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Fwd: 2018 Cycle of Giving
by Dave Elmore 22 Nov '18

22 Nov '18

Always lots of ways to help make holiday bicycle miracles come true. Donate (bikes/$), volunteer (so many ways to help, not just as a mechanic), spread the word (to your personal and corporate contacts. View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/0287b547bb40/2018-cycle-of-giving-2868781?e=2b47fa6a9b> *Just over one week away! The **Cycle Of Giving 24 hour kids bike building marathon* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>is bringing volunteer mechanics together to build over 300 bicycles for kids in need. We aim to raise $15,000 to support free bike programming for children and families in 2019. >From *12 pm December 1st to 12 pm December 2nd*, the Orioles Community Centre will be transformed into a magic workshop where salvaged and donated used bicycles are turned into holiday dreams come true. Help us give to more kids than ever before! *You can be part of the Cycle of Giving!* *Volunteer* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Donate* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Donate Online* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Tell a friend or Like **WRENCH* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>* on Facebook* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Copyright © 2018 The Wrench, All rights reserved.* You are receiving this e-mail because you signed up at the WRENCH or at an event that the WRENCH was a part of. *Our mailing address is:* The Wrench 1057 Logan Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3G 0A1 Canada Add us to your address book <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/vcard?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1abd&id=…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1abd&i…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>. [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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The Guardian: 'If we wanted beauty, we'd travel to Paris': how Calgary resisted its iconic pedestrian bridge
by Beth McKechnie 22 Nov '18

