[Thanks to Terry Zdan for the share]
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-bike-registry-thefts-1.687…
Winnipeg cyclists could soon have a new, free registration system as part
of an effort to curb bike thefts.
Mayor Scott Gillingham says he will bring forward a motion at the next
executive policy committee meeting, asking the public service to study how
other cities have overhauled their bike registries.
"There's too much bike theft in the city of Winnipeg and there's too much
theft that goes unreported," Gillingham said after a meeting of the
Winnipeg Police Board on Friday.
"And sometimes it goes unreported because individuals who have their bike
stolen just maybe feel there's no hope, because it's too complicated and
they don't think they'll get their bike back."
According to the city, about 2,000 bikes are reported stolen in Winnipeg
every year. About 1,000 are recovered, but only 10 per cent of those are
returned.
Charles Feaver, chair of the bike theft prevention committee with Bike
Winnipeg, has had at least four bikes stolen.
"We surveyed our followers who had experienced bike theft and found that 45
per cent had registered their bikes on the city system, but less than four
percent thought that the registry was helpful in recovering their bikes,"
he told the board on Friday.
Feaver says Vancouver dramatically reduced its bike theft by 42 per cent by
assigning a dedicated detective to work with local cycling advocacy
organizations.
He asked the board for a new community partnership with Winnipeg police to
tackle bike theft.
One problem with the current system is that it is not publicly accessible,
even to police officers.
"[Police] can look at the stolen bikes. So if you report your bike stolen
then that's entered in a database that the police can see, but they can't
see the Winnipeg bike registry," Feaver said in an interview.
Other cities in Canada, including Montreal and London, Ont., have used
app-based registration systems like 529 Garage, which allows anyone to see
if a registered bike has been reported stolen.
Gillingham cited 529 Garage as one option for the City of Winnipeg to
consider.
Secure bike parking facility mulled
Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth says he's open suggestions on how to
improve the system.
"The only way we're going to know it's stolen is if people have registered
it, otherwise it ends up in a warehouse and gets auctioned off at the end
of the year," Smyth told reporters.
Bike Winnipeg and the Downtown BIZ are also in talks to create a secure
bike parking facility.
"We're still in the early stages but the hope is to find solutions for more
bike infrastructure that make it easier for anyone who wants to bike
downtown," Downtown BIZ CEO Kate Fenske said in an email statement.
In the meantime, Feaver recommends all cyclists invest in a sturdy U-bolt
lock, and always lock up through the frame, not just the front tire.
A report on a new bike registration system for Winnipeg is expected to come
to executive policy committee within about 120 days.
*Bike Week celebrates the big 1-0 with BIRTHDAY BASH*
Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
Manitoba legislative grounds Free
GET on your bikes and ride: Bike Week 2023 winds up with an afternoon of
family-friendly activities, games, culture and music in honour of its 10th
birthday.
Papa Mambo, James Culleton’s SuperFun Show and DJ Mama Cutsworth will
supply the tunes.
The best mechanics in the city will face off in the Bike Olympics. Photo
booths, bike-themed crafts, obstacle courses, a gigantic slide, a mobile
plant sale and a host of other games and activities will be on offer — plus
free hotdogs for the first 100 attendees.
The fun doesn’t stop at 3 p.m., though. Riders can join the Pinata Pedal
Party from 3 to 4 p.m. — where your challenge, should you choose to accept
it, will be smacking down pinatas while in the saddle — and the Bike Week
After Party from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Beer Can (1 Granite Way), where
the first 60 riders will receive a complimentary beverage and DJ Hunnicut
will spin tunes.
— Jen Zoratti
*‘Monstrous hole’ trouble on Sturgeon Creek path*
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/07/monstrous-hole-lo…
A massive, water-filled hole where the busy Sturgeon Creek active
transportation route meets a playground path has posed a safety hazard for
several weeks, according to those hoping to speed up repairs.
Randall Hull said he first complained to 311 on April 23, about the roughly
75-centimetre-deep depression he estimates stretches at least six metres.
