- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

USDOT releases new National Roadway Safety Strategy - Green Car Congress
by Terry Zdan 28 Jan '22

28 Jan '22

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2022/01/20220128-nrss.html

1 0

L.A. Just Ran (and Ended) the Biggest Free-Transit Experiment in the U.S.
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jan '22

27 Jan '22

In March 2020, Los Angeles’ public-transit agency, Metro, stopped collecting fares on its buses as a COVID-19 safety precaution. For the next 22 months, Metro waived fares for anyone who wanted to keep riding its buses, anywhere they wanted to go (as long as they wore a mask, of course). And people did keep riding. Outside of the initial stay-at-home order in the spring of 2020, Metro’s ridership never dipped below 50 percent of before-times ridership, with buses eventually recovering to within 10 to 15 percent of pre-pandemic numbers <https://xtown.la/2021/12/01/free-transit-los-angeles/>. While the agency doesn’t know exactly how many people were riding fare-free buses during this time — because fare collection is one of the ways to track ridership — a spokesperson says that from April 2020 to December 2021, it’s safe to say Metro’s buses provided about 281 million fare-free boardings. This means the agency has inadvertently been conducting what may be the biggest free-transit experiment in U.S. history. Fare collection restarted last week after two unprecedented years in which transit agencies learned a lot about how people moved (or didn’t) around their cities, and now Metro is using some of this information to game out improvements and pilot other free- and reduced-fare programs. ...(According to that same data, New York’s MTA has yet to surpass 60 percent of its pre-pandemic ridership.) That at least suggests that free fares were a factor. Bus ridership also recovered at a faster rate than rail, where fares continued to be collected, says Oscar Zarate, assistant director of organizing with Strategic Actions for a Just Economy: “I don’t think that’s by coincidence. I think it’s because most of the people who ride the bus depend on it because they’re workers and that’s their primary transportation. And because they didn’t have to pay for it, it was really easy to get on and benefit from our public transportation system.” ...L.A.’s Metro is unique among large U.S. transit agencies in that its budget doesn’t rely heavily on the fare box, which made the decision to temporarily waive fares a bit easier in the first place. A ride costs only $1.75, and the total funds collected make up only 6 percent of total revenue — about a third of which goes right back into fare enforcement (although that doesn’t include contracts with law-enforcement agencies <http://allianceforcommunitytransit.org/metro-as-a-sanctuary/>). Adding to Metro’s relatively comfortable financial situation is a local sales tax, Measure M, which was approved by voters in 2016 to generate $120 billion for the system over 40 years. Aside from L.A.’s experiment, the largest permanent free-transit program in the U.S. is run by Kansas City <https://archive.curbed.com/2019/12/6/20998617/kansas-city-missouri-free-pub…>, which is providing free rides <https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-05-31/everyone-gets-a-seat-on-the-bus-for-fr…> for 30,000 to 40,000 passengers a day. Boston is trying it on some dedicated bus routes <https://www.boston.gov/news/mayor-wu-takes-steps-expand-fare-free-bus-servi…>. But New York’s MTA has argued that fares, which bring in $6 billion during a non-pandemic year, are too critical to waive, and is instead cracking down harder on fare evasion, even on buses <https://www.amny.com/lifestyle/travel/mta-wants-to-put-more-cops-on-buses-t…> . Full story: https://www.curbed.com/2022/01/los-angeles-metro-free-transit-buses.html

1 0

Applications now being accepted for the Active Transportation Fund! / Les demandes sont maintenant acceptées pour le Fonds pour le transport actif !
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jan '22

27 Jan '22

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: ATF-FTA (INFC) <ATF-FTA(a)infc.gc.ca> Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2022 at 2:26 PM *(Le français suit.)* *Applications now being accepted for the Active Transportation Fund! * Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, opened the call for applications <https://www.canada.ca/en/office-infrastructure/news/2022/01/government-of-c…> for the Active Transportation Fund, as well as other new funding opportunities in support of public transit systems. We are pleased to announce that Infrastructure Canada will be accepting applications for both the planning and capital funding streams of the Active Transportation Fund between *January 27, 2022 and March 31, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. EST. *Applications from eligible Indigenous recipients will be accepted on an ongoing basis. The Active Transportation Fund’s goal is to generate economic, environmental and social benefits for Canadians by increasing the amount, quality and usage of active transportation infrastructure. If you are an eligible recipient with a project that will support a modal shift away from cars and towards active transportation, we invite you to submit your application through the Applicant Portal <https://infrastructure-applicant.canada.ca/en/>. To assist potential applicants in determining eligibility and preparing an application, guidance materials are available on Infrastructure Canada’s website <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/index-eng.html>, including: - General information <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/info-infos-eng.html> on the Active Transportation Fund, which includes applicant and project eligibility requirements; - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/faq-eng.html>; - Instructions on how to apply <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-eng.html>, including: - The Applicant Guide <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-eng.html#ApplicantGuide>; and - The Step-by-Step Guides <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-eng.html#SBS> for submitting an application. Infrastructure Canada will be hosting weekly Webinars for interested potential applicants, beginning on February 2nd, 2022. At these webinar sessions, attendees will be provided with details on applicant and project eligibility, the application process, and the evaluation process. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions. A list of available sessions and links to register are available on the Webinars for Potential Applicants <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/webinar-webinaire-eng.html> page. The Active Transportation Fund team welcomes you to contact us in regard to any questions you may have about the Active Transportation Fund or the application process by sending an email to ATF-FTA(a)infc.gc.ca. Please be advised that we will not be able to provide information on project eligibility until an application is received in full through our project intake process. We wish you a nice and active day, *The Active Transportation Fund Team* Infrastructure Canada ATF-FTA(a)infc.gc.ca *If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please let us know by responding to this email.* *Les demandes sont maintenant acceptées pour le Fonds pour le transport actif !* Aujourd'hui, l'honorable Dominic LeBlanc, ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales, de l'Infrastructure et des Collectivités, a lancé l'appel de demandes <https://www.canada.ca/fr/bureau-infrastructure/nouvelles/2022/01/le-gouvern…> pour le Fonds pour le transport actif, ainsi que d'autres nouvelles possibilités de financement à l'appui des systèmes de transport en commun. Nous avons le plaisir d'annoncer qu’Infrastructure Canada acceptera les demandes pour les projets de planification et les projets d'immobilisations du Fonds pour le transport actif entre *le 27 janvier 2022 et le 31 mars 2022 (19h00 HNE)*. Les demandes pour les projets de planification et d'immobilisations des bénéficiaires autochtones admissibles seront acceptées de manière continue. Si vous êtes un bénéficiaire admissible avec un projet qui soutiendra un transfert modal de la voiture vers le transport actif, nous vous invitons à soumettre votre demande via le Portail des candidats <https://infrastructure-applicant.canada.ca/fr/>. Pour aider les demandeurs potentiels à déterminer leur admissibilité et à préparer une demande, des documents d'orientation sont disponibles sur le site Web d'Infrastructure Canada <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/index-fra.html>, notamment : - des informations générales <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/info-infos-fra.html> sur le Fonds pour le transport actif, y compris les conditions d'admissibilité des demandeurs et des projets; - des réponses dans la section Foire aux questions <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/faq-fra.html>; et - des instructions sur la façon de déposer une demande <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-eng.html>, incluant : - Le Guide du demandeur <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-fra.html#Guidedudemandeur> ; et - Les Guides étape par étape <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/application-fra.html#EPE> pour soumettre une demande. Infrastructure Canada organisera des webinaires pour les demandeurs potentiels intéressés, à partir du 2 février 2022. Au cours de ces webinaires, les participants recevront des détails sur l'admissibilité des demandeurs et des projets, le processus de demande et le processus d'évaluation. Une période pour poser des questions sera également allouée. Une liste des sessions disponibles et les liens pour s'inscrire sont disponibles sur la page Web des webinaires pour les demandeurs potentiels <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/webinar-webinaire-fra.html>. L'équipe du Fonds pour le transport actif vous invite à nous contacter pour toute question concernant le Fonds pour le transport actif ou le processus de demande en envoyant un courriel à ATF-FTA(a)infc.gc.ca. Veuillez noter que nous ne sommes pas en mesure de fournir des informations sur l'éligibilité d'un projet avant d'avoir reçu une demande complète dans le cadre de l'admission des projets. Nous vous souhaitons une belle journée active, *L’équipe du Fonds pour le transport actif* Infrastructure Canada ATF-FTA(a)infc.gc.ca *Si vous souhaitez être retiré de notre liste de diffusion, veuillez nous le faire savoir en répondant à ce courriel.*

1 0

WFP: Whether he’s playing a symphony or battling the elements on his bike, WSO’s Daniel Perry goes the distance (Jan21'22)
by Beth McKechnie 21 Jan '22

21 Jan '22

Whether he’s playing a symphony or battling the elements on his bike, WSO’s Daniel Perry goes the distance DOUBLE BASS, SOLO RACE https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/double-… ONE day in December, the sun had yet to rise, the temperature was -30 C and Daniel Perry decided to go for a 250-kilometre bike ride down a snow-packed trail in rural Wisconsin, with Ritz crackers and granola for sustenance, wearing turkey-roasting bags on his feet. Perry is perfectly sane: 30 years old, he is a section bassist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, an organization he joined at just 22, and he speaks with clarity and patience. He is mindful: most days, he spends some time sprawled out on his mat, following videos of Yoga With Adrienne on YouTube. He is accustomed to precision and he is not one to shy away from a challenge. But most people who seek to challenge themselves take on tasks that are more attainable as to-dos on a list: to eat more salad, to call their mother, to do the dishes before they pile up to “let’s do a few now and a few later” levels. Most people do not drive eight hours southeast to the Tuscobia Trail in Wisconsin in a rented Hyundai Santa Fe, only to emerge and pedal their heart out of their chest for an entire day. Daniel Perry knows how it sounds. Any extreme endurance athlete is often confronted with two types of questions by non-extreme athletes, including newspaper reporters who happen to fit that criterion: hows and whys. How did you get started? Why do you enjoy it? How do you get ready? How do you stay motivated? How does it feel to finish a race 99 per cent of the population would not consider starting? Let’s start with the first how: Perry was raised in Indianapolis, where his father was the principal trumpet in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and where his French-horn-playing mother, who comes from Norway, exposed her kids to skiing and Nordic sports. ‘WINTER exists in Indianapolis, but it’s nowhere near a Manitoba winter,” Perry said. So when he graduated from Indiana University and was accepted into the WSO, he had a slightly different reaction than most Winnipeg transplants. “It was fun to come to Manitoba, where it stayed below freezing and the snow stayed on the ground.” A few years after arriving, Perry, who already was an avid fair-weather cyclist and a volunteer bike mechanic, decided to give the foulest weather a try, signing up at a friend’s suggestion for Actif Epica, an icy annual winter ultra race. He rode from Emerson along the Trans-Canada Trail and ended up at The Forks. “I was hooked.” As much as he enjoyed riding in the summer or spring, Perry found winter racing meditative, much like playing the double bass, an instrument he initially chose to pursue as a child because it was too big to drag with him on vacation. He later came to appreciate the role it plays in the orchestra. “It’s a collaborative instrument,” he says. “It plays a supportive role to a larger concept.” While playing the bass, he must be attuned to every other instrument and to his own. On the bike in the winter, racing for hundreds of kilometres, he gets the rare opportunity to play a solo, and to push his physical and mental capacity to meet the perfection a solo demands. ‘I’M very keen on completing my personal goals,” he says. “In some ways, it’s almost therapeutic management to put myself in these situations. It’s like a trauma response. There are a lot of things in our lives that are very difficult and we don’t always have the choice to be in those situations. These challenges are different: I think there’s something liberating and therapeutic about being there by choice.” And then choosing to get through it. The choice is one requiring commitment: in September, in the lead-up to his race in Wisconsin, Perry began working with cycling coach Nick Bergen, recognizing that, as in his musical pursuits, he could not reach his goals alone. Bergen plans workouts for Perry six days a week: low-endurance rides, core work, reverse squats, upper-arm training, VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption) workouts, and more intense interval training designed to raise the upper limits of his heart rate. “A lot of people can’t finish those workouts,” Bergen says. “Daniel always does.” “His mental fortitude is bar none,” the coach adds. “He spent his whole life playing music, so this ability to hit the right notes translated to the bicycle. That virtue and devotion to perfection transferred to this intense desire to execute.” But not all orchestra members can do what Perry does. Just ask Meredith Johnson, the WSO’s principal bassist, one of several colleagues — two other bassists, both clarinetists, one of the trombonists — whom Perry, an advocate for active transportation, inspired to commute by bike in winter. (No, Johnson says, he doesn’t carry his bass when he rides; he has one at work.) ‘NOBODY else does what Daniel does,” Johnson laughs when asked if others race. “That is where Daniel is, at least thus far, a breed apart. I go out and ride 40 or 50 kilometres in the winter, not during a race, mind you. I’m not worried about my time. But when I come home, the first thing I think about is how on Earth does he manage 250 kilometres in a competitive environment?” Johnson points to Perry’s winning his job in the WSO at 22, the result of rigorous work and a “fervor.” To audition “is almost like being an athlete. I think Daniel has that singularity of purpose.” The training aside, the dressing routine is in itself an ordeal. Perry squeezes his five-foot-10, 185-pound frame into a pair of padded bike shorts, followed by a merino-wool base layer of upper- and lower-body long johns (he likes wool because of the sustainability of organic matter, but also because it stays warm when wet and doesn’t smell as badly). He then puts on a second pair of shorts as wind protection, followed by a pair of ski pants. Onto his cheeks and nose, he applies kinesiology tape to prevent windburn and frostbite. On his feet, he dons turkey roasting bags between his skin and his socks as a vapour layer; these keep the feet dry and are better than standard bags. Then he puts on wool socks, with toe warmers, followed finally by his boots. Up top, he wears a windproof black balaclava, a merino neck buff, a thin merino cap, a neon soft-shell jacket, his helmet, light and tinted sunglasses. On his hands, he wears latex gloves under soft-shell gloves, which he shoves into his pogies — insulated handle-bar mitts. Inside the pogies, he dumps Ritz crackers and Nature Valley granola bars, because they stay edible past freezing. In Wisconsin, he got dressed in the car, and at 6 a.m., he began the longest winter race of his life on his fat-tired bike. The snow conditions were not great: the powder was fresh and very sticky. “It was a practice in pacing to not get too sweaty,” Perry said. He tried to lower his tire pressure to give himself more traction, but the rear wheel lost too much air. He had to stop to pump. Then, the plastic bags on his feet didn’t properly hold moisture, so his socks got wet. He was already worried about frostbite when the nozzle on his Camelbak water mechanism froze. “I was in a bit of a situation,” he says. Fortunately, he was along a regularly traversed trail, serviced by gas stations along the way. About 50 kilometres in, the balaclava-clad Perry walked into a roadside shop, wearing an N95 face mask, to drink, eat, change socks and buy new Ziploc bags for his feet. “The cashier did not bat an eye.” >From there, it was smoother sailing, aside from a missed checkpoint, which caused Perry some mental and physical fatigue. But he kept riding, averaging 16 km/hr according to his Garmin bike computer. Twenty-one hours after he began, at 3:03 a.m., Perry finished the race, in third place overall out of 167 entrants. It felt similar to finishing an audition, Perry said. “There’s a big rush of achieving, and the flood of positive feelings of finishing something I’ve worked so hard toward, but at the same time, there’s a sadness to it. To be done with it. Almost a bit of aimlessness, because so much of my focus leading up is looking toward it and not about looking past it. He went to a hotel nearby and slept in until the afternoon. He got back in the car, drove back to Winnipeg, and arrived at 9 p.m. to his downtown apartment, where he went to sleep again. ben.waldman(a)winnipegfreepress.com

1 0

Upcoming Webinar: From Complete Streets to Complete Networks: A Data-Driven, Performance-Based, Multimodal Planning Tool
by Beth McKechnie 14 Jan '22

14 Jan '22

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Maryland Department of Planning <planning(a)info.maryland.gov> Date: Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 1:23 PM [image: Bookmark and Share] <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVy…> THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3 AT 1:00 P.M. EST ------------------------------ [image: From Complete Streets to Complete Networks: A Data-Driven, Performance-Based, Multimodal Planning Tool] <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVy…> ------------------------------ >From Complete Streets to Complete Networks: A Data-Driven, Performance-Based, Multimodal Planning Tool *Thursday, February 3 at 1:00 p.m.; EST* *Participants of this live webinar are eligible for 1.5 AICP CM credits.* Moving beyond complete streets to complete networks – entire networks of continuous and connected facilities for transit, bike, auto, freight, and pedestrians – involves conducting a larger review of networks for each mode. Join the Maryland Department of Planning and Smart Growth Network as planners from the Michigan Department of Transportation and Southeast Michigan Council of Governments share a set of tools they have built to evolve the state of the practice for complete streets planning and design. *Find out more and register for this free webinar via the link below.* Register for "From Complete Streets to Complete Networks: A Data-Driven, Performance-Based, Multimodal Planning Tool" <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVy…> ♦ Upcoming Smart Growth Online Webinars ♦ ------------------------------ [image: Jason Corburn small for social] <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVy…> January 26 at 1:00 p.m. EST Cities for Life: How Communities Can Recover from Trauma and Rebuild for Health Get more information about this webinar <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDQsInVy…> ------------------------------ *Subscribe to Smart Growth Online Weekly Twitter Updates* <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDUsInVy…> *Smart Growth Information Clearinghouse | 410-767-4949 | SmartGrowth.org* [image: SGIC Logo] <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDYsInVy…> The Smart Growth Information Clearinghouse is a project of the Smart Growth Network and is partially funded by the U.S. EPA, Office of Community Revitalization, and managed by the Maryland Department of Planning ------------------------------ Smart Growth Information Clearinghouse <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDcsInVy…> Follow us on: Facebook <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDgsInVy…>and Twitter <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDksInVy…> This service is provided to you at no charge by Maryland Department of Planning <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTIsInVy…> . ------------------------------ [image: GovDelivery logo] <https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTMsInVy…>

1 0

The Deadly Myth That Human Error Causes Most Car Crashes (The Atlantic)
by Beth McKechnie 13 Jan '22

13 Jan '22

The Deadly Myth That Human Error Causes Most Car Crashes Every year thousands of Americans die on the roads. Individuals take the blame for systemic problems. By David Zipper <https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-zipper/> More than 20,000 people died on American roadways <https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-transportat…> from January to June, the highest total for the first half of any year since 2006 <https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-crisis-road-fatalities-hit-15-year-hi…>. U.S. road fatalities have risen by more than 10 percent <https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths…> over the past decade, even as they have fallen across most of the developed world. In the European Union <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_1004>, whose population is one-third larger than America’s, traffic deaths dropped by 36 percent between 2010 and 2020, to 18,800 <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_1767>. That downward trend is no accident: European regulators have pushed <https://www.euroncap.com/en/vehicle-safety/the-ratings-explained/vulnerable…> carmakers to build vehicles that are safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and governments regularly adjust road designs <http://www.welivevisionzero.com/vision-zero/> after a crash to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. But in the United States, the responsibility for road safety largely falls on the individual sitting behind the wheel, or riding a bike, or crossing the street. American transportation departments, law-enforcement agencies, and news outlets frequently maintain that most crashes—indeed, 94 percent of them, according to the most widely circulated statistic—are solely due to human error. Blaming the bad decisions of road users implies that nobody else could have prevented them. That enables car companies to deflect attention from their decisions to add heft and height to the SUVs and trucks that make up an ever-larger portion <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/business/suv-sales-best-sellers.html> of vehicle sales, and it allows traffic engineers to escape scrutiny for dangerous street designs. The recently passed infrastructure bill will encourage some safety improvements, including technology to prevent drunk people from operating a car <https://about.bgov.com/news/automakers-pushed-to-fight-drunk-driving-in-inf…> and better crash tests to address risk to people outside a vehicle <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/u-s-new-car-safety-ratin…>. Yet even as the federal government prepares to shovel out hundreds of billions of dollars for roadwork, Americans’ fundamental misconception of traffic deaths as merely a profusion of individual mistakes will go largely uncorrected. In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation, published a two-page memo <https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812115>declaring that “the critical reason, which is the last event in the crash causal chain, was assigned to the driver in 94% of the crashes.” The memo, which was based on the NHTSA’s own analysis of crashes, then offered a key caveat: “Although the critical reason is an important part of the description of events leading up to the crash, it is not intended to be interpreted as the cause of the crash.” To understand what the NHTSA was trying to say, imagine the following scenario: It’s a foggy day, and the driver of an SUV is traveling along a road at the posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour. The limit then drops to 25 as the road approaches a town—but the road’s lanes do not narrow (which would naturally compel a driver to apply the brakes), and the lone sign announcing the lower speed limit is partially obstructed. Oblivious to the change, the driver keeps traveling at 40. As he enters the town, a pedestrian crosses the road at an intersection without a stoplight. The driver strikes the pedestrian. By the federal government’s definition, the “critical reason” for this hypothetical crash—the last event in the causal chain—is the error made by the driver who was speeding at the time of the collision. Almost certainly, the police will hold him responsible. But that overlooks many other factors: The foggy weather obscured the driver’s vision; flawed traffic engineering failed to compel him to slow down as he approached the intersection; the SUV’s weight made the force of the impact much greater than a sedan’s would have been. The authors of the 2015 NHTSA report were aware of such contributing factors. But their disclaimer that the “critical reason” for a crash is not the same as the “cause” has been largely ignored. Even a page on the agency’s own website <https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles-safety> whittles the message down to “94% of serious crashes are due to human error.” Seeking to find a single cause for a crash is a fundamentally flawed approach to road safety, but it underpins much of American traffic enforcement and crash prevention. After a collision, police file a report, noting who violated traffic laws and generally ignoring factors like road and vehicle design. Insurance companies, too, are structured to hold someone accountable. Drivers aren’t the only ones who face such judgments. Following a crash, a pedestrian might be blamed for crossing a street where there is no crosswalk (even if the nearest one is a quarter mile away), and a cyclist might be cited for not wearing a helmet (although a protected bike lane would have prevented the crash entirely). News stories reinforce these narratives, with stories limited to the driver who was speeding or the pedestrian who crossed against the light. Indeed, journalists have disseminated the misleading 94 percent line on influential platforms including *The Wall Street Journal* <https://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-push-to-build-a-self-driving-car-sparks…> , *ABC News* <https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/study-autonomous-vehicles-make-…>, and *The Washington Post* <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/more-people-died-i…>. Research institutions such as the University of Michigan <https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles-safety>and the University of Idaho <https://www.uidaho.edu/engr/programs/cybersecurity/osama-al-qahtani> have done it too. Even former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has helped sow <https://fortune.com/2017/02/26/trump-self-driving-car-guidance/> confusion, as have transportation departments in states such as Illinois <https://idot.illinois.gov/dms-contest>, Utah <https://twitter.com/UtahDOT/status/1118995407407681536>, and Texas <https://twitter.com/txdot/status/1291148224120541184>. “The 94 percent line is a repeated reference at almost every state [department of transportation] conference I’ve ever attended,” Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told me. When the Michigan DOT spokesman Jeff Cranson speculated in a 2019 podcast <https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9620-514462--,00.html> that human error is actually responsible for more than 95 percent of crashes, the Michigan State University engineering professor Timothy Gates responded, “Yeah, I would agree with that, there’s very few crashes caused by a vehicle defect or road defect, a lot of it really is human error.” That’s a convenient perspective for engineers designing vehicles and roads. And if the buck stops with the driver, automakers feel less pressure to make lifesaving safety features standard across their models—which many of them do not. Last year, *Consumer Reports* found <https://www.autonews.com/commentary/expensive-vehicle-safety-tech-out-reach…> that the average vehicle buyer would have to pay $2,500 for a blind-spot-detection system. Pedestrian-detection technology was standard on 13 of the 15 most popular vehicle models—but unavailable on one and part of a $16,000 optional package on another. With responsibility falling on those directly involved in a crash, it’s unsurprising that so many highway-safety efforts revolve around education campaigns, assuming that if people were just more careful, we’d all be okay. Officials at the NHTSA and state DOTs pour millions of dollars into these programs, but their benefits seem modest at best <https://www.mdpi.com/2313-576X/7/4/66/htm>. Officials “see their role as trying to cajole people on the roads to make smarter decisions,” Seth LaJeunesse, a senior research associate at the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center, told me. “Wear a seat belt, don’t be drunk when driving, and signal appropriately. I think it’s misguided. After all, who’s going to address structural problems, if it’s just people being stupid out there on the road?” For now, the idea that human error causes nearly all crashes is a useful talking point for the makers of autonomous-vehicle technology, which supposedly will prevent such mistakes. Companies including General Motors, Google, and the start-up Aurora have touted the 94 percent statistic in promotional materials <https://www.gm.com/stories/self-driving-cars>, press statements <https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2015/12/16/google-disappointed-by-…>, and even SEC filings <https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001828108/000119312521259457/filen…>. But, as the Carnegie Mellon University engineering professor Phil Koopman has pointed out <http://safeautonomy.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-reality-check-on-94-percent-huma…>, autonomous systems will make their own errors on the road. He does not expect AVs to reduce crashes by more than 50 percent, even in a best-case scenario. And an all-autonomous driving future is still at least decades away, suggesting that AVs will not reverse the growing death toll on American roads for many years to come—if they ever do. With the infrastructure bill now signed into law, the federal government has a chance to rethink its approach and messaging. Dumping the dangerous 94 percent myth would be a good start; deemphasizing pointless traffic-safety PR campaigns would help too. Encouraging state and local transportation agencies—not just law enforcement—to investigate crashes, which New York City <https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/03/25/passed-city-council-establishes-dot-…> is now doing, would be even better. What we need most is a reexamination of how carmakers, traffic engineers, and community members—as well as the traveling public—together bear responsibility for saving some of the thousands of lives lost annually on American roadways. Blaming human error alone is convenient, but it places all Americans in greater danger. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/deadly-myth-human-error-c… David Zipper <https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-zipper/> is a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center for State and Local Government. He writes frequently about the future of urban mobility and technology.

1 0

Even as they age, US millennials are driving less than older generations
by Beth McKechnie 12 Jan '22

12 Jan '22

US millennials are slowing their roll when it comes to car travel. A new study <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856421003165?via…!> published in the peer-reviewed journal *Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice *found a wide generational divide in the daily driving habits of adult Americans. Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) are driving 8% less than Gen X (1965 to 1980), and 9% less than younger baby boomers (1956 and 1964). Full article: https://qz.com/2109753/us-millennials-drive-less-than-older-generations/

1 0

CBC: Pop-up ski library helps make winter sports more accessible for Winnipeggers
by Beth McKechnie 08 Jan '22

08 Jan '22

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-trails-association-winterp…

1 0

The ice cycle
by Terry Zdan 08 Jan '22

08 Jan '22

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/i-want-to-ride-my-ice-cycle-1.63084…

1 0

Free Press Weeklies: Path cleared for extension of Pioneers Greenway (Jan7'22)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Jan '22

08 Jan '22

Path cleared for extension of Pioneers Greenway https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/east/Path-cleared-for-ext… The East Kildonan-Transcona community committee held its first regular meeting of 2022 on Jan. 4. An application that would change the alignment of the entrance to the Pioneers Greenway, and open and close some portions of Gateway Road and Elmwood Road, was also discussed during a public hearing. The changes would allow the path to continue south of Nairn Avenue. The proposal, the public service noted, would allow for increased active transportation rates and reduce traffic congestion in the area while being in line with Our Winnipeg and the city’s climate action plan. Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan), while supportive of the project, noted he did not believe it would in any substantive way affect the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. "I just have to say it," Schreyer said. "I’m doing this for the sake of the active transportation plan." "Promoting active transportation is in line with our climate goals, is it not?" Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) added. "If someone leaves their car in their garage and takes their bike, that won’t reduce our carbon footprint?" "Each small step adds up," Catherine Gagnon, author of the report, told the committee. "This gives the residents of Winnipeg an opportunities to reduce their carbon impact by choosing put their cars away and use these paths as a different, alternate means." [image: image.png]

1 0

PBIC Messenger: Upcoming Webinar on Addressing Child Pedestrian Safety
by Beth McKechnie 07 Jan '22

07 Jan '22

*Webinar Announcement* Upcoming Webinar on Addressing Child Pedestrian Safety *Child and youth pedestrian crashes deserve another look: Why and how to do it Thursday, January 27, 2022* 1:00 - 2:30 pm Eastern Time Register Here <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> In most cities children don’t comprise a large share of pedestrian crashes yet there are good reasons and real benefits for a deliberate approach to give this age group the special protection they need. Starting with a focus on youth also can build momentum to address road safety for all. Presenters will offer an overview of Vision Zero for Youth and the results of a two-year demonstration project with the city of Philadelphia using policy change and testing a systemic process to identify high risk roads for children and youth in combination with an equity analysis. Presenters include: - Nancy Pullen-Seufert, PBIC/National Center for Safe Routes to School - Diane Lambert, Toole Design Group - Lily Reynolds, City of Philadelphia Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability ------------------------------ PBIC offers free, public webinars approximately every month. To register for upcoming webinars and to access archived presentations, please visit www.pedbikeinfo.org/webinars <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> . Follow the PBIC on Twitter <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> and Facebook <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> and join the discussion [image: https://twitter.com/pedbikeinfo?lang=en] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> [image: https://www.facebook.com/pedbikeinfo] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> [image: http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/index.cfm] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> ------------------------------ Since its inception in 1999, PBIC's mission has been to improve the quality of life in communities through the increase of safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ------------------------------ Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center 730 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Suite 300 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Add us to your address book <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/vcard?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e453ab5d&…> Phone: 1.888.823.3977 Fax: 919.962.8710 www.pedbikeinfo.org <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> View this email in your browser <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…>

1 0

Free Press Community Review: Sharma discusses goals, priorities for 2022 (Jan5'22)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Jan '22

05 Jan '22

Sharma discusses goals, priorities for 2022 https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/Sharma-discusses-goals-pr… Moving into the new year, Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) laid out some of her goals for 2022. “We have a lot of things to deal with,” Sharma said. “Northwest Winnipeg continues to grow. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of the city. Obviously, with growth comes new amenities that are needed and the regular issues we deal with across the city.” First off, Sharma acknowledged the pandemic has made a “massive change” in the lives of all Winnipeggers, and it has also affected the operation of the city itself. In light of that, Sharma said working closely with community organizations will continue to be important in 2022, as people have relied on community supports to keep themselves afloat during the pandemic. Sharma said she’ll be supporting improvements to the city’s active transportation, including the Northwest Hydro Corridor Greenway, which will run parallel to McPhillips Street. Phase 1 will be approximately 2.4 kilometres from Leila Avenue to Church Avenue. Construction on that project is set to get underway this year, Sharma said. One issue Sharma said she feels strongly about is regulating the growing of medical cannabis in residential areas. “The growing of cannabis in neighbourhoods, there’s a lot of negative impacts that come along with that,” Sharma said. Since cannabis was legalized, Sharma said there’s been a significant uptick in reports of home growers, some that Sharma said are growing “hundreds of plants.” Neighbours have complained of strong odours coming from these residences, she said. Besides that, the operations can cause long-term damage to the houses and attract criminal activity, Sharma said. She’s calling for growers to be licensed in the future. Sharma said the city needs to take the steps to deal with these side-effect issues of cannabis’ relatively fresh legalization. “Winnipeg would be the first major Canadian municipality to actively take steps toward addressing these issues,” she said. Additionally, Sharma mentioned road renewals as a perennial priority in Winnipeg. She said for major projects, she expects to see part of Leila Avenue renewed, as well as the finishing of Keewatin Street north of Inkster Boulevard. However, Sharma acknowledged the upcoming budget makes new projects “challenging.” That budget was put forward by Mayor Brian Bowman, who said he will not be running 2022’s municipal election. Sharma said she’s ready to work with whoever assumes the mayoral title. “I’m excited about new leadership. I think it brings new ideas, a new individual around the table,” she said. “I’m someone that’s a relationship builder. I pride myself on good relations with each member of council, including the mayor, and that’s how I intend on working in the future. I think that’s what gives good results, is co-operation.” Sharma said public safety is also a high priority for the year. She expressed her support for the Northwest Watchers community watch group and said a new group will be forming at North Point. “It’s additional eyes and ears in neighbourhoods,” she said. “It’s getting to know one another, and it’s that culture of safety, in my view, that’s always been important since I was a child.” Sharma has been the councillor for Old Kildonan since 2010.

