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Fwd: [livable-communities] The Big Move: Pay-per-kilometre system could be the way of the future
by Mike Tutthill 04 Apr '13

04 Apr '13

*The Big Move: Pay-per-kilometre system could be the way of the future* A GPS-based driving fee of about $0.03 per kilometre could yield $1.9 billion for less-crowded roads. But would the public buy it? http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2013/04/03/the_big_move_payp… [photo missing] Bern Grush, an expert on road-use metering, takes in the view of an uncharacteristically uncrowded Don Valley Parkway from the Gerrard St. bridge. *By:* Tim Alamenciak < http://www.thestar.com/authors.alamenciak_tim.html> News reporter, Published on Wed Apr 03 2013 *Explore This Story * 1 Photo 154 Comments Officials in Oregon saw the problem coming years ago: Fuel-efficient cars and electric vehicles would spell disaster for a state reliant on gas taxes to pay for road repairs. So they asked some drivers to pony up at the pump in a different way. In 2007, they launched a pilot project involving 300 motorists, who had GPS devices installed in their vehicles to record miles driven. Whenever they filled up, the drivers would pay an additional fee of about one cent per mile travelled, based on the device’s information. A system like this appeared on the short-list of ideas released Tuesday to help fund Metrolinx’s plan for beefed-up transit and reduced congestion. The transportation agency is considering a charge of 3 cents per kilometre, which could generate up to $1.9 billion in revenue per year, according to a report prepared for the agency by AECOM and KPMG < http://www.bigmove.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/RPT-2013-03-12-Revenue-Too…> . Some experts say charging by kilometre travelled is a good idea because it asks people who use the roads most to pay the most — and encourages transit use, too. But its combination of increased monitoring with a new fee is politically unpalatable. “In the long term — we’re talking about (decades) from now — this would absolutely be the right tool for charging users for what they’re getting,” said Benjamin Dachis, an analyst with the C.D. Howe Institute, a policy think-tank. The challenge, “first and foremost, is public acceptance of it.” How exactly the system would work is unclear, as the agency is still in the early process of figuring it out, said John Howe, vice-president of investment strategy and project evaluation at Metrolinx. “We assume a variable rate system based on factors such as time of day, level of real-time congestion, route selected and type of vehicle. This would require a GPS-based vehicle tracking and charging system,” he said. It’s an idea Bern Grush has long advocated < http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2010/09/04/payasyoudrive_meter_poised…> . Grush is the mind behind Skymeter, a company once devoted to metering road usage, but now in receivership. You might chalk that up to the politics of the concept. “I’ve been at this for 10 years and there have been so many reports,” said Grush. “There’s been a huge inability of almost any government anywhere to actually make progress in this area.” The technology worked, but proposing to put it into practice was a political hornets’ nest. Now he focuses on using the technology to help administer parking costs <http://paybysky.com/> — something he says is less politically volatile. Grush, who said he holds patents for these GPS devices, noted there is a potential for them to violate privacy, but that can be prevented by design. “The device itself doesn’t report anything to anyone unless it’s been set up to do that,” he said. It’s possible to design a GPS device that would calculate distance and location, then submit only a dollar figure to the billing authority. In the Oregon pilot, more people accepted the system if they were given options for metering, said James Whitty, a state manager involved in both pilots. The original program made drivers install a government-issued GPS device. The second pilot featured a tiered system with three payment options: Drivers pay a single per-kilometre rate and have their odometer checked periodically. Drivers install a GPS device and pay a variable rate depending on where they were driving. Drivers pay a single flat-rate fee, designed to lighten the load for heavy users. The pilot showed the tiered system was preferred, but Whitty is still cautious when asked about the potential for implementing the idea more broadly. It’s still being piloted in Oregon and hasn’t been put into legislation. “The momentum is increasing, is what I see,” he said. “Once people understand that the public has to be comfortable with this and they have to provide mechanisms that the public accepts, then you’ve got a better chance of passing legislation.” Some countries charge fees to heavy vehicles per kilometre travelled, but nowhere has a blanket provision been applied to passenger vehicles, Whitty said. A per-kilometre fee is just one in Metrolinx’s short-list of 11 “revenue tools” that could help generate $2 billion a year in funding for the Big Move transportation plan. It got little attention from civic leaders, most of whom reacted positively to the short-list in general but focused on the unsuitability of another proposal: higher property taxes. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford responded to Tuesday’s announcement with a retching noise and suggested casinos are the answer to the need for transit funding. Metrolinx’s final investment strategy is slated to be released June 1. == *More from TheStar.com: * A peek at Metrolinx’s short list of ‘revenue tools’ for expanded transit < http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/04/02/the_big_move_a_sneak_peek_at_met…> Supporters must speak up for Metrolinx plan: James < http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/04/02/supporters_must_speak_up_f…> --- Smart Growth BC is the administrator of the livable communities listserv. However, any opinions expressed on this listserv remain the responsibility of the poster and do not necessarily reflect Smart Growth BC’s position or policies. You are currently subscribed to livable-communities as: mtutthill(a)healthincommon.ca. To unsubscribe click here: http://lists.smartgrowth.bc.ca/u?id=554958.26bbcf3642f503bd9b1cf7ba5b0f3f89… or send a blank email to leave-1491312-554958.26bbcf3642f503bd9b1cf7ba5b0f3f89(a)lists.smartgrowth.bc.ca To view any messages that have been sent on this list, please visit the livable-communities listserv archive online at: http://lists.smartgrowth.bc.ca/read/ -- Mike Tutthill Planning & Evaluation Facilitator HEALTH in COMMON 200 - 141 Bannatyne Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3B 0R3 tel: 204.946.1888 1.800.731.1792 fax: 204.284.2404 email: mtutthill(a)healthincommon.ca web: www.healthincommon.ca +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *Health in Common on Facebook*< http://www.facebook.com/pages/Health-in-Common/120069149875> ü Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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Globe & Mail: Scrapped Cdn study found early promise for safer truck design
by Beth McKechnie 02 Apr '13