A barricade posted by city staff at each of its ends isn’t enough to alert
people to the danger, he said Wednesday.
“It is deep enough that if a child fell into it (they could be hurt). The
one side of the hole is lined with bricks that are all exposed, so somebody
could fall into the hole, hit their head on a brick and drown in the water,
or accidentally bike into it because the barricade doesn’t completely cover
it,” said Hull.
“It’s just a public safety thing and the fact that it’s a path that leads
up to a playground, it’s even more troubling that it’s not being attended
to.”
While most of the damage is concentrated on the path leading to a
playground on Amarynth Crescent and the main Sturgeon Creek path is still
passable, Hull said many residents routinely walk and bike in the area,
raising the risk of potential injury.
He recalled seeing some children standing in the water-filled hole at one
point.
The space appears to have been washed out during high water levels this
spring. Erosion has been an issue at the spot, with less extensive damage
last summer, Hull said.
If the City of Winnipeg lacks resources to repair it quickly, it should do
more to block off the area, said Hull.
“I understand there’s probably 101 different issues to deal with in 101
different parks around Winnipeg. (But if the city is) not going to repair
it, then put a snow fence around it, so it’s safe.”
Coun. Shawn Dobson, whose ward includes the path, visited the site
Wednesday.
“That’s horrible. That’s not a pathway by any means. I absolutely share the
concern. This should be fixed right away, otherwise our pathway network is
incomplete now because of this monstrous hole,” said Dobson.
The councillor said he immediately submitted a request that the city
completely surround the hole with some form of barricade.
The extent of the damage could be linked to issues beyond flooding, so the
repair may be more extensive than it first appears, Dobson said.
“It’s been getting progressively worse every year. Time to get it fixed
right.”
A request to interview someone from the city’s public works department was
not granted Wednesday.
In a brief emailed statement, spokesman Kalen Qually did not answer
questions about how long the city expects it will take to repair the
problem or why it has not been able to do so by this point.
“The site is currently barricaded and staff are looking into making more
permanent repairs to the area,” he said.
joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2023/06/06/group-to-study-public-spaces-tr…
A new study done in partnership between Brandon University, the City of
Brandon and Prairie Mountain Health has received approximately $68,000 in
federal funding to explore how public spaces in the city are used.
“Walking the Walk in Smaller Cities” in Brandon is one of four
municipalities that have received funding from the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research to investigate how active transportation options like
biking and walking as well as public spaces can be better supported.
Other participating cities include Guelph, Ont., Oshawa, Ont., and
Saskatoon, Sask.
On the team for the project are representatives of all three organizations:
Brandon University professor Rachel Herron, director of communications
Grant Hamilton and research assistant Jared Friesen, Mayor Jeff Fawcett,
City of Brandon director of planning Ryan Nickel and Prairie Mountain
Health medical officer of health Dr. Amy Frykoda.
Presenting on the project was Hamilton, who said he believes the city has a
chance to find world-class solutions to active transportation in smaller
cities. He said the project and Brandon team had been assembled in less
than a month.
This summer, the project will consult with residents about how they walk
and bike in Brandon’s public spaces as well as the reasons why they don’t.
This will include online consultations as well at smallercities.ca, focus
groups and in-person pop-up consultations throughout the summer.
A council of representatives from groups like the Brandon Neighbourhood
Renewal Corporation, the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council and
Westman Immigrant Services is also being formed to make sure people from
different backgrounds and experiences are accounted for in the study.
This fall, once data has been collected, Herron told council that the
Brandon team will meet up with the other Canadian teams at a global
workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Following that, the Brandon team will meet up with local focus groups to
explore ideas inspired by that visit to Copenhagen and how they can be
translated to Brandon.
Then, next summer, the team will pick an active transportation or public
spaces project to implement in Brandon with the intention of inviting
people from other smaller Canadian cities to help share what was learned.