1 0

re transportation modeling data Winnipeg PERSENTECH-BigDataforTransportation-092015.pdf
by Terry Zdan 29 Dec '21

29 Dec '21

Yours truly has always been a fan for more transportation data..CST produced this vehicle sooed map using on oard gps Ottomate instruments. , see report below investigating excessive idling in Wpg during summer months. The vehicle speed images are real time and document/confirm driving habits in the city. CST student researchers combed the literature for explanations of this phenomenon and came up empty. I have an unpublished non peered story attempting to do that. Cudos to PERSENTECH and their Ottomate...which CST later used in amazing study to document and map bicycle routes in the city. The project was jointly funded by the CoW and FCM (who in my opinion did not understand bicycles as a viable transportation vehicle at that time.) The project was called Ottocycle. Provided a benchmark of active cycling info that was lightyears ahead of it time...at that time. In my opinion.

2 1

Interesting article about modelling of bike network flows using Winnipeg as a Case Study
by Mark Cohoe 29 Dec '21

29 Dec '21

Hi, I stumbled across this paper while researching prioritization of bicycle network segments, and thought I'd pass it along. It's not like there are a lot of papers based on Winnipeg's bike network, so this piqued my interest. I'm really not sure what the connection to Winnipeg is, as there doesn't seem to even be a Canadian University attached to the paper, let alone a Winnipeg institution. Considering Space Syntax in Bicycle Traffic Assignment with One or More User Classes <file:///C:/Users/MCohoe/AppData/Local/Temp/sustainability-13-11078-v3.pdf> The paper discusses a model that was created to estimate bike flows in Winnipeg and compare different ways of estimating the route choice of people on bike. They use shortest path, what they term "route cognition", and Bicycle Level of Service as criteria to assign trips from an origin destination model. I'm not sure how the origin-destination trip tables were attained; maybe through the WATS study, but maybe generated through Space Syntax methodology. The latter seems lilley as I gather that Space Syntax involves dividing the city into smaller zones that are understandable at a personal level. It seems similar to cycle zone analysis. The "route cognition" criteria is new to me, but essentially seems to be related to how easy it is to understand a route. The more turns, the harder to understand, and the less attractive. It seems to come out of "Space Syntax", which is also new to me. I find it to be an interesting criteria. For Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS), they seem to have calculated BLOS for every road segment and intersection based on methods from the Highway Traffic Manual (HTM). Cheers, Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

2 2

Evaluating Transportation Equity: Guidance for Incorporating Distributional Impacts in Transport Planning (VTPI)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Dec '21

23 Dec '21

*Equity* refers to the fairness with which impacts (benefits and costs) are distributed. Transportation planning decisions can have large and diverse equity impacts. Evaluating these can be challenging because there are several types of equity and impacts to consider, and various ways to measure them. Horizontal equity assumes that people with similar needs and abilities should be treated equally; vertical equity assumes that disadvantaged groups should receive a greater share of resources. Social justice addresses structural inequities such as racism and sexism. This report provides guidance for transportation equity analysis. It describes various perspectives and impacts, and practical ways to incorporate transportation equity goals into planning. *Transportation Equity Analysis Summary *(www.vtpi.org/equity.pdf) *Type* *Description* *Metrics* *Optimization Strategies* Horizontal – Fair Share Each person receives a fair share of public resources Per capita share of public resources (money, road space, etc.). Multimodal transport planning. Least-cost funding. Efficient pricing. Horizontal – External costs Travellers minimize and compensate for external costs. Infrastructure costs, congestion, crash risk and pollution that travellers impose on other people. Minimize and compensate for external costs. Favor resource-efficient modes. Vertical – Inclusivity Transportation systems provide basic mobility to disadvantaged groups. Quality of travel for people with disabilities and other special needs. Disparities between groups. Favor inclusive modes and accessible community development. Vertical – Affordability Lower-income households can afford basic mobility. Transportation costs relative to incomes. Quality of affordable modes. Favor affordable modes and housing in high-access areas. Social Justice Policies address structural inequities. Whether organizations address inequities such as racism and classism. Identify and correct structural inequities. Affirmative action. *This table summarizes transportation equity types, ways to measure them, and optimization strategies.*

1 0

Ski Train Rolls into The Forks, Bicycle Garden Grows
by Beth McKechnie 20 Dec '21

20 Dec '21

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: The Plain Bicycle Team <Sales(a)plainbicycle.org> Date: Sat, Dec 18, 2021 at 3:32 PM Subject: Ski Train Rolls into The Forks, Bicycle Garden Grows Come see the exciting second Plain Bicycle location at The Forks. Ski library opens. Kicksleds, cargo bikes and more at both locations. View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/18922d70975e/ski-train-rolls-into-the-forks-bicycle-gard…> [image: Logo] *By Donation Ski Library Opens At The Forks* Reserve Skis Now <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> Around this time last year, as winter and another pandemic wave approached, we put out a call to the community to help us build a ski equipment library to make winter fun more accessible. Suddenly, hundreds of generous Winnipeggers began pouring in ready to donate and rent used skis, boots, and poles, snowshoes, snowboards, moccasins and more! *Skis are back. Come get yours* *at the antique train cars at The Forks. *Reserve them <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> and take them to the cabin or your favourite ski trail. Once the River Trail opens, you can even ski from the door! Your donations help support the non profit work of Winnipeg Trails, including the free mobile ski library that will soon be heading out to parks all over Winnipeg as part of Winter;Peg. *We believe in mobility, year round. *Bicycles, kicksleds, baby seats, cargo bikes, lights, gifts… the new Plain Bicycle train cars have everything any family needs to get outside and get active. Our Bicycle Garden Grows Our location at 267 Sherbrook Street, just south of Portage and located in the heart of Winnipeg’s bike-o-philic West End remains open! Although we ran out of room for all the skis (all skis must be picked up at the Forks now), you can still buy dutch bikes, cargo, get repairs done and pickup and return snowshoes! Visit the Plain Bicycle Online Store <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> Need a surefire gift idea? We have gift certificates. Gift certificates come in the form of a snazzy card, and are redeemable at either location. Hours and addresses for both locations <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> Note on Holiday hours: Christmas Eve: noon-5 both locations. Christmas Day: Closed at both locations. Boxing Day: Forks noon-6; Bicycle Garden closed. News Year Day: Closed at both locations. [image: Facebook icon] <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> [image: Instagram icon] <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> [image: Twitter icon] <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> [image: Email icon] <http://Sales@PlainBicycle.org> [image: Logo] <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f5…> *Copyright (C) 2021 Plain Bicycle. All rights reserved.* You are receiving this email because you are on the waiting list or you purchased a plain bicycle and because we promised to send updates on bicycle repair and parts. Our mailing address is: Plain Bicycle 267 Sherbrook Ave Winnipeg, MB R3C 2B8 Canada Add us to your address book <https://PlainBicycle.us16.list-manage.com/vcard?u=7bf38a87667ed8e78f57eb067…> [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

1 0

WFP: A warm winter embrace (Dec18'21)
by Beth McKechnie 18 Dec '21

18 Dec '21

A WARM WINTER EMBRACE The pandemic has made clear just how important fresh air and social connections are to our well-being; rather than surrender to the cold, cities that spend a significant portion of the year under snow and ice can, and should, rise to the challenges and… enjoy? https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/a-warm-winter-embrace-575940602.html WHETHER it was a picnic at a plaza, or a gathering on a patio, or a literal walk in the park — the importance for social connections and a high-quality public space has been punctuated during the pandemic. We took our computers and meetings outside, took up jogging or cycling on sidewalks that extended into city streets, and sought places to interact with our friends and loved ones. Cities were compelled to support individuals and businesses during the pandemic, with quick responses and changes to public policy and programs. In Winnipeg, streets were turned over to pedestrians, allowing for safe distancing from one another while outdoors — a temporary pilot project that many advocated to remain permanent in several areas across the city. In Edmonton, restaurants were provided free, expedited permits for outdoor patios, and businesses along major commercial corridors were invited to apply for micro-grants to support their transition to pandemic resilient models such as contactless payment systems or infrastructure for pickup of goods. Cities converted vacant or underutilized spaces into temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness, as mandated physical-distancing measures could not be accommodated in existing overcrowded facilities. To allow for these transitions, city governments had to relax bylaws and policies. In many ways, they tossed out their usual playbooks, so to speak, shifting the way they govern and respond. Many of the interventions continued throughout the coldest months; in Edmonton, 40 per cent of survey respondents indicated that they spent more time outside than in previous winters and 71 per cent said they would spend either the same amount or more time outside this year. As the snow begins to fall, we should reflect on which interventions worked well, and howwe might adapt them this winter. What do we need to do to stay active, to staymentally well and to keep our cities’ hearts beating? ●●● LAST winter, Bloomberg CityLab cited Edmonton’s WinterCity Strategy as an important precedent from which other cities can learn, noting, “It has become clear that the safest place to be with other people is outdoors, and we can learn from winter cities how to keep the good times (literally) rolling.” Launched in 2012, the WinterCity Strategy outlines ways to: increase opportunities for outdoor play; improve winter transportation; design for safety, comfort, and beauty; develop a four-season patio culture; and increase festivals and celebrations. Through these endeavours, Edmonton hopes to nurture a vibrant winter life, prioritize quality winter design, bolster a bustling winter economy and celebrate the city’s wintry identity. Cities can take inspiration from Edmonton’s strategy. For example, they might pilot creative projects that use snow and ice as a resource. Imagine if cities used snow to build snow forts, slides, sculptures and climbing mounds. What if businesses used snow to develop wind barriers for patrons to remain outside comfortably? Edmonton’s strategy also calls for accessible opportunities to play outside, from free skating at outdoor rinks to reconfiguring existing city trails for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. Specifically, the plan calls for “whiteof- ways” where snow cover is kept on parts of sidewalks and other routes for snow-assisted mobility. “While we are connecting and sharing with others that are generating ideas and solutions, one thing is clear, Edmonton is arguably the international leader in winter city approaches,” says Lisa Cavicchia, program director of the Canadian Urban Institute. “It’s the only city that I have come across that has a comprehensive strategy focused on embracing winter. And the only strategy that is holistic in that it includes changing mindsets, building community and building the local economy.” ●●● FOR Sheena Jardine-Olade, one of the founders of Night Lab, a research and policy consultancy focused on the night-time economy, illumination should be a key consideration when preparing our cities for the upcoming cold. “With negative perceptions of winter being dark and dreary, lighting has an impact,” says Jardine-Olade. “Our travel in winter tends to be destination- driven, and the proper lighting can get us to stop and take a moment to interact and engage with our surroundings. Lighting improves legibility, wayfinding, perception of comfort and safety, and creates better access and use of public space during the winter months for everyone — night workers, those with mobility issues, vulnerable populations, those participating in recreation or social gatherings. So, how can we play with light to create positive winter narratives?” With changing climate and weather patterns, the one thing that all festivals and events can rely on is darkness. This means they can play with light. But to do that, they need to manage darkness. “Light can shape feelings in spaces. Light can guide us, inspire us,” says lighting designer Sabine De Schutter. In winter cities, often less light is needed because it reflects off the snow. We can add permanent or temporary lighting to spaces to draw people in. One of Edmonton’s new skating trails has colourful lights that project a mosaic effect on the ice. This creates a whimsical experience while gently lighting the trail, allowing skaters’ night vision to remain so they can still see stars overhead. In winter cities, access to sunshine is important for physical and mental health during the darker months. As cities add taller buildings to meet higher- density goals, rooftop spaces will become more important for public life and well-being. In Calgary, a temporary park designed byWinnipeg-firm Public City Architecture, High Park, was erected on an underused downtown parkade. Colourful picnic tables, fake grass, and lights adorned this new public space throughout 2021. Local music venues and fitness centres that have had to close because of COVID-19 are also exploring whether they could use the space for concerts and fitness classes. Public washroom access has long been an issue for everyone, regardless of age, gender, ability, or wealth. Put in simple terms, when you gotta go, you gotta go! Public toilets have largely been absent in most cityscapes, or are available at limited capacities or in states of disrepair. When patronizing businesses this past summer, many found it difficult to stay in place for longer periods of time with limited access to public toilets. Rae and Wins Bridgman of Winnipeg-based firm BridgmanCollaborative Architecture, have long advocated for four-season public toilets that are colourful, highly visible, open and well-ventilated, spacious and comfortable with places to sit, non-gendered and for everyone. “Washing hands is key to stopping the pandemic in its tracks. It’s so obvious we need more safe, clean, monitored, year-round public toilets in our cities. Clean public toilets (with places to wash our hands), they make all the difference between thriving healthy cities and declining unhealthy cities,” Wins says. The City of Toronto, as part of its COVID-19 response, expanded its supply of washroom facilities in parks from 64 to 143 near the end of 2020. ●●● EDMONTON’S Winter City Strategy led to the creation of three tool kits designed to encourage citizens to get outside in winter: Be Active, Be Social and Be Creative. They provide tips and ideas on things such as dressing for being outside, activities, recipes to cook on the fire, decorating front yards and houses and hosting winter picnics and backyard parties. Neighbourhood play streets, where a street is closed off for activities, have become popular inmany cities in the summer, and can be adapted to provide safe spaces for physically distanced winter gatherings. Every winter inWinnipeg, Hazel Borys’s neighbours collaborate and share their front lawns to develop slides and play space. Borys, CEO of PlaceMakers Inc., is a winter city aficionado who guides governments around the world through policy, physical planning and land-use law reforms. “When the development bylaw prioritizes a human-scaled public realm, it makes wintertime activation much easier,” says Borys. “That is, when rear lanes take care of parking cars and storing trash, it frees up front yards to get convivial. That’s when Winnipeggers are prone to put two front yards together for a skating rink or a toboggan run…. When people have space that is easily compiled and when the city allows temporary uses to spring up, we are more prone to inhabit our outdoors year round.” While the above activities present an opportunity to support the local economy and neighbourhood participation in the winter, it is important to note that winter also presents significant challenges to those underhoused. While cities are in a hurry to transform public spaces for the local economy to flourish in the winter, it is incumbent on us, as planners, designers, and as neighbours, to consider the harsh realities of the cold and its impacts on those sleeping rough. How do we reconcile a desire for interventions that carve out public space for private uses? How do we reframe our thinking to ensure spaces are for everyone, not just for the few? During the height of COVID-19, underutilized spaces and buildings were used as temporary shelters for individuals experiencing homelessness to adequately physically distance themselves. Would that be the appropriate response for the upcoming winter season? What might need to be reconsidered? What other spaces should be adapted to accommodate? Most cities have ample space to provide socially-distanced services and shelter to residents struggling with homelessness. So what can we do? Tool kits and guidelines to respond to COVID-19 have been prepared across the nation, with many now focusing on city building through a winter lens. Below are several implementation scenarios that may unfold in the short term. ● Celebrate winter: attend your local winter fest. City administrations and citizens should look at what is already happening in winter in their cities. What kinds of festivals and events are already being produced? How can they be supported to continue in a COVID-19 context? Find out how to host a neighbourhood play street. Meet neighbours in the park, take a chair, a blanket and your own hot chocolate. ● Create an experience: creating a captivating winter experience is key to thriving in the coldest of months. The Flying Canoe Volant Festival in Edmonton has been doing this for years — taking more than a kilometre of forested ravine in the heart of the city and turning it into a magical display of light, art and culture. Temporary light installations and public art displays created by local artists fill the space with colour and wonder, while cultural displays and performances entrance with displays of heritage, history and resilience (including the most Canadian of treats: hot maple syrup folded with fresh snow). In 2018, temperatures reached the -38 C in Edmonton, yet more than 20,000 people showed up. The next year, with -20 Cweather, which is much more common for the time of year, 50,000 attended. The proof is in the pudding— or the syrup, for that matter. To truly thrive in the winter months, we need to create a winter experience. ● Enjoy refreshments al fresco: support local venues by going to a winter patio. Venues can make their patios winter-friendly by blocking the wind and adding heating elements and lights. Adding a touch of colour and (even fake) greenery will make a space more inviting. It is important to keep in mind that a winter patio experience does not have to be, and will not be, the same as one in summer. Appetizers, desserts, soups and hot drinks are much more suited to sitting outside than a full meal. ● Create an authentic winter experience; do not try to recreate a summer one. And keep in mind, your backyard patio does not need to be retired for the winter, either— blankets, a fire pit and hot chocolate will make for a cosy family evening. ● Clear the snow: help your neighbours by keeping your sidewalk clear of snow. Getting outside and walking will be so much more important this winter. City administrations might need to increase snow clearing in parks, too. A single uncleared path or windrow on a corner creates a barrier for some folks that will end their journey. Residents with limited mobility, such as wheelchair users or parents with strollers, should always be considered in snow-clearing procedures. This winter in particular, when social isolation could be more serious than usual, good snow clearing becomes a matter of social justice. ● Keep on pedalling: try winter cycling. Cycling became so popular around the world during the pandemic that it was difficult to buy a bike. That trend continued in Edmonton, as 24 per cent of winter cyclists said they had picked up cycling in the last 12 months. Many cities closed streets to vehicular traffic so people could walk and cycle with more room. Many cities such as Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg continue to add bike lanes. Put studded tires on your bike and give it a go. If cities want to encourage year-round cycling, maintenance of bike lanes is key. People of all ages will cycle when the lanes are clear and they feel safe. As an added bonus, in many cities, businesses on bike lanes seem to have an increase in sales because pedestrians and cyclists will stop more frequently than vehicle drivers. So cycling will support the local economy, too. ● Use winter as a resource: we have two options when it comes to planning and designing for a cold, winter city — plan for winter, or plan with winter. Winter, and the usual suspects that follow — snow, wind, ice, and darkness— can be understood as resources we can use to create an experience, as opposed to vicious elements we need to mitigate against. Cities need to harness the power that these elements provide — free, natural resources, often occurring in abundance, and use them to create experiences. By planning and designing with our natural environment, instead of against it, we can build a flourishing winter experience in which we embrace the beauty of the coldest months. These ideas are not new — in Edmonton, the Silver Skate Festival has been inviting internationally renowned snow carvers to craft and create unique and engaging displays out of our most abundant winter resource. When used correctly, snow and ice can be important building resources. Once we understand winter as a resource instead of a nuisance, we can plan and design a winter city that actively thrives in its environment — instead of constantly cursing that fluffy white stuff. ● Be flexible, creative and supportive: ask what is getting in the way of supporting vibrant, fun outdoor winter life, and what can be done to help. Cities can look at which policies and regulations were designed with summer in mind, and reimagine them with a winter lens. Toronto, for example, has already changed its rules to allow portable heaters on all patios. Edmonton’s strategy calls to “further develop a culture of shared responsibility for safety that supports active, engaged winter lifestyles and appropriate risk taking.” Shifting to a shared culture of risk around winter activities also requires flexibility, creativity and support from all sides. Partnerships and community-driven ideas can be supported by city administrations in many ways, such as grants, stewardship and permit relief. Focused, collective, centralized marketing will also support activities and businesses. Led by city administration or a tourism office, a targeted campaign will promote festivals, events and local businesses and will help citizens find out what is going on and what they need to know during this COVID-19 winter. ● Rising to the challenge: Winnipeg and Edmonton are both known for their winter identities — cities where temperatures can dip lower than -30 C during a cold snap. Whether we take to ice rinks for a game of shinny or skate along frozen rivers, we also enjoy times of indoor coziness à la Danish hygge. Both realities are necessary, as not everyone will embrace winter. But like it or not, winter is here and we need to plan for it. We can do it in a way that creates an invitation for people to get out and enjoy it. The snowy season has been a source of strength for both cities’ creativity, ingenuity and resilience. We want to leverage it, to bolster our economy, to encourage neighbourly participation and to support connectedness and livability. The question is, what resources are we willing to put into the advancement of our winter plans, and has this pandemic created a compelling enough reason for us to get started? Time will tell, and our investment or divestment will be quite evident as our cities thaw. Jason Syvixay is an urban planner and PhD candidate who convenes dialogue around pressing urban issues. He has helped to build safe, resilient, and equitable places and policies through his work at the DowntownWinnipeg BIZ, HTFC Planning& Design and the City of Edmonton. Isla Tanaka is theWinter City Planner for the City of Edmonton. She has presented on winter life and design around the world and helped plan two international winter cities conferences. Amos Kajner-Nonnekes is an urban designer, public artist and creative. He is a founding partner of Thirdspace Design Group Inc., an Edmonton urban design and placemaking studio, as well as a partner with Vignettes Showcase Inc., an Edmonton-based design studio and public art firm.

1 0

CBC: City of Winnipeg budget tweaked to include public washroom funds, active transportation reporting
by Beth McKechnie 16 Dec '21

16 Dec '21

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/city-of-winnipeg-budget-small-chang… Full city council will vote on entire budget at Wednesday meeting Mayor Brian Bowman's inner circle sent the City of Winnipeg's preliminary budget to council largely unchanged, but with some small tweaks to address priorities of councillors and community delegates. Changes to the $1.195 billion budget include shuffling around $50,000 to fund the maintenance and operations of new public washrooms, funding for new spray pads in Whyte Ridge and The Maples, and an order for the public service to report on efforts to access federal funding for trees. "Part of what these amendments reflect is the effort to work with all councillors," said Coun. Scott Gillingham, chair of the city's finance committee, after the executive policy committee meeting. "These amendments reflect the fact that we're trying to work with our council colleagues, both those on the executive policy committee and those not on executive policy committee." City council will vote on the entire budget and any amendments at a meeting on Wednesday. The executive policy committee added a requirement that the public service report back to council any time an active transportation project can't be completed along with a road renewal or rehabilitation. City policy requires that active transportation facilities be included whenever a street that is part of the city's active transportation strategy is rebuilt, but those facilities are sometimes scrapped due to issues that arise once construction starts. If that happens, the public service must now come back to council with an alternative plan or a request for more funding, Gillingham said. Bowman, speaking at a news conference after the meeting, said challenges arise with projects due to existing infrastructure. "There's just increasing scrutiny and increasing demands of council to do more for active transportation, and we want to make sure that the reporting throughout the year is just more proactive," Bowman said. One change was made as a result of presentations from delegates at EPC's open meeting on Friday. Advocates for preserving Winnipeg's urban canopy questioned whether the city was spending enough to save mature trees and plant new ones. The committee added a requirement for the public service to report quarterly on efforts to access federal funding, such as the 2 Billion Trees Program, which will begin taking applications soon. "This budget amendment really places the onus on us to demonstrate that we're leveraging contributions for Winnipeg's urban canopy," Coun. Sherri Rollins told the committee. The draft police budget, including a requirement that the Winnipeg Police Service find more than $9 million in annual savings, was referred to full council. Earlier this month, the Winnipeg Police Board passed the $320-million police budget, with a warning that there are risks associated with trying to meet the $9-million savings target. The police budget will rise $7 million next year, but police sought a larger increase. "We have, under this mayor, increased funding," Coun. Brian Mayes, who sits on the police board, told the committee. "We have, however, reduced the acceleration rate quite dramatically. So the bigger increases we used to see, the arc has been flattened over time." A $58,000 pilot project to provide free menstrual products in select city facilities will be funded using existing resources. "I do see the benefit and I think the pilot is something that should be supported," Bowman said during a news conference after the meeting. "The hope and expectation is that, as a result of the pilot, that those products would be made available throughout city facilities." The budget maintains the 2.33 per cent property tax increase — the same amount it has increased each year during Bowman's term. This year's increase will cost the average homeowner about $43.

