December 2024 - AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

WFP: Chill on wheels (Dec21'24)
by Beth McKechnie 21 Dec '24

21 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. CHILL ON WHEELS For hardy cyclists, boosts to mind and body override plights of Old Man Winter, poor bike routes https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/2024/12/20/chill-on-wheels MOST Friday and Saturday evenings in the dark months of winter, the distinctive whir of tire treads can be heard crossing the pavement and ice outside the Centennial Concert Hall, home of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. As the downtown Exchange District buzzes with concertgoers shuffling on icy sidewalks and shielding themselves against the bracing Manitoba cold, Daniel Perry, a double bassist, arrives on his custom-built Osto fat bike. He wears only thin merino-wool base layers, snow pants and a light shell. Ice crystals form on the fabric buff he wears over his face to protect his skin. Perry moved to Winnipeg from Indianapolis, Ind., in 2014. “I had a really shitty Canadian Tire bike I got off Kijiji when I first moved here,” Perry recalls. “I didn’t get very far before I gave up, and I didn’t ride again for a few months.” Cycling in Winnipeg can be challenging. Winnipeg is traditionally a car city — not to mention the fact it is frequently dubbed the coldest city in Canada and is known for its icy winds. In Winnipeg, about 0.5 per cent of the population commutes by bike. This is on par with cities like Toronto and Ottawa but behind Montreal, where 1.2 per cent of the population cycles. Winter cyclists face a myriad of challenges beyond cold toes: unplowed bike lanes make for treacherous riding, road salt corrodes bike chains and snow compacted by car tires makes for an especially slippery commute. Despite these challenges, cyclists in Winnipeg persist, though their numbers dwindle substantially in the winter months. Chris Baker, the active-transportation co-ordinator for the City of Winnipeg, says the city’s bike network is still in its “teenage years.” It’s come a long way since its infancy, but there’s still a lot of work to do. “Winnipeg has only had a bike policy or a plan since 2015,” he adds. That same year, Perry decided to invest in a decent pair of wheels. For him, cycling in the winter was the antidote to seasonal blues and the anxiety of driving, as well as a way to keep in shape — both mentally and physically. ●●● In 2014, Perry had been excited to land a spot in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It was a prestigious gig: there are only 41 bass spots available across the seven orchestras in Canada that pay above $40,000 per year, and openings are rare. But when he arrived alone on Winnipeg’s distant doorstep, so far from family and friends, Perry felt displaced, anxious and adrift. I know how Daniel felt. I, too, moved from the U.S. to join the WSO. When I arrived 15 years ago, I too struggled to adjust to Winnipeg being my new home. Being part of the city’s professional symphony orchestra, as Perry puts it, felt like being in a “bubble that’s disconnected from the community.” With erratic work schedules and intense daily practice, newcomers to the symphony often settle into an insular, indoor existence, entrenched in the social circle and culture of the orchestra. In Perry’s small friend group, that culture involved many evenings each week of socializing and heavy drinking, not uncommon among symphony musicians. After a year stuck indoors, suffering from asthma and allergies caused by dust and pet dander in friends’ homes, Perry committed to changing his habits. He vowed to stop drinking for a few months, start getting outdoors and begin exercising. Perry traded in his used Canadian Tire bicycle for a new road bike, better suited to longer rides and city streets. He began pulling up the Google Maps bike feature and exploring Winnipeg. Suddenly, he found himself seeing things he’d never noticed while driving. Before