02 Apr '13

TRUCKING REGULATIONS Scrapped Canadian study found early promise for safer truck design RENATA D’ALIESIO The Globe and Mail Published Monday, Apr. 01 2013, 6:00 AM EDT http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/scrapped-canadian-study-found-… Infographic: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/how-side-skirts-on-a-truck-can-save… It was a study with life-saving potential. For the first time, federal government engineers were examining whether side skirts, attached to trucks to reduce fuel costs, could also prevent cyclists from getting crushed under the big rigs. With funding secured and researchers in place, the innovative study<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/transport-canada-to-look-at-bi…>was about to shift into its second phase when Transport Canada suddenly scrapped further testing last fall. The transportation regulator contended there was no point in moving forward because it had found no research to show truck skirts could make streets safer. But that’s not what the engineers found. A copy of the study’s first phase, obtained by The Globe and Mail through access-to-information legislation, reveals the National Research Council (NRC) reported promising findings from its initial analysis of side skirts. All three models tested prevented bicycles from sliding underneath a transport truck in a collision – a dangerous scenario that has wounded or killed scores of cyclists in Canada over the past decade. Transport Canada is standing by its decision to halt additional testing, but the study’s sudden cancellation has irked some safety advocates. Without more testing, it’s impossible to determine whether lightweight skirts can serve the same safety purpose as sturdier side guards. Both cover the side gap between a truck’s front and back wheels, but skirts are designed to make trucks more aerodynamic while guards, generally a drain on fuel, bolster the safety of cyclists and pedestrians by preventing them from tumbling beneath a truck during a crash. “It’s disappointing that Transport Canada hasn’t moved forward with this [study],” said Ontario’s interim chief coroner Dan Cass. The NRC, a government research agency, declined to make its lead engineer on side skirts available for an interview. In an e-mailed statement, NRC engineer Jeff Patten said he believes these were the first tests of their kind in the world. “Although these tests were a critical step in understanding the behaviour of side skirts when impacted by a bicycle, they are but one step in what must be a rigorous multistep process,” Mr. Patten noted. Transport Canada spokeswoman Karine Martel said the decision to cancel the study was made at the scientific and technological level and not by Transport Minister Denis Lebel. “The intention of the proposed investigation was to study whether side skirts might provide ancillary safety benefits for pedestrians and cyclists,” Ms. Martel said in an e-mail. “A decision was made not to proceed with the study because the department was unable to find any research indicating that a similar technology, specifically side guards, was effective at improving pedestrian and cyclist safety.” Side guards have long been mandatory on most trucks in Europe and Japan. According to an earlier NRC study, completed for Transport Canada in 2010, cyclist deaths and serious injuries involving the side of trucks dropped substantially in Britain – deaths by 61 per cent and serious injuries by 13 per cent – after side guards were introduced. Transport Canada said there could have been other factors that contributed to the decrease in injuries and fatalities. Dr. Cass has a different view. “I don’t know what more evidence is needed before one just moves forward to do something which is known to save lives.” The Ontario chief coroner’s office called for national side-guard regulation last year after reviewing 224 cyclist and pedestrian fatalities. Twenty-nine of the deaths involved heavy trucks, with nearly half of the victims dragged, pinned or run over after striking a truck’s side. The NDP and Liberals have both tried to push the side-guard issue onto the legislative agenda with separate private member’s bills, but their bids to have truck guards regulated have not been successful. The Canadian Trucking Alliance has opposed mandatory side guards, suggesting bike lanes and road-sharing campaigns are more effective at improving safety. The industry group, however, has encouraged its members to install side skirts because they reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, noted Stephen Laskowski, the organization’s senior vice-president. Skirts are more common on tractor-trailers in North America, but they can also aid large straight trucks. Which is why Transport Canada’s study of the safety potential of side skirts was so intriguing: Could truck skirts save fuel and save lives? The first round of testing, which cost about $100,000, involved mounting a block of steel to a bicycle’s saddle to mimic the weight and centre of gravity of an adult rider. The mountain bike was then rammed into the side of a stationary semi-trailer at a speed of about 22 kilometres an hour. “Under these conditions, the testing demonstrated that all three side skirts prevented the loaded bicycles from entering under the trailer. Furthermore, the bicycles did not become wedged underneath the skirts,” states the NRC side-skirt report, completed in April, 2012 for Transport Canada. The report stresses a lot more research and testing are needed to determine whether skirts can indeed protect cyclists in real life. A second phase of study was scheduled to begin last fall. NRC engineers were going to look at how the skirts performed in cold weather. Would they still prevent bikes from sliding under the big trucks or would the skirts, which are usually made of plastic or aluminum, break apart? Transport Canada had set aside $200,000 for this round of testing, tapping the regulator’s Ecotechnology for Vehicles Program, a five-year, $38-million initiative to test technologies that have the potential to improve safety and the environment. According to NRC research, side skirts increase driver stability and reduce a semi-trailer’s annual fuel consumption by 4 per cent to 7.5 per cent. The skirts cost between $750 and $3,600, an investment recoverable in four months to two years. While the safety benefits of truck skirts remain unclear, proponents of side guards point to the European experience as evidence truck guards work. “Side guards are proving to save lives,” said Jeannette Holman-Price in a phone interview from England. Her 21-year-old daughter, Jessica, died when a dump truck ran over her in the winter of 2005. The truck had clipped Jessica’s brother as the siblings stood on a snow bank in Montreal. Jessica managed to push him to safety, but in doing so, she slid beneath the truck, through the side gap, and was crushed. Their mother has been advocating for a side-guard regulation ever since. “When you look at the event that destroyed my life and my family’s life it was all because of the lack of a single piece of machinery that exists on every [truck] over here.”

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Two innovative local cycling projects up for Cycling Visionary Awards
by Shoni Litinsky 01 Apr '13

01 Apr '13

With one click you can support two local groups towards winning the Velo City Cycling Visionary Awards <http://velo-city2013.com/>. As many of you know, Anders is leading a project creating an App with the Active and Safe Routes to School program called TapTraffic. *The premise is simple: embrace the power of the smartphone and harness the power of regular people to count bikes and pedestrians everywhere. From the smallest residential street and backlane to the most important artery, we all want cycling infrastructure changes everywhere. This is a simple way of taking the first step wherever you are, tracking things as they progress and proving it works. This project is in for the science, research, and development category of the awards. * *Please vote for us here:* http://velo-city2013.com/?page_id=2337&preview=true&project_id=27<http://velo-city2013.com/?page_id=2337&preview=true&project_id=271> 1 <http://velo-city2013.com/?page_id=2337&preview=true&project_id=271> Also local group the UWSA Ice-riders also have a project in the running for the advocacy and social projects category of this award. *The University of Winnipeg Students' Association's Ice Riders and their Bike Lab are gaining momentum in the creation of an active cycling culture year-round. The UWSA Bike Lab and Ice Riders are aptly positioned in location and in their capacity for education and advocacy in Winnipeg's core. They provide resources, events and education to help cyclists find their traction Winnipeg winters.* * * *Please vote for them here: http://velo-city2013.com/?page_id=2337&project_id=81 * -- *Shoni Litinsky* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/> Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>

