- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

Cyclist safety in numbers, not helmets
by Charles Feaver 27 Jun '16

27 Jun '16

Excellent article in the Free Press by Brent Bellamy with the broader perspective of how helmet legislation affects cyclist safety for urban commuters and public health. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/cyclist-safety-in-numbers-not-helm ets-384483011.html Some quotes: Wearing a helmet when you ride a bike will reduce your risk of injury in an accident. The mandatory helmet law currently proposed by Winnipeg city council likely will not. This seems like a contradictory statement, but unlike motorcycle-helmet and automobile-seatbelt laws, bike safety relies on a set of unique variables that require a more complex response than simply forcing everyone to wear a helmet. A 2015 study by the University of British Columbia is the most comprehensive resource for this assertion. It looked at 11 cities in Canada over a five-year period, comparing hospitalization rates between jurisdictions with and without helmet laws. The study was one of the first to pro-rate injuries with the number of bike trips taken. Its conclusions could not find a definitive correlation between helmet legislation and hospitalization rates. . The effects on participation rates may be the most important factor when considering the effectiveness of legislation and is the reason many cycling advocates oppose mandatory helmet laws. Although results are inconsistent, many jurisdictions find mandatory helmet use has a negative impact on the number of cyclists on the road. After implementing helmet laws, several Australian cities reported a drop in cycling rates of between 20 per cent and 40 per cent. Vancouver saw a 30 per cent reduction in adult cyclists, Halifax dropped by 50 per cent and child helmet laws in Alberta resulted in a decrease in adolescent participation by 27 per cent, while adult cycling, which was exempt from the law, grew by 21 per cent. Almost all research, including the UBC study, concludes one of the most important factors in bike safety is high levels of participation. It has been consistently proven the number of riders has a far greater impact on bike-injury statistics than wearing a helmet. This strength-in-numbers concept simply means motorists are less likely to hit cyclists when there are more of them around, indicating doing anything to discourage participation is counterproductive to achieving safety goals. With greater bike presence, drivers become more aware of the complexity of road movements, adjusting behaviour by slowing down, passing cautiously and shoulder-checking. It has been found when bike use doubles in a city the risk of a motorist hitting a cyclist typically goes down by about one-third. Another significant factor reducing participation rates has been the obsessive public focus on helmet use. The stigma against not wearing one has become wildly disproportionate to the actual risk, creating the common perception cycling in cities such as Winnipeg is inherently unsafe. .

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WFP: Winnipeggers get a peek at downtown cycling route plans (Jun23'16)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Jun '16