long, he was hooked on biking. Within a couple of years, he’d given up his car altogether and relied on his bike as his primary mode of transportation, including riding to work. As a fellow orchestra member, I always felt I could be forgiven for driving to work. My cello — my most precious possession — is, like all stringed instruments, susceptible to extreme cold and heat. It’s also next to impossible to transport by bicycle. Perry faces an even bigger barrier to commuting by cycle in a wintry, windy city — he plays the double bass, one of the largest instruments in the orchestra, alongside the harp and piano. Basses are cumbersome and heavy, nearly two metres tall and extremely delicate. Like all string instruments, they are pricey and can cost as much as buying a car. Perry’s solution: use his second bass to practise at home and avoid transporting his primary bass to and from the concert hall. ●●● Perry’s relationship with Winnipeg has evolved in tandem with its biking infrastructure. There are now more than 400 kilometres of bike lanes, greenways and multi-use paths. “(I discovered) how (routes) are connected to the riverside paths, they go through neighbourhoods and next to green spaces, and (I) actually got to see that side of the city,” Perry says, speaking both scenically and geographically. “I was like, ‘Oh — this is a beautiful place!’” These days, Perry is a local fixture along Winnipeg’s bike lanes. He has also become deeply entrenched in the city’s cycling community. As local cyclist Leslie Parisien puts it, “You can’t throw a rock around here without finding someone that knows Daniel.” He volunteers with organizations like The Wrench, which uses reclaimed parts to refurbish bikes and offers classes, workshops and community programming with the stated aims of “educating youth, empowering volunteers and providing people with affordable, sustainable active-transportation options.” Perry’s infectious enthusiasm for biking has rubbed off on his colleagues at the WSO. “I do try to celebrate that since I started, we’ll have winter days where there are between five and 10 people riding to work in the middle of winter,” Perry says. “For me, that’s where I have power … even if that’s in the smallest of ways, it’s a change, and that’s what I can do.” The municipal government also appears to be taking notice of the growing cycling community: Baker notes the City of Winnipeg has committed to increasing its active-transportation budget. (The 2025 city capital budget for the pedestrian and cycling program is $2.2 million, and is forecast to rise to $5.4 million in 2026). Still, some cyclists feel current efforts aren’t enough. According to Manitoba Public Insurance, every year an average of four cyclists in Winnipeg are killed in collisions with cars, with an additional 78 injured. Edmonton, by comparison, has an annual budget of $33.3 million for cycling infrastructure and plans to expand its bike network through 2026. On average, there was only one cyclist fatality per year there from 2012-22. Few studies have been done on the impact of infrastructure design on cyclists’ safety. Those that have been done have indicated that when dedicated, bike-only infrastructure exists, the risk of crashes and injuries is significantly reduced, in addition to providing sustainable transportation options and benefits to public health. Perry and others believe well-maintained, dedicated bike lanes are essential to prevent fatalities like one in June when longtime cyclist Rob Jenner was killed on Wellington Crescent while riding to work. Patty Wiens is one of those working to ensure city officials make cycling safe. “We have to hold them to task,” Wiens, known as the “Bike Mayor of Winnipeg,” says. (Bike Mayor is a title bestowed on 141 people in dozens of countries by the Bicycle Citizen Network, an Amsterdam-based organization providing support to community-led cycling initiatives and Bike Mayors across the globe). When Weins meets with Mayor Scott Gillingham — she