many thousands of Winnipeggers to get out and enjoy themselves. Wide, paved surfaces are good for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, skateboarders and many more to travel safely while maintaining physical distance. The move on the city’s part coincided with a boom in bicycles, as sales of new bikes increased and many Winnipeggers hauled out their dusty bikes and tuned them up. To paraphrase Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will ride. Of course, the streets in question didn’t necessarily form a connected network, so they weren’t a permanent solution to provide space for active transportation. And many residents in the affected areas weren’t happy about the effects the restricted streets had on traffic in the area — often, motorists trying to get through the neighbourhood merely shifted to a nearby street, which concentrated more vehicles on fewer routes. Clearly, what is needed is a long-term approach. Blocking off certain streets from motorized traffic, as has been done for many years on Wellington Crescent and Wolseley Avenue — but only on weekends, for a designated period of summer months — is a piecemeal approach that treats active transportation as a diversion. Instead, as the city upgrades road infrastructure, many streets and neighbourhoods are getting an active transportation component. This is often done in consultation with the affected residents, and the various stages each project is in can be found on the city’s website. If the city keeps building its active transportation network, will more people use it? Maybe. It will largely depend on whether the network is a reliable way for Winnipeggers to ditch their cars and power their way to work, school, errands or entertainment. But if they do, then motorists and area residents win as well, even if they never use those protected lanes or bike paths. More people using bikes, rollerblades, skateboards or scooters means fewer vehicles on the road, making the traffic less clogged. And that also means residents tired of blocks-long lines of cars and trucks will see fewer of those. The city has been slowly improving the active transportation infrastructure over the years and, despite the recent cash crunch owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, continued investment in such improvements should be part of every street renewal project. It will pay dividends in people’s quality of life and better health for decades. There’s also the fact that merely increasing road capacity doesn’t solve traffic jams, it merely results in more vehicles using the streets. What if we apply the same logic to active transportation — increase capacity, and see how many more people take advantage of it. The temporary, improvised open streets transformed neighbourhoods by showing Winnipggers what they can do with their streets when they’re not behind the wheel. Long-term, continued active transportation investment could transform the entire city. We’d all be better off for it.

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WFP: Pedal pushers - Freedom fighter (Sep12'20)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