25 Jun '16

Garry Street makeover has something for everyone http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/winnipeggers-get-a-peek-at-downtown-… Downtown Winnipeg is about to become a lot more friendly for cyclists, pedestrians, motorists, transit users and patio enthusiasts. If that sounds like a lot of people to keep happy, welcome to Scott Suderman's world. Suderman, the city’s transportation facilities planning engineer, was among several city officials meeting and talking with members of the public at a two-hour "pop-up engagement event" at The Forks Thursday to introduce a makeover to Garry Street that aims to have something for everyone. "This project is really about balancing all the users' needs," Suderman said. "It's important for the city to see everyone's perspective and balance the needs for everyone walking, cycling, driving, taking the bus, the businesses downtown, visitors, the people living there." The Garry Street makeover is a significant project that includes a three-metre cycling lane, two southbound lanes, a parking lane, a metre-wide curb separating cyclists from traffic, wider sidewalks, street paving, new traffic signals, new underground water mains and more. "The bicycle lanes will have a raised concrete barrier. It will be about a metre wide and about six inches (15 cm) tall. This option creates the widest physical separation (from traffic) and we heard from the public that was an important consideration," said Suderman. "There will be two travel lanes available full-time for motorists and for emergency vehicle mobility and access. There's also going to be a full-time parking, loading, transit lane and even for seasonal patio opportunities." The Garry Street design is the result of year-long consultations that started with several options and was chosen because it was deemed the safest for cyclists and it will allow bike travel in both directions. For vehicle traffic, Garry Street is already a one-way street. The space for the two-way bike lane would be created by removing about 16 per cent of street parking for vehicles on the east side of Garry Street. The new design, called the Downtown Bike Lane System, will include a separate cycling lane that will be a 1.5-kilometre route that will run from Assiniboine Avenue to Ellice Avenue/Notre Dame Avenue, and then north into the Exchange District along Arthur Street to McDermot Avenue. Evan Proulx, 26, said cycling is his main mode of transportation and he has felt unsafe at times in downtown traffic so the Garry Street plan is "a good start." "I think I have just become accustomed to it because I have been cycling downtown so much but there are those times where I would like to be separated (from vehicle traffic) slightly," he said. "In Winnipeg, it's been haphazard to this point." Proulx said he has cycled in numerous cities in the U.S., such as Portland, Ore., which has a lot of infrastructure dedicated to cycling. "I'm not sure yet how this connects to other parts of the city, but downtown, this is a good start." Bruce Quesnel, who lives on Tache Avenue, said now that he is retired he frequently walks or cycles in the downtown area. He said it appears the Garry Street plan could help both pedestrians and cyclists. "It's good, mostly. It's good that there are separated paths (for cyclists and vehicles) and that's really important for us," said Quesnel, 69. "There's going to be concrete barriers, which will be very good, and this will separate it. It's very important. Right now, only some (cyclists) use the street and the rest use the sidewalk and you don't blame them. They're terrified." He said the dedicated bike path will encourage him to cycle more through downtown. The separated bike lane will be extended along Notre Dame Avenue to Adelaide Street. However, the existing bike lane on Fort Street will remain in place after the Garry Street project is completed, Suderman said. Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe told the Free Press in an earlier story that his group would prefer single bike lanes on two one-way streets — one on Fort and one on Garry — and see single-lane vehicle traffic on both those streets. Cohoe said his group is concerned the lanes for cyclists aren't wide enough in the Garry Street plan. Also at Thursday's event at The Forks, proposed designs were introduced for the West Alexander Cycling Corridor projects, including a protected bike lane in the West Alexander neighbourhood along McDermot Avenue — deemed a natural extension of the Garry corridor – and an enhanced cycling crossing at Assiniboine Avenue at Main Street into The Forks. Suderman said construction on the upgrade to the signal light at Assiniboine Avenue and Main Street crossing has already begun and is expected to take only a few weeks to complete. The Garry Street project will begin construction in spring of 2017 but will go on hiatus during the 2017 Canada Summer Games, which are being hosted in Winnipeg from July 28 to Aug. 13, 2017. It is expected the Garry corridor will be completed near the end of the 2018 construction season. The spring of 2017 is also projected for the start of the West Alexander Cycling Corridor. ashley.prest(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Fall in Love With Where You Live - Bike to Work?
by Anders Swanson 23 Jun '16

23 Jun '16

Please allow me the opportunity to share the just-released Bike Week Winnipeg video for 2016 with you <https://www.facebook.com/BikeWeekWinnipeg/posts/1211296125548566>. The entire team who worked hard on it would love to see it shared widely. We think that the message it sends is an important one. Please enjoy. ...and a reminder that tomorrow is *the 9th annual Bike to Work Day <http://www.bikeweekwinnipeg.com/bike-to-work-day/>! *[You probably don't need a reminder though at this point. Nine years... I remember when this AT list served as the primary method of getting the word out for the very first one. How far we've come....] See you out there. Anders

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Healthy Built Environment Specialist - job opening
by Kristine Hayward 23 Jun '16

23 Jun '16

Hi AT folks - I just wanted to let you know that the Healthy Built Environment - program specialist position has been posted with the WRHA. Posting is open until June 30. More info at.... https://www.brainhunter.com/frontoffice/jobDetailDispatchAction.do?sitecode… Kristine Hayward Physical Activity Promotion/in motion Coordinator Winnipeg Regional Health Authority 2nd floor - 490 Hargrave Street Winnipeg, MB R3A 0X7 Cell 204 232-7546 Fax 204 940-2690 Email khayward(a)wrha.mb.ca Bike racks are available in front of the building at the corner of Hargrave and McDermot. Plan your Winnipeg Transit trip: http://winnipegtransit.com/en/navigo Follow Winnipeg in motion on Twitter - @wpginmotion Check out our videos on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/Winnipeginmotion This email and/or any documents in this transmission is intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain legally privileged or confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, copying or dissemination is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately and return the original. Ce courriel et tout document dans cette transmission est destiné à la personne ou aux personnes à qui il est adressé. Il peut contenir des informations privilégiées ou confidentielles. Toute utilisation, divulgation, distribution, copie, ou diffusion non autorisée est strictement défendue. Si vous n'êtes pas le destinataire de ce message, veuillez en informer l'expéditeur immédiatement et lui remettre l'original.

