March 2022 - AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

WFP: Omand Park eyed for river access (Mar30'22)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Mar '22

30 Mar '22

City report considers options as residents pursue outdoor recreation during pandemic Omand Park eyed for river access https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/omand-park-sole-site-for-river-acce… A NEW public access point to the Assiniboine River could help Winnipeggers better enjoy the water, though many sites aren’t suited to the purpose, a new report notes. A study of potential pedestrian access points to the Assiniboine explores options along Wolseley Avenue and Palmerston Avenue, between Canora Street and Omand Park. The report by city staff notes more Winnipeggers enjoyed local rivers during the pandemic when other recreation options were at times cut off. “The desire of the public to access the river for both winter and summer activities has been especially evident during the pandemic as a significant number of residents have been pursuing recreational and leisure activities that are available locally and are not impacted by (public health) restrictions,” the report notes. It finds Omand Park at 1430 Portage Ave. to be a viable location for public river access, but it stops short of recommending whether the city should pay for the feature. City officials estimate it would cost between $300,000 and $600,000 to create that access. The head of council’s water and waste committee, which will discuss the report on April 4, said rivers can offer Winnipeggers a different view of their city. “The first time I was… on the river (skating) trail (at The Forks), I was just blown away. You never get this kind of view, (it’s) amazing. It’s like adding a whole different park for four or five months a year,” said Coun. Brian Mayes. The report recommends the city only add access to the river in winter if it also implements a program to regularly monitor ice condition, clear snow and maintain clear safety standards. The report says Omand Park aligns with existing paths and could accommodate a facility that is universally accessible. “It has the greatest visibility from the street to the river and through the whole area. This is a potential deterrent to unwanted activity and possibly a benefit with respect to public safety,” it notes. The report also explored potential access points at: Canora Green at 850 Palmerston Ave.; 2 Arlington St. right-of-way; Aubrey Green at 1020 Palmerston Ave.; William Marshall Park at the Dominion Street right-of-way; 1254-1256 Wolseley Ave. (at Clifton Street); and Greenwood Park at 1270 Wolseley Ave. However, it found those sites aren’t suited to the use, largely due to inadequate space and the potential to damage forests. While Mayes said there is demand to make rivers more accessible, he believes funding a specific access point should be part of a larger budget debate, which could look at entry points close to multiple wards. “I think taking a bigger picture view of it would make more sense,” he said. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP Analysis: Selkirk a model of progressive planning (Mar28'22)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Mar '22