*FREEDOM FIGHTER * *Leigh Anne Parry is on a two-wheeled mission to empower and improve the lives of women by giving them the skills to safely, independently and confidently join Winnipeg’s male-dominated bicycle-riding community* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/cover-pedal-pushers-in… I’M coasting down the bike lane on Sherbrook Street on a plain, black Dutch bike, carrying Plain Bicycle Project co-manager Leigh Anne Parry on my rear panier rack. She guides me through traffic and along the sidewalks as we make our way to Gordon Bell High School for a bike lesson, the same kind she gives to dozens of women in their 20s and older who are interested in learning to ride. Normally the lessons, currently on pause thanks to COVID-19, would take place in the schoolyard at Ecole Victoria-Albert. On this fall morning, however, we coast languidly along the path looping Gordon Bell’s soccer field. “These bicycle lessons have been in the back of my head for a while now,” Parry explains. Inspired by a woman in the Netherlands for whom bike lessons and Dutch bikes are a lifetime project, Parry — whose work with the Plain Bicycle project stretches 3 ½ years — decided earlier this summer to begin running sessions to make cycling more accessible to the Dutch bike’s key customers: adult women. “It’s something that can be freeing for the whole family,” she says. “Empowering women empowers the whole family’s ability to take different modes of transportation.” First things first: balance. We start sitting on the bike seats, feet flat on the ground, and begin to walk. The trick is to get comfortable balancing by gaining momentum and lifting the feet, practising little coasts down the path. For me, most confident on a hard-tailed mountain bike, the gentle ride and upright stance is a comfortable change of pace. It’s part of the reason why, Parry says, the bikes appeal to new riders. Parry, 33, got invested in biking in university, she says. She grew up outside the city, but moved into Winnipeg for school and was gifted a bike to ride around. After using it as her main mode of transportation for some time she got a fast-paced job as a bike courier. “I started to ride with a particular kind of work purpose, I got to explore the city a lot, I got more comfortable and confident riding a bicycle, especially in traffic,” she says. “Then I was working as an urban farmer and had a big trike that I would deliver vegetables on; I’ve always integrated bicycles into my work life because I find it very useful and I think it’s a good idea.” Using the bike as a tool for her everyday activities, Parry became familiar with the city’s strengths and weaknesses in bike infrastructure, and began to notice the biking community was dominated by men who felt comfortable enough to weave with traffic on the city’s busy streets. “Women are sort of an indicator species for how good your infrastructure is in a city,” Parry says. “Women statistically take less risks because they’re usually depended on a lot more and their stakes are higher, and they feel less confident being an aggressive rider in among the traffic.” In the Netherlands, she explains, 60 per cent of bike-riders (she prefers to avoid “cyclist” as a term) are women. In Winnipeg, by contrast, women make up closer to 30 per cent of the cycling crowd. That number is something Parry is slowly setting out to change. Biking is more convenient for women, she says. It’s a quick way to “trip-chain,” or make multiple stops close together: dropping the kids off at school, visiting the grocery store and getting to work, for example. “It’s also something that can be really empowering and freeing for women to have that sense of independence and to be able to do all of those errands and runs on their own, on their own transportation, quickly and easily,” Parry says. Lately she’s seen an “inspiring” uptick in older women — those over 50 — learning to ride, especially with the comfort and ease of the “omafiet” or “grandma bike.” “Our intention is to integrate this kind of bike into the market,” Parry says. “That message, I think, landed with older women who had been thinking and considering their abilities and maybe a shift in their life a little bit... it creates this other sense of independence.” After we practise our balance, including getting our feet on the bottom and top pedals while we coast and pedalling backwards to brake, Parry explains the mounting and taking- off process. With one foot on the top pedal, we slip up onto the seats and press down, pushing us through another curve in the path. Parry explains that in her class sessions, usually attended by 15 to 20 people each, the women she teaches often begin to help each other; once they’ve mastered a stage they support one another, building confidence and camaraderie among the avid learners. Most learn to ride in one or two sessions, she says. “It’s very beautiful — people are helping each other out, they’re teaching one another how to ride. They were coming in there saying they weren’t feeling confident and they were scared, and then they leave feeling really excited that they were successful at the stage where they’re at,” Parry says with a smile. “People are very courageous and ready to go.” >From there, riders move on to Phase 2, which consists of turning, lifting hands off the handlebars to signal and shoulder checks. Normally Parry would teach this on an obstacle course until riders can confidently do all three at once. They’re key steps for city riding, where bikers need to navigate traffic, bike lanes and more to stay safe on the roads. Parry wants to instil confidence, so the women she teaches can start integrating cycling into their day-today lives. “The next steps are going to be really exciting because when they start to be able to use it for their transportation, when I see them riding around downtown with their kids on their back, that’s not only going to be great for them but also for Winnipeg,” she says. “If you see more people on a bicycle — and not just white men in Speedos and helmets — you can start to see yourself riding a bike, so it changes other people’s lives, too.” The more people, and particularly adult women, who become empowered to ride, the safer the streets will become, Parry explains. “I think when you’re learning to ride a bike, especially in a place that is not bike-friendly, you might end up thinking that you can’t do it and you’re the issue,” she says. “But you should be allowed to get to your grocery store easily and safely, even if you’re not a confident rider; you should be able to do it beside somebody that you’re teaching how to ride a bike, or your kids or your partners, these are sort of normal and common practices in a place where you see most people riding a bike. So keep your imagination open, and your ability to see the possibility of change within your city and ask for it and demand it.” Part of Parry’s cycling classes have involved working with central Winnipeg groups such as the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, teaching cycling skills to moms, newcomers, youths and those typically not visible in the cycling world. Abiba Salamu attended three of Parry’s sessions through IRCOM this summer. Never having biked before, she can now ride around a little on her own, and is able to help others start pedaling, too. She’s still a beginner, but one day she’d like to be able to go for rides to the store or around her neighbourhood for fresh air. For Salamu, the community was the best part of the classes. Even as she waits anxiously for the classes to start again, she’s staying in touch with friends she made in the field. “I was so happy…through that I found my friend that I’m still talking to now, on the phone, greeting each other, all that.” At the end of the day, for Parry, the classes are about instilling hope — something she possesses in spades. The future of the project is wide open; she crosses her fingers excitedly describing a major grant that could be on the way, bringing hundreds of new bikes into the shop. “It could get really big and I want it to get really big,” Parry says with a smile. “I had the opportunity to prove to myself that I could do it, so now I think anything is possible.” julia-simone.rutgers(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers

