Winnipeg will improve active transportation education and wayfinding

Although some of Winnipeg’s many, many critics lament how the city is stuck in its deeply engrained, car-culture ways, there's progress afoot.

Over the next few years, the city is looking to set aside about $15 million for new active transportation (AT) infrastructure and other related projects, one of which happens to be $1.1 million worth of “public education, awareness and promotion.”

In previous years, those three boxes were ticked predominantly by partnerships with the Green Action Centre, Rivers West and Bike Week—all of which promote active living and cycling awareness.

The $1.1 million to be spent over the next three years on those same objectives will continue to support those partnerships, but also introduce new initiatives.

“We’re expanding (our outreach),” said Stephanie Whitehouse, the city’s AT coordinator. “As we expand our facilities, we need to expand that too.”

She explained that with projects like the Garry Street bi-directional bike corridor slated to be constructed by 2018, one of the city’s main priorities is enhanced education.

“That will represent a new kind of facility for Winnipeg… bidirectional on a one-way street, with bike boxes, signals specifically for cyclists,” she said. “We want to make sure the public knows how to use it.”

Whitehouse said the city will work with a consultant to ensure their communications strategy matches best practices,” but she expects one outcome will be “improving two way communications.”

“We want to start a dialogue so that people like the AT critic have ample opportunity to give us feedback we can build on. We always want to learn where we get it right, where there are opportunities for feedback,” she said.

It’s not necessarily new for the city, as Whitehouse and her team were responsive to criticism of the Assiniboine Avenue cycle track’s Main Street crossing –namely that the light timing was too short, so they made it longer—but she admits there's room for improvement.

“While we do a lot of public engagement, the dialogue doesn’t stop once we construct something,” she said.

While most of the AT education initiatives on her wishlist are “high level” at the moment, one tangible item Whitehouse is looking forward to – and cyclists have called for – is improved wayfinding.

“As we expand our network we’re going to roll-out a new wayfinding program… this comes from strategies as well as feedback we’ve heard from our AT advisory committee and the public,” she said.

The city does have a system of wayfinding signage, but both it and its cycling maps will have to change to add new routes and key destinations.

“We’re about to put out a (request for proposals) to put out a new map in 2017, which will also be available online,” Whitehouse said, adding the map would likely be installed on signage “at key junctions” on bike routes.

With the budget passed this week, the preliminary consultation for a new education and outreach strategy will take place in 2017, with “roll out in 2018,” and the wayfinding study is projected for 2018 with implementation in 2019.

With both the wayfinding and education efforts, Whitehouse said the goal is “to get more people using (AT) facilities” and help them “think twice about getting in their car.”