28 Mar '22

Selkirk a model of progressive planning https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/selkirk-a-model-of-progr… JUST north of Lower Fort Garry, stretching along the banks of the Red River, is Selkirk. A city with about 10,000 residents, the seventh largest in the province, it has in the past been largely known for its catfish and its steel mill. Today, however, a new image is being crafted. Through several innovative and forward-thinking planning policies, Selkirk is beginning to stake a claim as the most progressive city in Manitoba. About a decade ago, Selkirk started down its path of city-building focused on social, economic and environmental sustainability when a group of dedicated residents and political leaders identified the need for more accessible and inclusive mobility options in their city. After years of hard work, Selkirk became only the fourth city in Manitoba to introduce a public transit system. Operating as a non-profit community organization, Selkirk Transit today provides equitable and sustainable transportation. Since conquering the challenge of public transit, the City of Selkirk has never looked back. In recent years, a long list of strategic plans has been introduced in Selkirk, informing everything from climate adaptation to downtown renewal, recreation and economic growth. Last year, a five-year Active Transportation Strategy was introduced, building on the sustainable mobility that public transit began. The strategy is a comprehensive action plan that will connect neighbourhoods to downtown, recreational facilities, schools, employment and shopping, through walking, biking and accessible transportation like scooters and wheelchairs. As part of this strategy, the city has embarked on the largest street redevelopment in its history, transforming seven blocks of Eveline Street in the downtown. Running along the waterfront, Eveline was Selkirk’s first business street, and at one time featured the first rural streetcar in the West, making the 50-minute journey, five times a day, to Winnipeg. Designed by HTFC Planning & Design, the redevelopment will restore the street’s past prominence by focusing on the pedestrian experience. Intersections will be narrowed, sidewalks widened, benches and lighting will be added, street trees and plantings will line the boulevards, and a shared-use active transportation path will be installed. The redevelopment of Eveline Street will create a natural extension of Manitoba Avenue, which underwent a similar transformation a few years ago. The 2019 redesign of the historic commercial strip returned one-way traffic to two-way, added an off-street bike lane, widened sidewalks and transformed two empty lots into landscaped pocket parks. Together, a redefined Eveline Street and Manitoba Avenue will transform downtown Selkirk into a place for people, attracting new residents, businesses and visitors. Many cities develop great plans, but the true aspirations of a community are found in the lines of its civic budgets, not in the pages of its planning documents. In 2019, the City of Selkirk made a bold move to ensure its planning goals are realized when it purchased 130 hectares of land directly connected to existing neighbourhoods on the west side of the city. Much of the land was a brownfield site, used as a landfill, snow dump and gravel pit, creating a significant opportunity for the city to guide the future direction of its urban growth not only as a regulator, but also as an owner, investor and developer of a major area within the civic boundary. The city recently released the West End Concept Plan, a vision document developed with Winnipeg’s Scatliff + Miller + Murray, that will guide development and growth in this area of Selkirk for the next 50 years. The plan calls for an innovative mixed-use, mixed-income neighbourhood of 5,000 homes that, when built out, will double the city’s current population. The West End plan envisions a pedestrian-oriented development centred on a mixed-use village of higher-density multi-family buildings ranging between four and eight storeys. Commercial ground-floor spaces will line the sidewalk of a neighbourhood high street connecting directly to Manitoba Avenue. Extending out from the mixed-use village will be a network of walkable neighbourhoods of mixed-density housing and small-scale commercial spaces. The development will strive to be modern and innovative by returning to successful development patterns of the past. Tree-lined streets will be laid out in a traditional grid pattern, and new growth will occur as an extension of the existing city streets, instead of typical suburban subdivision islands, replicating the way cities grew in the past, and ensuring connectivity to existing amenities such as schools, shopping and community centres. The compact neighbourhoods will be laced with public green space, promote walkability and active transportation, and be a model for Selkirk’s sustainability and climate adaptation policies. Selkirk may not be grand in size, but it has a grand vision. The city has positioned itself as a leader in sustainable urban development and city-building. The forward-thinking strategic planning being done today, backed by tangible actions supported in annual budgets, will result in a prosperous, livable and equitable city that future generations will fall in love with and proudly call home. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

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WFP: Clear path to better transit access (Mar25'22)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Mar '22

25 Mar '22

Councillors push for changes to snow clearing policies Clear path to better transit access https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/councillors-push-for-changes-to-sno… A WINTER of heavy snows has exposed serious problems with City of Winnipeg sidewalk clearing policies, two of its councillors say. On Thursday, Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) put forward a motion, backed by Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), calling for the city to consider a pair of changes while conducting its upcoming review of snow and ice clearing policies. The councillors want low-priority sidewalks near high-frequency transit routes (particularly in their own wards) to be upgraded in priority. They are also asking the city to consider reassuming control over a greater portion of snow clearing services, currently delegated to private contractors. “It’s known (in Daniel McIntyre) we have some of the highest rates of Transit riders in the city… I think when they do the snow and ice clearing review that they need to look at prioritizing areas that have really good Transit lines, because we are looking at getting more people taking Transit,” Gilroy said, making special mention of Portage, Ellice, Wellington and Notre Dame avenues as hot spots in her ward. Gilroy said while streets with a bus route are designated P2 — meaning they are to be cleared to the paved surface within 36 hours of a significant snowfall — when lower-priority streets leading to those routes are uncleared, snow can make Winnipeg Transit difficult to access. Gilroy said she would like to see all sidewalks in her ward upgraded to P2 priority. “In some of the portions of the area… I think we should be cleaning to cement. They are highly used in terms of the business around there and their connection to the different transit routes.” As for bringing more snow clearing services in-house, many times even higher-priority sidewalks were left uncleared or insufficiently cleared, Rollins said. The current system has made it difficult for Winnipeggers to find out who is responsible for a problem and how to fix it, she added. “Oftentimes, councillors and residents alike were told that it was a contractor,” Rollins said. “There were times when the city would even say, ‘Which contractor was it?’ I don’t like that level of accountability.” Joelle Robinson, with the Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities, said she’s “hugely in favour” of adding more high-priority sidewalks for snow clearing. However, the motion fails to consider other important accessibility issues, she said: “People who have reduced mobility also need to be very much considered and prioritized.” For example, Robinson said, loading zones need to be considered high priority. “We’ve had situations where people have not been able to get to their jobs for three and four weeks because the snow is so bad, and they’re not clearing those spots that Transit Plus would use.” Kyle Owens, president of Functional Transit Winnipeg, said while he was glad to see the motion recognized the importance of Transit to Winnipeg’s plans, it doesn’t go far enough. “The city should invest broadly, so that we have fast, effective sidewalk snow clearing every year,” he said. That would increase Transit accessibility, he said, adding that improved clearing city-wide may also encourage more people to use public transit in lower- frequency areas. Rather than ask for a recommendation or a review, Owens said: “We can reverse service cuts and start funding the (Winnipeg) Transit Master Plan immediately.” fpcity(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: Crosswalk lights initiative shifted back to committee level (Mar19'22)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Mar '22