22 Nov '18

The controversial Peace Bridge is now one of the most-used walking and cycling routes in Calgary. The councillor behind it reveals the project’s stormy process https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/17/if-we-wanted-beauty-wed-trav… The level of hatred directed towards that piece of infrastructure was out of proportion with the cost,” says Druh Farrell as she recalls the stormy process leading to the construction of Santiago Calatrava’s pedestrian and cycling Peace Bridge in Calgary. “It was an incredibly painful process. It became so intense.” The celebrated Spanish architect was brought in to address a complicated brief. The crossing – connecting downtown to the northern river pathway and the community of Sunnyside – had to completely span the Bow River, while being flat enough to avoid obstructing a nearby helicopter-landing area. Bringing in a big name didn’t change people’s opinions, however. For the opening of the bridge, councillor Farrell was escorted by four bodyguards. Even Farrell’s brother had to endure the ire directed at the Peace Bridge when a dinner guest discovered their relation and said to him: “You tell your sister that if we wanted beauty, we’d travel to Paris. In Calgary we just need it to work.” “It was the first piece of significant infrastructure predominantly for active mobility,” Farrell explains. “If it had been for vehicles, we would not have had any debate, and it would not have been controversial.” Since its ribbon-cutting in March 2012, though, the Peace Bridge has become one of the most-travelled walking and cycling routes in the city, with more than 5.5 million crossings, an average of 28,000 per week – not bad for a region that enjoys a meagre 1.75% modal share for cycling. Most Canadians know Alberta as “Oil Country” due to its economic dependence on the Tar Sands. Calgary, Canada’s fourth largest city, is home to a number of oil and gas headquarters. Covering a 848 sq kilometre area – eight times the size of San Francisco – and sprawling endlessly into the prairies, it’s easy to see why driving has become the default mode of transportation for the vast majority of Calgarians. In recent years however, things have started to shift, and residents have begun demanding options. Farrell sits at the heart of that transition. In 2007 Calgary’s Centre City Plan <http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Pages/Centre-City/Centre-City.aspx> was passed by a vote of the council under the then-manager of planning and design, Brent Toderian. The plan established that they would not consider any new river crossings for motor vehicles entering the downtown core. Situated where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, Calgary’s downtown is only accessible from the north and east by means of a river crossing, resulting in several car-dedicated bridges that are largely unwelcoming to cyclists and pedestrians. The Centre City Plan identified three locations where potential bridges could be built, dictating two simple criteria: they had to be dedicated pedestrian and bicycle crossings only, and they had to be beautiful. But as Farrell soon found out, building something of beauty in “Cowtown” would not be as easy as it seemed. The total budget for the bridge was C$24.5m (£14.2m), half the cost of a planned highway interchange in nearby Cochrane, 11 miles west of Calgary, that would serve one-50th of the population of Calgary. “Now I think most Calgarians would recognise it was worth it,” she asserts emphatically. “I certainly believe it was worth it because the bridge is so well used.” In spite of the initial negativity, the bridge stands out for Farrell as a memorable pivot point for Calgary. “The Peace Bridge really was a first for a lot of reasons,” she says. “It got people talking about architecture, and it identified a bottled-up need and desire for more walking and cycling connections to our downtown core.” In the years to follow, the city constructed the George C King and Elbow River Traverse bridges – a pair of pedestrian and cycling connections to the east of downtown, with a fourth crossing planned to the west when demand grows to sufficient levels. The iconic structure has become more than just a gateway to the city. “What we ended up doing unintentionally with the Peace Bridge is building a public space over the river,” recalls Farrell. “It’s far more than a transportation hub or connection – it’s a meeting place, a sense of place, on top of our beautiful river. “It’s the most photographed structure in the city. It’s used for the promotion of Calgary in everything from real estate to hotels, and included in international bridge-design showcase books. It reinforces that we did the right thing.” The Peace Bridge also laid the groundwork for Calgary’s next big cycling infrastructure project: a downtown cycle-track network. Within a year of the bridge opening, the latent demand for cycling infrastructure became clear. As more people were using the trails and bridges to enter the city, they needed a comfortable place to travel once they burst onto the downtown streets. Farrell stood at the forefront again, providing the initial push for the 7th Street Cycle Track that would connect directly to the Peace Bridge. Perhaps unsurprisingly, talk of reallocating road space spurred anger. After the construction in 2013, the 750m bidirectional, curb-protected lane quadrupled cycling numbers along that corridor overnight. Initially the project was to be completed in increments, but the discussion shifted to the idea of building the whole scheme at once as an 18-month pilot project. It seemed to be smooth sailing until a change of council later that year made the politics more challenging. As with the Peace Bridge, Farrell says hostility towards the project from businesses and politicians was disproportionate to the cost of C$5.75m. But the temporary nature of the pilot cycle lanes allowed them to pass by an 8–7 vote in April 2014. A little over a year later, Calgary’s downtown cycle-track network was delivered two months early and $2m under budget – reallocating just 2% of downtown street space to induce 1.2 million bicycle trips over 18 months, with little to no driver disruption. “Pilots are so important. For one thing, we were constantly adjusting,” explains Farrell, referring to the 100 tweaks that staff made in response to data collected at 80 different points. These changes were facilitated by the provisional nature of the scheme, including flexible delineators, planter boxes, temporary concrete curbs and floating traffic signals. “The transportation department was extremely nimble in identifying problems and mitigating them. By the end of the pilot, the system worked. So they weren’t just waiting until the end of the project to make adjustments – they were doing it all along and measuring the data. We had such a compelling case. We had more people cycling: different people, young people, women, and families were all using the network. It was hard to say ‘no’.” In December 2016, the council voted 10–4 in favour of making the network permanent, meaning that the pilot had accomplished exactly what was intended: demonstrating to a skeptical public that with safe separated space for cycling, even the sprawling, frigid cities of the Canadian Prairies will get on their bikes. Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart, who had initially voted against the pilot, changed her vote, telling reporters: “I was a person that didn’t support this in the beginning. I thought this was madness. But, to see how it’s evolved, and how it’s working and to see how people are starting to get the fact that this is shared public space …” Now Calgary’s cycle network is cited as a reason companies and employees are relocating to the city. As Farrell said: “If we want to attract new industries to Calgary, we need to first build a city that’s worth moving to.”