» cslark(a)brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @ColinSlark
The St. Boniface to Downtown Walk Bike project is exploring options to
improve travel choices, accessibility, and connectivity between the
Esplanade Riel Footbridge / Provencher Bridge and the multi-use path on
Archibald Street south of Nairn Avenue. The study also includes connections
to the Southeast Corridor, Taché Promenade, and Notre Dame Street
pedestrian bridge over the Seine River.
Phase 3 of public engagement is here, and we want to hear from you!
Based on what we heard during Phases 1 and 2 engagement, technical
knowledge, and other planning considerations, we are proposing a route on
Provencher Boulevard.
https://engage.winnipeg.ca/stboniface-walk-bike
Hi all,
Happy Bike to Work Day and Commuter Challenge week!
UMSU has a position available for an UMCycle Coordinator. Posting attached and also pasted below. While the posting date says May, the position is still open until filled.
Please share widely. Thanks,
Jessie Klassen
Job Opportunity: UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STUDENTS' UNION
UMCYCLE COORDINATOR
ONE YEAR TERM
University of Manitoba Students' Union (UMSU) is a non-profit organization which advocates on behalf of its memberships' best interests to internal and external stakeholders. Our primary objectives are to serve students and strive to enhance student life and the quality of education through consultation, representation and advocacy.
Position Summary
This is a one term position (with the possibility of renewal) within the operations of UMSU. Reporting to the Manager the coordinator is responsible for day to day store operations, training new staff, assisting staff, ordering of new parts and inventory as well as, managing the overall success of the business. In addition, the incumbent will be responsible for keeping the premises safe and clean for workers and customers. This position operates on a full time basis Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 4:30pm.
Skills and Qualifications
* Experience repairing bicycles - installation and repair of all systems of the bike (brakes, drive, steering, wheels, accessories) as well as experience with bicycle fitting;
* Organize and facilitate bicycle workshops on safety & riding skills, repairs and maintenance;
* Recruit and coordinate volunteers for the kiosk and workshops;
* Organize events such as bike builds, group rides, tours, and riding buddy programs for campus and community;
* Accepting incoming shipments, verify against ordering invoices;
* Oversee the work of service attendants to ensure excellent service delivery;
* Oversee service policies and procedures, concentrating on service excellence;
* Assist customers in choosing the right bikes and accessories by providing expert opinion;
* Create work orders for repair and maintenance offerings;
* Ensure that all service processes are quickly and efficiently carried out;
* Oversee thorough and accurate bike building and accessory installation work;
* Create and maintain liaison with vendors and dealers in order to ensure quick delivery of parts and accessories;
* Oversee bike and accessories inventory, and communicate low stock situations to manager;
* Supervise shop support staff to ensure continuous cleanliness and maintenance of the premises;
* Take responsibility for opening and closing the bike shop in a timely manner;
* Assist in ensuring proper daily operations of the shop including order supplies, sales and high-quality customer management;
* Equivalent combination of experience and education may be considered.
UMSU promotes Employment Equity and is strongly committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. Therefore, we promote employment equity and encourage candidates to voluntarily self-identify on their application if they are members of the underrepresented group (woman, Indigenous person, a person with a disability or a visible minority).
We offer competitive benefits package and pension plan. We wish to thank all applicants in advance for their interest; however, only those applicants considered will be contacted for an interview. Please provide a cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references and identify how you meet the desired qualifications listed by May 23, 2023 to:
The Human Resource Department, 101 UMSU University Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, or email to: hiring(a)umsu.ca<mailto:hiring@umsu.ca>
Jessie Klassen (she/her)
Sustainability Projects Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
University of Manitoba
89 Freedman Crescent
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
431-997-1013
jessie.klassen(a)umanitoba.ca<mailto:jessie.klassen@umanitoba.ca>
[cid:image001.png@01D997A4.37B9E260]
The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Full story:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/02/winners-of-1m-prize-for…
Ten months after cities around the world were offered the chance
<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2022/oct/10/cities-around-the-world-offe…>
to
bid for up to $1m (£800,000) to build or expand new cycling and walking
schemes, the money has been awarded to designs in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Mozambique, New Zealand and Albania, among others.