2 1

CBC: WRENCH's archive project asks public to share documents to tell story of cycling in Winnipeg
by Beth McKechnie 16 Dec '21

16 Dec '21

Relevant documents to be shared, presented on social media https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/wrench-launch-winnipeg-cycling-arch… -- Beth McKechnie (she/her) *| *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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 located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anishininiwag, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of* *the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and that our hydro is sourced from numerous First Nations here in Manitoba**. * 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>

1 0

Boston Pilot Project Finds Free Transit Increases Ridership | Less Free Parking, More Shopping
by Beth McKechnie 15 Dec '21

15 Dec '21

Two topics of potential interest in this article from Next City: https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/boston-pilot-project-finds-free-transit-… 1) Boston Pilot Project Finds Free Transit Increases Ridership 2) A Gift to City Retailers for the Holidays: Less Free Parking, More Shoppers cheers, Beth -- Beth McKechnie (she/her) *| *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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 located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anishininiwag, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of* *the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and that our hydro is sourced from numerous First Nations here in Manitoba**. * 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>

1 0

Fwd: Winnipeg Trails is Hiring Active Aging Facilitators
by Anders Swanson 03 Dec '21

03 Dec '21

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Winnipeg Trails Association <leighanne(a)winnipegtrails.ca> Date: Fri, Dec 3, 2021 at 6:16 PM Subject: Winnipeg Trails is Hiring Active Aging Facilitators To: Anders Swanson <andersswanson(a)gmail.com> View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/b276c7f05fe2/winnipeg-trails-is-hiring-active-aging-faci…> *Winnipeg Trails is Hiring Active Aging Facilitators!* *We are looking for multiple active aging facilitators focused on outreach for programming and retail service for our Dutch bike shop. * SEE FULL JOB POSTING ON OUR WEBSITE HERE <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> *IMPORTANT: We value diversity and inclusion and will prioritize applicants who are BIPOC, older adults (55+), and women/non-binary. We also warmly welcome ESL speakers. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please contact us. We will review applications as they are received and we look forward to hearing from you. Note that these two positions are funded thanks in part to funding from the Government of Canada’s New Horizons program. That program is geared at helping community organizations offer exciting new job opportunities to older adults. As a result, ideal candidates will identify as BIPOC women and/or non-binary folk aged 55 or older. We strongly encourage others to be in touch, but understand that as part of a push towards more inclusion in a field that presents itself as a bastion of the young and male, identity matters. This is not our only job posting, so we strongly encourage all interested parties to send us their resume and a letter of interest in working here. For more info about all available positions, view our website, social media or send an email to leighanne(a)winnipegtrails.ca <leighanne(a)winnipegtrails.ca>.* *Brief Job Description* (see more on our website <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> ) The job begins as soon as possible, up to 32 hrs/week starting at $17/hour. Lasting 3 months. Longer if funding allows. Depending on the skills you already have and what you want to learn, picture yourself making people happy by fitting bikes, sharing ski equipment, reaching out to community and seniors organizations to make connections and develop new and/or current programs like Winnipeg Trails’ Goal 5 project. You may also find yourself waxing skis, fixing bikes, and brainstorming ways of building new trails or running a shop! There are multiple positions so don’t hesitate to send this along to a friend, or even apply as a duo! And don’t sell yourself short know matter what your current skill set. You will be joining a team of action-oriented people whose multidisciplinary expertise ranges from mechanics, to city planning, to gardening and land steward knowledge, all with a commitment to learning, listening, and understanding. *Background on the opportunities* Winnipeg Trails runs a social enterprise called the *Plain Bicycle Project.* Since 2017, it has been successful in bringing lessons learned from Dutch cycling culture to Winnipeg. In the Netherlands, it is common to see groups of elderly people traveling daily to the grocery in complete comfort on bicycles designed to serve generations with comfortable rides, all blithely unaware that sights like this are much less common throughout North America. Winnipeg Trails and the Plain Bicycle project want to change that. Winnipeg Trails also runs *Winter;Peg*, a project whose goal is to bring winter fun to everyone. We have a by-donation equipment library where we stock snowshoes, skis and kicksleds! A large part of our audience includes older adults looking for recreation opportunities near their home. Another project of note is our *Goal 5* bike project where we get plain bikes into the hands of BIPOC women in exchange for volunteer hours. We also offer a variety of workshops and how to ride a bike lessons. In general, Winnipeg Trails is responding to sweeping international issues through local action, and we believe strongly that active aging is critical not just for the health and wellbeing of the people we serve, but our city and planet too. *Please spread the word about this opportunity to older adults that may appreciate an opportunity to connect with people in a fun retail environment. Have a fabulous weekend! Thank you for your continued support. Winnipeg Trails Team* [image: Twitter] <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> [image: Facebook] <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> [image: Website] <http://Winnipegtrails.ca> [image: Instagram] <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=128342d81c494f9ed0578…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> . This email was sent to andersswanson(a)gmail.com *why did I get this?* <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/about?u=128342d81c494f9ed0578c1…> unsubscribe from this list <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> update subscription preferences <https://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=128342d81c494f9ed0578…> Winnipeg Trails Association · 306 Edwin St · Winnipeg, MB R3B 0Y6 · Canada [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

1 0

Fwd: Trails MB Virtual Presentation - Trail Design for ALL abilities
by Anders Swanson 01 Dec '21

01 Dec '21

Should be a good one. See below. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Tim Coffin <executive_director(a)trailsmanitoba.ca> Good day, We are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a virtual presentation by the amazing Janis Neufeld on December 10th. Janis, the CEO of *Inclusion by Design*, will be discussing what it means to design trails for all abilities, while highlighting some of the many examples that she has been involved with in B.C. Presentation will be approx. 50 min, followed by a short Q&A. Join us for this FREE, VIRTUAL, WATCH & LEARN EVENT. No registration required. Please share with your networks. Date: Friday, December 10th Time: 12:00-1:00pm (CST) Joining Instructions: *https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89032712434?pwd=V002UEF1ZXMyeUxMOW41TEdWa09Gdz09 <https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89032712434?pwd=V002UEF1ZXMyeUxMOW41TEdWa09Gdz09>* Zoom Meeting ID: 890 3271 2434 Passcode: 385575 Dial by your location: 855 703 8985 Canada Toll-free *Primer:* https://www.westcoasttraveller.com/kootenay-mountain-bike-trails-poised-to-… Hope to see you online. Best, Tim Tim Coffin *Executive Director* *Trails Manitoba/Sentiers Manitoba* *3-303 Portage Ave.* *Winnipeg, MB R3B 2B4* *204-786-2688*

1 0

Bike Winnipeg 100 x 100 challenge
by Charles Feaver 30 Nov '21

30 Nov '21

<https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0eef3792ad826742c2565b5d5/images/bb5526a0-e05 6-4228-8b3c-f931c6193105.png> The challenge: Show that 100+ cyclists in Winnipeg care enough about safer cycling to contribute $100 on Giving Tuesday for a strong campaign to speed up cycling infrastructure implementation in City transportation plans. <https://bikewinnipeg.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0eef3792ad826742c256 5b5d5&id=cd92080f90&e=74a3f90507> I'm in; safe biking is worth $100 Giving Tuesday is about donating to things that matter, after the spending sprees of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Safer cycling in Winnipeg matters a lot. * The City has underspent its 2015 pedestrian/cycling implementation plan by more than $60 million. * Now, the City is developing a Transportation Master Plan to guide road infrastructure investments to 2050. * Winnipeg must achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 * Emissions from transportation account for over half of Winnipegs GHG emissions * To meet its climate targets, Winnipeg must change course NOW to make travel by bicycle a safe, convenient and enjoyable choice. Bike Winnipeg will use resources from this campaign to collaborate with CAA on a city-wide survey on climate and transportation, place strategic advertising, and other projects to inform City leaders on the benefits of redirecting resources to encourage travel by bicycle. <https://bikewinnipeg.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0eef3792ad826742c256 5b5d5&id=eb5b413da6&e=74a3f90507> I'm in; safe biking is worth $100 The first 18 $100 donations will be matched by our amazing sponsors for this campaign; HTFC Planning and Design and Bikes and Beyond <https://mcusercontent.com/0eef3792ad826742c2565b5d5/images/00357f97-4e61-0a 56-b6e0-2633cd84c6bc.jpg> <https://mcusercontent.com/0eef3792ad826742c2565b5d5/images/1aefffa5-f538-4d ab-23d1-9974c0bee1b1.png> Alternatively, $100 will buy ¾ of a tank of gas for a Ford F150 and produce 170 kg CO2! Please share this message with your friends today. Watch our <https://bikewinnipeg.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0eef3792ad826742c256 5b5d5&id=d838c10c39&e=74a3f90507> Facebook page for progress updates on this 100x100 Challenge. Charles Feaver <mailto:charles@bikewinnipeg.ca> charles(a)bikewinnipeg.ca 204.293.6332

1 0

What If Riding the Bus Were Free? (or similar to the U-Pass)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Nov '21

30 Nov '21

Interesting article circulated by Functional Transit on fare free transit. In terms of paying for it, a possible funding approach (similar to the U-Pass) would entail every person over 18 years old paying for a monthly bus pass equivalent (with specific exceptions) whether they ride transit or not. This could provide even more funding to enhance and expand transit services than the status quo. https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/11/29/Free-Bus-Fare-Public-Transit/

1 0

It's Time for Public Participation to Evolve With Transportation Planning
by Beth McKechnie 30 Nov '21

30 Nov '21

Helpful article on recommended do's and don'ts of public engagement today: https://www.planetizen.com/features/115279-its-time-public-participation-ev… cheers, Beth -- Beth McKechnie (she/her) *| *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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 located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anishininiwag, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of* *the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and that our hydro is sourced from numerous First Nations here in Manitoba**. * 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>

1 0

WFP Analysis: A chance to redefine transportation (Nov29'21)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Nov '21

29 Nov '21

A chance to redefine transportation https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/a-chance-to-redefine-tra… OVER the next two weeks, the City of Winnipeg is looking for public feedback on Transportation Master Plan: 2050, a 30-year blueprint to guide development of Winnipeg’s transportation network. In the past, transportation planning has focused primarily on strategies to move cars, but today it’s seen as a central tool for building healthy, sustainable and prosperous communities. Urban mobility is fundamental to economic viability, environmental sustainability and social equity, making Transportation Master Plan: 2050 a key document for the city. The first step in developing a new transportation strategy will be to learn from the past and accept that current economic challenges, including Winnipeg’s $3 billion infrastructure deficit for roads and bridges, are largely the result of previous planning decisions. We have spent decades building a city almost singularly focused on automobile transportation, resulting in a sprawling, low-density urban form that has become economically unsustainable. Despite record-breaking road maintenance spending, our current pace of renewal means new roads built today won’t be replaced for more than 100 years. Nearly 10,000 more cars are added to Winnipeg’s streets every year, and in response we build more roads to accommodate them. This begins the endless cycle of induced demand. The convenience of expanded road capacity encourages more people to drive, increasing the number of cars on the road until the new capacity is met. This results in traffic congestion and pressure to build yet more roads. After decades of designing North American cities around cars, it has become clear you get what you build for. If you build for more cars, you get more cars. Thankfully, induced demand works for all modes of transportation. If you build a more efficient public transit system, you get more people riding the bus. If you build a safe and connected network of sidewalks and bike lanes, you get more people walking and biking. A car-centric city is not only economically unsustainable, but also environmentally unsustainable. Vehicles account for almost half of Winnipeg’s greenhouse-gas emissions, by far the largest contributor. Transitioning to electric vehicles is important, but the climate crisis is far too immediate to rely on that approach exclusively. Strategies that allow people to drive less are much more effective at reducing environmental impact. Winnipeg’s Climate Action Plan has set a target of doubling the number of trips taken by walking or biking by 2030. To achieve this aggressive goal, Transportation Master Plan: 2050 will likely have to reconsider the Winnipeg Pedestrian and Cycling Strategy. Winnipeg’s cycling network has increased by 75 per cent since 2015, but the vast majority of this is suburban, off-street shared-use pathways, directed mainly at biking for recreation. If we want people to use bikes for transportation, we must build protected lanes on higher traffic, main streets. Winnipeg’s plan calls for few larger streets to have cycling infrastructure, focusing instead on easier, low traffic, out-of-the-way residential streets. This summer, Salter Street was rebuilt without bike lanes because the plan is to have a “greenway” on nearby Powers Street. If you have never heard of Powers Street, it’s because unless you live there, or know someone who does, you would never find yourself driving on that small residential street. Salter Street has the destinations that people want to go to — shops, restaurants, schools, libraries — so the cycling infrastructure should be located there. This scenario is playing out across the city on such streets as Sargent Avenue, Corydon Avenue and Provencher Boulevard. If we want to encourage people to use bikes as transportation, we must plan for it in the same way we plan for driving, with direct routes on major streets connected to the places people need to go, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods where only nine per cent of the city’s cycling current infrastructure exists. A renewed strategy for cycling infrastructure on main streets, dovetailed with Winnipeg Transit’s plan to implement a high-frequency transit model that will transform main streets into transit conduits, presents an important opportunity to redefine many of Winnipeg’s major arteries into complete streets. A complete street is designed to safely support a broad range of mobility options, including walking, biking, transit and driving. A successful complete street supports transportation equity by providing a range of accessible mobility options that improve access to education, employment, and recreation for people of all ages, abilities, and income levels. As mobility hubs, complete streets attract a diversity of people, that can stimulate investment, new development and improve neighbourhood economies. They can create more livable communities, provide local employment opportunities and be catalysts for small business entrepreneurship. Mobility has become a fundamental component of good city-building, and Transportation Master Plan: 2050 is an important opportunity to move Winnipeg in a new direction that makes our city more economically and environmentally sustainable, builds great communities and improves quality of life for everyone. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

1 0

WFP: Speed limit changes for safety recommendations (Nov28'21)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Nov '21

28 Nov '21

Speed limit changes for safety recommendations https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/curb-protected-bike-lanes-proposed-… A new city report recommends modifying speeds on seven roads, including Bison Drive and Bishop Grandin Boulevard, to improve safety. Winnipeg’s infrastructure committee will review the proposed changes at its Wednesday meeting: ● Changing Bison Drive, between a point 100 m west of Barnes Street and a point 300 m west of Pembina Highway, from 80 km/h to 60 km/h; ● Reducing Marion Street from 60 km/h to 50 km/h between Youville Street and a point 100 m east of Archibald Street; ● Adjusting Youville Street between Marion and Goulet streets to 50 km/h from 60 km/h; ● Lowering Plessis Road’s 80 km/h limit to 70 km/h from 100 m south of Camiel Sys Street and the city’s boundary; ● Setting Ethan Boyer Way’s limit to 70 km/h from Brady Road to Waverley Street; ● Changing the Winnipeg stretch of Hallama Drive to 60 km/h; ● Adjusting Bishop Grandin Boulevard between Lagimodiere Boulevard and Boulevard des Hivemants to 80 km/h.

1 0

WFP: Curb-protected bike lanes proposed (Nov28'21)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Nov '21

28 Nov '21

Parked vehicles a problem for cyclists Curb-protected bike lanes proposed https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/curb-protected-bike-lanes-proposed-… ICY ruts, potholes and poor visibility aren’t cyclists’ only problems in bike lanes — parked vehicles are an ever present nuisance. Curb-protected bike lanes, which separate active transportation from rows of parked cars and vehicle traffic, will be safer than the current standard of painted lines and parking signs, a new City of Winnipeg report says. City bureaucrats recommend the city erect curb barriers on six parking protected bike lanes. However, only one lane route has money set aside for the enhancements. “We need to be spending more to make our city walkable, bikeable and transit friendly,” said Mark Cohoe, Bike Winnipeg’s executive director. “If we don’t radically change what we’re doing, we’re going to see that our climate goals are impossible to meet.” Cohoe said he often encounters parked cars in Arthur Street’s bike lane. It may be hard for motorists to recognize they’re not in a parking spot, he said. “Often times (as a biker), it’s not like you can just shift left and go past that vehicle,” Cohoe said. Instead, cyclists must merge into traffic, hop onto the sidewalk or try and squeeze past in their lane. “It’s an unpredictable manoeuvre,” Cohoe said. “Someone coming up behind you might not expect it, so it’s dangerous.” A big reason why people don’t bike across Winnipeg is a fear of traffic, Cohoe said. “Getting these (barriers) in place really provides people that space where they’re going to feel safe, comfortable and secure,” he said. The city report, to be reviewed by Winnipeg’s infrastructure committee Wednesday, proposes upgrading Sherbrook Street, Arthur Street, Princess Street, Bannatyne Avenue, Notre Dame Avenue and Eastway bike lanes “over time”. The barriers cost about $10,000 per 100 metre of bike lane, based on previous pricing and excluding other concrete work, the report says. Winnipeg has budgeted $177,000 to upgrade the 595-metre strip of Sherbrook Street between Wolseley Avenue and Broadway. Bannatyne Avenue has been left unprotected to accommodate truck loading and turning manoeuvres. The other four roads have “no current plan or funding to upgrade” and must be prioritized against other projects in the city’s pedestrian and cycling program, the report reads. Coun. Matt Allard, who chairs the infrastructure committee, said he’s in favour of constructing more barricades. “(They’re an) effective way of substantially improving the quality, safety, and desirability of existing painted bike lanes and other locations where the (physical) space exists on the current road width,” he wrote in an email. The city considered poly-posts to separate bike lanes from parked vehicles, but the plastic bollards must be removed in the winter. Allard said he’ll ask questions about snow clearing for active transportation at the upcoming meeting. City cycling paths can be treacherous this time of year, depending on the route, according to Currie Gillespie, who’s on the Manitoba Cycling Association’s board of directors. He’d love additional barriers between lanes and parking spots — but in the meantime, he’d appreciate more maintenance. “The sanding on the bike paths has not been appropriate,” Gillespie said, adding it’s gotten better over the years. “We get more butts on bikes by making a safe, efficient, well-maintained route for those people to get where they want to go,” he said. “There’s not enough attention to that principle yet.” The city would need to increase its equipment designed for treating snow and ice in bike lanes, should more become barrier protected, Gillespie said. Vehicles parked in bike lanes could be ticketed. — With files from Kevin Rollason gabrielle.piche(a)winnipegfreepress.com

1 0

WFP: ‘No cheap answer’ to fixing icy sidewalks (Nov23'21)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Nov '21

23 Nov '21

*‘No cheap answer’ to fixing icy sidewalks * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/no-cheap-answer-to-fixing-icy-sidew… AT least once per winter, Allen Mankewich’s wheelchair loses traction and spills over onto an icy Winnipeg sidewalk. Less than two weeks after winter conditions set in for the season, it’s happened again. “There’s ice buildup on a lot of the sidewalks, it gets really rutted. I actually flipped my chair (Sunday) trying to get through a spot on the sidewalk at Portage Avenue, which is a major route. If they can’t even clear those major routes properly, the side street (sidewalks) are going to be terrible,” said Mankewich. While speeding up to avoid getting stuck, the front wheels of his chair caught on ice ruts, forcing him to be flung out, he said. “It’s a safety risk for people who use any sort of mobility device. It’s even challenging for people who can walk. You see people walking very carefully over sections of the sidewalk that appear really slippery,” said Mankewich. He’s among several residents now urging the city to find ways to better clear the walking paths of ice and snow. “We are a winter city, so we need to properly allocate our resources to making sure that people can actually get out during the winter,” said Mankewich. The city considers its latest snow clearing operation complete but is still monitoring conditions, said Michael Cantor, Winnipeg’s manager of streets maintenance. Fluctuating temperatures have unfortunately led to some ice accumulation, noted Cantor. “When you have temperatures around zero... you have some thawing and frosting again and icy sidewalks. Mother Nature (gave) us some challenges,” he said. While city policy does not include a set timeline to sand sidewalks to add traction, Cantor said crews begin inspecting how slippery sidewalks are right after plowing ends. The length of the sanding process depends on how much equipment is available to get the work done. “We make sure that we use every piece of equipment, we man the equipment we have and we hire every piece of equipment that the industry can provide us. We really do it on an as-soon-as-possible basis… We monitor streets and sidewalks in the same manner,” said Cantor. He said work on streets begins promptly, in part to clear paths for emergency vehicles. Street snow clearing vehicles also tend to move faster than those used on sidewalks, making the former process quicker, Cantor added. City staff are now studying ways to make sidewalks and active transportation routes less slippery and more passable during winter weather, with a report expected to offer suggestions by next spring or summer. Cantor said there are no obvious solutions at this point. While adding more staff and equipment could be considered, it would come with a cost, he cautioned. “There’s no cheap answer,” he said. Cantor urged Winnipeggers to report specific sidewalk concerns to 311. Omar Kinnarath said sidewalks in the West End now resemble skating rinks with icy peaks, conditions that have triggered many complaints among his fellow bus riders in recent days. Kinnarath, who has already fallen twice since the snow set in for the season, said the city should explore several options to improve winter sidewalk maintenance, including the purchase of more equipment, hiring more staff and possibly even reimbursing citizens for clearing snow. He believes the city has consistently cleared snow off roads to a higher standard than sidewalks, which won’t help convince citizens to walk and bike, something the city hopes they will do to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. “We’re pushing active transportation and we’re pushing cycling… (so) the mechanism and the infrastructure needs to be put in place for this to happen. If it doesn’t happen, then we’re back to driving cars,” said Kinnarath. Marilyn Bird argues an “icy, slippery, hazardous mess” of pedestrian paths in the North End would have been greatly improved by quicker snow removal. “The first snowfall of the year is also the most important. They’ve got to get on that way quicker,” said Bird. For sidewalks along major routes, bus routes and collector streets, city policy aims to maintain a compacted snow surface, with clearing to follow five centimetres of snow accumulation or drifting. Plowing should be completed within 36 hours after the end of an average storm. The city also aims to clear residential sidewalks near elementary schools and active living centres within 36 hours of a storm. The target timeline to clear all other residential sidewalks is within five working days after the operation starts, which occurs after eight centimetres of snow accumulates. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

1 0

WFP Editorial: ‘Winter city’ should be pedestrian-friendly (Nov22'21)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Nov '21

22 Nov '21

‘Winter city’ should be pedestrian-friendly https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/winter-city-should-be-… WHEN the weather outside is frightful, Winnipeg’s sidewalks are often the scariest part. The city received its first real blast of winter in mid-November, a two-day system that dropped 26 centimetres of snow and rendered most of Winnipeg’s sidewalks and active transportation paths anywhere from tricky to functionally unusable. Crews were not expected to begin clearing sidewalks in residential neighbourhoods until nearly a week after the first snowflakes fell, which left pedestrians contending with sloppy, Slurpee-like conditions during mild daytime highs, and then treacherous sheets of rutted ice after temperatures descended at night. For a wide swath of the population — including pedestrians, wheelchair users, disabled people, elderly people, parents with strollers — this is a significant, frustrating and baffling problem that Winnipeggers seem to encounter every winter, despite the fact ours is a winter city that can see snow accumulation as early as October and as late as May. Poorly cleared or uncleared sidewalks and active transportation routes are a legitimate concern. Ice-covered surfaces can lead to injury- causing slips and falls, which eat up healthcare resources — a particularly pressing concern during a pandemic. Impassable routes can also confine wheelchair users and those with mobility issues inside their homes, which is isolating, or it can send frustrated sidewalk users onto the roadways, which is dangerous. Meanwhile, it’s well known that being able to get outside for fresh air, exercise, and a shot of that all-important vitamin D is important for people’s mental and physical health. And if we want the city’s population to become less reliant on cars — as Winnipeg’s climate action plan identifies it does, calling for a 50 per cent reduction in single-occupancy vehicle use by 2030 — then people need to be able to get around safely during the six months of the year snow is on the ground. Still, despite the dozens of reasons cited every year about the need to prioritize improving winter conditions on the more than 3,000 kilometres of sidewalks and 400 kilometres of active transportation paths in this city — not to mention the thousands of complaints the city receives every year from fed-up residents — roads tailored to motor vehicles continue to be the focus of snow-clearing efforts. Last January, St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard, frustrated by the number of spills he has personally taken, called for a study on the health costs linked to slips and falls on sidewalks and how changes to snow clearing and ice treatments could make the surfaces safer. The resulting report, which was released in July, called for the city to track how long it takes to sand sidewalks, as well as better tracking of complaints. In other words: more studies. Other winter cities have figured this out. Oslo, Norway, and Helsinki, Finland, have heated sidewalks in high-traffic areas, for example, that keep them clear of snow and ice. But Winnipeg isn’t just a winter city. It’s also a notoriously pedestrian-unfriendly one, and it shows in its policies and planning. Many streets don’t even have sidewalks to clear. Perhaps it’s time for this so-called winter city to start living up to the description. Until then, however, it seems it will remain up to Winnipeggers — for the sake of their own safety, and the safety of others — to pick up their shovels and take the timely clearing of sidewalk snow into their own hands.

1 0

Transit passes in exchange for old cars (TransLink)
by Beth McKechnie 17 Nov '21

17 Nov '21

Transit Passes in Exchange for Old Cars <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> (Cities Today) Reports that the Vancouver, Canada transit authority TransLink is partnering with nonprofit SCRAP-IT to offer customers public transit passes worth CAD$802 (US$638) when they scrap their old vehicles.

1 0

WFP: Delay in snow clearing leaves active residents frosted (Nov16'21)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Nov '21

16 Nov '21

Delay in snow clearing leaves active residents frosted https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/snowed-under-575751142.html MOVING as quickly as possible with his blue walker, Joseph Owen stayed close to the curb on Notre Dame Avenue while noon-hour traffic sped by on wet pavement outside the Health Sciences Centre. After struggling with his walker in the rutted, wet snow on the sidewalk, the 61-year-old dialysis patient chose to walk in the street to get to his bus stop. “I hope that all the drivers will notice me when I’m using the street and I hope they understand why I’m doing that,” the senior from Pauingassi First Nation said after making it safely to his stop following an appointment at the hospital. “I can’t make it that far because in these conditions it’s very hard to push my walker,” Owen said. “I had to use the street where it’s a little better.” As of Monday afternoon, the City of Winnipeg said all Priority 1 streets and just under half of Priority 2 streets had been cleared of snow after about 26 centimetres fell between Thursday and Saturday. However, cyclists and pedestrians had to contend with variable conditions on the more than 3,000 kilometres of sidewalks and 400 km of active transportation paths as less than 40 per cent were plowed. Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg, decided to commute by bus this week knowing his route would be inaccessible either because plows had not yet cleared the path, or had dumped snow from the street into the dedicated bike lane. “If you’re someone that doesn’t have a car, if you are someone that’s relying on walking, biking or taking transit, what we’ve seen in the last few days is where the city prioritizes you, and it’s last,” Cohoe said. “We do a good job at plowing streets for cars, but if we’re looking to get more people walking, more people biking, more people taking transit, we’re nowhere near anywhere we need to be.” Cohoe said the City of Winnipeg’s policy to clean sidewalks and active transportation paths at the same time as prioritized streets, or very shortly after, within 36 hours of a storm concluding isn’t always carried out in practice. Meanwhile, crews are expected to begin clearing sidewalks in residential neighbourhoods today, which can take up to five days to complete with the 30 available plows. Cohoe said at that rate getting people to give up their cars in the winter for public transit, biking and other transportation modes will be a tough sell, adding the City of Winnipeg’s climate action plan calls for a 50 per cent reduction in single-occupancy vehicle use by 2030. “To get to that it’s a substantial switch in how we travel, but where’s the motivation, where’s the encouragement?” Cohoe said. For Allen Mankewich, a downtown resident and wheelchair user, every winter brings the same challenge as sidewalks become nearly impossible to traverse, especially when mild conditions mean wet, mushy snow is left covering the pavement. “Nothing seems to change in terms of city hall policy or process or funding into sidewalk clearing. So it’s just really frustrating,” Mankewich said. Mankewich said he is thinking about submitting a complaint to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission over the city’s current snow clearing policy and the funding allocated to ensure sidewalks are accessible through the winter. “It’s one of the ways that things can change. Just encouraging them to make changes and asking them to make changes doesn’t always work,” Mankewich said. “People who don’t drive, they have rights too. They have the right to mobility, they have the right to get around, and if we have to spend more to make the sidewalks clear, we should look at doing that.” Infrastructure renewal and public works chairman Coun. Matt Allard said he hasn’t received many complaints regarding the latest snow clearing effort, but acknowledged there is room for improvement. “Public works keeps saying that we do a very good job relative to other cities,” Allard said. “But regardless of how good a job we’re doing, we want to get people out and about walking and biking in the winter, so we need to keep looking at options to make it easier and better for people.” Allard said the public works committee has asked city administration to provide recommendations on improving winter sidewalk conditions and a report is expected in the coming months, but not before the end of this snow season. In the meantime, Owen hopes he won’t be forced into traffic when he goes to his next dialysis appointment Wednesday. “It’s really poor,” Owen said. “It’s not being cleared the way that they should be doing it.” danielle.dasilva(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

CBC: Bikes took a back seat at COP26. Advocates urge Canada to make them a priority in its climate plan
by Beth McKechnie 11 Nov '21

11 Nov '21

Cycling groups say focus on electric cars short-sighted in fighting climate change https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/cop26-climate-change-emissions-bikes-1.6235…

1 0

FW: [EXTERNAL] Free webinar on the Global Plan for the new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-30
by Wendy Chapman 10 Nov '21

10 Nov '21

________________________________ From: Parachute Vision Zero Network [info(a)parachute.ca] Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:00 AM To: Wendy Chapman Subject: [EXTERNAL] Free webinar on the Global Plan for the new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-30 [https://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=e1d19fc5-951a-4a7f-9442-283e91121cae&a=110361…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/9a8d2976-3aa8-45a2-a823-d9aad…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/a061da47-cd90-413c-86bb-5623f…] Parachute Vision Zero and Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP) present: The Global Plan for the New Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030: What You Need to Know [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/22ab9e86-8475-4a2c-a8bf-84ca9…] Moderator Brenda Suggett Executive Director, CARSP Panel Raheem Dilgir President, CARSP Valerie Smith Director, Programs, Parachute Wednesday November 24, 2021 Noon to 1:00 p.m. ET The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 has been proclaimed by a UN General Assembly Resolution with a target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030, recognizing the gravity of this global issue. The Decade of Action is underpinned by the Global Plan, launched Oct. 28, 2021, which aims to inspire and guide national and local government, as well other stakeholders who can influence road safety. Those include civil society, academia, the private sector, donors, community and youth leaders, and other stakeholders as they develop supporting national and local action plans and targets. Through advocating for the Safe Systems Approach and providing recommendations based on best practices and research, the plan is an important resource both within Canada and abroad. The webinar will provide an overview of the Global Plan, including three parts of road safety action: what to do, how to do it and who does it. Panelists will also discuss how road safety needs to be integrated into other policy agendas such as climate action and equity, to increase its reach and influence. The webinar will also refer to Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2025. Register<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001dYX8MOuhRl_dcUbT-A_qPKLZfcKYlspBSfaPriX_6m8…> More info at parachute.ca/webinar<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001dYX8MOuhRl_dcUbT-A_qPKLZfcKYlspBSfaPriX_6m8…> Supported by Desjardins [null] <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001dYX8MOuhRl_dcUbT-A_qPKLZfcKYlspBSfaPriX_6m8…> Parachute | 150 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E8 Canada Unsubscribe wchapman(a)wrha.mb.ca<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001ZH8cm0mwpXVSIl5hbMkk5w%3D&…> Update Profile<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001ZH8cm0mwpXVSIl5hbMkk5w%3D&…> | Constant Contact Data Notice<https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/customer-contact-data-notice> Sent by info(a)parachute.ca<mailto:info@parachute.ca> powered by [Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today.] <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_3GE&nav=e1d19fc5-9…> Try email marketing for free today!<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_3GE&nav=e1d19fc5-9…> Disclaimer : This email (including any attachments or enclosed documents) is intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, copying or dissemination is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, return the original (if applicable) and delete the email. Avis : Le présent courriel (y compris toute pièce jointe) est destiné à la personne ou aux personnes à qui il est adressé, et peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels, privés ou protégés par un privilège juridique. Toute utilisation, divulgation, distribution, copie ou diffusion non autorisée est strictement défendue. Si vous avez reçu le présent courriel par erreur, veuillez en informer immédiatement l’expéditeur, retourner l’original (le cas échéant) et supprimer ce courriel.

1 0

WFP: MPI, police target intersection collisions (Nov9'21)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Nov '21

09 Nov '21

MPI, police target intersection collisions THE Winnipeg Police Service is cracking down on speeders at high-collision intersections as part of a new Manitoba Public Insurance initiative. The intersection enforcement program will focus on speed, adherence to traffic signals and ensuring cars clear intersections before a traffic light changes. MPI said the program recently launched and will continue until late fall, with a goal to reduce road injuries and fatalities. “Many of these intersection collisions could have been prevented if the drivers adjusted their speed and adhered to the on-site traffic signals,” Satvir Jatana, MPI chief customer officer, said in a news release Monday. “While entering an intersection, the combination of speed and not adhering to a traffic signal, like a traffic light, is potentially fatal.” The release notes the 10 intersections that recorded the most collisions in Winnipeg between 2016 and 2020. These include Kenaston and McGillivray boulevards (1,217 collisions), Leila Avenue and McPhillips Street (1,179) and Lagimodiere Boulevard and Regent Avenue West (978). MPI is providing funding for the enforcement, which will also be carried out by Brandon police and the RCMP, in an attempt to reduce the roughly 30,000 intersection collisions that take place in the province every year.