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WFP: Pedal pushers - riding in style, plain and simple (Sep12'20)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

*A trip to Europe opened Dutch bike enthusiast Erin Riediger’s eyes to the simple pleasures of a civilized, active and healthy daily commute to her Exchange District workplace* *RIDING IN STYLE, PLAIN AND SIMPLE* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/cover-pedal-pushers-in… IT’S a warm and windy day in early September and urban cycling advocate, Erin Riediger, has agreed to spend her lunch hour touring me through a section of her daily commute. We meet on the sidewalk in front of her east Exchange District office and chat about the route while she unlocks her bike — a simple black cruiser with a touch of superficial rust (or “character,” as she likes to call it). Riediger, 32, is wearing chic ankle boots and a dusty pink jacket that matches the hue of her bike bag and front tire. She doesn’t look like a cyclist. And that’s the point. “The Dutch mentality is that you should dress for the destination, not the journey,” she says. Wearing the trendy office attire of an architect while riding her bike to and from work at Number Ten Architectural Group is a form of everyday advocacy for Riediger, who believes wider representation is necessary for cycling to become a mainstream mode of transportation, rather than a subculture. >From her vantage, the majority of regular cyclists in Winnipeg fall into two main camps: enthusiasts who ride because they like bikes and recreational cyclists who ride for exercise and entertainment. Like most people, Riediger learned to ride a bike as a kid, but drifted away from cycling as an adult because she didn’t identify with the local scene. “Some of my friends had faster road bikes and rode with traffic,” she says. “I felt like that was a little risky for me, and it just wasn’t really my personality.” A post-university trip to Europe in her 20s gave her a new perspective. “As I travelled around, I saw people in everyday clothes biking, and I thought, ‘That’s kind of cool, I could get into that.’” She returned home and bought her first “grown-up” bike with the intention of reducing her car dependency. Riediger became a full-time bike commuter and accidental cycling advocate when her 1997 Honda CR-V bit the dust four years ago. “I decided to just not get it fixed,” she says. “Owning a car didn’t really improve my lifestyle at all, whereas I’ve found that cycling has.” The decision to spend 30 minutes a day biking to and from work boosted her mood, cut her transportation costs and allowed her to explore the city from a different vantage point. The decision also garnered local media attention and framed Riediger as an outlier in a city with a deeply ingrained car culture — something she looks back on with a laugh. “It’s just kind of hilarious because it’s almost like the price to participate in society is owning a car,” she says. “And it doesn’t have to be that way.” The route Riediger has plotted for our afternoon bike ride takes us from the Exchange District to The Forks by way of some of the city’s newest protected bike lanes. In 2019, the city completed construction of a two-way protected lane down Garry Street, connecting the grid of bike lanes in the Exchange with the well-established cycling thoroughfare on Assiniboine Avenue. The Garry corridor feels like something that’s been air-lifted from a larger city. It’s a modern, well-planned route that provides safe separation from cars and pedestrians; but it’s fleeting. Our journey from Point A to Point B takes about 15 minutes to complete. It’s a short trip that offers a glimpse of Winnipeg’s potential as a cycling city and a stark reminder of the infrastructure and political will needed to get there. “A lot of times for people in those decision-making seats it’s easy to take that path of least resistance,” Riediger says. While cycling infrastructure is still lacking in most parts of Winnipeg, she’s seen a gradual shift in the right direction from city hall. “Now, people are realizing that if you really want to see more people using (bikes) as a tool of transportation you need that protected bike lane and you need the proper infrastructure… and it needs to go places people want to go.” Beyond protected lanes, Riediger believes Winnipeg’s cycling culture would benefit from a wider variety of bikes on the road. “If you can’t get a bike that’s really easy to ride that you can wear any clothes on and that can carry the stuff you need to carry, then you can’t really replace your car,” she says. It’s an epiphany Riediger experienced for herself last year when she purchased a Dutch-style commuter bike from the Plain Bicycle Project — a local organization that has been bringing shipping containers full of used bikes from the Netherlands to Winnipeg since 2017. “When I got my Dutch bike, I started using it even more and just biking for everything,” she says. “I was an idiot for not getting one in the first place… this is the type of bike I’ve always wanted and I’ve been trying to modify other bikes to be more like it.” Riding side-by-side, there’s a noticeable difference between our bikes. I’m hunched over the handlebars of my road bike, while Riediger is sitting in a comfortable upright position atop her “omafiet” or “grandma bike.” The simple cyclers are designed to be used by anyone (including grandmas) and come equipped with everything from fenders and a rear rack to a headlight and a drink holder. “There’s another plain bicycle,” Riediger says excitedly, referring to a woman pedalling past on her own omafiet as we cross Main Street. There are nearly 700 of the Dutch bikes on the road in Winnipeg, but spotting a fellow rider in the wild is still something of a novelty — one that’s usually celebrated with a wave and a ding of her bell. Riediger has turned her newfound omafiet fandom into a podcast called Plain Bicycle. The six-part series dives into the motivations behind the grassroots project of the same name and features interviews with Dutch cycling experts. WHILE recording a podcast with no prior experience has been challenging, the project has served as a creative outlet amid the coronavirus pandemic, while most of her usual hobbies — hot yoga, shopping for new records and competing in Harry Potter trivia events — have fallen by the wayside. It’s also become a way to share her passion for transportation and people-first city building with a wider audience. “Transportation culture has a lot to do with the way that architecture and cities are formed,” she says. “When you build around the car, you’ve got these wide roads, the storefronts aren’t as important because people aren’t going slowly. “We just have to stop prioritizing cars, we have to start thinking about multi-modal (transportation)... cars have a place but they’re not everything.” Like many born-and-raised Winnipeggers, Riediger had dreams of leaving home and moving to a big city. Instead, she’s decided to focus on making Winnipeg a better place to live, one bike ride at a time. “I think there’s just... there’s a lot of room for growth, which makes it interesting as someone who wants to advocate for better things.” eva.wasney(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney

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WFP: Report advises city to accept gift of school-zone lights (Sep12'20)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

*Report advises city to accept gift of school-zone lights * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/report-advises-councillors-to-accep… THE City of Winnipeg could soon accept a gift of flashing amber lights that better alert drivers to the reduced speed in school zones — but it could take decades to get the lights in place. The deal could eventually lead the city to add more lights at its own cost, according to a new report by the public service. The report recommends the city accept as many as 480 solar-powered beacons through a donation from Expert Electric, which would provide two of the devices per school. The company’s owner, Chuck Lewis, has been offering to donate the lights to the city since at least 2017. He says he’s willing to continue that effort for as long as it takes, since he believes it will make school zones safer. “If… it saves one life, then that was worth that fight,” said Lewis. He has described the beacons as more eye-catching than traditional signs, which should help ensure more drivers slow down to 30 km/h in school zones. That speed limit is in effect from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, from Sept. 1 to June 30. Expert Electric would also handle repair and warranty issues for at least five years. An outline of the agreement noted most of the installations would depend on the success of the first set of lights over a three-month trial period, noting the rest could be cancelled if problems emerged. But the city later clarified that it expects testing done prior to this agreement will be sufficient for Winnipeg officials to commit to the full project, if council approves it. “Given that testing of the beacons has already occurred, if approved, the city will likely work with the donor to move directly into implementation,” wrote city spokesman Ken Allen in an emailed statement. Meanwhile, the city says some schools will need more than the two donated beacons to cover adjacent school-zone roads. The city report predicts Winnipeg would eventually spend about $1.4 million to add 391 units for those areas, if the deal is approved. “In order to ensure consistency, (it) is anticipated that the city would make up any shortfall of beacons,” wrote Allen. For at least the first five years of installation, however, the city says only the donated lights would be installed. The proposed agreement calls for the donor to install the lights “as soon as is practicably possible,” with a minimum rate of two per month. That minimum rate would mean the entire installation would take 20 years. Lewis said that a lengthy timeline may be needed for him to keep the project affordable, since each set of two lights will cost him about $7,000. He said the process could be sped up if others also donated to the effort. Allen noted the long timeline does mean that “in the future, there may be reasons for either party to revisit the agreement.” The property and development committee is set to cast the first vote on the deal on Sept. 17. Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre), the committee chairwoman, said she expects to support the proposal. “We should be looking at how we deal with some of the congestion around our schools,” said Gilroy. The councillor said she believes the future cost to the city is worth consideration. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Longer times for amber lights disappoint (Sep11'20)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