The money was put up by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic arm of
the media conglomerate set up by Michael Bloomberg
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/michaelbloomberg>, during whose terms
as mayor of New York the city sprouted a rapidly expanding network of cycle
lanes.
Bids were assessed in conjunction with Global Designing Cities Initiative
(GDCI), an urban design NGO founded by Janette Sadik-Khan, who was New
York’s traffic commissioner
<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2022/oct/10/cities-around-the-world-offe…>
under
Bloomberg.
As well as the money – $1m for the winner and $400,000 apiece for the other
nine cities – GDCI will help the cities with things such as design and
local engagement.
The top prize went to a plan to build more than 110 miles of protected
cycle routes in Fortaleza, a city in Brazil’s tropical north-east, with a
focus on helping children and older people use bikes, and promoting cargo
bike delivery.
Friendly reminder Pedal Poll - the cross-Canada bicycle count organized by
Velo Canada Bikes - is happening again next week.
Go here to sign up <https://signup.com/Group/117695512080/> if you can
spare a couple hours on a Tuesday morning or Saturday.
For 3 years now, thousands of volunteers across the country have been doing
a coordinated count.
Here is more general info. <https://velocanadabikes.org/pedalpoll/>
There are dozens of participating cities and spaces are filling up!
You can help make sure Winnipeg gets counted. We could use a few more folks
here.
There are 45 counting slots in Winnipeg, so far 10 are filled.
Check it out. <https://signup.com/Group/117695512080/>
Thank you!
Anders
Volunteer Chair, Vélo Canada Bikes
Province commits to share cost to study Route 90 design
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/01/province-commits-…
MANITOBA taxpayers will foot half of the $1.4-million bill to conduct a
design study for an expanded Route 90.
Premier Heather Stefanson announced Thursday that the Manitoba government
will contribute $700,000 to the City of Winnipeg to move the proposed
project into its next phase.
“Infrastructure corridors like Route 90 support new housing and business
development in Winnipeg and promotes industry and trade, allowing for
quicker access to business areas, such as CentrePort and the Winnipeg
airport,” Stefanson told reporters gathered in a field just west of
Kenaston Boulevard.
The funding covers 50 per cent of the city’s identified costs for the
project’s next phase, the province said.
Widening Route 90 between Taylor and Ness Avenues was identified as a
strategic infrastructure priority by the city council in 2011. An estimated
40,000 vehicles use the stretch of road each day.
City hall has proposed widening the street to offer three lanes in each
direction, add active transportation pathways on both sides and update
aging infrastructure, including sewers and the St. James Bridge.
A preliminary estimate predicts the project will cost about $550 million,
with the majority of that budget dedicated to bridge and road renewal and
sewer upgrades to prevent spills into the Assiniboine River.
However, final design and analysis work could change the price tag.
On Thursday, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham shot back at critics of the
project, saying the infrastructure upgrades are critical to improving
active transportation and Winnipeg Transit networks to meet growing traffic
demand, and to the development of Naawi-Oodena at the former Kapyong
barracks site.
“There has been a lot of misinformation about this project shared online
and in editorial pages over the past few weeks,” said Gillingham, who
campaigned on a pledge to expand the roadway so long as a business case
exists.
However, the proposal has received pushback from sustainable transportation
advocates who argue the development will increase the use of personal
vehicles and undermine efforts to combat climate change.
“Some of the information that I’m hearing out there… it’s incorrect,” he
said.
The federal government has also acknowledged the importance of the project,
he said.
An updated business case analysis and cost estimates are expected to be
completed this calendar year, he said.
“With the help of the Province of Manitoba, we will do the work necessary
to improve the project ahead and to move this project forward,” he said.