1 1

WFP: Designing pedestrian promenade on Graham Ave (Nov8'21)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Nov '21

08 Nov '21

*Designing pedestrian promenade* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/designing-pedestrian-pro… AS we emerge from a global pandemic and move into the headwinds of a global climate crisis, change has become the only certainty for the world’s cities. Civic leadership that embraces bold ideas to overcome these evolving challenges, specifically in highly impacted downtown areas, will find the most success in the future. Unveiled last year, but somewhat lost in the headlines of the pandemic, the new Winnipeg Transit Master Plan presents the city with an opportunity to lead this urban evolution. By marrying transit planning with creative urban design, we can leverage transit investment to create generational change in downtown Winnipeg. There are three important downtown placemaking opportunities identified in the new plan. Major rapid transit stations will be built at Portage and Main and in old Union Station, establishing two significant nodes of activity. These can be leveraged through creative planning to create a gravity that attracts retail, housing and cultural amenities to support new and existing downtown residential neighbourhoods. A third impactful move, the closing of the Graham Avenue Transit Mall, will create a kilometre-long opportunity to dream. With buses gone, and cars having been removed 30 years ago, Graham Avenue will become a blank slate upon which we can draw our vision for the future. Graham Avenue has the scale and diversity to become a special public space in downtown. Some blocks have green space and little old buildings that support sidewalk retail like bookstores, coffee shops and convenience stores. Others have large developments like the Millennium Library, Manitoba Hydro Place, Canada Life Centre, True North Square and the city’s tallest building at 300 Main. The Hudson’s Bay Co. building and the large parking lots at the eastern end represent key opportunities for impactful new development. When current construction is complete there will be almost 1,000 new homes adjacent to Graham Avenue, with 280 new hotel rooms, two new office towers, a food hall, restaurants and commercial space. With bold investment and a strong vision, we can build on this momentum and create a unified, pedestrian-focused public space that redefines the image of downtown. There are inspiring examples of streets that have been transformed into linear parks, shared streets, and pedestrian promenades in cities across the world. If we look closer to home, Stephen Avenue Mall in Calgary is a pedestrian street that might be an informative precedent. Once the city’s main street, Stephen Avenue was closed to vehicles in 1973, and after many difficult years it is now downtown’s most active public space, lined with shops and restaurants in a concentration that creates an important critical mass of activity, even in today’s struggling downtown. The City of Calgary recently hired Gehl, a world-renowned urban design firm from Denmark, to create a vision for the future of Stephen Avenue. Gehl approaches urban design through the lens of public life, creating public spaces that support social interaction between people. The plan recommends the following six strategic moves to guide Stephen Avenue to a successful future, principles that could provide an important insight for any transformation of Winnipeg’s Graham Avenue. *Branding the Avenue*: Invest in a permanent redesign of the physical street with a cohesive palette and unified visual identity, including pavers, trees, colourful and flexible seating, wayfinding and lighting. *Connecting the Avenue*: Build pedestrian priority intersections with raised crosswalks. Make strong connections to public transit and bike lanes that expand access throughout downtown. Connect skywalks (like the one that runs the length of Graham) directly to the sidewalk at several convenient and highly visible locations, pulling skywalk activity to street level. Calm vehicle traffic in other areas of downtown, including returning one-way streets back to two-way. Investigate other mobility options like bike-sharing, scooters or even a streetcar. *Activating the Avenue*: Use public art, festivals and concert programming to attract people to the space in all seasons and at all times of the day. Design for comfortable microclimates including winter heaters for patios, windbreaks and canopies for rain protection. *Opening on to the Avenue*: Open the ground floor of buildings with long blank walls facing the sidewalk (like Cityplace and Canada Life Centre) and construct new active storefronts. Create incentives to attract artists and entrepreneurs to vacant spaces and use pop-up retail such as food trucks, farmer’s markets and shipping container shops to temporarily activate surface parking lots. *Repositioning the Avenue*: Create incentives for affordable housing, infill development and the repurposing of vacant office space (like the old Post Office tower) into new uses. Focus on attracting local shops that support an urban neighbourhood and provide amenities for downtown living. *Governing the Avenue*: Empower a central entity like the Downtown BIZ to be stewards of the place, including the use of street ambassadors to improve safety. Redefining Graham Avenue inspired by these principles is an opportunity to dream, a chance to boldly create a new sense of place in downtown. A linear park, a pedestrian promenade, a shared street — it is easy to imagine Graham Avenue as an attractive place for people. We can learn from other cities, including our neighbours in Calgary who are proactively planning to ensure they are prepared for the new urban reality. The measure of a city’s success in the future will not be in the number of office towers found in its skyline, it will instead be in the number of vibrant public spaces found between its buildings. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

1 0

Global: Selkirk aims to link entire city through active transportation pathways (Nov7'21)
by Beth McKechnie 07 Nov '21

07 Nov '21

https://globalnews.ca/news/8356815/selkirk-active-transportation-pathways/ The City of Selkirk, Man., is unveiling an ambitious plan to link the entire city via active transportation pathways. Mayor Larry Johannson says the ultimate goal is to eventually have every resident within two sidewalk blocks of one of the pathways. “What this does in our community is it takes a lot of the stress off the streets, so the streets last longer, it’s better for the environment, absolutely, and a key one is it’s better for people for their health,” says Johannson. The project will take until at least 2025, but the Active Transportation (AT) Strategy, which city council just approved, will help design and manage the infrastructure well into the future. n addition to the health and cost benefits, Johannson says the city wants to do its part to become more environmentally friendly. “We don’t want to talk the talk, we want to walk the walk. So we’re a small community, but you know what? We’re going to do our share, and active transportation pathways are a huge part of it,” Johannson says. Selkirk already has 2.5 kilometers of active transportation pathways that take the form of bike lanes, multi-use pathways and recreational pathways, along with 56 km of sidewalk. The city plans to add about 3.6 km of new AT pathways beginning next year. In a press release, CAO Duane Nicol says the pathways will end up paying for themselves and then some. “Study after study shows that active transportation saves significant dollars primarily in health care and transportation. It also allows people to save on household expenses related to vehicle ownership,” Nicol said. “Moreover, it increases the physical and socio-economic accessibility of our community.” In addition to linking each area of the city with the other, Johannson says the project will feature an AT pathway parallel to Main Street, so people can walk, jog or bike the entire width of the city.

1 0

Data-Driven Analytics Are at the Heart of Vision Zero Goals
by Beth McKechnie 05 Nov '21

05 Nov '21

Preliminary data compiled by the National Safety Council show that 42,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. in 2020, an increase of 24% over the previous year. Pedestrian fatality rates, meanwhile, jumped 21% — the highest increase since 1975 – despite the fact that vehicle miles traveled dropped 13% due to the pandemic. To counter this untenable state of affairs, an increasing number of communities nationwide are turning to a Vision Zero strategy, one that aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. While many of the tactics that comprise Vision Zero are well known – from decreasing the legal speed limit to installing traffic calming measures (speed bumps, roundabouts, etc.) to improving roadway lighting and pedestrian crossings – the technological advances and data-driven analytics at the heart of those tactics’ effectiveness are often overlooked. Full story here: https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/entry/data-driven-analytics-are-at-the-h…

1 0

Top 100 Cycling Cities: New Data Points the Way on Bike Infrastructure Investment
by Beth McKechnie 04 Nov '21

04 Nov '21

[NOTE: Looks like an interesting webinar but be aware that it is a sponsored event.] Register for this live panel with StreetLight as we go deep on the latest U.S. bike trends and provide easy-to-use location-data tools. <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Top 100 Cycling Cities: New Data Points the Way on Bike Infrastructure Investment <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Thursday, November 18, 2021 1 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Pacific) <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Sponsored Register Today <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Beth, With reports of bicycles selling out in many cities early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the transportation community rejoiced about gains in bike ridership in 2020, and we crossed our collective fingers that a new bicycling habit was forming. Now 18 months into the pandemic, analysts used StreetLight InSight® to measure these trends and compile the first report of its kind that analyzes America’s top 100 cycling cities. *So how has the COVID bicycling boom fared in 2021?* <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Join this live panel, "Top 100 Cycling Cities: New Data Points the Way on Bike Infrastructure Investment," <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> to hear from Kristin Musulin, report co-author and former editor of Smart Cities Dive, together with Martin Morzynski, co-author and SVP of Marketing at StreetLight, and Thomas Grogan, lead analyst behind the data, as they go deep on latest U.S. bike trends, zero in on “the why” behind key cities gaining and losing ridership, and provide easy-to-use location-data tools to help you analyze your own locality for bike activity on all streets, not just the few with physical counters. This event will help you <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> discover how new data is helping cities move quickly to identify highest-risk intersections for crashes, pinpoint major origins and destinations for cyclists, and prioritize new bike infrastructure where it’s needed most – based on data, as opposed to pre-pandemic hypotheses. *Meet the Panelists* <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…>*Kristin Musulin* is an independent media consultant, leveraging nearly a decade of journalism and media management experience to guide mobility and tech companies in press and government relations. Prior to media consulting, Musulin gained recognition in the govtech space as the founding editor of Smart Cities Dive, a business publication covering the innovations and policies that drive smarter, safer and more resilient cities. Her work included in-depth reporting on micromobility, public transit, climate policy, labor and policing. <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…>*Martin Morzynski* is the SVP of Marketing at StreetLight Data. Morzynski is a frequent guest on public radio, news programs and podcasts and regular contributor to analyses by the New York Times, Bloomberg and other media seeking to measure and understand the changing world of transportation. He can be found on Twitter as @MartinOnTraffic, sharing data-based perspectives on mobility and climate. Previous to joining StreetLight to lead the company’s product and marketing organizations, Morzynski was the CMO at HouseCanary, the pioneer of Big Data analytics for real estate. <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> *Thomas Grogan* brings a wealth of transportation analysis and research experience to the StreetLight team. He is a Solution Engineer focused on marketing, partnerships and other strategic initiatives, helping customers get the most out of StreetLight’s analytics. He has presented at national conferences on transportation and geospatial data, and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg, and many other publications. Grogan has a MA in Applied Economics, and a BA in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University. <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> This is a sponsored webinar. By registering, you are agreeing to share your contact information with StreetLight Data. Register Today <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> Follow Next City <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…> To update your newsletter preferences, or sign up for our topical newsletters, go here <https://nextcity.mailchimpsites.com/manage/preferences?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3…> . *Copyright © 2021 Next City, All rights reserved.* You are receiving this email because you opted in. *Our mailing address is:* Next City P.O. Box 22449 Philadelphia, PA 19110 Add us to your address book <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/vcard?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e767&id=f…> Update subscription preferences <https://nextcity.mailchimpsites.com/manage/preferences?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3…> or Unsubscribe from all Next City emails <https://nextcity.us4.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=fc79ee972b82dc5fc3643e76…>

1 0

Improving Active Transportation Infrastructure in Four North American Cities during COVID: Lessons for Equitable Engagement and Implementation
by Beth McKechnie 04 Nov '21

04 Nov '21

*Full story*: https://urbanland.uli.org/planning-design/improving-active-transportation-i… ** * * * ** *Takeaways for More Equitable Engagement and Implementation of Interventions* Planners from these four cities were interviewed about the approaches taken to quickly create infrastructure that better supported the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and local businesses during the height of the pandemic. In most cases, traditional community engagement methods were bypassed in an effort to act quickly on project implementation; this created issues with equity of the interventions for communities that are traditionally underserved. Overall, the interviewees acknowledged the importance of community engagement but felt they did their best in the time-constrained situation they were in with pressure to act fast; takeaways and reflections from these initial projects and programs illuminate how critical it is to center social equity into decision-making for projects that prioritize active transportation. - *Bypassing traditional community engagement drew criticism and prompted more equitable strategies. *None of the four cities did a standard community engagement process due to the desire to act quickly. However, some used existing plans; others relied on elected officials’ views as proxies for community engagement. This led to criticisms about how this affected historically underserved populations, particularly Black and indigenous communities and those populated by and people of color (BIPOC). In Chapel Hill, no specific community engagement was conducted for the Franklin Street space reallocation since town staff felt as though a previous, similar engagement process for a permanent restriping of the road, the community petition, town council’s approval, and continuously checking in with business owners was sufficient. There were criticisms of the transformation in a local paper about a lack of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility due to some businesses using the sidewalk; however, town staff felt that they had considered these limitations and had to balance accessibility and local restaurant survival. In D.C., the restaurants that were part of a BID or Main Street program, generally located in more affluent areas of the city, were at an advantage in this program. In addition, there was also a need for these restaurants’ surrounding physical environment to fit certain constraints, such as wider sidewalks. Anacostia, a historically Black neighborhood, has streets that were not redeveloped like the rest of the city’s streets due to a long history of disinvestment by the D.C. government <https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/07/09/how-a-washington-d-c-p…>, which made streateries more challenging to implement there. The city is now focused on strategies <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/streateries-alcohol-expans…> to expand the opportunities for streateries in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. The city of Halifax did not conduct additional community engagement for the Slow Streets program, feeling that the prior engagement efforts were sufficient, and the temporary nature of the program would allow the city to adapt based on public reactions. However, members of the staff did know that they needed to speak with marginalized communities before implementing Slow Streets in their neighborhood. This conversation led to the implementation in one African-Nova Scotian neighborhood, where there was an existing relationship with the city and virtual engagement was successful. Conversely, this did not work in a different African-Nova Scotian neighborhood that lacked this existing relationship and efforts to build trust virtually failed. Later, the city collected feedback from the public and local organizations for a second rollout and adapted the program to better meet the needs of residents. An interim report from the program recommended making equitable distribution a main focus of future interventions, particularly areas that rely on nonvehicular modes of travel most. Now, the city is focusing on establishing relationships with Nova Scotian communities of color and is planning a Slow Streets program focused specifically on communities that rely on transit, biking, and walking. In Oakland, the initial Slow Streets program faced intense pushback. After hearing the swift, negative reaction from residents, particularly from Black residents of East Oakland, the city engaged with community leaders and organizations to discuss their views. One interviewee reflected on how the residents were emotional and clearly felt hurt and betrayed over a lack of inclusion in the process, even though staff felt as though the engagement that they had conducted on the Bike Plan was sufficient. The interviewees felt as though the start of these talks was venting but eventually moved into a problem-solving space. They determined that the East Oakland community was made up of many essential workers, and that the idea of Slow Streets for exercise and recreation did not resonate. The community was more interested in traffic calming than recreation. This led to the creation of Slow Streets: Essential Places to particularly serve the largely BIPOC East Oakland community. Most cities tried to course-correct during implementation in response to concerns, including Oakland engaging with East Oakland to create Essential Places and bringing in a community artist. In addition, Chapel Hill staff realized the “quick win” town-owned streets that were eligible for temporary multiuse paths were in affluent, majority-white neighborhoods, which did not allow the state-owned roads with higher Black populations to benefit from the program. This prompted town staff to look for more creative, community-driven solutions in lower-resourced neighborhoods. - *Setting a precedent for quick action.* The interviewees thought that this experience showed the speed at which active transportation and infrastructure programs can be implemented, with some reductions in regulatory barriers. These interventions will provide a precedent for change. This is particularly true for more risk-averse stakeholders, such as traffic engineers and municipal attorneys. Faster implementation after more authentic community engagement, in which the public is able to react to something tangible on the street, could revolutionize the relationship between communities and local government and push active transportation forward to build healthier communities. Pilot testing, where people can experience the changes and suggest adjustments, may garner more authentic feedback and build trust with communities if the interventions are actually implemented in a reasonable time period. However, multiple cities found that temporary materials still need to be robust. Lightweight materials that are easily moved or damaged by the public often cause more negative reactions from the public, since they can quickly turn from infrastructure to trash, and thus reinforce perceptions of neglect and disinvestment by the city. - *Strategic communication is key.* The projects in these four cities show that the methods by which planners receive feedback and communicate the goals of transportation projects must be well thought out. Community engagement is one way to inform and prepare the community for projects, but that was missed in most of these cases. This led to confusion among residents about the goals of programs. For example, East Oakland residents found the stay-at-home order in conflict with the message of Slow Streets. Most cities mentioned that to get the word out for these programs, they posted information on their websites, the mayors publicly announced the programs, and press releases were published. This is not enough to reach the general public. Interrogating and questioning who is providing feedback and how to measure success of the projects is also important. Solely relying on voluntary online surveys and community meetings is not reaching the people necessary to make decisions. Oakland found creative ways, such as short text surveys advertising where infrastructure is located and social media content, to evaluate programs. To understand who is giving feedback and how representative the feedback is, it is also important to track demographic data such as race, income level, ability, and neighborhood. Washington, D.C., realized that its main method of communicating to restaurants about the Streateries program, through BIDs and Main Street organizations, was leaving out restaurants that were not in the wealthier neighborhoods with these organizations. Moving forward, program staff is committed to reaching out to businesses more equitably. The lessons learned from the pandemic will undoubtedly change how active transportation planning is conducted in the future. It is clear that many municipalities are interested in faster, cheaper ways to adapt their streets to encourage active transportation and are reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic for lessons to do that. Transportation planning firms are developing expertise in the subject, so municipalities should think about partnering with experts on these adaptations to find a good fit for their own streets. In addition, local governments—particularly transportation planning departments—should collaborate with economic development professionals and local business owners to see how streets can be adapted to fit multiple goals. The question that lingers over this experience is how to implement an active transportation program quickly and equitably, avoiding a traditional, stale community-engagement process while at the same time not using a top-down approach. These case studies suggest that acting quickly in a way that facilitates *in situ* community engagement and adaptation could be one solution. This may be a “wicked problem,” but learning from cities’ responses to COVID-19 gives us a good place to start interrogating that problem.

1 0

WFP: Impact of ‘slow down’ campaign debated (Nov3'21)
by Beth McKechnie 03 Nov '21

03 Nov '21

Impact of ‘slow down’ campaign debated https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/impact-of-slow-down-campaign-debate… THEY’VE added a pop of sunshine yellow, blue outlines of small children and a clear safety message to hundreds of Winnipeg yards over the past few years. It’s clear there has been some demand for the signs warning drivers to “Please slow down” in blue capital letters. On social media, some folks described the signage as a non-offensive, “friendly reminder” to drive safely. Yet others appear divided on how effective the Winnipeg Committee for Safety campaign is. An advocate pushing for the City of Winnipeg to lower its residential speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h said she’s not convinced the signs produce their desired effect. “I think they give people the sense of control... but if the city knows speeding is a problem, how is this actually addressing the problem? This could give the illusion of improving safety,” Emma Durand-Wood, a volunteer with Safe Speeds Winnipeg, said Tuesday. Instead of sharing a reminder to slow down, she said the city should reduce the speed limit to change driver behaviour. “I think people who are really brazenly speeding aren’t looking at signs on the side of the road.” The Winnipeg Committee for Safety launched the sign campaign in 2018 to encourage drivers to reduce speeds, in hopes it would prevent traffic collisions and injuries. Coun. Cindy Gilroy, who helped lead the initial campaign, said the signs quickly became popular, so up to 100 more were provided for each city councillor to give out in 2020. Gilroy said the display may not alter the habits of persistent scofflaws but do remind folks who became distracted while driving to check their speed. “It is a (visual) reminder... there’s kids around here, slow down,” she said. The Daniel McIntyre councillor said she hopes the city will permanently reduce the residential speed limit to 30 km/h, something a pilot project is now testing on four local street sections. “In an urban environment, we want to have safe communities where people feel that they can… walk around their community, cycle within their community without having a fear of being hit by a car,” she said. A public service report says the city can’t evaluate the actual impact of the signs on vehicle speed, since the signs were handed out to any resident who asked, with no parameters or rules set to study them in a set area. The city did seek feedback from those who signed up to get the signs in 2020, for which 535 different households provided an address. About 138 responded to questions about the program, with 94 per cent saying they supported it and 94 per cent also agreeing the signs should continue to be available to Winnipeggers. However, just 45 per cent believed drivers slowed down after viewing the signs, while 39 per cent felt they didn’t. The rest answered the response was “neutral” or they weren’t sure about it. Winnipegger Ray Hignell said he opposes both the sign campaign and calls to lower the speed limit. “I find (the signs) offensive. What I get is the law is the law and the law is 50 (km/h). It’s not up to somebody else to appoint themselves… to tell me or anyone else that they should be driving slower,” said Hignell. He fears a reduced speed limit could create congestion without resulting in notable safety improvements. “It will slow some (drivers) down and they’ll spend more time wasting their time in traffic and it won’t solve anything,” said Hignell. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyannne_pursaga

1 0

FW: [EXTERNAL] Global Plan for Road Safety | Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière
by Wendy Chapman 28 Oct '21

28 Oct '21

________________________________ From: Parachute Vision Zero Network [info(a)parachute.ca] Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2021 9:01 AM To: Wendy Chapman Subject: [EXTERNAL] Global Plan for Road Safety | Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière [https://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=ca301b90-7958-46ea-ad53-425d85f56664&a=110361…] La version française du bulletin suit la version anglaise [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/e5df60b4-3f8b-4c09-a6fd-fb555…] <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> Global Plan for Road Safety [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/0f427c69-56f5-495f-b599-54acd…] The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, an initiative of the World Health Organization, launches today! Together, Parachute and the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP) strongly support this Global Plan for Road Safety and we are committed to working with key stakeholders across Canada to use this global plan to guide and measure our ongoing work to make Canadian roads safer. Join this important initiative by spreading awareness of the new global plan and showing your commitment to use this plan to guide road safety action. Below are materials and sample social media posts to promote the launch of the Global Plan for Road Safety that you are free to customize. To help track the support in Canada in globally, please tag @parachutecanada, @CARSPInfo, and @RoadSafetyNGOs and use the hashtags #CommitToAct and #StreetsForLife as well as our #ParachuteVZ hashtag. The following materials are available to support your posts * Global Plan<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2021-2030. The plan is available in English, French, and Spanish, Arabic and Russian. * Infographic<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…>: A one-page summary of the plan available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. * Social media tiles<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> (scroll down the webpage): Infographics of key focus areas of the global plan have been created to show your support for different components of the plan. * Social media buttons<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> and frames<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…>: Social media buttons and frames have been created for you to use to show your support. Sample social media posts The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety is launching October 28, 2021, with the target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. Check out the plan today! <Link> _______ strongly supports the new Global Plan for Road Safety and we are committed to use this plan to guide and measure our ongoing work to make Canadian roads safer. Learn more at <Link> The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety calls for action on: multimodal transport & land-use planning; safe road infrastructure; safe road use; safe vehicles and post-crash response. Learn more at <Link> The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety describes what’s needed to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. We call on governments & partners to implement an integrated Safe System Approach - <Link> The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety reflects the 2020 Stockholm Declaration’s promotion of policies to promote walking, cycling & public transit as healthy & environmentally sound modes of transport. <Link> Achieving safe roads and preventing injury takes a multi-sector approach. _________ is committed to supporting theGlobal Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Learn more at <Link> We hope these resources help you as you continue to work on Vision Zero and make your communities and roads safer. Watch for information on an upcoming webinar Parachute and CARSP will be hosting on the new Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety! We would like to thank our partner and sponsor Desjardins Insurance for supporting Parachute Vision Zero. Visit the website<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> STAY CONNECTED [Facebook] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> [Twitter] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> [null] <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/c42be7fc-9787-4b3f-b8a1-7949e…] <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/37915265-0d4f-4244-8468-42c2e…] Le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière, une initiative de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, est lancé aujourd’hui ! Ensemble, Parachute et l’Association canadienne des professionnels de la sécurité routière (ACPSER) appuient fortement ce Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière et nous nous engageons à travailler avec les principaux intervenants de partout au Canada afin d’utiliser ce plan mondial pour orienter et mesurer notre travail continu visant à rendre les routes canadiennes plus sûres. Joignez-vous à cette importante initiative en faisant connaître le nouveau plan mondial et en montrant votre engagement à utiliser ce plan pour orienter les mesures de sécurité routière. Vous trouverez ci-dessous des documents et des exemples de messages dans les médias sociaux pour promouvoir le lancement du Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière, que vous pouvez personnaliser. Pour faciliter le suivi du soutien au Canada et dans le monde, veuillez utiliser @parachutecanada, @CARSPInfo et @RoadSafetyNGOs et utiliser les mots-clics #CommitToAct et #StreetsForLife ainsi que notre mot-clic #ParachuteVZ. Les documents suivants sont disponibles pour soutenir vos publications * Plan mondial<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière, 2021-2030. Le plan est disponible en anglais, français et espagnol, arabe et russe. * Infographie.<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> Un résumé d’une page du plan disponible en anglais, français, espagnol, arabe et russe. * Blocs pour les médias sociaux<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> (faites défiler la page web vers le bas). Des infographies des principaux domaines d’intervention du plan mondial ont été créées pour montrer votre soutien aux différentes composantes du plan. * Boutons et cadres pour les médias sociaux.<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> Des boutons et des cadres pour les médias sociaux ont été créés pour vous permettre de montrer votre soutien. Exemples de publications sur les médias sociaux Le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière commence le 28 octobre 2021, avec pour objectif de réduire de 50 % le nombre de personnes tuées et blessées sur les routes d’ici 2030. Consultez le plan dès aujourd’hui! <Lien> _______ soutient fermement le nouveau Plan mondial pour la sécurité routière et nous nous engageons à utiliser ce plan pour orienter et mesurer notre travail continu visant à rendre les routes canadiennes plus sûres. Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site <Lien>. Le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière prône des mesures concernant : le transport multimodal et l’aménagement du territoire; les infrastructures routières sûres; l’utilisation sûre des routes; les véhicules sûrs et les interventions faisant suite aux collisions. Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site <Lien>. Le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière décrit ce qui doit être fait pour réduire de 50 % le nombre de personnes tuées et blessées sur les routes d’ici 2030. Nous exhortons les gouvernements et les partenaires à mettre en œuvre une approche intégrée pour un système sûr. - <Lien> Le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière reflète la promotion, par la Déclaration de Stockholm de 2020, de politiques visant à promouvoir la marche, le vélo et l’utilisation des transports publics en tant que modes de transport intrinsèquement sains et respectueux de l’environnement. <Lien> La mise en œuvre de routes sûres et la prévention des blessures nécessitent une approche multisectorielle. _________ s’engage à soutenir le Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière. Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site <Lien>. Nous espérons que ces ressources vous aideront à poursuivre votre travail sur Vision Zéro et à améliorer la sécurité de vos communautés et de vos routes. Ne manquez pas les renseignements sur un prochain webinaire que Parachute organisera sur le nouveau Plan mondial pour la Décennie d’action pour la sécurité routière! Nous tenons à remercier notre partenaire et commanditaire Desjardins Assurance de son soutien à Vision Zéro de Parachute. Visitez notre site Web<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> RESTEZ EN CONTACT [Facebook] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> [Twitter] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/81471b4f001/aba0bebd-b64e-4569-b903-2d716…] <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001w5-_hl_1QmXrHJxKloeBhA7CGLKx9FmsT99eRRRCPJx…> Parachute | 150 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E8 Canada Unsubscribe wchapman(a)wrha.mb.ca<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001ZH8cm0mwpXVSIl5hbMkk5w%3D&…> Update Profile<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001ZH8cm0mwpXVSIl5hbMkk5w%3D&…> | Constant Contact Data Notice<https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/customer-contact-data-notice> Sent by info(a)parachute.ca<mailto:info@parachute.ca> powered by [Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today.] <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_3GE&nav=ca301b90-7…> Try email marketing for free today!<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_3GE&nav=ca301b90-7…> Disclaimer : This email (including any attachments or enclosed documents) is intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, copying or dissemination is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, return the original (if applicable) and delete the email. Avis : Le présent courriel (y compris toute pièce jointe) est destiné à la personne ou aux personnes à qui il est adressé, et peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels, privés ou protégés par un privilège juridique. Toute utilisation, divulgation, distribution, copie ou diffusion non autorisée est strictement défendue. Si vous avez reçu le présent courriel par erreur, veuillez en informer immédiatement l’expéditeur, retourner l’original (le cas échéant) et supprimer ce courriel.

1 0

World Health Organization - Decade for road Safety
by Kristine Hayward 28 Oct '21

28 Oct '21

Hi folks. The WHO launch the Global Plan for the decade of Action for Road Safety today. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/safety-and-mobility… Kristine Hayward (she/her) Physical Activity Promotion Coordinator Population Public Health Winnipeg Regional Health Authority 2nd floor - 490 Hargrave Street (currently working from home) Winnipeg, MB R3A 0X7 Telephone 204 232-7546 Fax 204 940-2690 Email khayward(a)wrha.mb.ca Bike racks are available in front of the building at the corner of Hargrave and McDermot. Plan your Winnipeg Transit trip: http://winnipegtransit.com/en/navigo Metered street parking and pay lots in the area – please note designated loading zones and spots requiring a disability permit. Follow Winnipeg in motion on Twitter - @wpginmotion<https://twitter.com/search?q=wpginmotion&src=typd> Check out our videos on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/Winnipeginmotion Scent Free Facility - visitors are asked to refrain from wearing perfumes/colognes/heavy-scented lotions/oils We are located on Treaty 1 Territory and the homeland of the Métis Nation. The water we drink comes from Shoal Lake First Nation. Disclaimer : This email (including any attachments or enclosed documents) is intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, copying or dissemination is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, return the original (if applicable) and delete the email. Avis : Le présent courriel (y compris toute pièce jointe) est destiné à la personne ou aux personnes à qui il est adressé, et peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels, privés ou protégés par un privilège juridique. Toute utilisation, divulgation, distribution, copie ou diffusion non autorisée est strictement défendue. Si vous avez reçu le présent courriel par erreur, veuillez en informer immédiatement l’expéditeur, retourner l’original (le cas échéant) et supprimer ce courriel.