20 Mar '22

*Crosswalk lights initiative shifted back to committee level * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/crosswalk-lights-initiative-shifted… A safety initiative meant to expedite the addition of eye-level lights at all of Winnipeg’s lighted pedestrian crosswalks will be delayed to determine how best to pay for it. City council’s public works committee looks set to take a second look at how best to fund the lower-mounted safety lights, which a motion seeks to have installed “as soon as possible.” The referral back to public works still awaits a council vote. On Wednesday, Coun. Matt Allard repeatedly told EPC members it’s essential to get the work done as quickly as possible to prevent future collisions. Allard stressed it’s also critical to achieve that without any reduction to the resources devoted to other road safety initiatives. “The city has known since 2013 that these low-mounted lights are a cost effective way, an easy way to better pedestrian safety… I’m convinced there’s capacity within the signals department… to do the work that needs to be done,” said Allard, who raised the motion that calls for the new safety initiative. The executive policy committee ultimately asked council to send the matter back to public works instead of giving it final approval, which Allard eventually agreed to. Multiple EPC members argued the motion failed to pinpoint an appropriate funding source. “I feel like what’s being proposed here… it’s clear as mud in terms of what we are asking the public service,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. Bowman and others stressed they didn’t oppose the idea itself, which Allard raised after safety concerns at lighted crosswalks were raised in a recent Free Press series. The series noted traffic safety activist Christian Sweryda has lobbied the city for more than a decade to add more of the eye-level lights, deeming these easier to spot than overhead lights for drivers whose vehicles are close to an intersection. Sweryda links the lighting issue to six crashes at crosswalks with overhead lighting over a 19-month span from February 2018 to September 2019, which resulted in four deaths. The city has already installed 25 low mounted lights at crosswalks, while 158 locations still await funding. Council approved $145,000 in the 2022 budget to convert 15 more. Allard’s motion proposes to raise that amount to $1.6 million to complete all installations instead. The original motion had called for the public service to fund the work through council’s so-called “rainy day fund,” the local and regional streets renewal budget, savings from an Archibald Street construction project and/ or “another source identified by the executive policy committee.” The head of council’s finance committee said that sparked concern for the following reasons: the Archibald project involved a funding agreement with the provincial and federal governments, so its savings aren’t necessarily available for city use; the street renewal budget was already tapped to cover operating costs in the 2022 budget; the rainy day fund has dwindled to cover COVID-19 pandemic losses; and the call for “another source” of cash is too vague. “I would like to see those lights installed but, at this time, a legitimate funding source has not been identified,” Coun. Scott Gillingham said Friday. Coun. Brian Mayes agreed: “There is no new money identified to do this… We all agreed this is a worthwhile initiative… it’s just something’s got to give to fund it.” Allard could not be reached for an interview Friday. In an email, executive assistant Ryan Palmquist said additional funding options will be explored. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Lowering speed limits, restricting cars in city centres key to quickly cutting global oil demand, IEA says
by Charles Feaver 18 Mar '22