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FW: LA campaign to increase bike safety
by Dave Elmore 25 Mar '13

25 Mar '13

http://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/Metro-Launches-Bold-Campaign-to-Increas… Metro Launches Bold New Campaign to Increase Bicycle Safety in L.A. County Monday March 18, 2013 The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is launching a bold new campaign to increase bicycle safety in Los Angeles County. The campaign, called "Every Lane is a Bike Lane ... Bicyclists may need a full lane; Please share the road" will include messages on the back of 75 Metro buses, 135 billboards and spots on 21 local radio stations throughout the region. The campaign will run between March and May, leading up to Bike Week L.A. May 13-17 With bicycling increasing in popularity as a viable transportation mode, more biking events like CicLAvia and more new bikeways being installed on a regular basis, Metro's extensive campaign will help raise motorist awareness that cyclists have equal rights and responsibilities to the road per the California Vehicle Code. "The breakneck pace of bikeway construction demonstrates that Los Angeles is riding fast on its way to becoming a truly bike-friendly city," said L.A. City Mayor Antonio Villariagosa. "As more cyclists take to our streets we need to ensure that safety and awareness are of utmost importance as our riders share the road." The California Vehicle Code Section 21200 stipulates that bicycle riders may use any lane in the street since they have the same rights and must follow the same laws as car drivers. Bicyclists may need the full lane to safely navigate specific road and traffic conditions. In addition, the state vehicle code sets out several situations in which bicyclists are specifically permitted to leave their usual position on the far right of the street: · To avoid obstacles and unsafe conditions (including the door zone along parallel-parked vehicles) · To pass another bicyclist, car or bus · To prepare for a left turn · To avoid an area where right turns are made · When traveling as fast or faster than other traffic at that time and place · When the lane is too narrow to share with a vehicle It is becoming increasingly important for motorists and cyclists to safely co-exist on the region's roadways. In L.A. County, 19 percent of all trips are made by walking and biking, but bicyclists and pedestrians make up 39 percent of roadway fatalities. In the Southern California region, nearly four percent of all traffic-related fatalities involved cyclists, and 4.3 percent of all traffic-related injuries involved cyclists. "At the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, we know that education is needed for both drivers and bicyclists on how to properly share the road," said Jennifer Klausner, LACBC's Executive Director. "We're working hard to educate bicyclists to ride with traffic, use lights at night and other ways to avoid the most common types of collisions. We're excited to see Metro help with the other half of the equation by making sure drivers know to expect bicyclists on any street and to pass only when it's safe. Thanks, Metro, for so clearly saying that every lane is a bike lane!" As part of its overall bicycle safety campaign, Metro also plans to begin <http://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/Metro-Launches-Bold-Campaign-to-Increas…> traffic skills courses <http://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/Metro-Launches-Bold-Campaign-to-Increas…> for bicyclists to help ensure cyclists know their responsibilities for riding safely on local streets. Cyclists interested in participating in these future classes <http://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/Metro-Launches-Bold-Campaign-to-Increas…> should e-mail Metro's Bicycle Program at bikeinfo(a)metro.net. Additionally, Metro is planning to sponsor 20 bike rides to further promote safe cycling in Los Angeles County. "We're thrilled at C.I.C.L.E. about Metro's 'Every Lane is a Bike Lane' campaign," said Dan Dabek, Executive Director of C.I.C.L.E. "This attention-grabbing campaign will be significant in improving motorist and bicyclist relations and creating safer streets for all users. When about 60 percent of trips in Los Angeles County are less than five miles, making our roads more friendly to bicyclists is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce traffic, improve air quality, and make Los Angeles County a more enjoyable place to live." This bicycle safety campaign is made possible by Metro's Bicycle Program, which has worked closely with the bicycle community on numerous initiatives related to bicycling and transit. Since 1993, Metro has funded more than $100 million in bicycle improvement projects in the county. For more information about Metro's Bicycle Program, please visit metro.net/bikes. Thanks Dave o _ ( \ _ (X)\ /(X)

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AT webinar - Women's Work: Bicycle-Friendly Communities by Design, Mar 27, 2-3:30, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