calls him the “Car Mayor” — she pushes for three changes to make roads safer for cyclists: reduce residential speed limits to 30 km/h, eliminate right turns for cars at red lights and remove all slip lanes. Weins, who rides an e-bike, finds her sense of community enriched by cycling activism: “We’re too isolated. I think that is why the bike community has become so crucial. We find these people who feel the way we do. We bond together, and then we’re outside together. I’ve added probably 200 new friends to my life that I can honestly say are friends.” ●●● While Winnipeg’s punishing winters and fragmented bike routes scare off many cyclists, Perry remains undeterred. And his relationship to the WSO has changed for the better as well. With a deeper connection to the community, he says, “now for me, this is more of a job than an identity.” Finding a healthier work-life balance has allowed Perry to explore the world of competitive winter marathon bike races. As he gradually increased his distance, he started to eye the 268-kilometre Toscobia Winter Ultra in Wisconsin. “It sounded kind of ridiculous, but also attainable enough that I wanted to go for it.” He thought, “If this is an actual event, and people do this all the time, why can’t I be one of those people?” Now, Perry is not only one of those people, but he is incredibly successful. He finished first in the 2023 Tuscobia Ultra, in which he also won a spot to compete in Alaska’s fabled Iditarod Trail Invitational — a behemoth fatbike ultra-marathon that takes place every February, covering more than 560 km. Perry, one of only a few rookies on the trail this year, rode to a fourth-place finish. Though Perry and I have sat in close quarters on the orchestra stage for 10 years, I visited his home for only the second time about a month after that race. I found him sitting cross-legged on his sleek grey sofa, sipping a cup of black coffee. Bella, a small, elderly rescue he was dog-sitting, was curled up like a croissant at the opposite end of the couch. Sporting a mullet and trimmed beard, he was “still processing” the Iditarod experience and seemed philosophical. “I’m not just obsessed with bikes,” he says. “I use it as a tool or an avenue for other things.” Perry spends a lot of time on his bike in reflection, he says, doing what he calls his “inner work.” And without his bike, Perry knows his connection to his community in Winnipeg wouldn’t be as rich. Beyond the physical benefits of cycling year-round, biking has also propelled Perry’s personal development and community activism. Cycling is no longer simply a mode of transportation. ●●● There are many sub-zero evenings when Perry arrives at the concert hall, rosy-cheeked and refreshed from his commute. He’s already started mentally and physically preparing for his performance on his ride to work. “I like to take time to think about my breathing and my posture and my muscle engagement while I’m riding… this helps me warm up and think about using my entire body to play bass,” he says. He wheels his bike backstage, past colleagues already in their evening dress. Perry and the other bassists he inspired to ride to work leave their bikes in a large instrument-storage room. Fat bikes parked between instrument cases and storage lockers spark conversations about recent rides, road conditions and weather. Layers of sweaty clothing are peeled off and hung on handlebars to dry, as orchestra members change into tuxedos, dresses and other formal wear. As the ice melts and drips from his bike tires, Perry sits on stage, just one cog in the wheel of the orchestra, anticipating his ride home after the concert amid the snow falling gently outside. Perry is thankful for the relationship he has cultivated with cycling. “I needed something that I did on my own terms, that I could have as a passion away from music,” he says. “My world is so much bigger now.” Emma Quackenbush is a writer and cellist who has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for 15 years.