1 0

WFP The Herald: New Louise Bridge (Oct27'21)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Oct '21

27 Oct '21

New Louise Bridge – so far, so good https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/correspondent/New-… The new Louise Bridge replacement timeline has become clearer — and it’s good news for northeast Winnipeg residents. Last month, city planners made public their recommendation to build the new Louise Bridge beside the current bridge, which is exactly what Elmwood residents were hoping for. Although the new bridge will be placed just west of the old bridge and not east, as originally planned, it’s a relief to know traffic disruption will be avoided because the old bridge can stay open during construction. Northeast Winnipeg residents should be confident the planning stages are proceeding in an orderly way. City council will have final recommendations in the spring of 2022 — just a few months away. Notices were mailed out to affected property owners in mid-October, signalling the start of the final piece of the community consultation and the expropriation process. The six-lane design, including dedicated bus lanes in each direction, will require some expropriation of property. The time has come for the incoming new Premier to commit her government’s share of the funding for the replacement bridge. It’s good to know Elmwood residents will be able to use the old bridge for the two years the new bridge is under construction. Avoiding closure has always been a crucial aspect of the whole project. At the end of the day, we have to get the job done before the 110-year-old bridge is shut down for safety reasons. Northeast Winnipeggers have been patient but are keenly aware the clock is ticking. We need to keep the pressure on all three levels of government. You can help by visiting www.yourelmwood.com and participating in the survey on the new Louise Bridge replacement. *If you have any questions about other provincial programs, feel free to contact me at 204-415-1122 or email me at jim.maloway(a)yourmanitoba.ca <jim.maloway(a)yourmanitoba.ca>*

1 0

Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Oct '21

27 Oct '21

Can't recall if this video was circulated previously but it's timely as we head into winter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU cheers, Beth

1 0

CBC: Supreme Court says people can sue cities over snow removal activities that cause injury
by Beth McKechnie 22 Oct '21

22 Oct '21

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/top-court-snow-removal-liability-1.6219354

1 0

Pittsburgh introduces Mobility as a Service (MaaS) with Move PGH
by Beth McKechnie 21 Oct '21

21 Oct '21

Exciting case study on the first MaaS initiative in North America. Here are the basics: 1. *Pittsburgh launched Move PGH, a program where customers can access a variety of mobility services through the Transit app and at Mobility Hubs across the city.* 2. *Move PGH offers e-scooters, bikeshare, carshare, public transit, carpooling services, and mopeds.* 3. *Alongside Move PGH, Pittsburgh is piloting a Guaranteed Basic Mobility program, where 50 low-income Pittsburghers can access all participating modes of transportation in Move PGH at no cost.* 4. *Move PGH is the first mobility as a service (MaaS) project of its kind in the United States. This initiative seeks to make different forms of shared mobility more appealing than individual car ownership.* Read more: https://learn.sharedusemobilitycenter.org/casestudy/shifting-the-mobility-p…

1 0

WFP: Plenty to like about storing people’s bikes (Oct18'21)
by Beth McKechnie 18 Oct '21

18 Oct '21

Velotecha to employ youths being helped by Macdonald Youth Services Plenty to like about storing people’s bikes https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/plenty-to-like-about-storing-people… AS colder weather looms, a new bike storage facility is opening — one that doubles as an employment program for youth in care. Through Velotecha, up to 150 bikes will be stored, repaired and maintained during the winter. Winnipeggers can choose from packages offering varying levels of maintenance, to be performed by teenagers and young adults through Macdonald Youth Services. “We really put... (the) pedal to the metal this summer,” Nicole Barry, the non-profit’s chief financial officer, said of starting the project. The WRENCH, a charity that builds and repairs bikes, has been training eight people on bike mechanics since August for the venture. A new cohort will join soon. Cyclists can choose a basic package, which includes storage and tire inflation, for $55.99. Prices increase for those who want more in-depth fixes, like part replacements, realignments and brake adjustments. Organizers will collect bikes curbside beginning Monday. Pick up will continue into November, if space is still available, Barry said. “We want people to use their bikes if the weather’s nice, but we also have a limited capacity,” she said. Velotecha staff will deliver owners their rides in April. The bikes’ seasonal home remains private for safety reasons, Barry said. “The beauty of a bike storage program is that it solves a lot of problems,” said Kate Sjoberg, executive director of The WRENCH. More people have turned to cycling as a pandemic-era hobby, to combat climate change and for health reasons, Sjoberg said. But, many Winnipeggers end their two-wheel adventures when the temperature drops. Velotecha will assist people who don’t have room to store their bikes, Sjoberg said. And, it will allay the tune-up backlogs cyclists face in the spring. “It’s really hard to find a shop that will fix your bike in the springtime,” Sjoberg said. “(Also), training kids to be bike mechanics in the spring, when there’s a rush happening, is not a great way to learn.” The youths who Velotecha will employ have participated in Macdonald Youth Services’s life skills programs and were chosen by staff. “They’ve been really consistent and really awesome to be around,” Sjoberg said. “We have a lot of confidence in their ability to do great work.” Many kids using Macdonald Youth Services don’t get the same access to jobs others do, according to Barry. “Most of us have gotten help or were even handed our first job,” she said. “That’s what we’re trying to provide them... We’re kind of giving them a shot at real, meaningful work.” Macdonald Youth Services plans to expand Velotecha next year: it wants a bike lab where Winnipeggers can buy refurbished bikes or get their own repaired. The hub will likely be at 175 Mayfair Ave., the non-profit’s location, and will potentially employ this winter’s mechanics- in-training. Then, Macdonald Youth Services can invite a new group to work at the storage site next fall. Velotecha’s current staff could also work for The WRENCH post-storage season. “There is a need for bike mechanics in the city,” Sjoberg said. “We’re interested in this particular cohort, if anyone is interested in working with The WRENCH following it, and they’re the right candidate.” Canada is “not hitting the mark” to support youth transitioning from care, in terms of ensuring they have liveable incomes and communities where they’re safe, Sjoberg said. “We know that many other organizations and people in the city are interested in creating that safety and those communities of support for kids,” Sjoberg said. “This is a small contribution to that.” More information about the program can be found at velotecha.com. gabrielle.piche(a)winnipegfreepress.com

1 0

WFP: Velo Renovations - pedal to the home-reno mettle (Oct16'21)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Oct '21

16 Oct '21

PEDAL TO THE HOME-RENO METTLE Environmentally committed Winnipeg company’s owner, associates aren’t reinventing the wheel, but they’re using fewer of them to get to job sites https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/pedal-to-the… SEEING is believing. Velo Renovations is a home reno company with a twist: instead of loading tools and supplies into a van or half ton, employees rely on pedal power to get from one job site to another, 12 months of the year. The business’s website doesn’t disguise that fact, openly charting how many kilometres workers have collectively covered to date — a tick under 15,000 — along with the estimated amount of carbon emissions saved by doing so (2.73 tonnes and counting). Still, clients who enlist them to paint a living room or patch a wall continue to be surprised when they arrive on two wheels, especially during a torrential downpour or January cold snap. “To be honest, the fact we get around by bike is a big reason why many of our customers choose to go with us in the first place,” says Nathaniel De Avila, who founded Velo, French for bicycle, in October, 2020. “But there have certainly been days when it was 30 below or whatever, when we pulled up and the person answering the door went, ‘I know you guys bike to work, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it today.” De Avila, 33, laughingly describes Velo Renovations as a “mid-COVID pivot.” Around this time last year De Avila, a professional music producer who moved to Winnipeg from his native Iowa in 2016, found himself unable to work in his chosen field because of pandemic-related restrictions. He’d long been comfortable with a hammer in his hand; he toiled part-time for a reno company during high school and again while he was attaining a master of arts in music from the University of Iowa. To stay busy, he figured that might be an avenue worth pursuing. Why bikes? That’s easy, says the veteran winter cyclist, tracing his environmental consciousness to a book he read when he was in junior high titled More-With-Less by Doris Janzen Longacre and, more recently, to a documentary called Freightened, which details nightmarish statistics in regards to pollution attributable to the shipping industry. “Most of the world is doing things on bike, it’s just North America where it’s a bit of a novelty,” he says. “Are we going to save the planet by having the eight of us pedal to work? Of course not. But that doesn’t make it unimportant, either.” ON the day we met, De Avila and one of his associates, Maraleigh Short, were doing exterior repairs to a home in Fort Richmond, an hour-long trek from Velo’s home base in West Broadway. De Avila arrived on his personal 10-speed while Short took one of two official company “vehicles.” “Colin Bock from Freedom Concepts (a Winnipeg firm that designs and builds special needs bicycles and mobility devices) helped come up with this, based on an Xtracycle (an elongated, load-carrying bike developed in the U.S.),” De Avila explains, running his hand along the frame of a two-metre-long contraption that joins a full-size chromoly mountain bike to a chopped-up, 20-inch BMX model. “It has a rechargeable battery unit that slides out, but is designed to be pedal-assist. There’s a running board on the back for tools and such but lots of times we’ll attach an extension ladder on wheels, upon which we can load even more stuff.” (Not present is a custom-built tricycle-and-trailer unit, canary yellow in colour, that always draws stares — and occasionally requests for a business card — when motorists pull up alongside it at a red light.) Short, sporting sweats and sneakers speckled with white primer, says one of the factors that attracted her most to Velo, more a co-op than a company, is its people-first approach. Not only do workers set their own hours and pick and choose job assignments, they also determine their individual rate of pay and are afforded the opportunity to view the business’s finances as a whole. It’s a model De Avila came up with long before Velo was even a “thing,” based on conversations he had with a university professor well-versed in businesses that place people and planet ahead of profits. “It could be a gendered thing, or it could be my personality, but I probably wouldn’t have sought out working in construction or reno if I hadn’t found (Velo),” Short says, seated on an empty, overturned paint bucket. “Initially, I didn’t bring a lot of skills to the table, nor did I have a ton of confidence, but because there’s a strong teaching structure in place here, I’ve been able to learn so much from Nate and the other people I work with. Now I really feel part of a team.” Velo Renovations tackles the same projects as most so-called, conventional reno operations, namely, painting, drywalling, restructuring and tiling. At the same time, it’s not like you’ll spot them hauling a kitchen counter or panels of sheetrock behind them any time soon. Knowing their limitations, they obligingly work with in-place delivery systems when it comes to larger items, De Avila says. He adds it’s certainly not a condition of employment that employees must pedal to work, and a few of their subcontractors do not. That said, if any certified plumbers and/or electricians reading this aren’t averse to hopping on a bike, feel free give him a call, he says with a grin. Another manner in which Velo differs significantly from many of its counterparts is that it’s not uncommon for on-staff designers to talk potential customers out of jobs that would probably net the company a bigger payday if they feel there are better options available from an environmental standpoint. “‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ or ‘Is there a way to consume less?’ are questions we ask all the time,” De Avila says. “For example, somebody might want to make their home’s footprint larger by putting in an addition. To which we might suggest changing a couple existing walls, thus avoiding having this bigger space you’re now going to have to heat for the next 50 years, draining valuable resources. “When we’re doing consults with clients, we try to provide them with all kinds of alternatives, whether it be using reclaimed building materials from ReStore or plant-based or sustainable products. Lots of renovators will say after they fix your home it will be worth whatever amount of money more. But as soon as you spend that money, you’re indebting yourself to a structure more so than you already have with a mortgage, which forces you to work X number of hours to make X amount of money, all of which goes against our general philosophy.” Finally, with the bikes, in the last 12 months De Avila, who also owns a car, says he’s noticed a discernible difference in his demeanour on days when he’s biked to work versus those when, for whatever reason, he was forced to get behind the wheel. Whenever he’s snarled in traffic due to lane closures or a mishap, he finds himself getting short or angry more quickly than when he’s pedalling here and there. “That makes me wonder if the actual mode of transportation fundamentally changes the way I interact with others,” he says, adding another benefit of biking to work with co-workers is that it affords everybody the opportunity to discuss the day ahead, where they left off yesterday... the same type of things they probably would have spent the first 30 minutes deliberating had they gotten there separately by car. “So if I compare the two, I’d much rather get on a bike at the start of the day. Plus it’s pretty hard not to be awake and alert when you arrive for work, especially when it’s on the chilly side.” david.sanderson(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

New bike repair social enterprise launching
by Beth McKechnie 15 Oct '21

15 Oct '21

*** please share with your networks *** Check out the new bike repair social enterprise in Winnipeg called Velotecha. It’s run in partnership between Macdonald Youth Services and the Wrench. They are launching a Winter Storage and Tune Up service – picking up bikes, fixing them and returning them in early spring. The repair and maintenance work will create paid first jobs for some youth under supervision of qualified bike mechanics. Plus it will get more cyclists on the road earlier in the season. Have a look at the website here: www.velotecha.com Here is a FB post that can be shared quickly: https://www.facebook.com/272671616114244/posts/4455579211156776/?d=n

1 0

WFP Analysis: Car co-op a progressive success story (Oct12'21)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Oct '21

12 Oct '21

Car co-op a progressive success story https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/car-co-op-a-progressive-… YOUR car is likely your second largest household expense, and studies show that it’s probably parked 95 per cent of the time. The typical Canadian vehicle is driven for just over one hour per day on average, and according to the Canadian Automobile Association, the SUV that most people drive for that time costs an average of $33 per day to own, with all expenses included. Imagine if you could, sharing a car with your neighbours, and only paying for it when you are actually using it. No more loan payments, or trips to the mechanic, and as a bonus you would be doing something good for the environment. Ten years ago, this was the dream for a small group of people in Winnipeg who saw the growing car-sharing trend in larger cities across the world and wondered if it could work here. The group organized, found 40 people to pay $500 membership deposits and, in June 2011, Peg City Car Co-op was born. The idea started small, with three cars in Osborne Village; keys were stored in lockboxes and transactions recorded on paper. As Peg City celebrates its 10th anniversary, it has grown to more than 2,000 members with 60 vehicles parked across 11 central neighbourhoods, and has hopes of growing to 100 vehicles in 2023. Members can now conveniently make bookings online up to a year in advance, for as little as an hour at a time, and they are automatically billed for their time and distance. The people at Peg City have worked hard to grow their reach, and some of their success can be attributed to progressive change happening in our city. Even slow-growing, car-dominant Winnipeg is becoming more urban. Nearly 60 per cent of all new homes built today are apartments, and almost three-quarters are multi-family buildings, compared to only 15 per cent 20 years ago. Higher-density development is happening across the city, and more people are embracing an urban lifestyle with walking, biking and transit becoming preferred transportation options. In neighbourhoods such as Earl Grey, Osborne, Wolseley and the West End, between 40 and 50 per cent of people don’t use a car to commute to work. These are the types of neighbourhoods where car-sharing can be successful. A shared vehicle isn’t typically primary transportation, but when people are walking, biking and busing, the ability to sometimes drive can be an attractive added convenience. To be successful, a critical mass of members must live within a short walk of a shared vehicle location, which typically requires neighbourhoods to be higher density and more diverse. Dense neighbourhoods allow a grid of shared vehicles to be located within walking distance of each other to give people alternatives in higher demand times. For people living in neighbourhoods with effective access to car sharing, the personal advantages of membership are easy to understand. Vehicles are always newer, with no maintenance headaches, depreciation or parking costs. With a range of vehicle types, members can choose the appropriate model for their use — a pickup truck for moving furniture, a hatchback for a grocery run. Most significantly, car sharing provides a method of private transportation without the inefficient financial burden of owning a car. Peg City has found the average member spends about $1,200 per year on car sharing, about 10 times less than the cost of individual car ownership. This can create more equitable neighbourhoods, allowing lower-income households more affordable access to a private vehicle. Higher-income households might find car sharing effectively replaces the need for a second car. Car sharing also has several collective advantages for cities. The North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey found that each car-share vehicle typically removes 13 privately owned vehicles from the road. This means Peg City’s 60 cars are removing almost 750 others from traffic, and from creating road wear and air pollution. Parking for 750 vehicles would require five acres of land — more than three football fields. Almost 20 per cent of Peg City’s vehicles have come from partnerships with developers, who are allowed by the City of Winnipeg to reduce the number of required parking stalls in a new development when car-sharing is included. This has been a successful initiative that helps infill development in mature neighbourhoods become more feasible. The success of Peg City Car Co-op demonstrates that when we build higher-density and more diverse communities, new lifestyle choices become available. Ten years ago, most people would have believed car sharing was a big-city idea that could never work in Winnipeg, but our city is changing. If we embrace this change, and welcome multifamily options into our neighbourhoods, promote street-focused local retail, support the construction of protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and invest in frequent, high-quality transit service, our children will be able to find the urban lifestyle so many relocate to other cities in search of. If we can accomplish that, organizations like Peg City Car Co-op will be celebrating many more milestone anniversaries in the future. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

1 0

WFP: City snapshot shows spike in winter cycling numbers (Oct7'21)
by Beth McKechnie 07 Oct '21

07 Oct '21

City snapshot shows spike in winter cycling numbers https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-snapshot-shows-spike-in-winter… A growing number of Winnipeggers are cycling long after snow hits the ground, according to a recent city count. The total number of local cyclists who used some key active transportation routes during the winter nearly doubled during a March survey period, rising to a daily average of 236 in 2021, up from 119 in 2020, a report notes. “It shows there is a pretty sizable demand for people to actually be able to bike in winter… I think there’s a bigger barrier (with winter weather) in perception than necessarily in the reality,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. City officials note last winter’s unusually mild weather made active transportation especially appealing. The report also credits the change to increased interest in cycling, especially as Winnipeggers engaged in more recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The counts were taken on 10 key routes over four days in early March in 2020 and 2021. The results offer a “snapshot” of general increased interest in cycling, Cohoe said. He believes the trend is clearly linked to improved snow clearing on the routes, since those selected were prioritized for more frequent snow clearing a few years ago. “It’s not really a surprise finding that when we plow our roadways and bike routes, people respond by actually biking,” he said. Coun. Matt Allard agreed. “(It needs to be) where snow clearing is at the level of service where somebody riding their bicycle to work knows that when they get out the door they’ll have a path cleared of snow so they’ll get to their destination on time,” said Allard, public works committee chairman. The cycling increase builds the case for greater investments in active transportation, he said. In addition to meeting a demand from Winnipeggers, it would also help reduce reliance on personal vehicles and combat climate change, he said. “As we build dedicated cycling facilities and provide proper snow clearing, people will use the facilities more and more on their daily commute and for other purposes.” joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

1 0

Montréal Offers Lessons for All Cities That Want Safer, Better, More Livable Streets
by Beth McKechnie 06 Oct '21

06 Oct '21

Last month, Clarence Eckerson journeyed to Montréal to see how much progress it has made in reining in the car culture, creating more livable communities, encouraging cycling, making roadways safer and, most important, bringing back freedom to inhabitants long oppressed by car drivers. Of course, Montréal has fewer open streets than New York City does, but the open streets in the Paris of North America are much better. Montréal’s 13 open streets are much longer and operate almost entirely car-free — car-free, meaning no parking, either! — 24 hours a day, all summer long. “It’s about making the city accessible for everyone,” Montréal’s mayor Valérie Plante told me. “There has to be more room for cyclists and pedestrians, and arts and parklets.” On Montréal’s open streets, you don’t just see people walking or biking as you see in New York, but also art installations, benches, bioswales, swings (with cupholders!), play areas for kids and bollards to keep out the cars. “It just brings so much joy and fun and, of course, safe spaces for our kids,” Plante added. And local business owners confirm that pedestrianized zones bring in more money for struggling merchants. Read the full article from Streetsblog here: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/09/16/see-it-montreal-offers-lessons-for-a… Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi5wmsK-3Zk

1 0

WFP Metro: New bike lanes praised, questioned (Oct4'21)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Oct '21

05 Oct '21

New bike lanes praised, questioned https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/New-bike-lanes-prai… The new, nearly-complete bike trail system running through West Broadway and Wolseley is garnering mixed reviews from cyclists. The trail begins where Memorial Boulevard meets Granite Way just north of the Osborne Bridge. From there, it winds through the two neighbourhoods up to the intersection of Walnut Street and Westminster Avenue. Though many were pleased the city is investing in bike infrastructure, some cyclists pointed out several points along the trail that can cause confusion or potentially dangerous situations with drivers and other riders. Some believe more signage and painted lines will only do so much to solve the bike path's flaws. One of the most contentious spots, according to cyclists who spoke with *The Metro*, is at Westminster Ave and Young Street in front of Balmoral Hall School. Here, the path splits from a bidirectional trail to two unidirectional routes. To negotiate a turn onto the one-way westbound lane from the two-way path, cyclists must take a sharp turn and cross the roadway at a three-way traffic stop. "It really breaks up the flow of your riding, because there is signage that says to turn right, but I guess they don’t have the directional signs on the ground yet," said cyclist Reynold Beniza. Beniza, 30, is a digital marketing manager who lives in the Exchange District and has followed this route to work for the last year, in summer and winter. While Beniza is happy the city is focusing on active transportation, he doesn’t believe this stretch of road needs bike lanes. "I would much rather see this sort of work done on, say, Portage Avenue or Main Street and getting more of these protective barriers on the really car-heavy roads," he said. "Or, even adding more active transportation routes from the North End." At press time, there were directional markers painted on the east and westbound bidirectional lanes, but not in the intersection itself. A draft of the finished design can be found in the city’s Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project plan. Just to the northeast, another tight turn on the bidirectional path makes for some "pretty hairy situations," especially during morning and afternoon commutes, Beniza said. Mark Campbell lives in the heart of Wolseley and uses the bike paths almost every day. Campbell said he really likes the paths and has found them useful, but the 33-year-old software developer has a gripe with the west end of the trail. At this junction, cyclists are forced to merge with vehicle traffic. "The cars just speed up and there’s parking, so you’ll still fighting with cars, right." he said. "Turning across Westminster is extremely dangerous." Campbell is a fan of the bi-directional path because it allows him to bike alongside his partner and daughters. Michael Falk, a 42-year-old self-employed festival worker, lives in the West End. Falk uses the new bike paths three to four times per week. "I’m super-glad to have a bike path, but there’s little decisions here and there that feel like they’re weird budget decisions resulting in little peculiar moments," he said. While Falk knows there’s more signage on the way, he said the stretch where the path splits into two is "a bit clunky" regardless. The slow introduction of signs and painted lines has left Falk perplexed. "When they build a road, signs go up right away. You don’t just have six lanes of road going with no signs," he said. Looking beyond their neighbourhoods, Campbell and Falk are in step with Beniza’s sentiment that there needs to be more bike routes connecting downtown with the North End. Campbell and Falk also noted that there’s room for the city to improve on existing bike paths by closing the gaps. Both pointed to the fractured bike lane on Sherbrook Street just north and south of Portage Avenue.

1 0

Police tickets issued to cyclists
by Orly Linovski 04 Oct '21

04 Oct '21

Hi all, Sharing some recent research on tickets issued to cyclists in Winnipeg: https://findingspress.org/article/28345-police-enforcement-of-cycling-offen… Best, Orly

1 0

Globe editorial on bike lanes
by Charles Feaver 04 Oct '21

04 Oct '21

The Globes editorial today; note the last sentences: The shift in direction is decisive. The arguments over bike lanes are settled. Theyre becoming what they should have long been: an ordinary way of getting around our cities. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-is-the-war-agains t-bike-lanes-finally-over/ On Vancouvers downtown peninsula, crews are at work on the citys newest bike lanes. Both of them, on Richards and Smithe streets, will be physically separated from car traffic. Once theyre finished, Vancouver will have an extensive and connected network of protected bike lanes throughout and in and out of the citys core. Whats more, the latest projects are being built free of the controversies of yesteryear. It is the opposite of the late 2000s, when the city opened its first protected bike lane on the Burrard Bridge into downtown. Chaos feared, blared one headline. Doomed to failure, opined a columnist. All that proved incorrect: The Burrard Bridge bike lane, billed as the busiest in North America, saw <https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/how-we-collect-bike-volumes.asp x> 1.4 million rides in 2020, 40 per cent more than its first full year a decade earlier. Bike lanes, in Vancouver and across Canada, have grown from political flashpoints and ideological signifiers to standard-issue civic infrastructure. Theyre being built everywhere. Penticton, in the British Columbia Interior, this summer opened its Lake-to-Lake bike lane; it plans <https://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/penticton-looks-to-spend-over-15- million-on-bike-lanes-over-the-next-5-years/> to invest $15-million over the next five years. Sarnia, Ont., is <https://www.sarniathisweek.com/news/local-news/bike-lanes-extension-on-russ ell-street-planned-2> extending its bicycling network. In Halifax, about a third of a <https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/cycling-walking/expanding-network/reg ional-centre-bikeway-update> planned 57 kilometres of protected bike lanes is complete. It includes Hollis Street through the heart of the city. Montreal last November opened a long north-south route on Saint Denis Street as part of its <https://montreal.ca/articles/le-rev-un-reseau-express-velo-4666> Réseau express vélo network. Toronto, <https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/recreation/covid-19-activeto/covid-19- activeto-expanding-the-cycling-network/> spurred by the pandemic, has installed protected lanes across the city. One new <https://twitter.com/TO_Cycling/status/1441110656644640768> segment on Bloor Street East opened in late September. These lanes are billed as temporary, but it would be a short-sighted mistake to reverse course. The key element in each is the bike lanes are physically protected from traffic. In years past, cities would take the cheap route and paint some lines on the street. Without real separation from cars, they were underused. Many potential riders did not feel safe in between moving and parked vehicles. Data have long indicated protected bike lanes are essential to draw riders. A flurry of new research underlines that conclusion. A <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920921002145> study from Ryerson University in May, one that looked at the Toronto region, found that protected bike lanes were <https://www.ryerson.ca/city-building/news-research/2021/05/new-cycling-data -dashboard/?mc_cid=1b91686d73&mc_eid=24ee3949b9> more than two times as likely to attract riders than unprotected ones. A <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213624X21001097?dgc id=author> study in Boston showed that a protected bike lane increased bike-share traffic by 80 per cent. This is a sort of induced demand build it, and they will ride. Its no surprise. A protected bike lane is obviously safer than a faded line painted on the street. Whats fascinating is the findings from <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214140518301488> research in 2019 that concluded such bike infrastructure can make a citys streets safer for all users drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The goal of protected bike lanes isnt to get every single person on a bike, or for cars to be forever abandoned. Bike lanes are neither a disaster nor a saviour. Theyre about options. A well-built network means a family can ride for fun on a weekend, and that workers can commute by bike when able. (The arrival of October is a reminder that weather in Canada will always be a challenge.) Vancouver recognizes this. The citys goal is to have 12 per cent of all trips walking, car and transit included be made by bike by 2040. The <https://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/annual-transportation-survey.as px> most recent figure was 8 per cent double the rate in 2013. A little change can make a big difference. Research suggests that if Canadians drove <https://www.fastcompany.com/3062989/50-reasons-why-everyone-should-want-mor e-walkable-streets> one day less a week, it could cut almost four megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year. Ditching the car once in a while isnt unrealistic. The advocacy group Vélo Canada Bikes points to Statistics Canada data that show almost 40 per cent of commuters in cities live within five kilometres of their workplace. Canada has made gains but Europe is home to the worlds <https://copenhagenizeindex.eu/> top bicycling cities starting with Copenhagen. It is sometimes said, Well, were not Europe. Forty years ago, European cities such as Amsterdam <https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1436961474837024777> were clogged with cars. Not any more. Paris of late is going through <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/opinion/paris-bike.html> a total overhaul. The Rue du Rivoli, adjacent to the Louvre in the centre of the city, is now closed to private vehicles. Canadian cities can likewise change. The shift in direction is decisive. The arguments over bike lanes are settled. Theyre becoming what they should have long been: an ordinary way of getting around our cities. Charles Feaver Bike Winnipeg

1 0

WFP: Councillor wants 2022 budget to increase funding for green transportation (Oct1'21)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Oct '21

01 Oct '21

Councillor wants 2022 budget to increase funding for green transportation Boost to cycling options peddled https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/boost-to-cycling-options-peddled-57… THE public works committee chairman is calling for a major increase to the City of Winnipeg’s active transportation spending. Coun. Matt Allard wants the 2022 budget process to consider such funding that equals 10 per cent of the annual road construction budget. The investment could build up cycling and pedestrian routes, which would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, he says. “Every year, we emit more and more carbon, and we need to find ways to reduce the amount of carbon that we’re putting into the atmosphere,” Allard said Thursday. “In order to make (Winnipeg’s) climate action plan deliver what it intends to, we need to add that meat on the bones to ensure we (complete the active transportation network).” At $1.7 million, dedicated spending for active transportation falls far below that amount in 2021, with a roads budget of $152 million. If Allard’s change is approved for 2022, it would increase the AT budget from a forecast $2.3 million to $16.2 million (based on a projected road budget of $162 million). The St. Boniface councillor said some AT spending occurs separately within specific road projects. But he said many road renewals don’t include it, including 2021 projects at Roblin Boulevard and Day Street. Allard also wants council to make active transportation investments eligible for revenue raised through annual tax hikes. Mayor Brian Bowman has promised to cap the property tax hike at 2.33 per cent again in 2022, with two per cent earmarked for roads and bridges and 0.33 per cent for rapid transit. Allard said increased AT funding would help the city ensure half of all local trips involve greener modes of transportation than single-passenger vehicles by 2030, one of its key climate change goals. “For every bicycle used in a commute, that’s one less car on the road,” said Allard. The proposed funding hike is welcome but meets the minimum investment needed for cycling and pedestrian routes, said Mel Marginet, a workplace commuter options co-ordinator at the Green Action Centre. “That will give us a fighting chance to move forward on the pedestrian and cycling strategies that the city already has,” said Marginet. In 2015, city council approved a 20year, $334-million cycling and pedestrian strategy but actual investments have delayed its implementation. With roughly 80 per cent of Winnipeggers choosing personal vehicles for their trips, much more investment is needed to make the green transportation options of walking, biking and bussing more convenient, said Marginet. “It’s really a shift in the paradigm… At this current time, cars go first (in budget priority).” Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg, said active transportation has been persistently underfunded in recent years, which leaves gaps in cycling routes. “(The current budget is) really just a fraction of what’s been needed... We see it in an unconnected network,” said Cohoe, adding the extra funding would spark a huge improvement. Coun. Janice Lukes, a former public works chairwoman, said she supports Allard’s proposals. However, she said he and other executive policy committee members should never have allowed the AT budget to drop to its current level. “We would have been much further ahead (on active transportation) at this time (if they hadn’t),” said Lukes. “It’s gone down millions.” In 2019, for example, the preliminary budget included $3 million for active transportation, down from a previously forecast $5.7 million. The current forecast predicts the funding will drop to $1.7 million in 2023, and $1.4 million per year from 2024 to 2026. Allard said provincial funding cuts played a role in the reduced investment in recent years. His motions will be considered by council’s public works committee Oct. 12. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