Warning period still seen as too short *Longer times for amber lights disappoint * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/winnipeg-extends-amber-light-times-… AMBER light times are now longer at some Winnipeg intersections — but the move still falls short, says an advocate who has fought for the change. Winnipeg’s amber lights previously lasted a uniform four seconds on all roadways before a traffic signal turned to red, according to a new city report. An update completed Sept. 4 changed the duration to 4.3 seconds on 70 km/h routes and 4.7 seconds on 80 km/h routes for about 110 intersections on flat-grade roads. Todd Dube, founder of WiseUp Winnipeg, a driver’s advocacy group that has for years lobbied the City of Winnipeg for more time in the name of safety and red-light ticket reductions, called the change a first step “in the right direction.” “This is a bare minimum, but it still will be enough time to expose that all of these years (the city was) unfairly ticketing people that simply didn’t have enough time to stop at four seconds,” he said Thursday. Dube argues the new warning period is still too short, since his research found 80-km/h intersections, such as Bishop Grandin Boulevard and River Road, should have an amber light time of at least 5.4 seconds. “(The new measure) is still an unnecessarily… and dangerously short amber time,” Dube said, adding, however, he expects the number of photo enforcement tickets doled out at such intersections to drop dramatically. According to the city report, the new signal timings are based on a roadway’s speed and slope, as well as driver perception and reaction time. No change was made to the amber lights on roads with speed limits set at 60 km/h or lower — which will ensure a minimum four-second warning remains in place at intersections on those routes, the report notes. Coun. Matt Allard, chairman of council’s public works committee, said he believes those calculations show the city is evolving its practices to improve safety. “I think (the times) were set up with the understanding that they made the roads safer and taking a closer second look we found that, yes, there was some room for improvement,” said Allard (St. Boniface). He also refuted the argument photo radar use at high-speed intersections was unfair in the past, noting he believes the program remains necessary. “The motivation is public safety, and the (photo radar) fine happens to be the one enforcement tool we have as a city.” *The city report states the new extended amber light times should help increase the separation between vehicles and pedestrians, which some research indicates will help prevent collisions. Uniform amber light times were initially meant to provide a predictable warning time for drivers, while the new system is based on more recent research,** the city says. The city says it is still reviewing an option to further extend amber light times for left-turning vehicles.* joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: City’s Open Streets initiative coming to a close (Sep6'20)
by Beth McKechnie 06 Sep '20