Green Action Centre invites you to join us for a local viewing of the following APBP webinar at the EcoCentre (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave). This will be followed by group discussion of local applications.* *Detailed description provided below. *Women's Work: Bicycle-Friendly Communities by Design Wednesday, March 27th | 2:00-3:30 p.m. CDT* RSVPs are appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! Also mark your calendar for the fourth and final APBP bicycle parking webinar on Institutional and Campus-Based Bike Parking Programs, taking place Wed, April 10th, 2-3 pm. More info to follow but if you don't want to wait, check out it out here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/event/apbp-bicycle-parking-webinar-series/>. This series is hosted locally by Green Action Centre and Stantec Consulting. cheers, Beth 925-3772 * * * * * ** Women's Work: Bicycle-Friendly Communities by Design Wednesday, March 27 | 2:00 to 3:30 pm CDT APBP's fourth annual Women Cycling Project webinar features brilliant women working to make communities more bicycle-friendly. Join us as we profile a few of the many outstanding professionals who develop bicycle plans, projects and programs for communities, encourage children to bicycle to school and inspire girls to consider careers in transportation. Whether you are a student or a professional, a woman or man, this webinar will motivate you to address key reasons keeping people from bicycling for transportation: speeding cars and inattentive drivers. This year's APBP webinar incorporates the 2013 National Women's History Month theme, "Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination." The theme honors generations of women who throughout American history have used their intelligence, imagination, sense of wonder, and tenacity to make extraordinary contributions to the STEM fields. (APBP encourages you to visit www.nwhp.org to learn how to incorporate this theme into your 2013 Women's History Month celebrations. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.)

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WFP: New law means kids need a lid on it (Mar.15'13)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Mar '13

16 Mar '13

New law means kids need a lid on it Warnings issued first but fines possible By: Bruce Owen http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/new-law-means-kids-need-a-lid-on-it-… Looking forward to getting back in the bike saddle this spring with your kids? Then expect to pay a $50 fine if you don't have bicycle helmets strapped on their heads. The province's new mandatory helmet legislation goes into the force this summer. It requires all Manitobans under the age of 18 to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or riding in anything attached to or towed by a bicycle. The impending law is the NDP's way of protecting children from preventable head injuries, but it comes at a time when groups in other countries argue bicycle-helmet legislation makes cycling appear dangerous. These groups, which include the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation, also claim mandatory helmet laws do not reduce head injuries because police generally do not enforce them. RCMP and Winnipeg police said Thursday they're waiting until the province sets a date for Bill 37 to come into effect. "When it's law, we'll enforce it," RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish said, adding she believes Mounties will have an initial grace period in which they'll issue warnings instead of fines. The bike-helmet law states children under 14 will not be given a ticket or fine. It also gives police discretion if they're dealing with a first-time offence. "Those fined for a first offence can avoid paying the fine by completing a bicycle-helmet safety course about the fundamentals of helmet safety," a spokeswoman for Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau said. "This... safety course, available online or in paper format, will be a first of its kind and an interactive way to educate youth and parents on helmet safety," the spokeswoman added. That will include a new online safety quiz, which the province has not yet publicized. Rondeau's office would not say when the law will come into effect other than sometime this spring. During the last eight years, the province has distributed 82,000 helmets in Manitoba, including more than 7,000 at no cost to children of low-income families, the spokeswoman added. Rondeau has said the new law will be accompanied by a public-education campaign to make cyclists wear helmets as automatically as motorists wear seatbelts. When the law takes effect, Manitoba will join provinces such as Ontario and Alberta, where minors are also required to wear helmets. Laws in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island apply to adults as well. Dave Elmore, director of safety and education for the cyclist lobby group Bike to the Future, said the Winnipeg group has not taken a position on the helmet law as many cyclists are split on the issue. "We are, however, disappointed that the Manitoba government sees this as a primary method of making cycling safer," he said. "There are many factors that need to be taken into account when it comes to cycling, many of which would be far more effective in reducing injuries." Elmore said these include defining in law the passing distance for motorists passing cyclists to three feet or one metre and defining the distance from the edge of the road for cyclists. Currently, the Highway Traffic Act indicates "as close as practicable" which is misunderstood by both drivers and cyclists. "Cycling is not inherently dangerous," he said. "Part of what makes it appear dangerous is the lack of knowledge, skills and confidence on the part of cyclists as well as a lack of understanding on the part of drivers. "Many people do not cycle because they are afraid of riding next to tons of steel, but if they understood their place on the road and if drivers also understood what represents reasonable cycling behaviour, the roads would be a better place to ride." International groups, such as the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation and the European Cyclist's Federation, say mandatory helmet laws discourage cycling by portraying it as abnormally dangerous. The ECF says on its website a person is less likely to be killed during a mile of cycling than during a mile of walking. It also says helmets provide a small protective effect, as they are designed to withstand minor knocks and bumps, not a collision with a vehicle. The ECF says authorities should focus more on promoting cycling and traffic safety, including dedicated bike routes. bruce.owen(a)freepress.mb.ca *Helmets prevent deaths: study* An Ontario study says cyclists who die from a head injury are much less likely to be wearing a helmet than bike riders who die from other injuries. The study analyzed 129 accidental bicycle-related deaths in Ontario between 2006 and 2010 and found cyclists who didn't wear a helmet were three times more likely to die from brain trauma than those who wore protective headgear. Researchers say there are about 70 cycling deaths in Canada every year and about 20 could have been prevented by the wearing of a helmets. Most who died were adults. The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. *Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 15, 2013 0*