18 Mar '22

Globe and mail: <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/emma-graney/> EMMA GRANEY, ENERGY REPORTER Lower speed limits, occasional restrictions on car access to city centres and cheaper or free public transportation would quickly cut millions of barrels of daily oil demand, helping avoid a looming supply crunch as the world heads into peak consumption season, according to an international energy watchdog. Taking such steps would also reduce the pain at gas pumps around the world, lessen the economic damage wrought by Russia's war in Ukraine, shrink Moscow's hydrocarbon revenues and help move demand for crude toward more sustainable alternatives, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday. The IEA's recommendations, part of a push to curtail reliance on Russian oil, come as the West continues to squeeze Moscow's economy with a series of increasingly strict sanctions. The IEA warned earlier this week that those sanctions and a general reluctance to purchase Russian crude and refined products could wipe three million barrels a day from global supplies. And that, it said, could further raise oil prices, drive up inflation and undercut the global economic recovery. To help ease supply strain and keep prices in check, the IEA recommends that advanced economies take 10 specific, immediate steps - mainly centred on transportation - that it says would lower oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day within four months. That's equivalent to the demand of all the cars in China. The steps include lowering highway speed limits by 10 kilometres an hour, encouraging more working from home, placing occasional limits on car access to city centres, making public transportation cheaper or even free, and promoting greater use of high-speed rail and virtual meetings instead of air travel.. Charles Feaver 11 Harvard Ave Winnipeg R3M 0J6 204.293.6332

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WFP: Downtown Selkirk to get makeover (Mar18'22)
by Beth McKechnie 18 Mar '22

18 Mar '22

THE City of Selkirk will spruce up the downtown section of Eveline Street. Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol said medians will be installed at intersections to make them safer, sidewalks will be widened, a cycling path will be added, and trees will be planted. An underground storm water management system will be added. The $7.2-million project is a key part of the revitalization of downtown Selkirk, Nicol said, adding the area has needed an upgrade for almost 30 years. “I’m extremely excited to see this happen… We know that businesses in the area, the residential developments are really excited to see this happen to bring more foot traffic and people into the downtown area,” he said. “We want to build a place that people want to be and spend time in after five o’clock in the evening.” Nicol said like many cities, Selkirk is trying to increase downtown density. “It brings vibrancy to the community, and it makes the streetscape safer because you get more eyeballs on the street,” he said. The plan is off to a quick start: three residential developments slated to begin on Eveline Street in the next two years. “A big part of that is their knowledge that we are investing in ourselves and in our downtown area,” he said. Construction will involve seven blocks from Eaton Avenue to Selkirk Park. The target date for completion is Sept. 30. “It’s a very aggressive timeline,” Nicol said. “Everything has to go quite well.” Selkirk will pay the full cost after it was denied a grant under the federal Building Canada Fund.

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WFP: Province seeks to clear path for e-scooter arrival (Mar17'22)
by Beth McKechnie 17 Mar '22

