I want to share an initiatives I helped organize last week that I found very interesting -
Spring Tune Up for Mature Drivers - held in at the Richmond Kings Community Center on Thursday, February 28th
In light of the ongoing 'car vs cyclist' challenges we hear about almost daily, Bike Walk and Roll coordinators* thought we would focus on trying to educate south end Winnipeg DRIVERS.
CAA in partnership with MPI / Safety Services delivers a BRILLIANT 'Mature Drivers' education session and we thought we would partner to bring education to Fort Richmond (see attached flyer). The session is FREE to anyone - regardless if you're 55+ - and really does an excellent job of highlighting cycling and pedestrian challenges / rules as related to vehicle drivers ( I sat through a presentation last November to check it out).
Bike Walk and Roll Coordinators invited CAA to present this workshop in the community of Fort Richmond.
Through advertising and emails we ended up having 200 people register for the session last week! Yes - 200 ! Kevin Lunn (and I) spoke about walking and cycling and sharing the road at the beginning of the session - we handed out TIPS for drivers AND cyclists (2 pages attached)
We had an ADDITIONAL 80 register but couldn't accommodate so we are holding another session on:
Spring Tune Up for Mature Drivers
April 17th
10:00 am
Fort Garry Evangelical Mennonite Church http://www.fortgarryemc.ca/ http://www.fortgarryemc.ca/ 602 Pasadena Ave (Fort Richmond)
The questions folks had on cycling / walking were good questions - REALLY amplifying to me - the importance of holding this session. The presenter knew her stuff inside and out. I know this is only a small fraction of drivers we are helping to educated in the south of Winnipeg - but - I think it is a great start. The media went delirious over it - this isn't the first time the course has been offered by CAA - but - I think it tweak media's interest for a variety of reason (our car / cyclist challenges / older driver news in Ontario / etc.)
MEDIA:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/02/28/mb-driving-seniors-c ourse-mpi-winnipeg.html
http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/video/evening+news++feb+28/video.html?v=233955 8636#evening+news
12 minutes into the video
http://metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/578527/mature-winnipeg-drivers-gear-up-on- road-safety/ (in both Friday and Saturday editions)
CJOB in the morning of the 28th
CBC Radio - Up to Speed / Larry Updike in the afternoon of the 28th
Full article / photo to be in this Wednesday's Sou'Wester
*Bike Walk and Roll - Pilot Project in Fort Richmond - University Heights
The Green Action Centre is coordinating a project which is putting the 'AT' magnifying glass on the communities of Fort Richmond and University Heights. Through the support of many partners http://activetransportation.ca/canada/manitoba/winnipeg/fort-richmond/commu nity-support/ - and a variety of initiatives - we are looking to improve walking, cycling and wheelchair conditions in these two communities. There is lots happening in this area with U of M / Southwood Lands / Stadium arrival / AT on Pembina Hwy / studies on gondolas & bridges over Red River / Active Living Centre construction / etc. with a lot of these initiatives focusing on active transportation.
Thanks
Janice Lukes
Community Active Transportation Coordinator
Bike Walk & Roll - Fort Richmond University Heights Project
http://www.FortRichmondAT.ca www.FortRichmondAT.ca
c/o http://greenactioncentre.ca/ Green Action Centre
204.952.4222