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It's Not About The Bike Or Car -- It's About Better Cities
by Dave Elmore 14 Mar '13

14 Mar '13

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/brent-toderian/bike-lanes-car-commuting-vancouv er-toronto_b_1940979.html It's Not About The Bike Or Car -- It's About Better Cities This week, I watched with concern Canada's largest city have a rhetoric-heavy debate about removing the relatively new separated bike lane on Jarvis Street <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1265847--jarvis-bi ke-lanes-to-be-removed-after-last-ditch-council-effort-to-save-them-fails> . They even originally had the intention of using bike-lane funds to remove it! Bike-lane debates have been going on for some time in Toronto, as they have in many cities like Vancouver. In recent years, exaggerated and polarizing phrases <http://daily.sightline.org/2011/01/03/war-on-cars-a-history/> like "anti-car" and "the war on the car" have been thrown around irresponsibly by media and politicians alike, making me wonder more than a few times if Fox News had moved to the place once called "The City That Works." I suppose it illustrates part of the problem, that I feel the urge to point out I don't consider myself a "cyclist." Calling myself that would seem as odd as calling myself a walker, a transit-rider, or a driver. I'm an urbanite, someone who loves living in cities, and an urbanist who has studied how cities work all of my adult life. Really, I'm a citizen. I point that out because there is too much pitting of self-described "drivers" and "cyclists" against each other. Most North American families are actually multi-modal - they drive, walk, and probably take transit and bike in at least certain circumstances, if not routinely. Certainly many who cycle, also drive, and visa versa. We need a more sophisticated discussion about how we get around in cities, and it starts with this -- it's not about loving your bike. It's about loving what biking does for cities. If more cars make cities worse, the opposite is true for bikes. Expanding urban biking is about making better, fiscally smarter, healthier, more flexible and resilient cities. Bikes are hardly a silver bullet, but they can be a big part of better city-making. Canadian cities aren't alone in recognizing the opportunities urban biking provide. In fact, we're behind. Inspired by successful cycling mecca's like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bogota, cities like New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland in the U.S., Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Paris in Europe, and Montreal here in Canada are transforming themselves around urban cycling. They aren't doing half-measures. They're making big moves. City-builders across the globe understand the relative cheapness of the bike mobility option, in both cost and space. Dollar for dollar, bike lanes move people more cost effectively from a return-on-investment perspective than any other way of getting around, especially once a tipping point of cyclists is reached -- and that doesn't even factor in the well-documented public health cost savings that come from widespread biking. Global studies have shown investing in cycling infrastructure actually saves society public money per kilometer cycled! The math is enough to make any real fiscal conservative hop on a two-wheeler. Most pragmatically, city-builders understand that bikes make cities work better because they take a lot less space. Even if cars were clean in emissions, the biggest challenge with car-dependency is a space problem. There isn't enough room on the roads and parking lots of cities, to have everyone drive. They just don't fit, and our failed efforts to make them fit, cost a staggering amount. This striking picture <http://www.humantransit.org/2012/09/the-photo-that-explains-almost-everythi ng.html> illustrates the point. If all the people we anticipate coming to our cities try to drive, cities fail, our public life fails, and our economies fail. Even if they prioritize driving, global city-builders recognize the best thing those who feel they need to drive could hope for, is for OTHER people to be able to walk, bike and ride transit. Multi-modal cities make it easier for EVERYONE to get around - including, counter-intuitively, drivers. For us in Vancouver it's been about becoming more multi-modal for decades, a city of choices and options, and a city where the local economy and quality of life is impervious to the growing car congestion paralysis seen in too many world cities. It hasn't been about being anti-anything. It's been about being pro-mobility freedom. Pro-city. We've understood in Vancouver for years that mobility flows from smart land use choices, and the best transportation plan is a great land-use plan. Mixing uses, in complete communities. We know that trying to address congestion through more roads always fails, because of the "law of congestion <http://www.planetizen.com/node/53659> ." As the saying goes, trying to address congestion by adding more roads is like trying to solve obesity by loosening your belt. Watching Toronto's debate, we in Vancouver might feel a big smug. Then we might remember the steady level of controversy that bike-lane construction has generated even here. I would remember that in past weeks of media interviews, they've tended to start with questions like "When will we have too many bike lanes?" or "Don't we have enough already?" Like walking, transit and car-driving, a few separated routes through a large, still car-dominated city and region, don't create a viable choice in how to get around for people aged 8-80. For people of both genders and all ages to choose a mode of movement, a system or network is needed - complete, connected, efficient, predictable, and safe in both perception and reality. We have a long way to go in Vancouver. The pragmatic, cost-effective power of urban biking could go a long way in getting Toronto that old nick-name back - "The City That Works." Keeping the Jarvis bike infrastructure, and using that $300,000 to build more, would have shown they're serious about that. Instead, the wrong discussion led to the wrong decisions. In a recent Globe and Mail article <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/stop-bike-lane-fight-v ancouver-urged/article4558182/> , I called for an end to the oversimplified, polarized debate on bike-lanes, and a start to a more sophisticated discussion on how cities work. The article ended with my statement, "Bike lanes are not a fad. They are part of a multi-modal city, a critical part of the city working well in the future." Let's have that more sophisticated discussion start now, in Toronto, in Vancouver, and every city struggling to make their city work better. Thanks Dave o _ ( \ _ (X)\ /(X)