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WFP Analysis: Slower speeds for safety on residential streets (Dec20'24)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Dec '24

20 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Slower speeds for safety on residential streets HILLARY ROSENTRETER https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2024/12/20/slower-speeds… JUST days ago, I heard another one of those familiar sounds — crunch. It’s the sound two-ton hunks of metal and plastic make when they collide. I looked over from a snow-packed multi-use path lined with footprints and bike tire tracks to see people clamouring out of their vehicles to inspect the damage. Although this sound is not unique to the winter months, unfavourable weather conditions do highlight just how dangerous our roads and sidewalks can be. On Dec. 12, I spoke before city council on this very topic. After passing through multiple committees at City Hall, seeing record turnout for such an issue with over 50 delegations in an executive policy committee meeting in support, and shapeshifting to the wills of various councillors multiple times in the process, a motion addressing the hidden dangers of the beautiful Wellington Crescent was on the agenda. Much to the dismay of many, the motion titled “Item No. 4 of the Report of the Standing Policy Committee on Public Works dated Nov. 29 — Speed Limit Reduction on Wellington Crescent,” did not contain any provisions for a speed limit reduction. To help you understand why I stood at City Hall’s podium that day — aside from standing on the shoulders of those who came before me — I need to take you back in time, six months ago, to June 6, the day Rob Jenner was killed on Wellington Crescent. Already before lunch that day, our online Winnipeg Cycling Community’s main message thread was ablaze over news about a cyclist being hit by a driver along Wellington Crescent earlier in the morning, and taken to hospital in critical condition. We were anxious and devastated. To be honest, we were also angry. We were desperate for more information. Our group has many residents of the wards of Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights), Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) and Coun. Cindy Gilroy’s (Daniel McIntyre). They use Wellington Crescent for their daily commutes because it’s their only choice, being right at their doorstep. They know better than anyone that this beautiful right-of-way hides darks secrets among the cracks in its narrow sidewalks, with unmarked pedestrian crosswalks the width of four lanes and the frequent speeders along the Crescent. They would be the first to tell you that Jenner’s death was an inevitability. Even though Jenner was among the most cautious cyclists, he is not with us today. Jenner’s death was entirely preventable. And to be clear, I did not speak to city council because of a reckless driver. I can promise you nearly every single person who walks or rolls along Wellington Crescent has a harrowing story about a few near death experiences. I am here because one death is one too many, and change needs to happen. Since moving back to Winnipeg in 2021, I have avoided Wellington Crescent after having a white-knuckle experience on my very first time using the route, almost exactly where Rob was hit. And yes, the driver in Jenner’s case was reckless. (In case you were not aware, the vehicle that hit Jenner was travelling at nearly 160 kilometres per hour down Wellington Crescent.) Wellington Crescent encourages high speeds. It is incredibly wide and winding, and hints at drivers that they can travel at highways speeds along what is, first and foremost, as residential as a street can be. Wellington’s design is built to kill and we need to make sure Jenner’s death is the last on the street. And in an ideal world the last death at the hands of a driver, but we have already had more deaths since then. Much of June 6 was agony, to be honest. We could all see ourselves and our loved ones in Jenner. When the photos of the crime scene were added to media articles, my stomach sank. The lead shot was Jenner’s bike on the boulevard. I know my way around a bicycle, so I immediately noticed that not only was the rear wheel severely mangled but the rim had been completely obliterated. I need to emphasize here that it takes an incredible amount of force to do that. It was so clear to me that the cyclist had been hit from behind. It tore me up. I had a terrible feeling about their chances of survival. Being hit by a driver from behind is basically a worst-case scenario. I know because I speak from experience. I was heading home along Waterfront Drive near Higgins below the Disraeli Bridge. I was so fortunate that the driver and I were slowing down as we approached a red light. Being hit from behind is scary because you have no way of anticipating it, especially on roads without dedicated, separated and well-maintained infrastructure. One moment you’re rolling along, the next your body and the pavement become one. Had the driver and I not been going at similar speeds I would probably be dead today. My partner and mom got a message saying: “I’ve been hit. But I’m OK.” It took me a few minutes to type up the message through tears and although bike riding is the most joyful experience on the planet for me, I will always carry a twinge of anxiety about whether my life will be cut short too. Not a single person in our group knew Jenner personally. But we were all grieving. There had been a life involuntarily taken too soon by entirely preventable causes. Like Nardia Bedward, Tammy Bateman, Doris Porter, and too many others. My ask to city council was to amend the motion to include provisions for a 30km/h speed limit along the Crescent. Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) rattled on about all the calls he receives from people in his ward about lowering their street’s speed limit to 30km/h and, like some other councillors, used this as an excuse to “not treat Wellington Crescent like a special case.” The irony of this type of argument is not lost on me. I am completely in favour of consistency in our 30km/h speed limits, believing they should be year round and apply to all residential streets in the city. Consistency is safer and more practical for everyone. Unfortunately, city council did not amend the motion to include reducing the limit to 30km/h, but we heard from multiple councillors to hold tight until the city’s report on their 30km/h pilot streets would be released some time in 2025. Maybe with a study completed on a pilot, city council will finally take action on life and death matters. Hillary Rosentreter is an advocate for safe streets.

