January 2015 - AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

Active & Green: Fun with Jack Frost, Peace on the bus, Walking as superfood, Commuting Gold
by Beth McKechnie 30 Jan '15

30 Jan '15

Check out our winter edition of Active & Green! Sign up here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/active-green/> to receive a copy directly or to check out past issues. -cheers, Beth Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. <http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a183a3f55cc&id=f31277bdc2…> *A better way to go* Want to improve commuter options at your workplace? We can help <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> . <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> ------------------------------ *Upcoming Events* *Winter Walk Day* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> Thursday, February 5 *Jack Frost Challenge!* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> February 7-13 *Winter Bike to Work Day* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> Friday, February 13 *Wildwood AT Community Meeting* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> Tuesday, February 24 *Fort Garry AT Community Meeting* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> Thursday, February 26 *Bike and Walk to School Poster Contest* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> Submit by Friday, March 6 *Commuter Challenge 2015* <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> May 31 - June 6 ------------------------------ *Taking the bus = Peace* It ain't easy being a working mom. Here's one woman's story on how she decided to take the bus to save money and lighten her environmental footprint. Turns out it's the unexpected benefits that have really paid off <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> . *Bike blender fun* Add some spin to your next workplace event – rent our bike-powered blender <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> ! *FREE training sessions* Want to help your co-workers to bike, bus, walk or carpool? Register for one or more of Green Action Centre's free Commuting Ambassador Training <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> sessions: *I. Tools and Hands-on Training* Wed, March 11, 1-4pm *II. Commuting Surveys* Wed, March 25, 1-4pm *III. Behaviour Change* Wed, April 8, 1-4pm *Job posting: Active and Safe Routes to School* Want to help get more kids walking and cycling to school in Manitoba? Green Action Centre is looking for an energetic and organized individual part-time. Find the job posting here <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…>. Apply by Friday, February 13th. *Fun with Jack Frost * Do you suffer from the winter blues? Is curling up on the couch with hot chocolate and Netflix your go-to winter escape? While staying active indoors is worthwhile, research <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> shows that getting outdoors improves these benefits, with the added bonus that activity in nature further reduces stress. So, how do you get started? Put down the remote and sign up for the Jack Frost Challenge! Get together with a team of family and friends, and participate in outdoor activities from *February 7-13, 2015*. Register today <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> ! *Cycling at 55° (latitude)* Active transportation is not just a summer pursuit for John Barker (photo courtesy of Jeanette Kimball). This resident of Thompson, Manitoba, wanted to find a sustainable way to commute to his everyday destinations. Self-described as “not a martyr” for active transportation, John investigated all of his options and posted this excellent piece <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> on his blog. (Spoiler alert! See photo.) Want to try it yourself? Here are some tips on cycling through the winter <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…> . *Catch the "Freezeway"* Winnipeggers love visiting The Forks in winter to skate along the beautiful river trail. But can you imagine commuting by skating through the city? Edmonton is considering a proposal by young landscape architect, Matt Gibbs, for a Freezeway. This 6.8-mile skating lane would see commuters and tourists strapping on their skates to travel the downtown. “I wanted to look at the hidden opportunities that exist living in a climate that’s below freezing for more than five months a year,” says Gibbs. Read more about this icy idea <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…>. (Image source: Matt Gibbs. Also check out his Freezeway video <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> .) *Walking as super-food* If you spend your day consuming the latest, greatest health foods, adding in a sweaty, hour-long workout, you are on the road to great health, right? Not if the rest of your day is sedentary, according to the latest research. Active Sedentary is a new category of people who combine high levels of fitness with long periods of inactivity. Author Katy Bowman notes that “you can’t offset 10 hours of stillness with one hour of exercise.” Read more <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> about why walking is considered the new superfood of fitness. Walking part-way to work or to the bus, walking meetings, and a standing desk are all great places to start. *Kudos to 'Gold' Winner!* Hearty congrats to *Health in Common* for picking up 'Gold' in the 2014 Commuter Friendly Workplace Award <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a…>! Check out the innovative ways in which this workplace supports its employees <http://greenactioncentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=af15a2f9f91ef9a1…> to walk, bike, take transit or carpool to work. Lots of great ideas to consider for your workplace. Our mailing address is: Green Action Centre 3-303 Portage Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B4 Canada Copyright (C) 2015 Green Action Centre All rights reserved. [image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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Ice skating corridor concept in Edmonton
by Patman, David 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

Have heard this idea before, but interesting article nevertheless: http://www.wired.com/2015/01/edmonton-freezeway-ice-skating/ David Patman, P. Eng. Transit Planner Winnipeg Transit | Service Development Division 421 Osborne Street | Winnipeg, Manitoba R3L 2A2 P: 204-986-5737 | dpatman(a)winnipeg.ca<mailto:dpatman@winnipeg.ca>

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Green Action Centre job posting - Active and Safe Routes to School Project Coordinator
by Beth McKechnie 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