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WFP Editorial: Making Winnipeg a cycle-safe city (Nov19'18)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Nov '18

19 Nov '18

* Making Winnipeg a cycle-safe city * ON Tuesday, the city’s public works committee will consider a proposal to spend $5.4million in each of the next three years on infrastructure, including cycling corridors, new sidewalks and cycling-education programs. However, the future success of the city’s active transportation network comes down to more than just cash and concrete. In recent years, in accordance with the city’s active-transportation strategy, there have been dedicated bike lanes and protected bike lanes installed on many streets in West Broadway, the West End, downtown and the Exchange District, to name a few. The new infrastructure has made it safer for cyclists and challenging for motorists used to having the streets to themselves. Frustrated cyclists point to limited road space and belligerent driver behaviour as reasons why cycling is dangerous or not worth the hassle. Motorists point to scofflaw cyclists with no regard for traffic signals or pedestrians as the problem. However, both groups (and many commuting cyclists also use cars, and many motorists ride a bike for pleasure) have a point. What’s really needed in Winnipeg is an actual active-transportation culture. We’re getting there in fits and starts. Infrastructure is a big part of it. But education and safety are also important. An example of the old way of doing things is found in Wolseley. In the summer, motor traffic on Wolseley Avenue is restricted to one block at a time on Sundays, leaving the street open for cyclists, many of whom continue over the Assiniboine River to ride along Wellington Crescent, where the same restrictions apply. However, that freedom to ride without worrying about cars is linked to the mistaken assumption that cycling is merely recreational, and seasonal. For cyclists to be safe around motorists, cycling needs to be part of year-round traffic awareness — not just on certain days of the week on certain streets. For motorists to be comfortable, cyclists must adhere to safety precautions and traffic laws. (Yes, cyclists, red lights apply to you. Yes, motorists, you should change lanes to pass a bicycle.) When residents are asked about local infrastructure, sometimes the most vocal voices will be against changing anything. The city has a long-term Pedestrian and Cycling Action Plan, available on the city’s website. Proposed changes to active-transportation infrastructure are guided by a 2014 policy document, Winnipeg Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies. The recent consultation process begun for the Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project invites feedback from area residents and those who visit or pass through the area. Whether you use the roads or sidewalks or a combination of both, it’s worth taking part. But for taxpayers who wish infrastructure would only mean endless repaving of roads, consider what attempts to change the city’s transportation ecosystem can save you. Decreased motor traffic means better flowing traffic, and that’s one effect of people opting to ride a bike instead of a car in which they’re the only occupant: more room on the roads, even with a protected bike lane. Roads take less wear and tear, the community benefits from fewer greenhouse- gas emissions and individuals boost their fitness levels. Infrastructure upgrades can also mean more accessible sidewalks and better crossings at intersections. You don’t have to look far in Winnipeg to see how motor traffic has been prioritized for decades: a glut of surface parking lots, sidewalks and bike lanes that end abruptly, and increasing urban sprawl. It’s long past time to look at other ways of getting around, and making the city work for all its citizens — not only those with their hands on the wheel.

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Scientific American: Why Don’t We Forget How to Ride a Bike?
by Beth McKechnie 17 Nov '18