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The Beaverton: “Why is Toronto traffic so terrible?” wonders man in car
by Beth McKechnie 15 Dec '24

15 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Sorry, couldn't resist sharing this timely article as well: https://thebeaverton.com/2024/12/why-is-toronto-traffic-so-terrible-wonders…

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The Beaverton: Ontario passes bill allowing bike paths that lead to walls with tunnels painted on them
by Beth McKechnie 15 Dec '24

15 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. https://thebeaverton.com/2024/12/ontario-passes-bill-allowing-bike-paths-th…

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WFP: Arlington Bridge & Omand Park pedestrian bridge replacements a go (Dec14'24)
by Beth McKechnie 14 Dec '24

14 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. ARLINGTON BRIDGE REPLACEMENT A GO A $166-MILLION proposal to replace the Arlington Bridge at its current location is moving forward, though funding has not yet been approved to actually build the structure. On Thursday, city council approved the initial design plan for the bridge, which suddenly closed on Nov. 21, 2023, due to structural concerns. Since the city’s preliminary 2025 budget doesn’t include money to build the bridge, funding for the project will be debated during a January public works meeting, said Coun. Janice Lukes. The deteriorating bridge initially opened to traffic in 1912. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE REPLACEMENT GREENLIT A revamped Omand Park pedestrian bridge is one step closer. City council has approved a plan to design a replacement for the bridge with construction “no later than 2029.” A city report deems the path over Omand’s Creek to be in poor condition and at risk of closure. A new bridge would be about 2.8 metres higher than the existing one to avoid flooding. The new bridge could cost between $3 million and $5 million.

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WFP: Wellington Crescent speed limit reduction rejected (Dec14'24)
by Beth McKechnie 14 Dec '24

14 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. WELLINGTON CRESCENT SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION REJECTED WELLINGTON Crescent won’t be subject to a year-round speed-limit reduction. On Thursday, city council cast a final vote against slashing the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on Wellington, from River Avenue to the western end of Academy Road. While dozens of delegates spoke out in support of the reduced speed to improve safety, some councillors expressed concerns about having elected officials impose the change without seeking feedback from traffic experts. Council also ordered a staff report on steps that could make Wellington safer for cyclists next year.

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WFP: After 45 years, opening Portage and Main intersection to pedestrians begins in earnest (Dec11'24)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Dec '24