1 0

Vox: America’s car crash epidemic – driving kills as many Americans each year as guns do. Experts say that’s preventable.
by Beth McKechnie 28 Sep '21

28 Sep '21

https://www.vox.com/22675358/us-car-deaths-year-traffic-covid-pandemic -- Beth McKechnie (she/her) *| *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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 located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anishininiwag, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of* *the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and that our hydro is sourced from numerous First Nations here in Manitoba**. * 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>

1 0

One week left to complete Winnipeg Road Safety Plan survey
by Beth McKechnie 24 Sep '21

24 Sep '21

"The Road Safety Strategic Action Plan is driven by data and public feedback and will serve as a roadmap for implementing both short-term solutions and long-term investments over the next 3-5 years and beyond." https://engage.winnipeg.ca/roadsafetyplan

1 0

WFP: Location list for pedestrian crossings (Sep23'21)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Sep '21

23 Sep '21

Word on the street THE following have been identified as locations where some form of crossing control is warranted. A pedestrian corridor has overhead flashing beacons, a pedestrian half signal involves erecting a traffic light and an RRFB is a rectangular rapid flashing beacon. ● Burrows Avenue at Lawrence Street (pedestrian corridor) ● Corydon Avenue at Edgeland Boulevard (pedestrian corridor) ● Dakota Street at Dakota Community Centre (pedestrian half signal) ● Des Meurons Street at Horace Street (RRFB) ● Devonshire Drive at Tommy Douglas Drive (RRFB) ● Gateway Road at Furniture Park (RRFB) ● Grant Avenue at Lilac Street (pedestrian half signal) ● Lakewood Boulevard at Meadowbrook Road (RRFB) ● Lindenwood Drive E near Lindenwood Drive W (RRFB) ● Lindenwood Drive W at Wallingford Crescent (pedestrian corridor) ● Logan Avenue at Winks Street (pedestrian half signal) ● Main Street at Church Avenue (south side) (pedestrian half signal) ● McGillivray Boulevard at Front Street (pedestrian half signal) ● Pembina Highway at Newdale Avenue (pedestrian half signal) ● Portage Avenue at Rita Street (pedestrian half signal) ● Regent Avenue West at Winona Street (pedestrian corridor) ● River Avenue at Scott Street (RRFB) ● River Avenue at Lewis Street (RRFB) ● Roblin Boulevard at Municipal Road (pedestrian half signal) ● Roblin Boulevard at the zoo entrance (pedestrian half signal) ● Rorie Street at McDermot Avenue (RRFB) ● St. Mary’s Road at Crystal Avenue (traffic signal) ● St. Mary’s Road at Hastings Boulevard (pedestrian half signal) ● St. Mary’s Road South at St. Vital Trail (pedestrian half signal) ● Stradbrook Avenue at Scott Street (RRFB) ● Wellington Crescent at Kingsway (RRFB) ● Wellington Crescent (southbound) between River and Stradbrook avenues (RRFB) ● Wellington Crescent northbound exit to Stradbrook Avenue (RRFB)

1 0

WFP: City identifies 28 sites for crosswalks (Sep23'21)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Sep '21

23 Sep '21

City identifies 28 sites for crosswalks https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-identifies-28-sites-for-crossw… NEARLY $3 million for new crosswalks will be considered in the city’s 2022 budget process. Municipal traffic experts have identified 28 locations that meet the criteria for some form of pedestrian crossing control, with an early combined cost estimate of about $2.8 million, says a report by city bureaucrats. The report cautions a detailed design hasn’t been done at each location. The city currently adds an average of four crossings per year at the highest need locations, due to city staff and budget limits, the report notes. Council’s public works chairperson said the devices are key to improving road safety, since uncontrolled busy crossings could raise the risk of vehicle/pedestrian collisions. “There is a big shortfall in terms of the warranted but unfunded (crosswalks)… In practice, what tends to happen where you don’t have a crosswalk where it’s warranted, is you have a high level of people driving cars on that street and you have a high level of pedestrians crossing that street in uncontrolled circumstances,” said Coun. Matt Allard. The public works committee recently referred the potential cost for the warranted, but not yet funded, crosswalks to the 2022 budget process. Installing more of the devices could help Winnipeggers feel safe walking to more destinations, which could help entice them to choose foot travel more often, said Allard. “The lowest hanging fruit for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is (for) people to (shift modes of transportation). You need to build the facilities that make it easier to choose active transportation (such as) properly administered pedestrian corridors,” he said. The report concludes that crosswalks are warranted at points along Wellington Crescent, St. Mary’s Road, Lakewood Boulevard and Burrows Avenue, among many other locations. The list is based on pedestrian and vehicle volumes, along with each site’s proximity to other traffic controls and pedestrian crossings. Immediate construction may not make sense at some of the sites, however, which may be altered by upcoming bicycle networks or Winnipeg Transit stop changes, the report warns. Crosswalk additions could also be cheaper if they’re timed to coincide with adjacent road upgrades, it notes. Michel Durand-Wood, a volunteer with Safe Speeds Winnipeg, said he’s glad to see the city pay attention to pedestrian access but believes the effort can’t be limited to crosswalks. “I think crosswalks are better than nothing. But if we were addressing the actual issue, crosswalks would be less necessary... If traffic speeds are low enough, then we don’t need (these) expensive crosswalk structures in a lot of those places,” said Durand-Wood. Safe Speeds advocates for lower speed limits on residential streets and other routes where pedestrians and vehicles share the road. Durand-Wood said it would be “disingenuous” to suggest the city can’t afford to add the crosswalks, since it devoted $152 million to road renewal in 2021. “We can move some money around pretty easily, depending what our priorities are,” he said. The city report notes another 70 potential crossing locations are still being studied, though it’s too early to say if they warrant pedestrian crossing devices. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

1 0

Just One Trip
by Mel Marginet 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

Greetings all, Green Action Centre's GoManitoba tool is launching Just One Trip this fall. If you can help spread the word in your workplaces and on social media, that'd be great. Details in the media release below. September 22, 2021 (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - Manitobans are invited to take the Just One Trip pledge in October to convert one trip per week to a more sustainable mode. Participants choose the way they’ll travel and how often, and then track their trip using GoManitoba. For participating, they receive hints, tips, encouragement, and are entered to win prizes! October is a time when we form habits, including how we get around, as we get back into fall routines. Due to the pandemic, Manitobans have experienced disruption to their regular routines, so now is the perfect time to try something new! Who/Where: All Manitobans What: Take the Just One Trip <https://greenactioncentre.ca/justonetrip/> pledge When: Take the pledge today. The challenge takes place throughout October (or GoTober!) Why: Transportation is the number one source of GHG emissions in Manitoba. Driving alone is expensive (according to Stats Canada, the average Canadian spends $8,000 to $12,000 a year to commute via personal vehicle, almost 20% of consumption <https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/181212/dq181212a-eng.htm>). Workplaces with sustainable transportation programs <https://greenactioncentre.ca/wco-resources/> see a reduction in absenteeism and gain better health outcomes for employees. GoManitoba GoManitoba is a free commuting tool for all Manitobans. The tool matches users together to find carpool partners, transit, biking and walking routes, and mentors for those taking the bus or cycling for the first time. - 30 - For media inquiries about GoTober and the Just One Trip pilot program: Mel Marginet, Sustainable Transportation Team Green Action Centre 204-297-0949 or mel(a)greenactioncentre.ca *Mel Marginet* | 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 x112 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> **Note: I work two days a week at Green Action Centre and it may take a few * *days to respond to you. * *We are located on Treaty 1 Territory and the homeland of the Métis Nation. The water we drink comes from Shoal Lake First Nation. * 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>

1 0

City of Winnipeg Bike Maps Now Available
by Beth McKechnie 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Dickson, Erik <EDickson(a)winnipeg.ca> Date: Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 9:34 AM Subject: City of Winnipeg Bike Maps Now Available To: Dickson, Erik <EDickson(a)winnipeg.ca> Good morning! My name is Erik Dickson. I am the Livable Streets Specialist at the City of Winnipeg. I work in the Active Transportation Branch at Public Works. The City has recently released an updated Bike Map (Version 7). Please see the news release here as well as links to the online PDF version of the map: https://winnipeg.ca/ourstories/2021/210910.stm Print maps are now available in both English and French and are free. In the past the City has greatly valued the partnership with local community bike shops and advocates to assist in delivery of Bike Maps to the general public. If you are interested in obtaining Bike Maps to hand out to customers/clients/supporters/etc., please let me know how many maps of each language you require and I would be happy to coordinate delivery to you. For reference, if you are asking for a ‘box’ of maps, they come in boxes of 120-130 maps. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Thank you very much for your help in promoting the City of Winnipeg Cycling Network. [image: City of Winnipeg logo] <https://winnipeg.ca/> *Erik Dickson, MCIP, RPP* Livable Streets Specialist *Transportation Division* *Public Works Department* *Mobile: *204-471-1834 *Email: *edickson(a)winnipeg.ca *Website: *winnipeg.ca *Address: *101-1155 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P1 *Connect with us:* [image: Facebook] <https://www.facebook.com/cityofwinnipeg> [image: Twitter] <https://twitter.com/cityofwinnipeg> *Confidentiality Notice:** The information contained in this message is intended solely for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any use, dissemination, distribution, copying or disclosure of this message and attachments, in whole or in part, by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and permanently delete the complete message and any attachments. Thank you.*

1 0

Updated cycling map now available to help you plan your next route
by Beth McKechnie 13 Sep '21

13 Sep '21

https://www.winnipeg.ca/ourstories/2021/210910.stm

1 0

WFP: City considers test of reduced-speed neighbourhoods (Sep10'21)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Sep '21

11 Sep '21

City considers test of reduced-speed neighbourhoods https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-considers-test-of-reduced-spee… WINNIPEG has 30 km/h zones and streets, but that reduced speed could soon apply to entire neighbourhoods. City bureaucrats have recommended some communities switch to the lower speed limit in a new pilot project. Council had directed city staff to look into making 15 roads — one in each ward — 30 km/h zones. A new report from the public service suggests implementing the change in entire neighbourhoods instead. “With 30-kilometre zones surrounded by 50-kilometre zones or even higher speeds... (drivers) will avoid those streets and go to other streets that might not have been designed for that level of traffic,” said Coun. Matt Allard, council’s public works chairman. That’s one of the reasons the change has been suggested, he said. “With a neighbourhood-based approach, you wouldn’t get that problem because everyone in the neighbourhood would be going (30 km/h).” Allard believed four neighbourhoods would be affected, but city staff hadn’t named specific communities. A downside to the proposed change is the amount of signage, Allard said. “If you wanted to reduce the speed from the default 50, you’d have to put up a sign at every block,” he said. “That’s quite costly.” Council has asked the province to approve boundary signage, where speed limit signs would be erected at community entry points instead of on each street, but there has been no response, Allard said. The city turned four neighbourhood greenways into 30 km/h zones as part of its pilot project in July. Machray Avenue, Powers Street, Eugenie Street and Warsaw Avenue are affected. The city’s public works committee will debate the issue on Wednesday. Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) wants to see a city-wide approach or nothing at all. “I think we’re making streets less safe, because people are going to be trying to figure out, ‘Am I in a 30 zone? Forty zone?’” he said. Fifty-kilometre zones are unsafe on roads with no sidewalk, he noted. “We need to work with the province and determine if this is going to be a citywide mandate,” he said. “These block pilots that (have) been proposed are just a slippery way to try to mandate it in... without proper education and training.” Todd Dube, leader of traffic advocacy group Wise Up Winnipeg, said the slower speed areas aren’t “necessary or effective.” “The rhetoric of ‘slow down and save the kids’ really is simply the front line of what becomes an abusive enforcement revenue program, as we’ve seen in the City of Winnipeg for decades,” Dube said. City staff has also suggested erecting speed-reader boards at the 10 photo-enforced locations that have the highest number of infractions. The boards show motorists’ speeds on an LED screen. The city is borrowing four boards from Manitoba Public Insurance for three years and will install them this fall. Grant Avenue, west of Thurso Street, topped the list for number of infractions in 2020, with 11,654 tickets. Eastbound Talbot Avenue, near Watt Street, was second with 4,816 tickets issued. “Speed boards are extremely effective,” Dube said. Each one costs about $5,000, plus $1,000 in annual maintenance and operating fees, the city report says. Installation adds another $1,300 to $10,000, depending on the post used and placement. gabrielle.piche(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

WFP Editorial: Reduced speeds create more time to think (Sep6'21)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Sep '21

11 Sep '21

Reduced speeds create more time to think https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/reduced-speeds-create-… WHETHER 30 km/h is fast or slow depends on an individual’s mode of transportation. Most of us who are not named Andre De Grasse can’t run that fast for a sustained period. Cyclists can maintain a speed of 30 km/h if the rider is in good physical condition. Motorized vehicles can easily go 30 km/h: in fact, the problem in Winnipeg is getting vehicles to go so slow. Like it or not — many vehicle drivers emphatically do not — a speed limit of 30 km/h is becoming more common on the streets of Winnipeg. A one-year pilot project began July 26 on four city streets, dropping the limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h and adding speed humps to give forgetful drivers a jarring reminder of the slow-down zones. Also, the 30 km/h limit at school zones throughout the city resumed on Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming home-school-home migration of children who sometimes forget to look both ways before they cross. Drivers can fume that 30 km/h is frustratingly sluggish, in light of the considerable horsepower they are able to employ with a tap of their accelerator foot. Some also allege the low limits are less about safety and more about a cash grab accessed through speeding tickets issued by the city. Such laments are largely in vain, however, and certainly can’t be heard by the technological photo-radar devices that monitor school zones and issue tickets under the Highway Traffic Act, typically $250 for the owner of a vehicle caught doing 50 km/h. If receiving the fine notices in the mail irritates drivers to a degree sufficient to prompt them to express their disdain for 30-km/h zones to their city councillors or the Winnipeg Police Service, they certainly have every right to complain. But again, they’re likely wasting their breath. Winnipeg’s elected representatives and city planners are all-in committed to a traffic program called Towards Zero, which has been adopted by other cities including Edmonton with considerable success at making roads safer. The goal, sometimes stated as “no loss of life is acceptable,” is to eliminate all injuries and fatalities on Winnipeg roads, a philosophy that will help guide the new Transportation Master Plan the city is developing over the next three years. Another embodiment of the safe-roads philosophy that now dominates city-hall traffic planning is the temporary Open Streets project that closed portions of 14 streets to vehicle traffic, giving the open pavement to cyclists. While drivers can grumble when their route is diverted several blocks by a section of Open Streets, or sigh with frustration when they get a ticket for driving more than 30 km/h in reduced speed areas, no one can argue with the motivation of the city to make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Manitoba Public Insurance statistics show that between 2012 and 2019, an average of 260 pedestrians and cyclists were injured or killed annually in vehicle accidents in Manitoba. Perhaps those statistics will be helpful to consider for drivers who, when their progress is slowed to 30 km/h, will find themselves with more time to ponder such matters. If the annual traffic toll of 260 pedestrians and cyclists were allowed to continue unabated, the victims could someday include a family member or friend of any of us. Such an outlook makes it easier to drive as if the child crossing at the upcoming school zone is one of our own.

1 0

WFP - Mixed response to city road slowdown
by Patman, David 31 Aug '21

31 Aug '21

Mixed response to city road slowdown By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 4:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021 AMID a persistent lobby to slow down traffic on residential streets, some Winnipeggers are now living on routes with reduced speed limits. And about one month into a one-year pilot project that will test 30-kilometre-per-hour speed zones on four routes which previously had 50 km/h limits, they're sharing a mixed response to the changes. One resident would prefer the pilot project end now, arguing tax dollars would be better spent on fixing potholes. "We've got roads we can't drive on and we're spending money on (this)... It's just a gross waste of taxpayers' money, period," said Rick Farley, a Machray Avenue resident. While supporters of reduced speed limits have long argued the change would make streets safer for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, Farley said he's seen very few cyclists and pedestrians on his slowed-down block. The city says the 30 km/h speed limits were implemented July 26 on Machray (from Fife to Main streets), Powers Street (from Dufferin to Partridge avenues), Eugenie Street (from St. Mary's Road to Youville Street), and Warsaw Avenue (from Thurso Street to Pembina Highway.) At all four sites, the city has installed new speed signs and speed humps that aim to slow down vehicles. Multiple residents of those streets told the Free Press they welcome the lower speed limit itself. "I love it... Since the 30 (km/h maximum speed) has been posted, (drivers) don't fly down the street anymore," said Warsaw resident Burton Perry. Prior to the speed reduction, Perry said Warsaw attracted many commuters seeking to avoid busier routes, a shortcut he thinks the slower speed limit now deters. However, both Perry and Eugenie Street resident Geoff Ford fear the large speed humps on their streets could create new safety risks. Ford said he fears the raised surface could make speeding cars more likely to lose control and crash into parked vehicles. "I don't have a problem with a slower speed in residential areas... It's just that speed hump. When some yahoo in the wintertime who's not (using) winter tires is going too fast because they're late (that could prove dangerous)," said Ford. Warsaw resident Phil Koch is concerned the humps could hinder cyclist travel. "I'm in favour (of the limit) but I think... they should have made the speed humps so that bikes can navigate without hitting (them)," said Koch. Warsaw resident Dan Rogers, who relies on cycling as his exclusive mode of transportation, shared only positive views of the reduced speed. "It just makes (cyclists) feel safe. I think just, in general, the calming of the streets in the neighbourhoods is just very welcome," said Rogers. Coun. Ross Eadie, whose ward includes the Machray and Powers trial routes, said he has received a few complaints about the speed humps. While Eadie expects the current routes may require some tweaks, he supports the trial as a way to add safe cycling options in his area. "I thought, let's try to provide a decent space, a safe route for the community," the Mynarski councillor said. Matt Allard, whose St. Boniface ward contains Eugenie Street, said the pilot is triggering a mixed response from residents so far, though feedback is just beginning to come in. "Generally, commuters are more opposed to reductions in speeds (than residents of the street)," said Allard. He and other councillors noted the speed reduction pilot project followed repeated demands from cyclists, safety advocates and other groups to permanently set lower speed limits on residential streets. "I've never seen such an outcry (before), (such) a demand for slower vehicle speeds on residential streets," said Coun. Janice Lukes, who also supports the project. Lukes said city council should acknowledge a growing demand to use residential roads for recreation. She believes slower speed limits would make them easier to play on. "Slowing traffic down on residential streets improves the quality of life in neighbourhoods," said Lukes. The city's corporate communications department said resident feedback and traffic data gathered from the sites won't be shared until after the one-year pilot project ends. A public report on the trial is expected sometime in Fall 2022. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

2 1

Paris introduces city-wide 30 km/h speed limit
by Beth McKechnie 31 Aug '21

31 Aug '21

Paris introduces city-wide 30 km/h speed limit The French capital has lowered the speed limit for drivers on most streets in a bid to curb the number of cars in the city, reducing noise and fighting climate change. The speed limit is one of the campaign promises made by the city's socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo <https://www.dw.com/en/france-paris-mayor-wins-reelection-macron-dealt-blow-…>, before last year's local elections. Hidalgo has also expanded cycling lanes in the city, and is pushing ahead with plans to remove 60,000 of the city's roughly 140,000 street-level parking spaces. *Full story*: https://www.dw.com/en/paris-introduces-citywide-30-kmh-speed-limit/a-590253…

1 0

WFP The Herald: Cycling series highlights climate emergency, lack of infrastructure (Aug25'21)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Aug '21

25 Aug '21

Winnipeggers bike for the future Cycling series highlights climate emergency, lack of infrastructure BY SYDNEY HILDEBRANDT STAFF REPORTER ELMWOOD In light of the climate emergency and the need for improvements to local active transportation infrastructure, a group of Winnipeggers are cycling across the city this summer and fall. The first Bike for the Future event, organized by Bike Winnipeg, took place Aug. 15 and began at Norquay Community Centre in North Point Douglas. A squad of cyclists spent the afternoon traversing North End streets. “We’ve organized this ride to encourage the (City of Winnipeg) to invest more money in active transportation infrastructure, and to work on lowering speed limits to make riding in our residential neighbourhoods more comfortable for people of all ages and abilities,” organizer Ian Walker said. “I’ve been an advocate with Bike Winnipeg for about a decade, and the city’s done some really good work over the years investing in separated infrastructure and creating these open streets and lowering speed limits.” However, there’s still room for improvement, Walker said. In some areas the lack of infrastructure forces cyclists onto sidewalks — which could result in a fine — or into dangerous situations on the roads. Winnipeg police issued 87 tickets to cyclists riding on the sidewalk in 2020 — more than double the 43 tickets issued in 2019, as reported last month by the Winnipeg Free Press. This year, police have handed out around 38 tickets, each $113. Walker, a St. Boniface resident, said he himself has never been ticketed or hit by a car while cycling. “I’ve noticed that a lot of the tickets that are being given out are in the north end of the city,” he said. “It’s really unfair, because there aren’t any good alternatives for folks that are using the sidewalk. People naturally want to go to the sidewalk because being on a road with fast moving cars is uncomfortable. I’ve been riding a bike for decades and I still don’t like riding in traffic, especially with my kids. It’s bananas.” Ashley Challinor and Will Prosper recently moved from Toronto to the Broadway-Assiniboine neighbourhood. Challinor is an “avid cyclist” while Prosper just adopted the mode of transportation after moving to Winnipeg. “I felt a little bit more safe here than I did back home,” Prosper admitted. “Winnipeg actually has a fair amount of pretty good cycling infrastructure,” Challinor said. “Its problem is connection. So there’s little bits here and there, but there isn’t one big connected network. And that really makes it hard to commute on a bicycle, or to go run errands on a bicycle … Toronto’s a bit better about those direct connections, but it also has a lot of room for improvement, too.” Winnipeg is currently working on a number of active transportation connectivity projects, including the North Winnipeg Parkway. The new corridor will connect The Forks to Chief Peguis Trail with a path along the Red River, through Point Douglas and segments of St. John’s and Seven Oaks. Phase 1 began last month. The final phase is scheduled for mid-2022. Elmwood resident Emma Durand-Wood said active transportation infrastructure is an important component to climate justice, which is why she decided to participate in Bike for the Future. “I think this summer has really kind of hit home that climate change is actually upon us. And I already am someone who bikes a lot for transportation, so it’s really made me think a lot about (how) we need to be acting right now … to make biking more safe and appealing and an attractive option, a real option.” Follow Bike Winnipeg on social media for updates on the Bike for the Future ride series.

1 0

WFP: Boulevard, greenway could be renamed by end of year (Aug22'21)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Aug '21

22 Aug '21

Boulevard, greenway could be renamed by end of year https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/boulevard-greenway-could-be-renamed… BISHOP Grandin Boulevard and the greenway that runs parallel to it — both of which are named after an architect of the residential school system — could have new titles before the end of the year. The volunteer board that oversees the greenway’s operations issued a notice this week to inform community members of its ongoing support for the City of Winnipeg’s efforts to explore cutting ties with Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin (1829-1902) as a namesake for local landmarks. The board indicated renaming consultations are underway and it anticipates a report with a recommendation on the subject will be brought forward to city council this fall. “I don’t want people to think we’re sitting on our hands and letting this fall by the wayside,” said Derick Young, president of Bishop Grandin Greenway Inc. “There is a great deal of concern among some people in the community about the name and I think most people, not just in St. Vital, recognize that we need to deal with, as a country, our history of the residential schools and the legacy of people who were involved.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that Grandin, a Roman Catholic priest, “led the campaign for residential schooling.” The commission’s final report outlines in detail Grandin’s idea to create boarding schools that would convert Indigenous children into Christians and his success in securing federal funding to make his pitch a reality. The bishop once wrote, “To become civilized they should be taken with the consent of their parents and made to lead a life different from their parents and cause them to forget the customs, habits and language of their ancestors.” Not long after the remains of 215 children were found in unmarked graves near a residential school site in Kamloops, outrage about the senseless death, abuse and intergenerational trauma caused by Grandin’s beliefs prompted demands to rename local landmarks. First Nations leaders and concerned citizens have spoken out in favour of removing his name from the boulevard and greenway in south Winnipeg. Others, however, want to leave the existing signage up and add markers that acknowledge his role in setting up the assimilative school system. A Probe Research poll conducted in the spring found 55 per cent of Winnipeggers are in favour of renaming the boulevard because of Grandin’s role in the residential school system. The survey, which took place June 2-11 with a random and representative sampling size of 600 adults, found 28 per cent of respondents were in favour of keeping the road’s name and educating the public on Grandin. A total of 17 per cent of those surveyed indicated they wanted to keep the name as is. Young said it’s likely new names will be chosen in the coming weeks — an announcement he expects will be met with enthusiasm by road and path users; the greenway, which includes community gardens and trails, is accessed by hundreds of people daily in the summer. Once names are approved, there will be discussions about costs related to the logistics of renaming, including updating the title of the greenway board and installing new trailhead signs. maggie.macintosh(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

1 0

E-bikes & Scooters Bird, Ford-owned Spin latest micromobility platforms to integrate with Google Maps - Green Car Congress
by Terry Zdan 18 Aug '21

18 Aug '21

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/08/20210818-gmm.html

1 0

Globe editorial on "open streets" in Toronto
by Charles Feaver 10 Aug '21

10 Aug '21

An urbanist view of Toronto's initiatives to designate streets for pedestrians and cyclists instead of cars. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-toronto-should-be -expanding-activeto-not-cutting-it-back/ When Rob Ford was mayor of Toronto, he mastered the low art of the catchphrase. Stopping "the gravy train" played to the idea that city government was all bloat, all the time. "Subways, subways, subways" was a promise of more expensive underground transit, rather than less-costly, on-road light rail, in low-density Scarborough. None of this was rooted in reality or good public policy, but that wasn't the point - stirring up resentment among suburban voters was the point. By that measure, Mr. Ford's most resonant slogan was his claim that the city had declared a "war on the car." Streetcars and (a very few) bike lanes were making the city impassable for humble drivers, he claimed. (The mayor got around in a black Cadillac Escalade.) This mantra was no truer than his other mantras, but it stuck in the urban hive mind. The chaotic Ford years can seem like a distant memory for Canada's largest city - now run by the conservatively progressive John Tory - but their spirit has never really gone away. Rob's brother Doug is, of course, Premier. His nephew, Michael, occupies the family seat on city council, representing Etobicoke North. And road rage still fuels Toronto politics. Consider Michael Ford's latest campaign to end one of the best things to happen in the city during the pandemic. Last summer, a program called ActiveTO removed cars from a few major roads on weekends, including parts of the pseudo-highway Lake Shore Boulevard, to allow people more space to bike, walk and get outside. The city resumed the program this summer - grudgingly, with fewer, shorter and less frequent closings. The concept, even in its truncated form, attracts tens of thousands of cyclists and pedestrians to its most popular routes. Yes, it can slow drive times on some adjacent streets - as do the scores of restaurant patios that have taken over chunks of road across the city - but that's a small price for briefly making Toronto feel like something more than a grid of commuter arteries. Enter Councillor Ford. He wants to end ActiveTO's road closings, which he says are creating a "mass amount of congestion" for drivers. The young dynast hasn't revived his late uncle's "war on the car" trope and sounds pleasant and reasonable in interviews. But he is every bit as wrong when he places the convenience of motorists above the interests of other city residents, and the needs of people passing through a neighbourhood over those actually living there. Let's review the arguments. Mr. Ford is right that some ActiveTO road closures have increased congestion. City figures point to longer travel times on the Gardiner Expressway during some weekends when Lake Shore West was closed. Even if drivers themselves have some responsibility here - ActiveTO has been a fact for two summers running; pick another route! - of course being stuck in traffic is annoying. Far less persuasive is the notion that cyclists have other options. Mr. Ford suggests they try the waterfront Martin Goodman Trail, as though it wasn't already so crowded as to be the site of narrowly averted Tour de France-style pile-ups every weekend from May to October. The pandemic has revealed the pent-up desire for places to stroll and pedal, in a city centre with few green spaces, and little room for modes of transport that aren't motorized. The city says that 34,000 cyclists and 5,000 pedestrians used Lake Shore West on one day in May when it was closed to car traffic. That's more than the number of cars and trucks using it on the average weekend day. The difference is, when cyclists feel congested or unsafe by a lack of road space, they stay home - or they drive. Cycling congestion is thousands of people invisibly at home or behind the wheel, not cycling. By taking a small amount of road space from cars, a few days a month, ActiveTO has shown that Toronto has been in the throes of a silent, years-long cycling traffic jam. Where the campaign against ActiveTO really founders, though, is on philosophical ground. Mr. Ford believes saving a few minutes of drive-time for a few thousand drivers is worth depriving the city of new, much-needed space for safe recreation. But the places where we live are more than just spaces to drive through. If you wanted to boil the issue down to a Fordian slogan, urbanists have one ready-made: "Cities are for people."