06 Sep '20

City’s Open Streets initiative coming to a close https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/citys-open-streets-initiative-comin… RUNNERS and cyclists, young and old, sped down Vialoux Drive Saturday morning with little disturbance from motor vehicles. They will soon have increased traffic to navigate through. The City of Winnipeg’s Open Streets initiative ends Monday at 8 p.m. The program, which was announced in April, blocks vehicles from stretches of residential roads so people can walk, cycle and physically distance. Ten routes through the city were limited to active transport users and vehicles of people living on the routes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days a week. The measures came to promote social distancing during the pandemic. Now, a motion at city hall proposes that Winnipeg keep some of its “Open Streets” open — but unless council votes for the changes, the city will return to its usual four routes that are exclusive to cyclists, runners and walkers on Sundays and holidays. Robbie Scott, 57, biked down Vialoux Drive for the first time in years on Saturday. But, Scott is no newbie — he’s been cycling for four decades, and he bikes a 40 to 45 km route daily in the summer. He said it’s been amazing seeing more people take up biking. “It’s families, it’s kids, old folks, all kinds of ages,” Scott said. “In terms of what (Open Streets) has done for the community, you just, you haven’t seen that.” Scott doesn’t spend all his time on blocked off residential streets, but some — portions of Wellington Crescent and Wolseley Avenue — are part of his loop. He said he feels safer, and he’s seen others feel it too. “For cyclists, it’s always, ‘OK, what seems like the least risky (path) at this time,’” Scott said. He said he was shocked and disappointed to hear the active transportation routes were ending, especially in the midst of a pandemic, when many people use them to get exercise while staying safe. “People have learned, ‘Hey, I could actually bike to work or bike to school,’” Scott said. Anders Swanson, the executive director of Winnipeg Trails Association, said keeping the streets open would allow kids to bike safely to school instead of being driven by a parent or taking a bus. “You have the government telling people to drive their kids... We’re closing these open streets; it’s sending the message that there’s sort of a dark and unsustainable future ahead of us,” Swanson said. The city has a survey online where people can give feedback about Open Streets, including picking the best time of year to have the program, if at all. The survey ends Monday. The motion before city council aims to keep active transport routes until Nov. 1 at the Wolseley Avenue route and at Churchill Drive, from Hay Street to Jubilee Avenue. Council may vote on the matter at its Sept. 30 meeting. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said he’ll make his decision after receiving the survey’s results. “We have time,” Orlikow said, adding if council votes for extended active transport routes, the changes will probably last from October to November. Some people felt a bit relieved over the ending of Open Streets, including Amy Bruno, who lives on Vialoux Drive. She’s been yelled at for driving down the road in her car, which she needs to do when she leaves her house. “It’s like, well, how are people supposed to go to work if people read the signs (on the street) and assume, ‘Oh, you’re not supposed to drive down here,’” Bruno said. Most people are understanding once they realize people who live on the road can still drive on it, Bruno said. She added she likes the initiative because people have more access to walking around and social distancing. Others, like Matt Ullenboom, feel indifferent about the program’s end. Ullenboom, 33, went for a bike ride with his five-year-old son through Assiniboine Park and Vialoux Drive Saturday. “It’s definitely a good thing in the warmer months, when people can be out,” Ullenboom said. “In the winter and fall, it wouldn’t bother me if they changed it back to car traffic.” Beginning Sept. 13, Lyndale Drive, from Cromwell Street to Gauvin Street; Scotia Street, from Anderson Avenue (at St. Cross Street) to Armstrong Avenue; Wellington Crescent, from the west end of Academy Road to Guelph Street; and Wolseley Avenue, from Raglan Road to Maryland Street, will have limited motor vehicle traffic on Sundays and holidays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restrictions end Oct. 12. gabrielle.piche(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: Extension of two ‘open streets’ sought (Sep5'20)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