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Fwd: PACM - ParticipACTION Releases the 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity and Children and Youth
by Lea G 16 Jun '16

16 Jun '16

This year's report card looks at how daily walking and biking improves society's "sleepidemic" as well as an overall AT grade for Canada again. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba (PACM) <info(a)pacm.ca> Date: Thu, Jun 16, 2016 at 10:02 AM Subject: PACM - ParticipACTION Releases the 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity and Children and Youth To: asrts(a)greenactioncentre.ca Please share this survey widely with co-workers, colleagues and networks that support and promote physical activity as part of their work and/or mandate! Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser <http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id=dc930591ea…>. <http://pacm.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id…> *Canadian kids are inactive and may be losing sleep over it ParticipACTION releases 2016 Report Card and for the first time, assigns a sleep grade* *TORONTO (ONTARIO) June 16, 2016* – If you think kids can get a little physical activity and then play video games into the wee hours, yet remain healthy, you’re in for a rude awakening. There are important relationships among sleep, physical activity and sedentary behaviour and new research shows that sedentary lifestyles are connected to a creeping ‘sleepidemic’ in Canadian children and youth. That is why, for the first time, the *2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth* assigns a grade to sleep and includes new *Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth*. A first of their kind in the world, the guidelines outline what a healthy 24-hour period looks like for children and youth. *For more information on the 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth including the Highlight Report, Full Report, Fact Sheet, Social Media Kit and more, *CLICK HERE <http://pacm.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id…> The Physical Activity Resource Centre (PARC) is hosting a webinar on the Report Card results being presented by Allana LeBlanc the Knowledge Manager at Participaction at 10 am on June 28th. To get more information on the webinar click here <http://pacm.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id…>. (Note: To register for this webinar you must either have or sign up for an OPHEA account.) *PACM Mission* The Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba (PACM) mission is to support increased physical activity among Manitobans through collaboration, promotion and educations. PACM host organization (to 2017) is the Manitoba Fitness Council. PACM is supported by Manitoba Health, Healthy Living and Seniors/Manitoba *in motion*. *Our mailing address is:* PACM c/o Manitoba Fitness Council 219 Provencher Ave. Winnipeg, MB R2H 0G4 Visit the PACM website at www.pacm.ca <http://pacm.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id=…> PACM Coordinator: Roy Mulligan Email: info(a)pacm.ca Phone: 204-235-1245 This email was sent to asrts(a)greenactioncentre.ca *why did I get this?* <http://pacm.us3.list-manage.com/about?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id=bb551b…> unsubscribe from this list <http://pacm.us3.list-manage1.com/unsubscribe?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id…> update subscription preferences <http://pacm.us3.list-manage.com/profile?u=470531fad062627cd92cba782&id=bb55…> Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba · 219 Provencher Blvd. · Winnipeg, MB R2H 0G4 · Canada [image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…> -- *Lea Grzenda* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3774 *| *Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/program/asrts/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/program/asrts/> **Please note I am away from the office on Fridays** 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/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Winnipeg Walk Bike Projects - Pop-up Engagement Event
by Beth McKechnie 14 Jun '16

14 Jun '16

*** Please share widely *** ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Segal, Ryan <SegalR(a)mmm.ca> Date: Fri, Jun 10, 2016 at 4:02 PM Subject: Winnipeg Walk Bike Projects - Pop-up Engagement Event To: "Segal, Ryan" <SegalR(a)mmm.ca> Hello, In September 2015, the City of Winnipeg initiated a public engagement process to receive input on the *Downtown Bike Lane System Study *and *West Alexander Pedestrian and Cycling Corridor Study*. Feedback received during this process has been incorporated into preferred designs. Please visit us at a pop-up engagement event and online to view the preferred designs and provide your feedback. *Pop-up Engagement Event* Drop-by format (come and go). Visit us to view the preferred designs, speak with project team members, provide your feedback and ask questions regarding the study. *The Forks Market* Thursday, June 23, 2016 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM 1 Forks Market Road South Atrium *Share Your Input Online* View the preferred designs and provide feedback through an online survey. *www.winnipeg.ca/walkbikeprojects <http://www.winnipeg.ca/walkbikeprojects>* Please find an invitation attached. Please feel free to distribute this invitation to anyone else who might be interested. Thank you! *Ryan Segal*, MCP Junior Planner *MMM Group* 111 - 93 Lombard Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3B1 Canada T +1 204-943-3178 #3909 F +1 204-943-4948 segalr(a)mmm.ca www.mmmgrouplimited.com | www.wspgroup.ca