** Please share with anyone you know who may be interested. Many thanks! ** *Green Action Centre seeks a dynamic individual to join our Active and Safe Routes to School Program* We are looking for an independent, energetic, flexible and organized individual to fill a position within our Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) team. Working collaboratively with other Active and Safe Routes to School and Green Action Centre staff, the Coordinator will perform duties to organize for and promote children’s mobility in Manitoba. Apply by Friday, February 13th. Find the full job posting here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/about/jobs/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/program/asrts/>

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Do our cities still work?
by Dave Elmore 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

Worth the 19 minutes to watch. Spoiler alert! No, but we can fix that! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQfC6mKTErg <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQfC6mKTErg&feature=youtu.be> &feature=youtu.be

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WFP: From why Winterpeg to why not? Follow Edmonton's lead and capitalize on frigid reputation (Jan.19'15)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Jan '15

20 Jan '15

>From why Winterpeg to why not?Follow Edmonton's lead and capitalize on frigid reputation ON ARCHITECTUREBy: Brent Bellamy http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/from-why-winterpeg-to-w… It is mid-January, and through hard crusts of frozen breath on their tightly wrapped scarves, Winnipeggers across the city can be heard muttering to themselves "Why do I live here?" Winnipeg doesn't have many things that can truly be described as world-class, but winter is certainly one of them. For a major city (with a population over 500,000) our January average temperatures are the fourth-coldest on Earth, rivalling cities in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. In response, over the last 40 years, we have worked to build a city that turns its back on winter. We defend ourselves from it like it's an enemy invader. Our climate-controlled networks sever us from the outside. Portage Avenue was for a century a bustling 12-month, outdoor shopping strip, the retail heart of the city. Then we decided to move to indoor malls, and today we zig-zag in our cars across massive parking lots from one big-box store to the next. We pushed people at our landmark intersection underground, and our sidewalks were emptied by skywalks. The default reaction to everything from segregated bike lanes to active pedestrian sidewalks and great public spaces seems to always be "It's too cold to do that in Winnipeg." We have all heard someone from outside the province call our city Winterpeg and laugh a derogatory giggle. Imagine if we could transform that word into a badge of honour. It is difficult for a city to reach its full potential as a smart, vibrant, livable place with a resigned attitude we must endure the winter months. If Winnipeg is to be globally competitive, attracting investment, tourism and immigration, we can't simply accept a lower quality of life for half the year. Winter is part of who we are, it defines us. It can be an asset, if we make it one. To begin changing our perception of the coldest months, Winnipeg might learn from our friends in Edmonton who have begun taking significant steps toward a long-term cultural shift in their collective perception of winter, beginning to leverage its potential as a social and economic asset that can set them apart in the world. Last year, the city took the bold step of adopting as official policy a Winter City Strategic Plan called For the Love of Winter and have drafted a clear implementation document that is now being executed. Edmonton's Winter City plan was created through an extensive public consultation process that established four key pillars: Winter Life, Winter Design, Winter Economy and Our Winter Story. Each pillar categorizes a set of strategic goals. *-- Winter Life: *The goals of this pillar are to improve winter transportation for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users as well as to simply make it easier to go outside. Strategies to implement these goals include: constructing commercial warming kiosks in public parks and plazas; creating regulations for use of fire in outdoor public spaces; encouraging neighbourhood-scale winter carnivals; constructing heated transit shelters and separated bike lanes; and prioritizing snow clearing for cyclist and pedestrian pathways. *-- Winter Design: *This pillar focuses on creating a set of enforceable design guidelines that prescribe architectural and urban-planning elements to create more livable outdoor environments. These design standards focus on creating microclimates that maximize outdoor comfort by incorporating such ideas as protective wind shelter, outdoor heat sources and increased access to sunlight. Colour, public art and creative lighting elements are also encouraged. *-- Winter Economy: *The economic impact of creating a vibrant winter city is seen as a multi-layered opportunity, from tourism and commercial growth to bigger picture issues such as attracting and retaining investment and young people by improving the quality of civic life year-round. Initiatives to achieve this include developing outdoor winter markets, changing zoning and alcohol bylaws to encourage a winter restaurant patio culture, supporting civic-scale festivals and public events as well as establishing educational, business and research centres that focus on winter-related industry and technology. *-- Our Winter Story:* The final pillar hopes to champion awareness for the winter-city plan within Edmonton and abroad. The goal is to establish local contests, marketing and public-engagement initiatives as well as international branding and tourism campaigns that celebrate Edmonton as a world winter capital. Over the past few years, Winnipeg has begun to informally embrace many of the ideals Edmonton has made official policy. If our city were to initiate a similar plan, there would be a strong base from which to build. Festival du Voyageur is the largest winter carnival in Western Canada, attracting approximately 100,000 visitors. Several years ago, the well-publicized battle between The Forks and Ottawa's Rideau Canal for the title of World's Longest Skating Rink raised awareness for winter activity along the rivers. Since then, the warming huts international design competition has become famous worldwide and has spawned the RAW:almond pop-up restaurant, which will again provide the experience of fine dining on the frozen Red River. A competition was held for a new restaurant design this year, won by U.K. architectural firm OS31, which proposed a dramatic tent structure currently under construction. A great opportunity exists to follow Edmonton's lead by building on these initiatives and establishing a formal plan to transform Winnipeg's winter into an asset that makes us a global model for winter-city living and a world leader in cold-weather design. To most of the world, our frigid isolation is as exotic as any tropical island or rainforest. There is a tourism experience here that can be found in few places in the world. Through good design, we can build a city that embraces what makes it unique, improving our own quality of life and attracting visitors wanting the Winnipeg experience. Winnipeg explodes with activities in the summer, from the Fringe and Folk festivals to the St. Norbert Farmers' Market and patios of Corydon Avenue. Edmonton is demonstrating with planning and smart design, some level of this can happen in the winter, as well. Setting goals and outlining ways to achieve them in formal policy could transform our perceptions of Winterpeg and make people instead ask themselves, "Why don't I live there?" Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group bbellamy(a)numberten.com Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 19, 2015 B6