1 0

WFP Editorial: City should focus on cycling infrastructure (Jul30'21)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Jul '21

30 Jul '21

City should focus on cycling infrastructure https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/city-should-focus-on-c… DURING the pandemic, many Winnipeggers decided — to borrow a line from the legendary rock group Queen — to get on their bikes and ride. Cycling was a way to get some exercise at a time when gyms were closed, a head-clearing activity to alleviate stress, and an opportunity to commune with nature after months of being cooped up at home. Winnipeg’s Open Streets pilot project, which was unrolled in 2020 and saw the expansion of the city’s annual Sunday and holiday bike routes, got even more people out on two wheels, in large part because they felt safe to do so. Alas, with this bicycling boom has come an increase in tickets being handed out to cyclists riding on the sidewalk. Winnipeg police issued 87 tickets in 2020, compared with 43 in 2019. So far, police have handed out 38 tickets in 2021. The fine for riding on the sidewalk is $113. Instead of focusing on ticketing cyclists using sidewalks, Winnipeg might be better served by prioritizing safe and accessible biking infrastructure — especially in areas of the city where there is none, and areas in which sidewalk riders are disproportionately ticketed. We don’t really know where to put people on bicycles in this city. Cyclists are not motorists, nor are they pedestrians. And yet, in many areas of the city, if they aren’t sharing the road with one, they are sharing the sidewalk with the other. Winnipeg’s biking infrastructure has slowly improved over the past decade with the arrival of dedicated off-street bike paths as well as protected, buffered and painted on-street bike lanes. But that mix of infrastructure is mostly linked together in a city-wide network by so-called “informal on-street routes,” which are just streets deemed to be low or medium stress for cyclists. On Winnipeg’s Cycling Map, areas of caution are circled in red. As you might expect, many of these are intersections. In many neighbourhoods, especially those in the northern parts of the city, informal on-street routes are largely the only biking infrastructure that exists. That means riding one’s bike in many places in the city — especially if one is a commuter cyclist — inevitably means riding with traffic, often moving at high speed. On busy stretches where bikes are frequently crowded out by cars or near-constant construction, the safer choice is clear. According to Statistics Canada and data from the Canadian Vital Statistics: Death Database, 890 cyclists died in Canada between 2006 and 2017, for an average of 74 deaths per year. Seventy-three per cent of these deaths were the result of a collision with a motor vehicle. Pedestrians are also killed by motor vehicles in Canada; 332 in 2018. Pedestrians have been killed by cyclists travelling at high speed in other places, too, though those incidents are decidedly more rare. The bottom line is that everyone needs to slow down; everyone needs to follow the rules of the road. Mixed-use pathways are frequently shared by pedestrians and cyclists, who should practice proper etiquette by announcing their presence with a bell or a simple “on your left.” Cyclists need to follow the rules of traffic, and motorists need to realize bikes have the right to be on the road. The increased interest in cycling shows there’s an appetite for safe, equitable and accessible biking infrastructure in this city. Until everyone can stay in their dedicated lane, we need to find a way to share without being punished.

1 0

Sympathy Doesn’t Do a Damn Thing
by Beth McKechnie 29 Jul '21

29 Jul '21

In part 1 of a special 2-episode series focused on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, Zack Hurtz, Micah Lusignan, Krystal Monteros, and Tanisha Sepulveda share their everyday mobility challenges and what they believe is needed for equitable access to mobility for all. https://transloc.com/the-movement-podcast/sympathy-doesnt-do-a-damn-thing/ -- Beth McKechnie (she/her) *| *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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 located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anishininiwag, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of* *the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and that our hydro is sourced from numerous First Nations here in Manitoba**. * 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>

1 0

Government of Canada announces the country’s first-ever federal strategy and fund dedicated to building active transportation trails and pathways
by Beth McKechnie 28 Jul '21

28 Jul '21

Government of Canada announces the country’s first-ever federal strategy and fund dedicated to building active transportation trails and pathways https://www.canada.ca/en/office-infrastructure/news/2021/07/government-of-c… The Active Transportation Fund will invest $400 million over five years to help build new and expanded networks of pathways, bike lanes, trails and pedestrian bridges and undertake planning studies. This new Fund is part of an eight-year, $14.9-billion public transit investment to support communities as they build vibrant neighbourhoods where people can safely live, work, and play. Eligible recipients for the Active Transportation Fund are municipal, local, and regional governments, provincial and territorial governments, public sector bodies, not-for-profit organizations and various Indigenous Governing Bodies. More information about the Active Transportation Fund, details on eligibility, and how to apply may be found on the Infrastructure Canada website. <https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/active-actif-eng.html>

1 0

The Metro: Campaign aims to drop speed limit to 30 km/hr in Bruce Park (Jul28'21)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Jul '21

28 Jul '21

Movement to calm traffic picks up https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/Movement-to-calm-tr… When the pandemic struck, Bourkevale Community Centre organizers decided to pivot their efforts to create a safe and active neighbourhood outside of the building’s four walls, said board president Daevid Ramey. To make this happen, Ramey helped launch Bourkevale 30, a grassroots campaign to drop the area’s speed limit to 30 km/hr. Bourkevale 30 officially kicked off on July 18. “This is a perfect opportunity to engage an entire community and get it done,” Ramey said. “We really want to develop a groundswell of support.” Many studies have reported that pedestrians have a significantly higher rate of survival if struck by a vehicle travelling 30 km/hr rather than 50 km/hr, he explained. “If you create space for folks just to wander around and feel safe from vehicles, they’ll come out and use that space in a really great way,” Ramey said. There are no main through-roads in the Bruce Park neighbourhood, Ramey explained. It’s bookended to the west by George Waters Middle School and Bourkevale Park and Assiniboine Children’s Centre and Jae Eadie Park to the east. The Assiniboine River caps the area to the south and Portage Ave. does the same to the north. “We thought we could make this one of the most livable communities in the city by just getting the speed limit lowered to ensure everyone felt comfortable and our streets were safe and accessible,” Ramey said. Some residents have taken to walking down back alleys to avoid walking where cars often reach the speed limit, he said. With a newly printed set of campaign signs in hand, Ramey and his family set out on a recent muggy July evening to drop them off to fellow Bourkevale 30 supporters. The first stop was the home of Robert Froese, who’s lived down the street from Bourkevale Community Centre for six years. Froese often rides his bike straight out of his garage to the trail systems bisecting the area. As an avid cyclist and self-described tree-hugger, Froese noted the area’s high level of active transportation. “Nobody coming by any of these streets is here for any other purpose than (to go to) a destination within this area. They’re either going to their home or their friends or their neighbours or the community centre,” he said. The city has designated the stretch of Assiniboine Avenue that runs through Bruce Park as a weekend and holiday bike route. Here, vehicle traffic is limited to one block from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Assiniboine Avenue, like a handful of other streets in the neighbourhood, doesn’t have sidewalks, forcing pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to share the road. “You’ve got seniors with walkers, people walking their dogs and entertaining their children ... you get a car coming by here at 50 km/hr, that’s a death trap, there’s no reason for it,” Froese said. Considering city workers must drop off and pick up the bike route barricades every weekend, Froese figures reducing the speed limit in the entire neighbourhood would save time and money. Those interested in supporting the cause can find more information and a petition at www.mybourkevale.com

1 0

WFP: Sidewalk cyclists face ticketing surge (Jul28'21)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Jul '21

28 Jul '21

Fines disproportionately target certain demographics Sidewalk cyclists face ticketing surge https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/coronavirus/number-of-tickets-han… AS the number of cyclists increases on Winnipeg streets, more tickets are being handed out for riding on sidewalks. Winnipeg police handed out more than double the number of tickets to people for riding bikes on the sidewalk last year, issuing 87 in 2020 compared to 43 in 2019, said spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon. So far this year, police have handed out 38 tickets, which ding a rider $113. Anders Swanson, cycling advocate and executive director at Winnipeg Trails Association, believes people shouldn’t get fined for such an infraction. “Fundamentally, we should be giving out tickets to anyone who does a road without putting in bike lanes — that’s who should be getting the sidewalk tickets because it’s not the fault of the people who are doing it. The people who are doing it are trying to save lives,” he said. The Winnipeg Trails Association warns people they could be ticketed for taking to the sidewalks on bikes, but Swanson thinks it’s often necessary for them to do so at times because of dangerous stretches or intersections where traffic squeezes out cyclists. “The reality is when you’re giving tickets like that, the message it’s sending is that you should be doing something else, and that something else is usually driving, which is far more dangerous for everybody for all kinds of reasons, whether it’s for health and environment or road violence and trauma. There has to be a better way, because there are places around the world that have figured that out,” Swanson said. Orly Linovski, who researches transportation equity at the University of Manitoba, said there’s another issue: cycling tickets disproportionately target certain demographics. Linovski and other researchers acquired ticketing data through a freedom of information request for the years 2018 through 2020. The data include all cycling tickets, which Linovski has mapped out but has yet to publish. “The vast majority were in probably four or five different census tracts in the downtown core, but also north of it,” she said. Data showed a few hundred cycling tickets in those areas, including downtown and the neighbourhoods bordering Main Street north to Higgins Avenue, she said. Tickets were almost non-existent outside central Winnipeg, with most neighbourhoods registering either zero or one ticket for all three years. “There’s a few reasons for this: there’s no cycling infrastructure in some of those neighbourhoods. You know what Main Street is like. On top of having an underpass, in some places there’s four lanes in each direction of very fast moving traffic. It makes sense that people would cycle on the sidewalks,” she said. Linovski doesn’t believe the frequency of sidewalk cycling is specific to those neighbourhoods. “I think the level of policing in that neighbourhood is higher. You see cyclists on the sidewalk everywhere, but they’re not ticketed,” she said. While the ticketing data didn’t include racial or socioeconomic information, the areas with higher ticket counts generally have populations with lower incomes and higher rates of visible minorities than the rest of the city, Linovski said. When asked for the city’s stance on sidewalk cycling, a spokesman for the public works declined to comment, instead referring the Free Press to the Winnipeg police, who said they were unable to respond before publishing time Tuesday. cody.sellar(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

Wales suspends all future roadbuilding
by Beth McKechnie 21 Jul '21

21 Jul '21

Wales Suspends All Future Roadbuilding <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> (The Guardian) Reports the Welsh government has suspended all future road-building plans as part of plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Money saved by not building new roads would be used to improve existing ones, including creating new bus and cycle lanes and infrastructure for sustainable transport.

1 0

WFP Analysis: Reduced speeds won’t expand travel time (Jul17'21)
by Beth McKechnie 17 Jul '21

17 Jul '21

Reduced speeds won’t expand travel time https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/reduced-speeds-wont-expa… I DRIVE a car that spends almost all its time on the streets of Winnipeg. Thanks to the vehicle’s trip computer, I know my average speed — 31 kilometres per hour. So, the current debate over lowering speed limits on some city streets comes as a bit of a surprise. There is some opposition as the City of Winnipeg begins a yearlong experiment with reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on sections of four local streets. Do opponents of the move realize how fast they really travel? The simple fact is that lowering speed limits to 30 km/h on many residential streets is not going to change how quickly you get around town — and it will save lives in the process. It is well known that the actual speed vehicles travel in an urban area is governed by such factors as traffic volumes, the road system, accidents and construction — and not so much by posted speed limits. A study in New York a few years ago famously found that the average travelling speed of a vehicle in Manhattan was 7.5 km/h, which means you can just about keep up to cars on foot at a brisk walking pace. Winnipeg rarely has gridlocked traffic, but try crossing the city on Route 90 during morning or afternoon rush hours. Sure, the signs say 50 km/h, 70 km/h or even 80 km/h, but try achieving that on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. I am about as average a motorist as can be, driving to work and other activities over a series of residential streets, neighbourhood collector roads and highways, all within city limits. I rarely venture outside the Perimeter Highway. Over thousands of kilometres every year, the trip computer comes up with the same average of 31 km/h in the stop-and-go traffic I encounter across the city. That’s not going to change if I have to slow down to 30 km/h on some residential streets. In fact, like most drivers, I spend very little time on residential streets and rarely drive the speed limit on them in any event. They are usually the first leg or the last leg of a journey, as they are intended to be. The focus on speed limits shows a lack of knowledge about how fast people really drive, and also about how speed limits fit into the bigger program of road safety. The stated goal of many cities now is to achieve “Vision Zero,” a concept that eliminates traffic fatalities entirely. Lower speed limits play a role in this. But the concept is much broader. Its goal is a safe transportation system in which the needs of street users, vehicles and the transportation network have to be addressed in an integrated manner, through a wide range of interventions. It can involve redesigning roads, redirecting traffic, creating separate routes for pedestrians and cyclists, improved driver training and many other features. The whole system must work together and cannot have elements that are at odds with the bigger picture. That is where lower residential speed limits come in. The design of most residential streets makes them perfectly safe if vehicles travel at 30 km/h. Drivers can stop quickly if, for example, a child runs onto the street. Motorists and cyclists can safely share the road, with lots of time to react, move over and drive around. Speed things up to 50 km/h and the dynamics change. The motorist expects to travel at that speed. The child is in danger. The cyclist and motorist get into conflict because the motorist must slow down or stop to avoid a collision. My River Heights street has speed bumps, stop signs and yield signs, all within a distance of a few hundred metres. The only thing that makes it dangerous is a motorist racing to get up to the 50 km/h speed limit for a few seconds on the oneblock, 400-metre unimpeded stretch in front of my house. A street for vehicles going 50 km/h needs separate lanes for motorists and cyclists, more traffic lights and crosswalks, more safety measures. There are lots of streets like this in Winnipeg, nearby the residential streets, and the speed limits on them are not changing. Neither is the time it is going to take you to get across the city, travelling at the real average speed you go on city streets. *Bob Cox is the publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press*.

1 0

Next national series event - Bike To The Future
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Shaun Loney <info(a)encompass.coop> Date: Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 1:52 PM The role of bikes in designing cities for people. Getting from here to there. [image: Logo] <https://encompass.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9f8c78844735ab51e913e66…> Upcoming series event:Bike To The FutureRole and impact of bikes in designing cities for people. Thursday July 22nd at 1:00 - 2:30 EDTSeries: What If the Ways We Build Back Better Rewrite the Social Contract? During the pandemic Canadians started biking more than ever, and it became apparent to many people that so far city planning has focused on moving cars around efficiently. As part of a larger discussion on active transit, this week's series seeks to ask “what could the impact be of instead centering our designs on moving people? Specifically, what if biking was fast, easy, safe, and maybe even the most fun way of getting around? What needs to happen to get us from here to there? (pun intended!) Join us with special guest Mel Marginet of the Green Action Centre in Winnipeg, as we continue this generative series about shooting for better than “normal” as we come out of the pandemic. Mel, who is prolific on twitter <https://encompass.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9f8c78844735ab51e913e66…>, is focused on what individuals can do to live sustainably, while also advocating for governments to do their part to make healthy, green choices the most convenient, appealing and affordable for all. We look forward to having her as part of this timely conversation. By re-writing social contract we mean the rules, written and unwritten, that hold society together. Is there a better time than now to question societal norms and assumptions? In the series so far, we’ve explored how everyday people can invest in non-profit real estate through community bonds and we learned about complementary currency. Before we take a break in August, we’ll get together from coast to coast to talk bikes. Encompass Coop and Axiom News invite you to park your bike and jump on Zoom and join a highly participatory conversation….. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPERIENCE: - Being lit up by new ideas that bring more love, compassion, and kindness into the world. - Aha moments that excite you. - A tangible ways of approaching city design that could: - Increase livability, environmental action, affordability, and maybe our own physical and mental health. - How about some confidence and inspiration? Then this might be the conversation for you! YOU MUST REGISTER <https://encompass.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9f8c78844735ab51e913e66…>TO RECEIVE THE LINK FOR THE CALL. *See you there!* Lucas and Shaun Register at Eventbrite <https://encompass.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9f8c78844735ab51e913e66…> *Copyright (C) 2021 Encompass Co-op. All rights reserved.* You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

1 0

WFP: Bike-building event to put discarded rubber back on road (Jul16'21)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

Bike-building event to put discarded rubber back on road https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/bike-building-event-to-put-discarde… IT’S a venture that combines cycling with recycling. Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub, a non-profit, is set to hold the first of two events that will get more bikes on the road at the very time cycling has experienced a resurgence. At “empty the fill” events (the first one takes place this weekend), volunteers collect discarded bikes from Winnipeg 4R depots and make them roadworthy. They sort, disassemble and reassemble the bikes, deliver them to volunteer builders and shops so they can be donated to people who need a set of wheels. Executive director Kate Sjoberg said the rising popularity of cycling means there’s a greater opportunity to make bicycles and bicycle repairs more accessible to schools, non-profits and the greater community. “Bikes are such a source of joy for so many,” she said. “So, to be able to divert this waste from the landfills and make them really useful to communities that really want them, that’s really exciting.” This weekend’s event involves parts collected at the Brady Landfill recycling depot. To account for COVID-19 safety measures, some volunteers will take the bikes into their own homes to put together. Using this socially distanced system, the charity was able to fix almost 600 bikes last December during its annual Cycle of Giving event. This weekend’s event will gear itself more towards children’s bikes, which will go to schools along with weekly giveaway events in different locations. The shop has added events to its schedules, including pop-up bike repair stands and bike giveaways at pop-up COVID-19 testing sites. WRENCH depends on volunteers, such as longtime core volunteer and bicycle advocate Dave Elmore. Years ago, bicycle parts were wasted, but during his time, Elmore has been able to recycle the parts so they “find their way back into the hands of people who need them,” he said. gillian.brown(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

Transit's Rider Happiness Benchmark survey results & webinar
by Beth McKechnie 14 Jul '21

14 Jul '21

Hi everyone, Please see the link below to access a webinar recording below (which I haven't listened to yet) and here's the link to the Rider Happiness report for Canada: https://blog.transitapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/RHB-Report_CAN.pdf *Note*: This data is from Transit app users and the goal is to get transit agencies to subscribe to the service for reports. Still, it provides some potentially helpful information. cheers, Beth ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Elizabeth Resta <elizabethresta(a)gmail.com> Fellow transportation enthusiasts, I wanted to share the results of Transit's April 2021 Rider Happiness Benchmark survey. Findings could be helpiness as you're thinking about building out your organization's post-COVID transportation plan. https://blog.transitapp.com/case-study/rider-happiness-benchmarking-survey-… There will be a webinar Thursday, May 27th, 2pm PT if you're interested in diving deeper into the results. There's also a link to the full report. Some takeaways: - Transit riders are incrementally returning and feeling optimistic about riding more. - They’re getting vaccinated at an even higher rate than the general population. - Transit riders' overall satisfaction with their agency has increased since November (but some agencies have risen in the rankings, while others have fallen). Happy reading, Beth --- Beth Resta elizabethresta(a)gmail.com

1 0

Upcoming Webinar on Rails-with-Trails
by Beth McKechnie 13 Jul '21

13 Jul '21

*Webinar Announcement* Upcoming Webinar on Rails-with-Trails *Thursday, August 19, 2021* 1:00 - 2:30 pm Eastern Time Register Here <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> Many communities across the United States recognize the benefits of developing shared use paths and other trails to make transportation network connections for bicyclists and pedestrians and to increase physical activity and improve health. A new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Rails-with-Trails: Best Practices and Lessons Learned <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…>, examines safety, design, and liability issues associated with the development of shared use paths and other trails adjacent to active railroad and transit rights-of-way. It explores lessons learned from the experience of rails-with-trails, and suggests best practices to enhance safety and security for railroads, transit, and trail users. During this webinar, the authors will share findings, recommendations, and lessons learned. Following the presentations, the panelists will respond to questions from webinar participants. Panelists include: - Shari Schaftlein, Director, Office of Human Environment, Federal Highway Administration - Mike Long, Director, Regional Operations, Office of Regional Operations and Outreach, Federal Railroad Administration - Frank Frey, General Engineer, Federal Railroad Administration - Michail Grizkewitsch, Transportation Analyst, Federal Railroad Administration - Jared Fijalkowski, Community Planner, U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center - Kelly Pack, Senior Director of Trail Development, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - Christopher Douwes, Community Planner, Federal Highway Administration ------------------------------ PBIC offers free, public webinars approximately every month. To register for upcoming webinars and to access archived presentations, please visit www.pedbikeinfo.org/webinars <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> . Follow the PBIC on Twitter <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> and Facebook <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> and join the discussion [image: https://twitter.com/pedbikeinfo?lang=en] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> [image: https://www.facebook.com/pedbikeinfo] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> [image: http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/index.cfm] <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> ------------------------------ Since its inception in 1999, PBIC's mission has been to improve the quality of life in communities through the increase of safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ------------------------------ Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center 730 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Suite 300 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Add us to your address book <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/vcard?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e453ab5d&…> Phone: 1.888.823.3977 Fax: 919.962.8710 www.pedbikeinfo.org <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> View this email in your browser <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…>

1 0

WFP: City speed pilot project lifts off on select streets (Jul13'21)
by Beth McKechnie 13 Jul '21

13 Jul '21

CITY SPEED PILOT PROJECT LIFTS OFF ON SELECT STREETS TRAFFIC on some Winnipeg roads will soon need to slow down. The City of Winnipeg will reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on sections of four local streets known as “neighbourhood greenways,” with the first changes starting Monday. Between July 12 and 23, city crews will install new speed limit signs, speed humps and intersection controls along the routes to support the slower speed limit for a one-year pilot project. The changes will begin this week along Machray Avenue (between Fife and Main streets) and Powers Street (between Dufferin and Partridge avenues). The speed will begin to drop during the week of July 19 on Eugenie Street (from St. Mary’s Road to Youville Street) and Warsaw Avenue (from Thurso Street to Pembina Highway). Once new speed limit signs are posted, they will take effect immediately.

1 0

How to make your bike data count
by Beth McKechnie 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Best-practices for analyzing and applying bike data *Let's talk data: join us for a free webinar* View this email in your browser <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/lk-about-data-4992738-e-UNIQID/725ry…]> 'How to make your bike data count' *On Tuesday July 20th at 2PM ET, join us for a webinar* For the past few months, we have been running a competition called 'Bikes Count' <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/-during-bike-month-eco-counter/725s1…> with our partners at The League of American Bicyclists <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/community/725s3/295005844?h=LgIONFQU…>. This year's winners - Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance and the City of Charlottesville (VA) - are receiving expert data services from us, including data cleaning, analysis and communications. In two weeks from now, on July 20th at 2-30PM ET, join us for a free webinar to hear about those projects and discover actionable best-practices for organizing, analyzing and communicating bike data. Click here to register for the webinar <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/urrTsvHtcqLa279KkJgFFq8uPEOk9k/725s5…> *About the webinar:* For Bicycle Friendly Communities and bike advocacy groups, the importance of collecting bike data is often well known. From manual counts to surveys, bike parking data to automated counts, bike data is more available than ever. Analyzing, organizing and communicating that data for meaningful change, however, remains challenging and under-discussed. What are the best-practices for collecting, analyzing and communicating bike data? How can advocates get the most out of a little bit of data? How can manual bike counts be leveraged in a community to support change? During this free one-hour webinar, hear from bike data experts and the winners of this year’s Bikes Count data competition on all things bike data. We look forward to seeing you there! [image: Facebook] <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/EcoCounter-/725s7/295005844?h=LgIONF…> [image: Twitter] <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/Eco-Counter/725s9/295005844?h=LgIONF…> [image: Website] <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/2021-07-07/725sc/295005844?h=LgIONFQ…> Copyright © 2021 Eco-Counter. 3981 Saint-Laurent Blvd, Suite 604 | Montreal, QC | H2W 1Y5 Office: 1-514-849-9779 | Toll Free: 1-866-518-4404 This email was sent to <<Adresse e-mail>> *why did I get this?* <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/e85ca3a9-e-UNIQID-c-b9989169e3/725sf…> unsubscribe from this list <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/e85ca3a9-e-UNIQID-c-b9989169e3/725sh…> update subscription preferences <https://info.eco-compteur.com/e/685233/e85ca3a9-e-UNIQID-c-b9989169e3/725sk…> Eco-Compteur · 4 Rue Charles Bourseul, Lannion, France · Lannion 22300 · France

1 0

PST eliminated for electric bicycles in BC
by Beth McKechnie 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

As the popularity of electric bikes (e-bikes) continues to grow in North America, the B.C. government has eliminated the PST on e-bikes and e-trikes, as announced in Budget 2021. “We have removed the PST on e-bikes to help people save money,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance. “This is just one of the ways our government is encouraging people of all ages to make the switch to an electric-assisted bicycle that will ease commuting pressures and help the environment.” The PST exemption on e-bikes and e-tricycles is a component of building a greener, stronger economy as part of CleanBC. Budget 2021 includes $36 million over the next three years for active transportation infrastructure, such as bike lanes, sidewalks, lighting improvements and multi-use pathways. Read full release <https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021FIN0045-001313>

1 0

When a car improves your life, it’s a public policy failure
by Beth McKechnie 05 Jul '21

05 Jul '21

[excerpted from https://ggwash.org/view/81764/national-links-when-a-car-improves-your-life-… ] *If we had better transit, I wouldn’t need this car*: When buying a car cuts down travel times and opens access to more of a city, that is a failure of planners and leaders who could be making many more people’s lives better by providing more robust active transportation including transit. Baltimore-based writer Dharna Noor laments the improvements to her mobility that purchasing a car during the pandemic created because of poor policy and service. (Dharna Noor | Earther <https://bit.ly/3iWKBkd>) https://gizmodo.com/buying-a-car-improved-my-life-it-shouldnt-have-18471060… <https://gizmodo.com/buying-a-car-improved-my-life-it-shouldnt-have-18471060…>

1 0

WFP: Wellington Crescent bike access to remain unchanged (Jun25'21)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Jun '21

25 Jun '21

Wellington Crescent bike access to remain unchangedCouncil votes 13-1 against curtailing 'open streets' period https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/wellinton-crescent-bike-access-to-r… City council has voted to maintain the "open streets" project route on Wellington Crescent that has been the source of debate among neighbourhood residents and street users. Brenlee Carrington Trepel, who gathered 68 pages' worth of letters that supported the route reduction, said more than 100 households wanted it changed. Meanwhile, a petition that called for council to keep Wellington’s daily access in place until November had gathered more than 1,700 online signatures by Thursday night. Just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Coun. Matt Allard’s (St. Boniface) call to keep the Wellington Crescent route’s daily status in place until November was approved in a 13-1 vote, which only Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) opposed. Klein said he voted against the motion due to a lack of consultation on the routes. Councillors John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) were absent from the meeting, due to personal matters. The Wellington route is one of 17 street sections where vehicle travel is restricted to one block between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to allow more room for cyclists, a follow-up to the 2020 program known as "open streets." Most of this year’s routes operate daily, though a few are already limited to weekends and holidays. During debate prior to the vote, multiple council members urged all road users to share the road respectfully.

1 0

Update on Wellington Cres story
by Patman, David 25 Jun '21

25 Jun '21

Wellinton Crescent bike access to remain unchanged - Winnipeg Free Press<https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/wellinton-crescent-bike-access-to-r…> Wellinton Crescent bike access to remain unchanged Council votes 13-1 against curtailing 'open streets' period Posted: 8:47 AM CDT Friday, Jun. 25, 2021 City council has voted to maintain the "open streets" project route on Wellington Crescent that has been the source of debate among neighhbourhood residents and street users. Brenlee Carrington Trepel, who gathered 68 pages' worth of letters that supported the route reduction, said more than 100 households wanted it changed. Meanwhile, a petition that called for council to keep Wellington's daily access in place until November had gathered more than 1,700 online signatures by Thursday night. Just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Coun. Matt Allard's (St. Boniface) call to keep the Wellington Crescent route's daily status in place until November was approved in a 13-1 vote, which only Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) opposed. Klein said he voted against the motion due to a lack of consultation on the routes. Councillors John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) were absent from the meeting, due to personal matters. The Wellington route is one of 17 street sections where vehicle travel is restricted to one block between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to allow more room for cyclists, a follow-up to the 2020 program known as "open streets." Most of this year's routes operate daily, though a few are already limited to weekends and holidays. During debate prior to the vote, multiple council members urged all road users to share the road respectfully. [City of Winnipeg logo]<https://winnipeg.ca/> David Patman P.Eng Manager - Transportation Transportation Public Works Telephone: 204-986-5895 Mobile: 204-806-6471 Email: dpatman(a)winnipeg.ca<mailto:dpatman@winnipeg.ca> Website: winnipeg.ca<https://winnipeg.ca/> Address: 101-1155 Pacific, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P1 Connect with us: [Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/cityofwinnipeg> [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/cityofwinnipeg> Confidentiality Notice: The information contained in this message is intended solely for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any use, dissemination, distribution, copying or disclosure of this message and attachments, in whole or in part, by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and permanently delete the complete message and any attachments. Thank you.