17 Mar '22

*Province seeks to clear path for e-scooter arrival * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/province-seeks-to-clear-path-for-e-… PROPOSED legislation would pave the way for e-scooters to hit roadways in Manitoba, after years of stalled efforts to launch micro-mobility services. On Monday, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk introduced Bill 21, which would allow the government to approve pilot projects for dockless e-scooters, low-speed vehicles, and other micro-mobility devices currently prohibited on public right of ways. “Expanding the use of low-emissions vehicles will help to reduce Manitoba’s greenhouse emissions,” Piwniuk said. “These changes will allow devices like electric kick scooters, low-speed vehicles to be tested safely while ensuring Manitoba keeps pace with other jurisdictions that are already testing and allowing these devices.” Since early 2019, officials with the City of Winnipeg have been preparing for the arrival of dockless e-scooters, which have become popular in urban centres in Canada and Europe. The e-scooters can be deployed on boulevards, in parks and plazas and rented through a smartphone application. An administrative report from summer 2020 recommended the city ask the provincial government to approve a trial to operate on its transportation network. At the time, a provincial spokesperson said the legislative framework to test e-scooters did not exist but could be considered in regulations under the Vehicle Technology Testing Act, which passed into law in May. Ultimately, the Vehicle Technology Testing Act would only cover autonomous vehicles. Pilot project regulations for self-driving cars are still in development. In a statement, Ryan Palmquist, executive assistant to public works chairman Coun. Matt Allard, said the proposed legislative changes are welcome news. Allard was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for an interview, Palmquist said. “At most recent communication, we understand the industry to still be interested in coming to Winnipeg with both scooter- and bike-share options,” Palmquist said. “With these welcome (Highway Traffic Act) amendments from the province, we can now resume working with the public service to develop an appropriate bylaw to allow this new micro-mobility and mode-shift service in Winnipeg.” Chris Luvancigh, general manager for Lime Canada, said the company is also open to exploring the possibility of bringing micro-mobility services to Winnipeg. The company currently has a network of electric scooters, mopeds and e-bikes in more than 30 countries and four Canadian cities. “Lime is glad to see more and more Canadian cities warming to micro-mobility as a way to build transportation systems that are more sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all,” Luvancigh said in a statement. Bill 21 would also allow municipalities to designate streets as “shared streets” for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other users with speed limits of no more than 20 km/h. Palmquist said an administrative report on the past two years of the city’s open streets and enhanced bike route programs is expected in April. Last spring, pedestrians were told to stick to the sidewalk after taking to the streets in 2020, when some seasonal active transportation routes were opened to foot traffic. Under the Highway Traffic Act, pedestrians are prohibited from walking on roadways where a reasonably passable sidewalk is present. “It’s our hope that many of the more successful routes, particularly those which filled gaps and improved connectivity of our active transportation network, can return in their original shared use form from 2020 on a permanent basis,” Palmquist said. “We have already reached out to the public service for their take on how these amendments can strengthen this program.” danielle.dasilva(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Amendments to Highway Traffic Act allow for testing of scooters, other lightweight vehicles
by Beth McKechnie 16 Mar '22

16 Mar '22

Wpg Sun: https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-news/amendments-to-highway-traffic-act-al… Province of Manitoba press release: https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=53757

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New Zealand halves public transport fares as petrol prices soar amid Russia-Ukraine war
by Beth McKechnie 14 Mar '22

14 Mar '22

Fare cut among measures Jacinda Ardern’s party has introduced to ease cost-of-living pressures https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/14/new-zealand-halves-public-tra… New Zealand is halving public transport fares to ease the pain of sharply rising petrol costs, as fuel oil prices soar following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced that the country would cut fares by 50% amid a suite of other changes to try to ease sharp increases in the cost of living. The government is also cutting petrol excise duties and road user charges by 25c a litre – changes that will come in at midnight on Monday. The finance minister, Grant Robertson, said the changes would last for an initial three months and then be reviewed. “The global energy crisis has quickly become acute,” Ardern said. “We cannot control the war in Ukraine <https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine> nor the continued volatility of fuel prices but we can take steps to reduce the impact on New Zealand families.” Petrol prices in New Zealand are over NZ$3 ($2) a litre and have been rising sharply in recent weeks. Unleaded petrol has gone up 15% since the start of the year and is expected to continue to rise. “In the long term we need to build greater resilience into our transport system so we are less vulnerable to spikes in the price of petrol,” Ardern said. “But for now halving the cost public transport will provide some families with an alternative to filling up the tank.” Even with the changes, the government expected petrol prices would continue their upward trajectory, Robertson said. “We do need to recognise that petrol prices are expected to continue to rise,” he said. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is continuing to undermine and destabilise global energy markets and, added to the other inflationary pressures the world has due to Covid supply chain disruptions, this is sadly not over yet.” The Ardern government has come under growing pressure to address rising cost of living in New Zealand, where households have faced significant increases in the cost of living and supermarket essentials. Inflation in Aotearoa has hit a three-decade high <https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-inflation-hits-a-three-decade-high-at…>, and is showing no sign of slowing. Inflation reached 5.9% at the end of 2021, and ANZ, the country’s biggest bank, expects it to continue rising <https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/462934/inflation-predicted-to-reach-7-p…> in 2022. In February, fruit and vegetable costs were up 17% year-on-year. New Zealand’s opposition has declared the country has a “cost of living crisis”. In recent polling, the Ardern-led Labour party fell behind the centre-right opposition, National, for the first time since the pandemic began.