Stefanson said she supports the project moving forward but appropriate
analysis must be conducted before any additional provincial dollars can be
committed to the expansion.
danielle.dasilva(a)freepress.mb.ca
The evidence says we need fewer cars
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/06/02/the-evidence-…
RAY Kohanik puts forward in the May 29 edition ( It’s time to make better
transportation decisions) that our city missed out by not building freeways
in the 1970s, and that we should do it now. He supports this idea with
arguments that might instinctively “feel” right, but that are entirely
refuted by the city’s own data.
I understand why Kohanik, or anyone else for that matter, might hold these
views. It has been the predominant narrative around transportation in North
America since the Second World War that the continual prioritization of car
travel, at the expense of nearly everything else, is the key to economic
prosperity and a higher quality of life for all. I used to hold these
views. After all, it’s all we’ve ever been told since before many of our
parents (or grandparents!) were even born. But despite this continent-wide,
decades-long experiment in car-oriented transportation, we now have the
benefit of hindsight and data. Loads and loads of data. So rather than make
major infrastructure decisions based on what “feels” right, most
Winnipeggers would agree that we should make evidenced-based decisions
instead.
On the economic side, it’s important to understand that while cars can be
extremely useful, a transportation system built around everyone using one
every time for every trip is prohibitively expensive. Simply maintaining
the 8,300 lane-km of roads that city reports tell us we already own would
require an extra $600 million per year. Every year.
To get it, we’d need to eliminate the entire police department, the entire
fire and paramedic department, and the entire Community Services department
(the one in charge of pools, libraries and rec centres). Or we could double
our property taxes.
And no matter if Justin, Heather or Scott is collecting it, that money is
all ultimately coming from the same pockets. Ours.
It’s not just more than the city can afford. It’s more than we can afford.
And that’s the problem. Many of us may say we prefer to drive for every
trip, but that’s only because we’re choosing from a menu with no prices.
And prices affect preferences. It’s why we don’t all live in 1,000-room
mansions and fly a helicopter to work every day. We may prefer it, but when
we are confronted with the reality of prices, our choices reflect that
reality.
So here’s some reality. Many of us worry about the cost of transit to the
taxpayer, but the $38.7 million per year we’re planning to spend to
“improve” driving on what amounts to 0.19 per cent of our road
network could fund 27 per cent of our entire transit operations. And the
numbers are even starker with active transportation: all the bike
infrastructure in the city combined has a replacement value of less than
$47 million.
Many other cities are figuring that out already. Cities that we are losing
young people to every year, like Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton, are
following the data and building more efficient, economical transportation
systems. Vancouver, the poster child for transit and active transportation
in Canada, doesn’t have any freeways. And they aren’t building any. Calgary
is spending $5 billion today to expand its light rail system. Meanwhile,
Edmonton, a winter city like ours, is spending $100 million over the next
four years to expand their cycling infrastructure. Edmonton’s Mayor Sohi
says they’re doing it because “active transportation is the cheapest way to
move people around.”
Despite all this, there are still some who say we should be bold and expand
Kenaston anyway. After all, Duff Roblin was ridiculed for his grand idea,
and look how well that turned out. But in drawing comparisons to the
floodway, it would be wise to remember that a cost-benefit analysis done at
the time showed an expected positive return of nearly $3 for each dollar
spent on the flood-proofing megaproject, whereas the cost-benefit analysis
we have for the Kenaston widening expects us to lose nearly 90 cents on the
dollar. Maybe Duff Roblin wasn’t a visionary, maybe he was just good at
math.
I agree with Ray Kohanik when he says that an efficient transportation
system based in reality is needed. But the reality is that while we may
wish prioritizing car travel on ever wider roads was financially
sustainable, the numbers consistently show it simply is not.
Any way you slice it, the future is in getting more people to walk, bike or
take transit on more trips, more times. It’s the only way to pay for all of
this.
In the end, Kohanik laments that “the city is broke, broke, broke” but that
“that’s another story.” We now know that it’s the same story.
Cities that don’t figure that out soon will go bankrupt, bankrupt, bankrupt.
*Michel Durand-Wood lives in Elmwood and has been writing about municipal
issues since 2018.*