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AT webinar: Dynamics of Effective Advisory Committees - Wed, Mar 20th, 2-3 pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 14 Mar '13

14 Mar '13

Green Action Centre and Bike to the Future invite you to join us for a local viewing of the following APBP webinar at the EcoCentre (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave). This will be followed by group discussion of local applications.* *Detailed description provided below. *Dynamics of Effective Advisory Committees Wednesday, March 20th | 2:00-3:00 p.m. CDT* RSVPs are appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! Also mark your calendar for an additional webinar on Wed, March 27th, 2-3:30 pm – Women's Work: Bicycle Friendly Communities by Design. More info to follow next week. cheers, Beth 925-3772 * * * * * ** Dynamics of Effective Advisory Committees Wednesday, March 20 | 2:00 to 3:00 pm CDT Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committees are critical to making bicycling and walking part of the transportation solution because they add transparency and community engagement to the planning process. This webinar offers guidance about committee structure, defines roles, and suggests techniques and training to make a group more effective. Case study examples balance the perspectives of staff and advocates, bicycle and pedestrian focus, and regional and local committees. Presenters from the Nashville (Tennessee) MPO and the City of Olympia, Washington, will discuss their committees’ major initiatives and how productive, long-term working groups achieved significant, measurable outcomes. The Nashville Area MPO assisted in developing a regional bicycle and pedestrian study and an award-winning regional transportation plan. As a result of this work, the group was tasked to develop scoring and make funding recommendations related to bike/ped projects. The City of Olympia's Advisory Committee has successfully focused on improving the pedestrian realm through its involvement with a far-reaching sidewalk funding initiative, a pedestrian crossing improvement program, the redesign of the 4th Avenue bridge, and an innovative neighborhood pathways program. Presenters: Darren Flusche, Policy Director, League of American Bicyclists Leslie Meehan, Director of Healthy Communities, Nashville Area MPO David Kleinfelter, President, Walk/Bike Nashville Sophie Stimson, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Olympia

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Canada failing cyclists and pedestrians, U.N. report finds
by Dave Elmore 14 Mar '13