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AT Webinar: Level of Service for Peds and Cyclists, Wed, Jan 21, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jan '15

19 Jan '15

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of the following APBP webinar: *Level of Service for Pedestrians and Cyclists. * This webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> boardroom (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! cheers, Beth * * * * * Level of Service for Pedestrians and Cyclists *Wednesday, January 21st, 2-3 p.m., EcoCentre Boardroom* Learn about Level of Service and its relationship to bicycling and walking, with specific reference to the Highway Capacity Manual. Presenters describe the performance measures that transportation engineers and planners use related to signalized and unsignalized intersections; identify points where multimodal travel can be more effectively incorporated into traditional measures; explain emerging measures that are being considered in the update the Highway Capacity Manual by researchers; and discuss specific treatments that should be considered. *Presenters* - Nick Foster, Senior Planner, Kittelson and Associates - Peter Koonce, Signals and Street Lighting Manager, Portland Bureau of Transportation

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Reminder: AT-Policies in Canada - WEBINAR
by Jackie Avent 17 Jan '15

17 Jan '15

Good Afternoon, Green Action Centre will be hosting this upcoming webinar from 12 - 1 pm on Tuesday January 20th at the Manitoba Eco-Centre (3rd Floor, 303 Portage Avenue), followed by a brief discussion. Hope you can bring your lunch and join us! Jackie [image: Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar] Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar What: Webinar When: January 20, 2015 Time: 12:00 PM CDT Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer will host a one-hour webinar on January 20th from 12:00pm-1:00pm CDT. By attending you'll learn about our active transportation policy resources and how they can be applied to your work: - Active Transportation Policy Case Studies <http://www.cancerview.ca/policycasestudies> - Active Transportation Policy Case Study Summary Sheets - Canadian Municipal Active Transportation Policy Map <http://www.cancerview.ca/cv/portal/Home/PreventionAndScreening/PSProfession…> - Provincial/Territorial Active Transportation Policy Maps <http://www.cancerview.ca/cv/portal/Home/PreventionAndScreening/PSProfession…> **Note: This webinar will only be offered in English.* -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 *|* Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>

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Videos from BC Transit
by Jackie Avent 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

Here are a couple of videos from BC Transit that are worth checking out quickly... Apparently, there'll be a couple more made too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYx94ia4Ts - One More Lap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLRrgCjE2po - Uphill -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 *|* Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>

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Winter Bike to Work Day - Friday, February 13th - Commit Today
by Anders Swanson 14 Jan '15

14 Jan '15

Dear Winnipeg, It is not often that an event developed here takes over the world. The website for the 3rd annual international Winter Bike to Work Day <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/> is now live, and it has real-time results (in the form a cool world map) <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/#map> for the first time ever. Any business, organization or person can plan a fun celebratory event <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/#plan> (its pretty darn easy). the only thing you have to do though is commit to ride <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/commit> and get out there on the 13th. For the love of all things holy, just make sure that Oulu or Trondheim (....or Saskatoon or Brandon for that matter) don't make us look too bad. ;) This is our event after all. Cheers, Anders Part of the organizing team... *Winter Bike to Work Day* <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/> *Friday, February 13th, 2015* Twitter <https://twitter.com/WinterBike2Work> | Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/WinterBikeToWorkDay>

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Survey on cyclist behaviour
by Jackie Avent 14 Jan '15

14 Jan '15

There is a survey being done by the University of Denver about why cyclists tend to break traffic laws. They are trying to understand the psychology behind the actions - and whether it's because cyclists do it for visibility and to feel and/or be safer on the roads. The direct link to the survey is here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1885930/bikingbad, and there's an article offering background with a link to the survey as well here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/09/lets-talk-seriou… Jackie -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 *|* Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>

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