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WFP Analysis: If it isn’t waste (and worse) at public works, what is it? (Mar12'22)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Mar '22

12 Mar '22

If it isn’t waste (and worse) at public works, what is it? https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/if-it-isnt-waste--and-worse--at-pub… JUST about everyone knows this scene from television and movies. There’s a man, pants around his ankles, engaged in “the act” with a woman who is not his wife. Suddenly, the wife bursts into the room. “Honey! It’s not what it looks like!” It’s funny because viewers know that he is, in fact, doing exactly what it looks like. When is that scenario not funny? When it’s performed at a city finance committee meeting. This week, managers from the City of Winnipeg public works department were called to defend themselves against allegations raised in a Free Press investigative series by journalist Ryan Thorpe. The series — Red Light, Green Light, No Oversight — detailed the findings of Christian Sweryda, an independent investigator who used Google Street View images to document dozens of unexplained, and seemingly unnecessary, modifications city crews made to traffic-control equipment and intersections over a decade. The series documented, in meticulous detail, a long list of unjustified infrastructure rebuilds, the swapping out of traffic-control devices before their normal end of life and traffic-light poles repeatedly changed and moved small distances, or replaced with new ones, for no apparent reason. And how did public works director Jim Berezowsky respond to the Free Press report? Councillors! It’s not what it looks like! “We believe there is an explanation for each and every Google picture,” Berezowsky told the city councillors who serve on the finance committee. If that’s true, it doesn’t explain why Berezowsky and transportation manager David Patman refused numerous requests for interviews, during which the Free Press was willing to share Sweryda’s research. Berezowsky actually complained during Thursday’s meeting that he wasn’t given a chance to respond before the series was published, ignoring the fact that he was. And if the explanations were straightforward, why wouldn’t he nip the entire oncoming scandal in the bud? We should assume that some of the issues raised by Sweryda can, in fact, be explained. But the scope and magnitude of the things he uncovered go well beyond a few unrelated concerns into the realm of systemic concerns. The other problem that Berezowsky and his department face is the clear need for intersection and traffic-signal improvement all over the city. >From poorly designed “black spot” intersections that regularly generate the highest number of serious collisions, to poorly marked crosswalks that put pedestrians at risk, this is a city that has simply not kept up with the desperate need for basic safety enhancements. A subplot to the Free Press series on mismanagement at public works focused on the glacial pace at which the city was installing eye-level flashing lights at pedestrian crosswalks. The overhead lights are not just ineffective at alerting drivers, they are rather wasteful. The infrastructure to suspend the lights too high to be seen by some motorists is clearly more expensive than installing easier-to-see eye-level flashers. Despite clear advantages in terms of both cost and safety, the city has fallen way behind in installing them. In total, 158 crosswalks need the new lights and the 2022 budget approved funding to convert a mere 15 locations this year. That is a maddeningly slow pace when you consider the very strong possibility the city has been squandering funds by unnecessarily replacing traffic lights and the poles they are attached to for reasons not yet shared with taxpayers. And, finally, this is not the first time we’ve been assured by city managers that what we can plainly see is not what it looks like. Almost three years ago, a Free Press report on workplace misconduct in the city’s planning, property and development department, based on the findings of a privately funded investigator, revealed some building inspectors were working an average three hours a day, and using paid work time to run personal errands and enjoy lengthy lunch and coffee breaks. Initially, department managers denied there was a problem. When an internal audit confirmed the Free Press report, eight inspectors were fired and seven were suspended. Those same managers were forced to admit they had some inkling of problems, but did not know the full extent of the misconduct when they rushed to defend their employees. In fairness, there are instances when something the public views as an obvious error of commission are really just a reflection of the challenges of the job. Snow-clearing is a good case in point. Most residents believe keeping roadways clear of ice and ruts is a simple matter of diligence. In reality, the combination of snowfall amounts, high winds and rapidly dropping temperatures can create ruts that are very difficult to scrape from streets. As such, the ruts are a reflection of our often extreme winters, and not of any particular shortcoming in city services. In this instance, however, it’s going to be a lot harder for the public works department to fully explain the worrisome pattern that emerged in the Free Press series. If an internal audit, which is now underway, confirms there is a problem, then you can bet it will shake the entire department — maybe the entire municipal government — to its core. Right now, the last thing that Winnipeggers need is someone at the city telling them that an obvious problem is “not what it looks like.” It would be much better to explain why it looks that way and what’s being done about it. dan.lett(a)winnipegfreepress.com

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