1 0

WFP: Frustration drives debate over Wellington Crescent closure at city hall (Jun25'21)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Jun '21

25 Jun '21

Frustration drives debate over Wellington Crescent closure Rubber meets road at city hall https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/rubber-meets-road-at-city-hall-5747… SOME say it’s a desperately needed active transportation path, while others blame it for triggering conflict between cyclists and drivers. The hotly debated call to reduce access to the enhanced summer cycling route on Wellington Crescent (Academy Road to Guelph Street) sparked plenty of passionate feedback at Thursday’s city council meeting. By 8 p.m., councillors had yet to vote on a motion to reduce the route’s operations to weekends and holidays only, starting Sept. 7, instead of a previous council-approved plan to let seven-daya- week access continue until Nov. 5. Council was expected to vote sometime Thursday night. Sharon Kirk told councillors reducing access to the route would set a bad precedent for other streets in the pilot program. “Removing Wellington Crescent from open streets early… could set a precedent for other open streets to be taken off as well,” said Kirk. The Wellington route is one of 17 street sections where vehicle travel is restricted to one block between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to allow more room for cyclists, a follow-up to the 2020 program known as “open streets.” Most of this year’s routes operate daily, though a few are already limited to weekends and holidays. Kirk said the four drivers who live at her Wellington Crescent home have not experienced delays in their commutes since the change took effect. “This fall, when schools open and more cyclists commute to work, it is critical that Wellington Crescent remain closed to vehicles (except for oneblock access) until November for the safety of these community cyclists,” she said. “The ability to exercise (safely) should be considered a human right.” However, several other Wellington Crescent residents said the route has forced vehicle traffic to increase on other nearby routes, made turning onto Academy Road “a nightmare” and added congestion to back lanes. In addition, several residents said some cyclists have lashed out at drivers for using the one-block travel option to reach their homes. “Many individuals apparently feel empowered to be the street police and do not hesitate to lecture, scream, swear, give finger gestures, photograph without consent and physically attempt to block access to our (homes),” said Leah Restall. In one case, Restall said that included a male cyclist who refused to let her pass in her vehicle. She said the cyclist swerved back and forth in front of her car, appeared to photograph or videotape her reaction and then yelled obscenities at her. Brenlee Carrington Trepel, who gathered 68 pages worth of letters that support the route reduction, said more than 100 households want that change. Meanwhile, a petition that calls for council to keep Wellington’s daily access in place until November had gathered more than 1,700 online signatures by Thursday night. Late Thursday afternoon, Coun. Matt Allard shared a motion that would cancel the change, leaving daily access in place. Allard, council’s public works chairman, said he was “optimistic” council would support that. “In terms of public opinion, I think the route is popular and I think, even (with Wellington residents), it’s popular… I’m hoping the program works well and we can make it a permanent addition,” said Allard (St. Boniface). Mayor Brian Bowman previously voted in favour of reducing the route’s operations, along with most members of his executive policy committee. Bowman told media Thursday that many residents weighed in on the topic following that vote. “This is a prime example of where having open, transparent opportunities for Winnipeggers to weigh in on matters that affect them is something that benefits the decision-making at city hall,” he said. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), whose ward includes Wellington Crescent, was absent from Thursday’s council meeting due to a personal matter. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

1 0

WFP: Wellington neighbours at odds over open streets initiative (Jun23'21)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Jun '21

23 Jun '21

Wellington neighbours at odds over open streets initiative; issue to go before council Thursday Crescent conflict going to city hall https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/crescent-conflict-going-to-city-hal… IT’S a street fight that has pitted Winnipeg’s elites against each other. The tug of war over closing Wellington Crescent to vehicles, so cyclists and pedestrians can use the tony boulevard almost exclusively, is headed toward a showdown at city hall Thursday. A small group of residents rallied Tuesday to show support for current rules that restrict vehicles to one block of travel from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily from Academy Road to Guelph Street. The “Open Streets” program affects several streets across the city that are popular with cyclists and pedestrians and is scheduled to continue till Nov. 5. Organizer Sharon Kirk said the group represented a fraction of overall support to keep the street closed to vehicles, pointing to an online petition she and her husband organized that collected nearly 500 signatures over two days. “I’m a counsellor, so I fully believe having a safe place to exercise enhances the mental well-being of everyone, not just during COVID times, but moving forward,” Kirk said. She said the program improves the neighbourhood’s “community feel.” On the opposite side, a group of residents has submitted letters to city hall asking it to lift restrictions for vehicles on the street. Some argue traffic congestion has moved to nearby Academy Road, while others say people should be allowed to drive down the crescent and look at the landscaped yards. Gail Asper wrote it is “simply unfair to ban all vehicles from having any opportunity to experience Winnipeg’s most beautiful street” and that the prioritized access to cyclists is “discriminating against thousands of Winnipeggers.” Resident Brenlee Carrington-Trepel compiled a 68-page document that includes dozens of letters from residents who complained about the program. That prompted city hall to consider lifting the ban on vehicles on weekdays as of Sept. 7 In an email, Carrington-Trepel said more than 100 residents have contacted her and want “to keep Wellington Crescent part of the Open Streets program as a Sunday and holidays bike route after Sept. 7.” She notes the street had closed on Sundays and holidays “for decades.” She declined to speak further before council votes. Resident Atul Sharma said the letters exaggerate the inconveniences of the program. “I actually resent people speaking for me and saying that these are insurmountable obstacles,” he said. “They’re minor inconveniences.” Sharma has a disability which forces him to use a walker. He said he uses an adaptive bicycle to get exercise. The bike is wider than a regular bike, he said, which makes it difficult to safely coexist on the road with cars. Some of the residents who want the street open said the project discriminates against the disabled, but Sharma disagrees. “This opens the crescent up to them. We see them. We see them in electric wheelchairs, being pushed along by family members, using adaptive vehicles. I think it expands opportunity.” One major concern for resident Jutta Essig is making Winnipeg’s transportation culture safer and environmentally friendly. The mother of three from Germany said she and her family used to bike everywhere in Europe, but when she moved to Winnipeg, she noticed a lack of bicycle infrastructure. When a close friend was hit while biking on Wellington Crescent, her habits changed, she said. “From that moment on we went into North American lifestyle that we use the car for every little commute. It bothered me, but there was no option,” she said. Anders Swanson, executive director of Winnipeg Trails Association, a nonprofit that advocates for sustainable infrastructure, said reopening the street early to motorists would be a step in the wrong direction. “We can’t declare climate emergencies then roll back the simplest thing we’ve done,” he said. “That’s not leadership.” He said “Open Streets” is a “drop in the bucket” in terms of what needs to be done to boost active transportation. He commended residents who showed up on Tuesday, but said the issue affects everyone in Winnipeg. “Access to fresh air is a right,” he said. “The ability to drive is not.” The city conducted a survey about “Open Streets” in November 2020. At the time, 83 per cent of Wellington Crescent residents responded positively to the idea, out of the 48 per cent who answered the survey. Kirk said she believes this poll still represents her neighbourhood. In research conducted for the program in 2020, Wellington Crescent had the most cyclists and pedestrians during two 12-hour periods. The second busiest street was Wolseley Avenue. cody.sellar(a)freepress.mb.ca

1 0

Wellington residents start their own petition to save the Open Street
by Anders Swanson 22 Jun '21

22 Jun '21

View their petition <https://www.change.org/p/mayor-brian-bowman-don-t-exempt-wellington-crescen…>. Background: Yesterday, I learned that residents along Wellington had started a petition of their own to counter the messaging in the media and have their own say. It is intended to reflect the views of the majority of their neighbours who, according to their experience and the data, support open streets and are concerned about the process seems like it would lead to their early closure if a vote is successful at Council this Thursday. Winnipeg Trails' statement is here. <https://www.change.org/p/keep-winnipeg-s-open-streets-open-expand-them-unti…>

1 0

WFP Analysis: Reimagining Wellington Crescent (Jun21'21)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Jun '21

22 Jun '21

Reimagining Wellington Crescent https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/reimagining-wellington-c… “WE heard birds” exclaimed Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, France, in an interview with Time magazine last summer. She was describing her city, all cities, during the first COVID-19 lockdowns, when, with fewer people driving, we were provided a glimpse into what the future of cities could be. She vowed that Paris would not return to a pre-pandemic world, pledging to learn from the devastating challenges of the last year and emerge as a more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, cleaner, healthier and happier city. The changes that have swept across Paris since have been far-reaching and impactful, driven by a policy framework called the “la ville du quart d’heure,” or the “15-minute city.” The strategy focuses on building more diverse, integrated, and mixed-use neighbourhoods that provide residents access to all of life’s core services and amenities, within a 15-minute walk, bike or transit ride. Designing communities with integrated supports such as shops, restaurants, gyms, groceries, offices, schools and parks is in direct contrast to most modern neighbourhoods, where housing is separated by a vehicle trip from employment, shopping, entertainment and industry. The pandemic has forced many people to work from home and spend more time in their own neighbourhoods. The 15-minute city concept builds on this evolving social and employment landscape, offering an opportunity to improve local economies and deliver lasting health, equity and environmental benefits. In Paris, incentives are being provided to support development of small businesses and community facilities in targeted areas, emphasizing equal access to services, amenities and green space that strengthen neighbourhoods and actively reduce social divides and inequalities. A new policy has been developed to create pockets of “urban forest” and community gardens for local urban agriculture, in school yards, parks, plazas and other public spaces like city-owned surface parking lots. To facilitate more outdoor dining during the pandemic, restaurants and cafés across Paris were allowed to set up temporary outdoor patios in parking spaces on the street. It was recently announced that these patios will be made a permanent fixture in the city. As the pandemic lifts, other neighbourhood businesses such as florists or bookstores will also be invited to apply for summer terraces, turning over large parts of streets to more pedestrian uses. At the centre of the 15-minute city idea is a complete transformation of how people will move around the city. During the pandemic, more than 50 kilometres of new bike lanes, called coronapistes, were built on major streets across Paris, to provide direct access to key destinations that allows the bicycle to become a viable mode of daily transportation. These lanes are now being made permanent, and the government has committed to building another 650 kilometres of new cycleways, with public space and sidewalks that will transform 70 per cent of the city’s on-street car parking into places for people. To provide more public space during the pandemic, the city’s iconic east-west artery, Rue de Rivoli, became an open street to allow socially distanced outdoor activity. This major artery has now been made permanently open, complementing the riverside freeway that once served 40,000 vehicles per day that has now been transformed into a pedestrian promenade. More than one billion euros per year has been pledged for the maintenance and beautification of streets, squares and gardens, including the famous Champs-Élysées, which will see half of its eight vehicle lanes removed with new bike lanes, pocket parks, and public space, being created along its length. As one of the few positive legacies of the pandemic, Winnipeg’s Open Streets are, on a very small scale, reminiscent of what is happening in Paris. We have taken a tiny fraction of Winnipeg’s 7,000 kilometres of street lanes dedicated to vehicles and turned them into large linear parks. You can hear the birds again on Wellington Crescent. As popular as they are, Open Streets face opposition, but closing them doesn’t necessarily mean a return to the past. Paris offers us an important alternative to consider. The goal of its mobility strategies in the 15-minute city has been to connect pedestrians and cyclists safely and conveniently with their day-to-day destinations, by pedestrianizing major streets and building protected bike lanes on direct, heavy traffic, central routes. Wellington Crescent doesn’t have to be an Open Street, but its future can be something more than the high-speed vehicle freeway it once was. It could be reimagined with parking space removed to build bike lanes and sidewalks. Stop signs and raised crosswalks could be added at every intersection to reduce and slow traffic. It could become a vital active transportation connector between Polo Park and Osborne Village, and a slow, safe, park-like street to drive on. Similarly, instead of opening Scotia Street, adding wider sidewalks and protected bike lanes on a major route like Salter Street would provide equitable access to education, employment and recreation for North End residents. Every neighbourhood has main streets with similar opportunities to connect people with the places they want to go, using more diverse, affordable and sustainable modes of transportation. Paris has shown through its 15-minute-city strategy that by focusing on building stronger, more connected neighbourhoods that allow biking, walking and transit to be used as everyday transportation, great change can be realized. It is OK if Open Streets are not Winnipeg’s priority, if new, more impactful ideas replace them. It is impossible to compare any Canadian city to a global capital like Paris, but its desire to use the lessons of the last year to emerge from the pandemic with a new vision of what the future can be, is something that should inspire all cities. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

1 0

Webinar: Authentic Community Engagement - Best Practices for Equitable Work
by Beth McKechnie 17 Jun '21

17 Jun '21

How to wield your walkable, people-first community advocacy work as a true tool for empowerment Support Walkable Communities <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> Authentic Community Engagement - Best Practices for Equitable Work Wednesday, July 14th at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT Register Here <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> Join us for presentations and a robust Q & A dialogue with active transportation professionals, nonprofit leaders, and equitable engagement experts around what it means to practice and build authentic community engagement with diverse coalitions as the foundation for driving those vital relationships. Panelists will share their best practices for equitable work in striving for inclusive, accessible, connected, and walkable communities - through the lens of their invaluable learned, professionally practiced and lived experiences. Among the details covered, presenters will lean into the importance of acknowledging past harms and learning how to demonstrate an awareness and distinction of active transportation and walkability work as a true tool for empowerment vs. a weapon of racialized oppression. The presentations/discussion will address the following critical questions: - What are the most universal best practices in achieving equity in our work? - How can advocates, practitioners and leaders center the needs and desires of BIPOC and low-income residents? - How can we achieve buy-in and funding streams from government leaders? - How can we habitually challenge normativity in how we define safe walking, biking, mobility, and access? - Why is it imperative to get out of your demographic bubble? - How can we get overlooked community members involved in government-decision discourse? - What are examples of removing barriers for individuals to experience safe destination-based movement while lowering car dependency? - How can we build trust, empowerment and agency with communities that have been perpetually ignored, harmed, and disinvested in? - What kind of data points, projects, or outreach can provide the most insight for determining connected, safe active transportation routes and services in the given community? Learn More and Register Here <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> Help Us Spread the Word About this Webinar [image: Facebook] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> [image: Twitter] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> Learn More About Our Presenters John Yi is the Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks. Prior to joining LA Walks in 2019, John was the Advocacy Director for the American Lung Association in California, where he worked on strong tobacco control and air quality policies. At the Lung Association, John also served as a lead organizer by training tobacco control coalitions throughout the state. He helped bring smoke-free ordinances to over a dozen different cities, fighting back against secondhand smoke and Big Tobacco's efforts to target low-income and communities of color. John also served as the interim National Director for Parent Revolution, an education and social justice non-profit. In this role he led parent organizing campaigns in Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Ohio. He received his master's degree at Georgetown University and his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan. He is a brother of Pi Alpha Phi, speaks Korean and Russian, and loves to cook. Waffiyyah Murray is the Better Bike Share Partnership Program Manager and a Philadelphia native with a love for walking and biking. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Temple University, and over fourteen years of experience working with different Philadelphia-based non-profit and community organizations. As Education Program Manager for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, she worked with the City to support its Safe Route to School program, a national initiative promoting safety and physical activity in school age children through walking and biking. Waffiyyah first arrived at oTIS as the Indego Community Coordinator, where she worked to connect communities to Indego programming and resources to ensure equitable access to Indego, the City of Philadelphia’s bike share system. In her current role as the Better Bike Share Partnership Program Manager, Waffiyyah works to address barriers to the use of bikeshare in low income communities and communities of color, and increase equitable access in bikeshare systems nationally. Jeremy Maxand is the Executive Director of the Living Independence Network Corporation, a center for independent living serving 16 counties in southwest Idaho. Jeremy grew up in a small island community in Southeast Alaska and has used a manual wheelchair since 1989. He moved to Idaho in the early nineties to attend Boise State University, where he earned undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice Administration and Sociology, and a graduate degree is Applied Historical Research. Jeremy holds a certificate from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute, and from the University of Missouri’s College of Human & Environmental Sciences, School of Architectural Studies, ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program. Jeremy has twenty years of nonprofit management experience, and 10 years in executive leadership. Most recently, he was an emergency preparedness program specialist with the Idaho State Independent Living Council, working with local, state, and federal emergency management and public health partners to improve disaster response and recovery for people with disabilities. In Alaska, Jeremy served as an assembly member and mayor of the third geographically largest city by area in the country. Jeremy currently serves on the Valley Regional Transit Regional Advisory Council, the Ada County Highway District ADA Advisory Committee, the Idaho State Independent Living Council, the Idaho State Building Code Board, the Idaho Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Board, and is a founding board member of the Idaho Access Project. José Leal (moderator) At MIG, his projects have encompassed everything from complete streets, parks, schools, and recreation facilities. As Director of the Tribal Nation Building Studio, José is responsible for guiding an interdisciplinary studio of designers, planners, engineers, and scientists to provide engagement, planning, and design services to Tribal Nations to support and strengthen tribal community cohesiveness and resilience, self-determination, and sovereignty. His work focuses on the power of inclusive planning and design and cultural relativism to connect people to the spirit of place through storytelling. STAY CONNECTED <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> Donate Today <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> [image: Facebook] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> [image: Twitter] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> [image: LinkedIn] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> [image: Instagram] ‌ <https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014CmJIQ6i_1yELurQdLLA9bjguVufZzlkTtu4a4qb02S…> America Walks | PO Box 371, Annandale, VA 22003

1 0

WFP: Open-street project promotes accessibility, users say (Jun16'21)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jun '21

16 Jun '21

Open-street project promotes accessibility, users say https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/open-street-project-promotes-access… AT the height of evening rush hour, winding Wellington Crescent is abuzz with all kinds of traffic — even with automobiles limited to one block of travel. Cyclists, joggers, rollerbladers, children on skateboards and scooters, families out for an evening walk with the dog all crowd to the tree-canopied route, taking advantage of the barricaded streets and wide pedestrian boulevard in the warm, sunny afternoon. While most car traffic stuck to the open block, a handful still trekked further, one earning a flash of police lights and a conversation with an officer. Since May, the Winnipeg street has been closed to most vehicle traffic between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.; cyclists are permitted to use the roads, pedestrians are asked to use walkways, and drivers allowed only to travel a block to and from their homes. Though the policy has drawn ire from Wellington and River Heights residents who feel the “open street” brings more problems than opportunities, others say the program provides more accessible ways to get outside and get active — provided everyone shares the road. In a recent package of submissions to the City of Winnipeg public works committee, some disgruntled residents took issue with the increases in traffic on the alternate route, Academy Road. Some residents noted difficulty turning onto the alternate route during rush hour, “bumper-to-bumper” traffic, or tacking extra minutes onto their commute. Others described frustrating encounters with pedestrians and cyclists aggravated by cars on the road — even while driving just one block to their residences. For Sarah Manteuffel, who lives in the Fort Rouge/River Heights area and uses Wellington Crescent when it’s closed to vehicle traffic, the wide-open road provides a safer place for her to ride. On her day off Monday, Manteuffel went for a leisure ride down Wellington and posted a photo of herself — smiling wide next to road barriers outlining the open street rules — in response to criticism of an initiative she feels “makes Winnipeg great.” “I have dwarfism, so I ride a smaller bike and on the streets don’t usually feel very safe,” Manteuffel said in an interview Tuesday. “Even in a designated bike lane, am I going to be trusted to be seen by large vehicles? I go pretty slow, so even other passing cyclists can sometimes be a hazard.” Brian Szklarczuk, an adaptive cycling advocate who co-owns Wolseley’s upcoming bike shop Prairie Velo, said more inclusive forms of movement (three-wheeled bikes, handcycles) often take up a little more space, but those who use them also want to feel safe and comfortable on the road. “We know we need a little more space in the adaptive world, but we really want to be able to not be on the margins all the time,” he said. “(We want) to be able to use the other areas and just feel normal, just feel like we’re another person riding — and that’s what the open streets have allowed folks to do.” As some area residents argued the streets were inaccessible to those who are not as mobile and unable to travel the street except by car, Manteuffel said she found that perspective “challenging” to hear. “I understand that people may want to participate in driving down the crescent to utilize it but, there are other methods and opening the street allows for a different variety of body types to take advantage of that space,” Manteuffel countered. Szklarczuk agrees, and hopes to see all Winnipeggers mindful of each other’s needs when out on the roads. “If we can have the conversations about true inclusiveness, we can have everyone feel safe on whatever mode of transportation they’re using: cyclists, walkers, folks using mobility devices, power chairs, manual chairs — everything you can think of can co-exist really well. We can also co-exist with vehicles really well if there is a shared responsibility that we are all using the road,” he said. Coun. Matt Allard, public works chairman, said a recent motion to knock Wellington Crescent off the holiday closure list came about in an effort to both satisfy the community’s needs and keep the street program running. After Wellington’s ward councillor, John Orlikow, tabled a motion asking for more flexibility on open street rules, by putting power in the hands of the public works director, Allard feared staff could have the power to nix the program. After talking off-the-record with legal advisors, public works instead motioned to take Wellington Crescent off the list and let the area councillor and the public works team decide how best to proceed. Allard said the intent was not to see Wellington permanently dropped from the list, but rather to empower the local councillor and public works director to add routes in a way that works best for constituents. Internal conversations about Wellington Crescent — and its future use as a Sunday/holiday closure street — are still underway at city hall. “The road belongs to everyone, at the end of the day,” Allard said. “All of our taxes pay for the roads, and they are a public space and meant to be shared.” julia-simone.rutgers(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers

1 0

WFP Editorial: Street strife on Wellington Crescent (Jun16'21)
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jun '21

16 Jun '21

Street strife on Wellington Crescent https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/street-strife-on-welli… THE city should pay close attention to the serious concerns raised by some Wellington Crescent residents about the consequences of favouring cyclists and restricting motorists. What the city must ignore, however, is the suggestion by several residents that their high-end addresses entitle them to special treatment. To bestow municipal favours on the basis of property value is a type of classism that has no place in Winnipeg. It would be a logistical nightmare, for example, if city staff had to prioritize posh areas for services such as fire, police and snow-clearing. It would also violate the egalitarian foundation of democracy, where citizens, regardless of address, get equal access to government consideration. That said, it’s equally important not to stoop to negative stereotypes. Many critics in public forums are denouncing the recent feedback on bike routes as the laments of well-to-do Winnipeggers who don’t want their tony street to be sullied by visitors. It’s a pilot project, after all, and feedback is warranted. These Wellington Crescent residents took the opportunity to offer their feedback, plenty of feedback, a prerogative that could be equally exercised by homeowners along any of the other 17 city areas involved in this summer’s Enhanced Summer Bike Routes program, formerly known as Open Streets. Their views were outlined in about three dozen letters, citing problems with the traffic-calming program that restricts motorists to one block of travel between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. seven days a week. Homeowners wrote about increased trash on the ground, and dog deposits on lawns. Many were also miffed that their alternative driving route, along Academy Road, is now so crowded that traffic is slowed. Alarmingly, several letter writers described conflict. One wrote: “I was threatened, yelled at, and physically blocked by cyclists and pedestrians, on a daily basis, while driving the one block allowed to access my residence.” Another wrote: “When you close the roads, the people that live on the street are treated like trespassers onto their own properties.” While councillors should thoughtfully weigh such concerns, they should ignore an attempt by several letter writers to wield their property taxes as a lobbying weapon. One writer noted: “I pay almost 12K a year in property taxes.” Another wrote: “I hope that with our hefty property tax bill our voices will be heard.” The letters were submitted to the city’s public works committee, which then recommended Wellington Crescent be removed from the open streets list. The recommendation now goes to council’s executive policy committee. Councillors should be wary about granting Wellington Crescent an exemption that could set a precedent and undermine the entire open roads program. Council could be required to grant similar exemption to any street where a few homeowners took the initiative to door-knock neighbours and obtain a petition and letters seeking, like Wellington Crescent, an exemption from open roads. Councillors, and Wellington Crescent residents, should live with the current open-road restrictions until this year’s pilot program ends on Nov. 5. It will then be decided which routes will be included in next season’s open-road program. Wellington Crescent is a beautiful area with well-tended properties, grand homes, lush gardens and flowering trees. It’s to be hoped homeowners fortunate enough to live there can bear with the added cyclists and pedestrians for now, perhaps even considering it a community service that their haven offers visitors a geographical tonic from the stressful grimness of the pandemic.

1 0

Webinar Recording - Improving Traffic Signals for Bicycling and Walking
by Mark Cohoe 15 Jun '21

15 Jun '21

Hi, I had the chance to watch this webinar last week, and found it very interesting and useful. https://www.pedbikeinfo.org/webinars/webinar_details.cfm?id=109 One key part was the need to look at average pedestrian delay when setting phasing for traffic signals. When left out of reports that calculate average delay and levels of service for vehicles, average pedestrian waiting times often end up exceeding 40-50 seconds, or Level of Service F, even though it might actually be pretty easy to greatly reduce the average pedestrian wait times without causing much added delay to vehicles. To prevent this from happening, some cities's have adopted policies that require average pedestrian wait times to be measured in any report that includes intersection level of service for vehicles. Pedestrian Level of Service is then reported based on values in the 2000 edition of the Highway Capacity Manual. Cheers, Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

1 0

Advancing Equity in Transportation Planning webinar
by Beth McKechnie 15 Jun '21

15 Jun '21

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Winters, Philip <winters(a)cutr.usf.edu> Date: Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 12:25 PM The next webinar in the 2021 Florida Public Transit Assn, FDOT and CUTR Professional Development Workshop series is “*The Journey Forward: Advancing Equity in Transportation Planning*.” It will be held on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 (10:00-11:30am ET). The webinar is free but pre-registration is required. The webinar will be recorded. *Registration:* https://cutr.adobeconnect.com/pdw-21-advancing-equity/event/registration.ht… *The Journey Forward: Advancing Equity in Transportation Planning* *Moderator:* Stephanie Lewis, CUTR *Presenters:* Tia Boyd, CUTR and Joshua Barber, Hillsborough MPO This session will describe innovative processes, strategies, and tools to integrate equity into transportation planning. We will begin by introducing the Transportation Equity Toolkit – a resource to advance equity in local and regional transportation planning. This toolkit provides agency staff and community members with tools, guidance, and resources to address the transportation needs of traditionally underserved communities and move equity to the forefront of transportation planning practice. The session will then explore how to apply tools such as the Transportation Equity Audit Tool and the Transportation Equity Scorecard Tool to identify the needs of underserved communities and prioritize projects for funding that advance equity. To provide an example of real-world applications of equity-driven practices, Hillsborough MPO staff will discuss their processes and findings from the Title VI and Nondiscrimination Plan update. To meet Title VI and Nondiscrimination Plan requirements, Hillsborough MPO staff have been developing a wide-ranging update that includes a framework for equity for the agency, documenting the history of racism in planning in Hillsborough County, a comprehensive public involvement process with the most underserved communities, and policy and process recommendations for the agency. We will discuss some of the findings from the historical analysis and the feedback from community outreach efforts. The discussion of community feedback will include challenges community members face accessing transportation, housing, planning meetings, and other community elements. Overall, the session will explore: 1. The impetus to investigate historical inequalities and the cumulative impacts of inequitable planning practices, 2. Strategies for more meaningful involvement from diverse communities, including outreach and survey design, and 3. Available tools and resources to identify and address the unique needs of traditionally underserved communities. Registration: https://cutr.adobeconnect.com/pdw-21-advancing-equity/event/registration.ht… A list of all sessions can be found at https://www.cutr.usf.edu/fpta/register.html *PHILIP L. WINTERS, TDM-CP *Director, TDM Program Center for Urban Transportation Research <https://www.cutr.usf.edu/> University of South Florida Tampa Campus 813.974.9811 winters(a)usf.edu [image: logo of Best Workplaces for Commuters] www.bestworkplaces.org Follow us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/CUTRUSF/> | Twitter <https://twitter.com/CUTRUSF> | LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/27012080/> | Newsletter <https://usf.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c3b2561719f02cfb61009c74f&id=5…> *Due to Florida’s broad open records law, email to or from university employees is public record, available to the public and the media upon request.*

1 0

Study: An economic analysis of the health-related benefits associated with bicycle infrastructure investment in three Canadian cities
by Beth McKechnie 15 Jun '21

15 Jun '21

Decision-makers are increasingly requesting economic analyses on transportation-related interventions, but health is often excluded as a determinant of value. We assess the health-related economic impact of bicycle infrastructure investments in three Canadian cities (Victoria, Kelowna and Halifax), comparing a baseline reference year (2016) with the future infrastructure build-out (2020). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246419

1 0

WFP: City hall lobbied to lift restriction on Wellington Crescent (Jun12'21)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

City hall lobbied to lift restriction on Wellington Crescent ‘Open street’ drive residents crazy https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/open-streets-drive-wellington-cresc… CLOSING Wellington Crescent to vehicles has driven some residents of the city’s toniest street to distraction and forced the city to reconsider the designation. In a package of letters submitted to the public works committee, residents argued their mental health, safety, and human rights are being violated because motorists are restricted to one block of travel between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. seven days a week. A 68-page package — compiled by resident Brenlee Carrington-Trepel and comprising more than three dozen letters from disgruntled residents — outlines their concerns. One letter, penned by Asper Foundation president Gail Asper decried the closure of the “historic” street to vehicles, arguing the “100-year-old trees, lilacs and cherry blossoms in full bloom, spectacular gardens of the homeowners and the stunning homes themselves” are an essential “mental health break.” Asper, like many residents, suggested the open street model also amounts to discrimination against the city’s older population who may not be able to access the street by bicycle. “I strongly believe in bike paths, but I do not believe in closing important and historic streets like Wellington Crescent in order to make space for bike paths seven days a week. This is discriminating against thousands of Winnipeggers and I submit there is simply no need for this, when cars, bikes and pedestrians have co-existed for decades,” she wrote. Another letter from one-time mayoral candidate and former councillor Paula Havixbeck argues the policy has caused an increase in property crime. Havixbeck wrote about the observations in the River Heights Community Watch Facebook group — where she is one of the administrators — suggesting open streets resulted in an increase of “crime that quite literally walks across the bridge at both ends” of Wellington Crescent. “The fact that Wellington Crescent is closed, however, poses an issue because fewer people are on site to see these individuals coming in with their empty shopping carts and to be there to be more of a deterrent. Individuals are coming over the bridge day and night. They target yards they can access quickly,” Havixbeck wrote. “I have asked that there be some support in terms of cadets monitoring those entry points.” The open streets summer program bans vehicles from travelling more than one block on select streets in an effort to encourage cycling. Wellington Crescent is also popular with pedestrians and dog-walkers. After an in-camera discussion, the public works committee agreed to request Wellington Crescent be removed from the open streets list and that the public works director be given the power to amend open street rules. The executive policy committee will consider the motion. Area councillor John Orlikow, who originally submitted a motion to public works requesting the director have the ability to alter open street rules, said his intention was never to see the open street shut down. He wanted flexibility to adjust the program based on health restrictions, street usage, traffic capacity on nearby Academy Road and community feedback. “A lot of people are very supportive of (open streets),” said Orlikow. “I feel comfortable that the goodness of the neighbourhood understands why it’s needed and the vast majority of people support that.” Orlikow, who said he is a member of the neighbourhood watch, noted he has not seen data that substantiates claims crime has increased as a result of open streets. “I have seen data that people are not feeling as safe as they used to, and that is very concerning. Are open streets the reason for that? I really can’t say it is,” he said. Another writer, Ian Restall, wrote the closure amounted to “inequity” with a “human rights element.” He argued residents are “disadvantaged and some might say discriminated against by these closures” should they be unable to bike or walk down the road. “I don’t think driving is a human right,” Orlikow countered. “If they do have a concern about human rights, I would suggest they take it to a human rights tribunal.” Several residents — including letter writer Naomi Devine — noted they pay “significant taxes” for the “luxury” of living on Wellington Crescent, arguing they expect to be able to drive more than one block on the road in return. “I don’t agree with that claim. Everybody pays taxes and everybody has the same rights as everybody else,” Orlikow said. While community feedback from those who live on the street is critical, he noted, “I don’t care how much taxes you pay… no one owns the streets, they are public assets.” Before the pandemic, Orlikow said, conversations were held about pedestrians, cyclists and motorists sharing the road. “At the end of the day, it will be my intent to keep open streets on Wellington Crescent. People really do enjoy it. And just try to find some way to get flexibility so we can adjust it based on variables out there,” he said. (To read the letters, visit wfp.to/7nL) julia-simone.rutgers(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers

1 0