17 Nov '18

Why Don’t We Forget How to Ride a Bike? *The way memories are anchored in the brain plays a role, neuropsychologist Boris Suchan explains* November 15, 2018 Most of us learn how to ride a bike during childhood. But as we grow older, many of us stop riding and put those once-beloved bikes in storage. Years later, when we discover these relics and hop on, it’s as if we never stopped biking. This is surprising because our memories let us down in so many other instances, such as remembering the name of a place or a person we once knew or where we put our keys. So how is it that we can ride a bicycle when we haven’t done so in years? As it turns out, different types of memories are stored in distinct regions of our brains. Long-term memory is divided into two types: declarative and procedural. There are two types of declarative memory: Recollections of experiences such as the day we started school and our first kiss are called episodic memory. This type of recall is our interpretation of an episode or event that occurred. Factual knowledge, on the other hand, such as the capital of France, is part of semantic memory. These two types of declarative memory content have one thing in common—you are aware of the knowledge and can communicate the memories to others. Skills such as playing an instrument or riding a bicycle are, however, anchored in a separate system, called procedural memory. As its name implies, this type of memory is responsible for performance. One of the most famous studies showing the separate memory systems was that of an epileptic named Henry Gustav Molaison (aka H. M.). In the 1950s he underwent the removal of portions of his brain, including large parts of his hippocampus. After the operation doctors found that although the number of seizures had decreased, H. M. was unable to form new memories. Many of his memories of the time before the operation were also erased. To learn more about his amnesia, neuropsychologists carried out various tests with H. M. In one, they asked him to trace a five-pointed star on a sheet of paper while only looking at it and his hand in a mirror—meaning the image was reversed. Although H. M.’s hand–eye coordination skills improved over the several days he performed this task, he never remembered performing it. This meant that he could develop new procedural, but not declarative, memories. Is procedural knowledge then fundamentally more stable than explicit knowledge? As it turns out, the former is more resistant to both loss and trauma. Even with traumatic brain injury the procedural memory system is hardly ever compromised. That’s because the basal ganglia, structures responsible for processing non-declarative memory, are relatively protected in the brain’s center, below the cerebral cortex. However, it’s not clear, beyond brain damage, why procedural memory contents are not as easily forgotten as declarative ones are. According to one idea, in the regions where movement patterns are anchored fewer new nerve cells may be formed in adults. Without this neurogenesis, or continuous remodeling in those regions, it’s less likely for those memories to get erased. One thing we know for sure, however, is simple sequences of movements we internalize, even far in the past, are typically preserved for a lifetime. Or as the saying goes, it’s “just like riding a bicycle.”

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Toronto closes major transit corridor to cars: transit, biking, walking way up
by Beth McKechnie 16 Nov '18

16 Nov '18

Streetsblog USA reports one year after Toronto, Canada turned King Street in a transit- and walking-priority street, streetcar ridership, biking and walking are way up. (King Street Transit Pilot: July & August Update: http://bit.ly/2DD7fKG <https://pps.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c803e70a8ad33c13a95a1ee6&id=…>) The project, which cost just $1.5 million, has produced an 11% increase in average daily ridership, and as much as 34% at peak hours. Once the street was closed to cars, about 20,000 additional streetcar riders materialized practically overnight. Biking, meanwhile, is up by as much as an astounding 440%, according to city estimates. Toronto will decide before the end of the year whether to make it permanent. There remains, however, a certain amount of discontent among some business owners. Toronto reports business receipts are up along the corridor as well, albeit a tiny 0.3%. The rest of the city was up 3.8% over the same period. http://bit.ly/2DEKTbH <https://pps.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c803e70a8ad33c13a95a1ee6&id=…> -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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WFP: Proposed pedestrian, cycling projects (Nov15'18)
by Beth McKechnie 15 Nov '18