Extension of two ‘open streets’ sought Wolseley Avenue, Churchill Drive named https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/motion-seeks-extra-time-for-pair-of… A new motion proposes city hall extend some of Winnipeg’s temporary active transportation routes, also known as “open streets,” which are set to close Monday. The current 10 routes, which include four traditional Sunday/holiday bicycle routes, limit vehicular traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily to provide extra space for pedestrians and cyclists. The new routes and extended hours were a COVID-19 pandemic response measure, intended to help Winnipeggers stay active while keeping at least two metres apart. The six routes added this year are slated to close Monday at 8 p.m., while the traditional bike routes will reduce the vehicle travel restriction to Sundays and holidays only, between Sept. 13 and Oct. 12. The city centre community committee passed a motion Friday that aims to instead keep the enhanced AT access until Nov. 1 at both the Wolseley Avenue traditional Sunday/Holiday route and the temporary AT route on Churchill Drive. The changes require council’s approval. While a final vote on the matter could have to wait until the Sept. 30 council meeting, Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) said she’s hopeful the motion could instead inspire a quicker policy change by the public service. Rollins said she supports extending the other routes as well. “I would like more routes added… I think we need a lot more tools in our toolbelts to get children to and from schools in a safe manner,” Rollins said Friday. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), however, said he won’t push for the Wellington Crescent active transportation route in his ward to be extended, stressing public feedback on that decision should come first. A survey on the routes is slated to end Monday. Orlikow said the city must consider the views of those who support and oppose the routes, noting he’s heard complaints the one-block vehicle travel restriction has made it inconvenient for some drivers to reach their homes. “We have to be careful about councillors deciding how to use streets arbitrarily. We’re not traffic engineers, there’s impact city-wide, so we have to be making sure that we listen to our administration and the public,” said Orlikow. Open streets were also placed on sections of Lyndale Drive, Scotia Street, Egerton Road, Kildonan Drive, Kilkenny Drive, Rover Avenue and Vialoux Drive. The Lyndale, Scotia and Wellington sites are also slated to revert back to Sunday/holiday bicycle routes. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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CBC: City of Winnipeg to close 6 active transportation routes after Labour Day weekend (Sep3'20)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

City of Winnipeg to close 6 active transportation routes after Labour Day weekend 4 remaining pedestrian, bike routes will be closed to vehicle traffic only on Sundays, holidays after Sept. 8 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-open-streets-closed-labour… More than half of the active transportation routes throughout Winnipeg will be closing after the long weekend, the city announced in a news release Thursday. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city designated 10 roadways as "open streets," limiting vehicle traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The city usually limits vehicle traffic to one block on four of those streets on Sundays and holidays, from the Victoria Day long weekend until Thanksgiving, but expanded the closures in an effort to create bike- and pedestrian-friendly routes during the pandemic. As of Sept. 8, the program will end for six of the current routes. Vehicle traffic will be limited on the remaining four only on Sundays and holidays after the Labour Day weekend, the city said in its release. Motor vehicle traffic will continue to be limited on these routes from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays until Oct. 12: - Lyndale Drive – Cromwell Street to Gauvin Street. - Scotia Street – Anderson Avenue (at St. Cross Street) to Armstrong Avenue. - Wellington Crescent – Academy Road (at Wellington Crescent) to Guelph Street. - Wolseley Avenue – Raglan Road to Maryland Street. Signs informing people they are entering or leaving an active transportation route will be posted at each end of the route. Barricades marking the ends of the routes will also be in place during operational hours, the city said. Violating the motor vehicle restrictions can result in a fine under Winnipeg's traffic bylaw, the city added. The vehicle restrictions will end after Sept. 8 on these routes: - Churchill Drive — Hay Street to Jubilee Avenue. - Egerton Road — Bank Avenue to Morier Avenue. - Kildonan Drive — Helmsdale Avenue to Rossmere Crescent, and Larchdale Crescent to Irving Place. - Kilkenny Drive — Burgess Avenue to Patricia Avenue and Kings Drive. - Rover Avenue — Hallet Street to Stephens Street. - Vialoux Drive — Alcrest Drive to Wexford Street. The city launched an online survey <https://engage.winnipeg.ca/enhanced-active-transportation-routes-open-stree…> last month to gauge reaction to the program. Residents can still provide feedback for future consideration via that survey until Monday, the city's news release said.

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WFP: Bicycle Garden - Bike shop pop-up hopes to get city rolling on two wheels (Sep1'20)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