11 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Rest in pieces: barriers fall After 45 years, opening Portage and Main intersection to pedestrians begins in earnest https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/12/10/beginning-of-the-… IT has been 45 years since the concrete barriers preventing pedestrians from crossing the street at Portage and Main were installed, forcing people into the concourse under the storied intersection. Construction crews began working Tuesday to reopen the crosswalks at “Canada’s windiest corner,” the beginning of the end of the ferocious, decades-long debate that has burned at the centre of the city for nearly a half-century. “It’s all coming down!” a worker exclaimed over the din as backhoes and skid-steers clawed at the much-maligned barricades along Portage Avenue as afternoon traffic slowly made its way past the blocked eastbound lane between Main and Fort streets. The closure was part of a deal the city struck with a developer to build the concourse connecting all four corners under the street. The decision to reopen the intersection — voted down by a margin of nearly two-to-one in a non-binding 2018 civic election referendum — came suddenly last spring when a report revealed it would cost approximately $73 million to repair the leaking membrane protecting the retail concourse under the street. Citing that cost and the need to make changes because of a planned Winnipeg Transit route overhaul, city council budgeted $13 million last spring to effect changes at street level enabling foot traffic again. In November that cost ballooned to $21.3 million after the city received only one construction bid on the project, which is expected to be completed by July 1 to align with the transit system changes. A worker who used a grinder to remove a “Portage and Main” marker fastened to a barricade at one corner sent orange sparks into the snowy air, marking the beginning of a new era for the downtown. Laz Merasur will be happy to use the crossing instead of the underground concourse, which he said is inaccessible at times. The circus limits its hours from 7 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. daily. “It’ll just be a lot better for seeing people downtown, and just make it a lot more accessible for everybody,” said Merasur, who frequents the downtown core. “They make us go underground but you can’t even get through it sometimes.” Design architect and Free Press columnist Brent Bellamy already has his outfit picked out for the intersection’s Canada Day opening ceremony. The longtime advocate of taking down the barriers will triumphantly navigate the crossing sporting a navy-blue T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of the infamous 2018 plebiscite map showing the urban support and suburban opposition. “It’s a funny thing, because we’ve kind of been pushed into it with the cost of the roof membrane really being the driver of the decision and not some sort of greater aspirational goals of creating a better city,” Bellamy said Tuesday. “But you know what? I’ll take a win wherever it comes. I think in a few years, we’re gonna wonder why we worried about it for so long, and why it was such a big deal and it’ll just be a part of our city again.” Bellamy said while Winnipeg doesn’t have mountains or oceans to enjoy, the gritty city has special places — including Portage and Main — and should work to develop and protect the landmarks it has. “I know it is an intersection, but it could be much more, and maybe one day it actually will be in a place that tourists come to, and a place that really interprets our history,” he said. That sounded good to Merasur. “We have all these really big intersections everywhere, like New York, but ours is one you have to go underground… which never made sense to me,” he said. Long-term lane closures at Portage and Main appeared last week, including the closure of the southbound curb lane on Main between Portage and Pioneer avenues and the closure of the eastbound curb lane on Portage Avenue between Fort and Main. A permanent no-right-turn restriction from northbound Main onto east Portage has been implemented. Pre-construction traffic signals and underground work at the intersection concluded last week and sewer repairs and demolition of the existing barricades began earlier this week, the city said. Winnipeggers are being encouraged to consider alternate routes, as traffic will be restricted at the intersection over the next six months. Kara Boychuk, who works in the office tower at 201 Portage, wasn’t initially supportive of the idea due to the cost, but has since come around. “I figured the city spends our tax dollars on worse things,” she said. nicole.buffie(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca>

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WFP Analysis: Wellington Crescent: a call for timely action (Dec11'24)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Dec '24