15 Nov '18

Proposed pedestrian, cycling projects Local sidewalks • $200,000 — Cliffwood Drive west/Newcroft Road north/Shamrock Drive south • $200,000 — Wellington Crescent, north side from Omands path to Renfrew Street Cycling corridors • $200,0 00 — West Broadway to University of Winnipeg connection, preliminary design • $250,000 – Maryland/Sherbrook upgrade to protected bike lane (select locations) • $250,000 — Leila Avenue bicycle facility, functional design • $300,000 — Keewatin Street pathway Burrows Avenue to Gallagher Avenue, functional design • $550,000 — St. Boniface west-east corridor study and improvements Recreational walkways, cycling paths • $1.7 million— Transcona Trail, Regent Avenue to Panet Road • $300,000 — Rover Avenue to Chief Peguis Trail study • $1.1 million— Northwest hydro corridor, Phase 2 Public education, awareness and promotions • $75,000 — Bike parking in parks, various locations, sign installation • $25,000 — Communication, education and promotions campaigns • $50,000 — Active and safe routes to school, various locations Bicycle parking partnership grants— installations • $10,000 — Exchange District BIZ • $5,000 — Selkirk BIZ • $10,000 — Downtown Winnipeg BIZ Public education, awareness and promotion partnership grants • $10,000 — International Trails Day (Winnipeg Trails) • $10,300 — Winnipeg Trails • $45,000 — Bike Week Winnipeg • $35,000 — WRENCH • $1,750 — Movable Feast (Downtown Winnipeg BIZ) • $6,450 — Bike Friendly Business Program (Downtown Winnipeg BIZ) • $2,500 — Pedal in the Peg (Downtown Winnipeg BIZ) • $7,000 — Infrastructure Educational Videos (Exchange District BIZ) • $7,000 — Bike Friendly BIZ (Exchange District BIZ) • $20,000 — Commuter Challenge (Green Action Centre) • $10,000 — Bike to School Month (Green Action Centre) • $20,000 — Bike Education and Skills Training (Green Action Centre) Projects subject to additional funding • $15 million— Fort Rouge to McFadyen Park Bridge over the Assiniboine River • $15 million— Bishop Grandin greenway over Pembina Highway • $6 million— Maple Street through-pass of the CPR mainline • $7 million— New crossing of the Seine River • $3 million— Northwest hydro corridor construction, remaining phases • $2. 2 million— Confusion Corner to Fort Rouge Park, bicycle connection • $10 million— Ruby/Banning neighbourhood greenway construction and road renewal • $2.7 million— Wolseley Avenue/Westminster Avenue/Balmoral Street/Granite Way, construction • $2 million— Keewatin Street underpass bicycle facility, construction • $2 million— Waverley Street, John Angus Drive to Victor Lewis Drive, construction • $4 million— Downtown west-east corridor connection • $500,000 — Princess Street, Higgins Avenue to William Avenue • $2 million— West Broadway to University of Winnipeg, connection • $4 million— Leila Avenue, construction

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WFP: City eyes $16M for bike paths, sidewalks (Nov15'18)
by Beth McKechnie 15 Nov '18

15 Nov '18

*City eyes $16M for bike paths, sidewalks * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-hall-plans-more-than-16m-in-si… CITY hall plans to spend $16.2 million over the next three years on sidewalks and cycling corridors. A proposal for consideration at Tuesday’s public works committee states the administration is proposing to spend $5.4 million in each of the next three years— 2019, 2020, 2021— on new sidewalks, cycling corridors and programs to support cycling education. The public works department has also listed 14 cycling and pedestrian-related infrastructure projects, with a total price tag of $74.5 million, that it wants to complete; no funding sources are identified. The process for the projects approval was set in place in 2015 when council approved the award-winning Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies, which requires approval from the public works committee for individual pedestrian and cycling projects carried out each year before going to council. While the projects are approved for a three-year period, council must authorize spending annually in the capital budgets. While civic departments have been preparing budget proposals since the spring, the new council is expected to begin review of the 2019 budget in January. The cycling and pedestrian projects, identified in the initial 2015 strategy report, include new sidewalks on regional and local streets, new multi-use pathways, new cycling routes, crossing control improvements, public education programs and a series of awareness and promotion and partnership grants. The administrative report says that if the approved projects come in under budget, or if additional funding is provided by Ottawa or the province, that money would be redirected to one or more of the other 14 projects — but only after the committee approves the spending. aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca

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2019 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Action Plan
by Mark Cohoe 14 Nov '18