Bike shop pop-up hopes to get city rolling on two wheels A Bicycle Garden grows on Sherbrook https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/a-bicycle-garden-grows-on-sherbr… THIS spring, with some freedoms put on hold, many people in Winnipeg found — or rediscovered — the freedom of riding a bicycle. Vendors, manufacturers and mechanics could hardly keep up with the reinvigorated interest as the global supply chain was interrupted and demand outpaced supply. “It’s like selling Coca Cola and you’ve run out of Coke,” Lifesport owner Walter Jozwiak told the Free Press in May. Under those circumstances, Leigh Anne Parry and Anders Swanson got their wheels turning on a new idea, a pop-up bike shop called the Bicycle Garden, where they could peddle Dutch-built pedals to riders young and old. The shop opened last week on the main floor of the Sherbrook Flats building (267 Sherbrook St.). “We’d heard during the pandemic there was a shortage of bikes (particularly women’s bikes),” said Parry, who along with Swanson is co-founder of the Plain Bicycle Project. “And we had a source to get them in.” The project is a social enterprise that brings bicycles from the Netherlands, where they’re more popular than the Toyota Camry, to Winnipeg. The bikes are Dutch-style, featuring mudguards, skirt guards, and upright seating, which makes them practical for daily use regardless of athletic ability or the clothes you’re wearing. “It’s like you’re sitting in an armchair, floating in the clouds,” said Swanson, the director of the Winnipeg Trails Association, whose summer office is now in the shop. While the pop-up is selling leftover stock from previous shipments, it also features six pallets worth of bicycles and accessories — child seats, bells, lights, bags, baskets — that arrived from the Netherlands earlier this summer; another order is already being planned for later this week. The bikes range in cost from $350 (used) to over $1,000. Cycling had been rising in popularity in Winnipeg long before the pandemic: a 2018 poll conducted by Probe Research found over one fifth of respondents cycled weekly. While data related to the COVID-19 era is not yet available, Swanson said anecdotal evidence shows the mode of transportation has become an increasingly attractive option for many as habits changed during the pandemic. In April, when the city designated certain stretches for active transportation and restricted vehicle use, roadways were filled with cyclists, rollerbladers, or pedestrians. Elsewhere, vehicular traffic fell, leading to a minor reclamation of pavement by cyclists. “When the roads were empty, people were falling in love with (cycling),” Swanson said. Adding to the demand have been changes to the ways residents exercise. While gyms are open, many are struggling to regain members, and recreational sports, though ongoing, are dealing with similar reluctance. As well, bike ownership and maintenance is considerably cheaper than car ownership — a key consideration during a time of economic instability. As the school year nears, parents are also looking for active options for their kids to get to and from class, Swanson said. So far, the response from the community has been strong: the Bicycle Garden’s most recent harvest is nearly half-picked. AT other shops around the city, demand remains high, however supply continues to be an issue. “The biggest thing for us is that when a customer walks in the door, we’ll likely have a bike for them, but options are still limited,” said Mac Wood, the assistant sales manager at Woodcock Cycle. “In a typical spring or summer, that doesn’t happen.” “It’s certainly more difficult to forecast availability to our customers,” he said. “We, as an industry, are as much at the mercy of restrictions as any other.” The pop-up shop — which could go until October or beyond — is the commercial tenant on the main floor of the Sherbrook Flats. “When (the pop-up) came to us with a proposal, I was very excited,” said Sotirios Kotoulas, the building’s designer and part-owner. “For us, the most important thing is to activate the street,” he added. “It takes time to transform a streetscape or find the right fit, but obviously a bicycle shop is an amazing fit.” Outside the shop, there are a few tables and chairs, meant to evoke the bikes’ Dutch vibe. Repairs are also being offered on the boulevard, which borders an unprotected bike lane on Sherbrook. Since opening, Parry said the interest from the public has been obvious. “Day one, we had a lineup outside mostly of older people looking to get around independently,” she said. “There are a lot of people walking and biking by, which is really good for us.” ben.waldman(a)freepress.mb.ca

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TONS Seeks Urban Transportation Consultant
by Beth McKechnie 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

From: Samantha Rodeck <info(a)tonsmb.org> Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 10:09 AM Transportation Options Network for Seniors (TONS) is looking to hire an Urban Transportation Consultant to help fulfill its mandate of informing and educating Manitobans on transportation options that enhance quality of life and promote age-friendly communities. Attached is the job description to be shared within your networks and to those who you know would be interested in applying. The *application deadline is 3:00pm on September 11*, 2020. If you have any questions, please email Samantha at info(a)tonsbmb.org Thank you, Samantha Rodeck Executive Director (204) 799-1788 [image: signature_349093641]

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