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Webinar reminder: Economic Impacts of Street Design Considerations, Wed, Jun 15, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 14 Jun '16

14 Jun '16

*** Friendly reminder regarding tomorrow's webinar *** Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of the APBP webinar: *Economic Impacts of Street Design Decisions*. The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre 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 * * * * * *Economic Impacts of Street Design DecisionsWednesday, June 15 | 2-3pm CDT* This webinar will explore how rethinking land use and transportation can create prosperous, resilient communities. *Speakers: * - Chuck Marohn, Strong Towns - Tom Bertulis, Design Consultants, Inc.

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WFP Editorial: Proposed helmet law misguided (Jun10'16)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Jun '16

11 Jun '16

Proposed helmet law misguided http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/proposed-helmet-law-mis… Winnipeg city council is considering making helmets mandatory for adult cyclists. As a safety move, wearing a helmet is a good idea; a helmet, obviously, protects a person’s head should they be thrown from a bicycle. But a mandatory helmet law only addresses part of the problem. According to data compiled by Transport Canada, increased helmet use among cyclists from 1975 to 2010 had no effect on traffic-related fatality trends. When compared against pedestrians, fatalities among cyclists decreased at roughly the same rate. Better driving practices among motorists were credited as having a greater effect. According to the Canadian Automobile Association, most bicycle injuries and crashes occur during afternoon rush hour, while one in three cyclist fatalities occur at night or in places where there’s artificial lighting. Cyclists are most likely to be killed or injured at an intersection or location where there are traffic signals. Sixty-four per cent of cyclist deaths resulting from traffic crashes took place on city roads with a speed limit up to 70 km/h. Common collisions between a motor vehicle and cyclist involve drivers cutting off a cyclist when making a right turn, colliding with an oncoming cyclist when the motorist makes a left turn, and passing a cyclist with insufficient clearance. Not much that helmets are going to do about that. But if the city is considering mandatory helmet use, maybe it can mandate some other things to address these factors. Let's start with bike lanes on all streets. If the problem is motorists and cyclists in the same lane, separate them. For a city such as Winnipeg, that is constantly ripping up its streets for repair, would this expense really be much different if phased in with existing repair work? Or perhaps the city should extend its dedicated cycling infrastructures, such as the paved bike paths in Quebec City, Edmonton, and Calgary? (Oh wait, a $300-million cycling and pedestrian infrastructure plan for Winnipeg was axed by city councillors, as Robert Galston has noted on these pages. Perhaps cyclists’ safety isn’t the top priority.) We can also address cyclist and motorist behaviour. Cyclists should ride on the street and obey traffic laws. Motorists should change lanes to pass cyclists. Motorists should not be passing cyclists in their own lane, running the risk of clipping them with a mirror or blowing them off balance through turbulence. (The one-metre rule should be the bare minimum, but it’s not specified in the Highway Traffic Act; it’s at a motorist’s discretion how much room to give when passing a cyclist.) The city should promote the practice that motor vehicles must change lanes to pass a bicycle, as they must do to pass a car, truck, bus or motorcycle. This isn’t even mentioning the upside to actual cycling infrastructure, be it bike lanes on existing roads or dedicated bike paths. Safer conditions for cyclists mean more people on bikes and fewer in cars, lightening traffic congestion. And cycling infrastructure makes urban life more attractive, as Brainerd, Minn., found out. That community invested heavily in a bike path system and in addition to encouraging more people to live there, its tourist numbers have increased as well. Before the "it-could-never-work-here" howls begin, consider it wasn’t seatbelt requirements alone that have addressed motorist deaths. Airbags and innovations in vehicle design that help absorb impact are factors, as is better road design and road-clearing practices, and better education for drivers. Helmets, while a good idea, are like seatbelts: they minimize damage but don’t solve the problem. Winnipeg drivers and cyclists can tackle part of the solution together, through safer driving practices; but for real change, city hall has to stop giving cyclists the evil eye and actually do something about infrastructure.