11 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Wellington Crescent: a call for timely action RACHAEL ALGUIRE https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2024/12/11/wellington-cr… IMAGINE walking down Wellington Crescent, the sun setting over the river, as neighbours meet and catch up. Someone cycles by after picking up their child from school, safely seated on a cargo bike. Families stroll along the sidewalk, sharing a space where pedestrians, cyclists and drivers can co-exist together. This could be the year-round reality of one of Winnipeg’s most iconic streets. Wellington Crescent, linking a historic, high-density neighbourhood to a world-class park, is currently failing its community. Inconsistent speed limits and a racetrack-like design have turned what should be a safe, shared space into a death trap. The city’s executive policy committee has voted down the motion to lower the speed limit to 30 km/h year-round but approved plans for temporary bike lanes, which will go before full city council on Dec. 12. There is still a chance to revisit the speed limit reduction, and it’s essential the city doesn’t let this opportunity slip away. Making this stretch of road safer for all residents aligns with over 20 years of city reports advocating for this change. It’s time for the city to follow its own recommendations. Reducing the speed limit isn’t just a good thing to do — it’s a moral obligation. We know that speed limits and traffic-calmed streets save lives. This motion comes nearly six months after the death of Rob Jenner, a cyclist killed by a speeding driver on Wellington Crescent. His passing adds to the growing list of names: Tammy Bateman in Fort Rouge Park; Doris Porter on Harry Lazarenko Bridge; and Nardia Bedward standing at a bus stop on Portage Avenue. These are just a few of the 14 pedestrians and two cyclists killed by traffic violence on Winnipeg streets this year alone. These weren’t “accidents.” They were completely preventable and the result of deadly road designs and decades of neglect. How many more lives will Mayor Scott Gilligham gamble with before taking action? He’s seen study, after study, after study calling for slower speeds. He’s witnessed the ghost bikes and grieving families, yet he continues to do nothing. Every preventable death on our streets is a direct result of his inaction. How many more ghost bikes must appear before he finally acts? The May-to-October 30 km/h limit on part of Wellington Crescent has already shown that slower traffic makes the space a place people want to be, not just move through. Extending this limit year-round from Academy Road to River Avenue would make this a safer, more welcoming space for everyone. So, what are we waiting for? The excuse that enforcing a 30 km/h speed limit is too difficult is weak. Well-designed traffic calming and permanent cycling infrastructure will narrow the road, making it impossible to speed. These measures are proven to work in cities worldwide, and it’s time Winnipeg followed suit. Frankly, I don’t want another ghost bike put up on my street. At the Nov. 29 public works meeting, deputy mayor Janice Lukes said it best as she advocated for the change: “People, it’s going to take you three more minutes in your nice heated car.” City leaders love to talk about a sustainable, forward-thinking Winnipeg. Policies like Our-Winnipeg 2045 and the draft Transportation Master Plan: 2050 lay out a vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building active transportation networks and creating vibrant neighbourhoods. But these goals are too distant. This motion on Wellington should have been passed on June 7, 2024, the day after Rob Jenner’s death. Yet here we are, six months later, still begging for the bare minimum. The 2022 Enhanced Summer Bike Route survey showed strong public support for lower speeds on Wellington Crescent. People want safer streets — it’s that simple. Yet, the time it takes for most drivers to go through the Tim Hortons drive-thru is often considered more important than the lives of people who move around the city outside of a car. Young people in this city are watching. Cars are a luxury we cannot afford and do not want. We’re tired of living in a city where cars are king and driving is the default. We want a Winnipeg that values people over vehicles — a city where streets are safe, livable and vibrant. The city needs to think bigger and believe in a future where personal vehicles are no longer the dominant form of transportation and the needs of real people are prioritized. Every neighbourhood deserves 30 km/h speed limits year-round. Slower speeds in residential areas transform streets into vibrant, shared spaces. Streets become places for connection, not just thoroughfares for cars. This shift encourages local businesses to thrive, as people are more likely to linger and engage in the community. In the midst of a loneliness epidemic, this kind of third space is needed more than ever. This isn’t just about Wellington Crescent. It’s about what kind of city Winnipeg wants to be. Will we start making choices that reflect the needs of all our residents — not just those who can afford cars? Or will we keep enabling individuals who feel entitled to speed down our streets at the expense of everyone else? To city council: the time for half-measures, more studies and excuses is over. The future of our city depends on the choices we make today. Let’s make it a place where people come first. Pass this motion, including the speed limit reduction, and show us you value human lives. You owe it to the people you serve to act decisively and prevent any further tragedies. Rachael Alguire is a Wellington Crescent resident.

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WFP: Higher density key to fixing budget woes (Dec9'24)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Dec '24