14 Nov '18

Hi everyone, The city has put out the 2019 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Action Plan, which will go before the Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works Committee on November 20th. Its report #7 on the agenda. http://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/dmis/ViewDoc.asp?DocId=17409&SectionId=&InitUrl= Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

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Minnesota College Becomes First to Offer Degree in Bike-Building
by Beth McKechnie 14 Nov '18

14 Nov '18

Minnesota College Becomes First to Offer Degree in Bike-Building STUDENTS AT MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGE SOUTHEAST CAN SOON EARN A TWO-YEAR DEGREE IN BICYCLE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING https://www.bicycling.com/news/a25013049/bicycle-design-manufacturing-degre… -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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WFP: City seeks feedback on bike lanes (Nov13'18)
by Beth McKechnie 13 Nov '18

13 Nov '18

*City seeks feedback on bike lanes* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-asks-wolseley-residents-for-in… IN a part of Winnipeg renowned for its environmental friendliness, a bike route shouldn’t be a hard sell. Still, residents of Wolseley are being asked by the city what they’d like to see. “What would a new bike route look like here?” new Wolseley-to-downtown walk-bike project signs posted by the city last week on Wolseley Avenue ask. They ask passersby to “tell us what you think.” Area resident Elena Howard-Scott likes the idea of Wolseley Avenue having a lane for bikes. “I think it’ll increase accessibility,” said Howard-Scott, who was walking her dog Ziggy in the area on Monday. The student, who works, said it might even persuade her to get back to riding her bicycle in the city. Cindy Gilroy, councillor for the area, said the goal is to make the traffic situation better for everyone, whether they’re walking, biking or driving. “What we are doing, is a greenway study looking at all modes of transportation on both Wolseley and Westminster,” Gilroy said. “It’s about finding ways we can all make sure that, holistically, we can live together with active transportation or driving a car,” said Gilroy, who was re-elected Oct. 24 in Daniel McIntyre. “Traffic’s been a big issue in Wolseley. It’s been pretty crazy,” said the councillor, who heard area residents’ complaints about it when she was campaigning door to door. She said the idea for the yellow and blue “Please Slow Down” lawn signs that she gives to people in her ward who request them came from a Wolseley resident that wanted to see traffic-calming measures taken. “How do we reduce traffic?” Gilroy asked. She said “traffic-calming” measures and active transportation can help. “It could be a variety of many different things,” she said, including making some residential streets one-way streets to eliminate cut-through traffic. “We do see a lot of cut-through traffic,” as more and more motorists use residential side streets to get where they’re going, rather than main traffic corridors, she said. The afternoon rush hour is especially bad, Gilroy said. “It’s piled up” with drivers trying to get onto the Maryland Bridge, she said. The traffic on Wolseley Avenue is especially frustrating on Sundays in the summer, when it is supposed to be closed to through traffic, said Shelagh Weedon. She’s lived in the area for nearly 30 years and said it’s not safe for her to walk her dogs on summer Sundays on the Wolseley Avenue roadway because so many drivers ignore the signs saying it’s closed to through traffic from dawn until dusk. She wondered what effect a bike lane there would have on vehicular traffic. “I’d like more clarification,” said Weedon, who planned to find out more online. “This is the first phase in public engagement,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. The advocacy group presents background information and bike-friendly recommendations to as many government agencies and related organizations as it can manage with its limited resources. “What they’re looking at is connections through Wolseley from Empress (Street) and Omand Park all the way through to Osborne Street and Assiniboine Avenue.” There’s an online survey Winnipeggers can take about the Wolseley-todowntown walk-bike project and opportunities to meet the planners in person at different times and locations in the neighbourhood. Even though it’s almost winter, Cohoe expects the city will receive a lot of public feedback from Wolseley residents. “The good thing about that neighbourhood is there’s a lot of people who cycle in that area of the city,” he said. “It has the highest cycling rates.” In 2018, the city budgeted $250,000 for the preliminary design of bike routes along Wolseley and Westminster avenues.

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