14 Mar '13

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/14/canada_failing_cyclists_and_pedes trians_un_report_finds.html Canada failing cyclists and pedestrians, U.N. report finds Canada says the right things but needs to take action to protect vulnerable road users, according to a new WHO report. A United Nations' reports says Canada is failing behind when it comes to developing policy to protect vulnerable road users. By: Kristen E. Courtney Special to the Star, Published on Thu Mar 14 2013 Canada is falling to the back of the pack when it comes to policies aimed at protecting vulnerable road users, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization. While 77 per cent of United Nations countries carry out safety audits to ensure the safety of road infrastructure projects for cyclists and pedestrians, Canada does not, and is contributing to a concerning trend of countries promoting alternative forms of transportation without ensuring their safety, according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety <http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/en/in dex.html> . While studies have consistently shown what types of walking and cycling infrastructure are needed to improve road safety, including safe routes and crossings for pedestrians, slower traffic speeds, and dedicated cycling lanes, policies are not in place to ensure that these are incorporated into road infrastructure projects, according to the report. Eleanor McMahon, founder of Ontario's Share the Road Cycling Coalition <http://www.sharetheroad.ca/> , says she's not surprised that Canada is falling behind, as all too often the debate over road infrastructure in Canada becomes less about safety and more about playing politics. <http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/04/23/cyclists_steer_through_pol itical_minefield.html> This is a familiar refrain to Toronto drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, where "war on the car" <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/05/24/road_wars_can_cyclists_and_motor ists_get_along.html> rhetoric seems to rear its head every time a new road construction or reconstruction project reignites the battle for a slice of the street. "We shouldn't be having this conversation about cycling infrastructure as if cyclists were a special interest group. They are not a special interest group; they are everyday people getting from point A to point B. and all of these deaths are preventable," McMahon says. The good news is that overall road deaths around the world are down slightly, to 1.24 million per year from 1.3 million per year since the previous Global Status Report on Road Safety in 2009 <http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2009/en/> . Canada mirrors this trend, with overall annual road deaths falling to 2,227 from 2,889. However, 27 per cent of global road traffic deaths are among pedestrians and cyclists, which has Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, concerned: "To date, these road users have been neglected in transport and planning policy. The world must now increase its focus on making walking and cycling safer, and protecting these road users from high-speed traffic." One of the three key recommendations emerging from the report is that concerted effort is needed to make road infrastructure safer for pedestrians and cyclists, by taking the needs of these road users into account <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/14/canada_failing_cyclists_and_pede strians_un_report_finds.html> earlier, when road safety, policy, transport planning and land use decisions are made. The report places a particular emphasis on the conduct of formal audits of new and existing road infrastructure projects - by independent assessors not involved in the planning or construction - to minimize crash risk and the potential consequences for all road users. Such audits can produce important safety gains for all, according to the report. McMahon says she's not aware of any consistent policies that exist at the national, provincial or municipal level in Canada that require such safety audits or assessments of road construction projects <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/14/canada_failing_cyclists_and_pede strians_un_report_finds.html> . "As someone who lost their life partner to a cycling accident, safety is absolutely paramount to me," she says, "but we need a carrot and stick approach. Dedicated infrastructure funding and political will are also essential." McMahon's husband, OPP Sergeant Greg Stobbart, was killed in 2006 while riding his bike on Tremaine Rd. in Milton. While Ontario has a number of policies in place that are supposed to encourage active transportation and ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, the political will necessary to implement these policies effectively is lacking, says McMahon. "We're starting to see some progress. you would think that having these things in policies would help, but we sure have a long way to go." The Global Status Report 2013 will serve as the baseline for Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, declared by the U.N. General Assembly to stem the rise in road accidents as one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Kristen Courtney is an environmental lawyer and a Fellow in Global Journalism at the Munk School for Global Affairs. Thanks Dave o _ ( \ _ (X)\ /(X)

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Jane's Walk 2013 Planning Meeting
by Beth McKechnie 13 Mar '13

13 Mar '13

Join us to help plan the 2013 Jane's Walk in Winnipeg! Please forward to others who may be interested in leading or in helping to plan a Jane's Walk this year. *What*: Jane's Walk 2013 Planning Meeting *When*: March 22 @ 6pm *Where*: The Toad (112 Osborne Street) For those of you less familiar with Jane's Walk, here is the link to the website: http://janeswalk.net/ Also, find attached the event poster from 2012 that lists the walks that occurred in Winnipeg. thanks! Beth

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