09 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Only way to become more economically viable is to allow city to grow inwards and upwards Higher density key to fixing budget woes https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/12/09/higher-density-ke… ALARM bells have been ringing at Winnipeg City Hall ahead of Wednesday’s 2025 budget update. It might be the annual doom and gloom dance, done to lower expectations before every budget announcement, but with the city’s rainy-day fund being emptied and a significant deficit projected, it does feel like this time the warnings are real. Like many before him, Mayor Scott Gillingham has responded by being vocal about the need for the province to come to the table with new funding sources for the city. Two polls — one conducted for the mayor’s office, and one for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities — were recently released in support of this campaign. The surveys identified that Winnipeggers believe the top priority for civic spending should be repairing infrastructure, with 81 per cent indicating road quality as the top civic issue impacting quality of life. A majority also believe the city needs additional municipal funding, with strong support shown for increased provincial transfers. The only immediate solution appears to be more tax dollars, either civic or provincial, but asking taxpayers to take more money from their pockets is a Band-Aid that avoids addressing the core issue that got us here. Winnipeg, like most Canadian cities, has been on an economic slippery slope for a long time. That slope is called suburban sprawl. It makes many people defensive to hear it, but our crippling infrastructure deficit and annual budget crunch at city hall can be directly linked to the city’s financially unsustainable, low-density growth patterns over the last 50 years. The concept is simple. Lower density means fewer people are paying for more things. Ten people living on a street have their taxes divided by 10 to maintain the road. If only five people live on that same street, each taxpayer is responsible for twice as much. On a macro scale, this is how Winnipeg got to where it is. Our city has been growing three times faster in area than in population, meaning overall density has been dropping as it grows. In 2019, the city compared the built-up area of Winnipeg over 50 years and found that the footprint of the city had increased by 96 per cent, almost doubling, while the population increased by only 37 per cent. If Winnipeg had simply maintained the density it had in the 1970s, the city’s footprint, and its corresponding infrastructure would be 30 per cent smaller than it is today. This would have gone a long way to balancing our civic budgets. From the founding of Winnipeg until the late 1960s, the city grew simply by extending the existing street grid. Ride your bike from Wellington Crescent to Taylor Avenue on any street in River Heights and you will see a different decade of houses every two blocks. As the city grew, the streets just got longer. After this time, we started building isolated subdivisions with long stretches of infrastructure connecting them back to the older neighbourhoods. This development pattern wildly increased the city’s overall footprint and reduced its density. Every Winnipeg taxpayer is today responsible for maintaining 10 per cent more roads than they were in 2010. Fewer people paying for more things. Greater distances between neighbourhoods meant that existing civic amenities like schools, libraries and community centres, could no longer be shared with new growth, requiring new ones to be built. This issue was compounded by opposition to higher density, new development in existing neighbourhoods that meant, as household sizes naturally decreased, neighbourhood populations fell. Most of Winnipeg’s mature neighbourhoods have 20 to 30 per cent fewer people living in them today than 50 years ago. This resulted in existing civic amenities being underused, while at the same time we were building new ones in outer suburbs. Again, fewer people paying for more things. The types of neighbourhoods we started building also impacted the city’s economic viability. With apartment buildings, townhouses and single-family homes mixed on every street, the higher density of mature neighbourhoods makes them far more productive at generating tax revenue than newer single-family subdivisions. Per square foot of land, the assessed tax value of neighbourhoods like Wolseley, West Broadway, and Osborne Village, is twice that of Island Lakes or Whyte Ridge. The impacts of sprawl are not limited to where we live but also includes where we shop. Older neighbourhoods were centred along commercial streets and former streetcar lines, fronted with shops that people could walk to from their home. That pattern has been replaced with big box stores and oceans of asphalt parking that push the footprint of the city outward. This retail development pattern is a similarly unproductive tax base. The handful of small buildings and shops on a single block of Corydon Avenue has a collective assessed tax value that is equal to a Costco in south Winnipeg that consumes five times more land area. Longer travel distances in the expanding city has created a greater reliance on private vehicles. Car ownership per capita has increased by 20 per cent in only 20 years, and the number of vehicles on Winnipeg’s roads increases by about 7,500 every year. This results in more parking lots and bigger roads that push the city even further out in a never-ending cycle of economically unsustainable sprawl. The solution to the perennial budget woes at city hall requires that we take a step back and re-evaluate our city-building choices. The city is growing quickly, and the only way to become economically viable in the long term is for each of us to welcome more neighbours into our communities, allowing our city to grow inwards and upwards, instead of outwards. More people paying for fewer things. Brent Bellamy is creative director at Number Ten Architectural Group.

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CBC: Wellington Crescent speed-reduction motion loses momentum after committee vote (Dec5'24)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Dec '24

05 Dec '24

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/wellington-crescent-speed-reduction…

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