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AT Webinar: Economic Impacts of Street Design Considerations, Wed, Jun 15, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 09 Jun '16

09 Jun '16

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of the APBP webinar: *Economic Impacts of Street Design Decisions*. The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre 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 * * * * * *Economic Impacts of Street Design DecisionsWednesday, June 15 | 2-3pm CDT* This webinar will explore how rethinking land use and transportation can create prosperous, resilient communities. *Speakers: * - Chuck Marohn, Strong Towns - Tom Bertulis, Design Consultants, Inc. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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WFP Analysis: Bike lanes, not helmets, make cycling safer (Jun9'16)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Jun '16

09 Jun '16

Bike lanes, not helmets, make cycling safer By: Robert Galston http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/bike-lanes-not-helmets-ma… One morning last spring I walked down Sherbrook Street with my young children when they noticed the new protected bike lane that lines four blocks of the street. Lifelong Winnipeggers, my children saw cycling as something they did up and down a leafy sidewalk of a residential block, and maybe on riverbank trails to The Forks. On Sherbrook that morning, they realized that even a busy street in the middle of the city can rightfully be a place where they are able to ride their bikes in safety and enjoyment. Not everyone shares this perceptiveness. Earlier this week, city hall’s protection, community services and parks committee passed a motion raised by Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt to have city staff study mandatory helmet use for all adult cyclists. Mandatory bike lights and a sound device such as a bell or horn will also be looked at. The motion passed unanimously. At its heart, the motion was not a nanny-state attempt at protecting cyclists, but spiteful retaliation by council’s frustrated anti-cycling minority. Last summer, Wyatt, as well as his colleague on the protection committee, Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie, voted against the city’s long-term pedestrian and cycling strategy, which calls for more than $300 million worth of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to be built in the coming years. Research shows that any one of the strategy’s protected bike lanes will do more for cyclists' safety than making it illegal to ride without a helmet and assorted other bells and whistles. The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians recently took the position that while helmets should be mandatory, designing streets so that they are safe for cyclists is the best way to reduce head injuries. Real safety is determined by environmental conditions. While clearly useful, mandatory seatbelts do not reassure me that driving on highways during a blizzard is a smart idea. In the same way, mandatory helmets would not reassure me that navigating Regent Avenue on a bike ever is. Other research suggests that helmets are not effective enough to be required. One study undertaken at the University of British Columbia found that helmet legislation is a waste of time. Cities should instead build protected routes for cyclists, which reduce risks and create "numbers in safety": the more dedicated infrastructure for cyclists, the more cyclists there will be. To borrow from French economist J. B. Say’s law of economics, new supply will create new demand. Bigger and more diverse numbers of cyclists would deflate local cycling opponents’ worn-out narrative that only a handful of recklessly impetuous weirdos are crazy enough to cycle in Winnipeg. Protected bike lanes would mean more people — especially women, seniors and children — would take to the road. A supposed love of driving and Winnipeg’s long winters are two common arguments advanced to explain why making streets less hostile for cyclists is just not worth it here. But these are becoming conspicuously outmoded and flimsy excuses; most car-dominated and winter cities in North America are getting serious about cycling. Last week, the sprawling city of Atlanta dedicated $1 billion to build a cycling and pedestrian network over the next 20 years. Los Angeles, a city that embodied American car culture in the 20th century, passed a similar long-term plan to slow car traffic on a number of its fabled boulevards by making room for bike lanes and wider sidewalks. Calgary recently opened a 6.5-kilometre network of protected bike lanes in its predominantly car-oriented downtown. Last month, Minneapolis adopted a complete streets policy that will give pedestrians, cyclists and transit just as much priority as cars in new street designs. Fargo, a city of 113,000, implemented a bike-share program last year that has, so far, seen higher per-capita usage than bike shares in New York and Paris. Change is often slow in Winnipeg, but it is occurring. Wholesale opposition to making Winnipeg streets safer for all users will sound more shrill and intellectually hollow over time, and will soon be clung to by a small number of citizens who are staunchly anti-cycling as a matter of quixotic principle. Certainly, not every Winnipegger will give up commuting by car, but making some room on city streets for those who do will become an accepted fact of life here. A protected bike lane on a busy street in Winnipeg may have been a new discovery for my young children, but it won’t be for theirs.

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