- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

Great Places: how livable streets make us happier humans
by Beth McKechnie 28 Jun '11

28 Jun '11

Great places: how livable streets make us happier humans by Sarah Goodyear <http://www.grist.org/people/Sarah+Goodyear> 23 Jun 2011 12:30 PM * http://www.grist.org/urbanism/2011-06-23-great-places-how-livable-streets-m… * ** ** *This post follows up on David Roberts' series on "great places<http://www.grist.org/article/2011-05-23-great-places-reorienting-progressiv…> ."* I found out yesterday that one of my neighbors, a lady in her 70s, had been taken to the hospital with heart problems. Her middle-aged daughter, who lives with her, was the one who told me, when we met on the stretch of sidewalk between our two houses. We often stop to chat like this, trading news and gossip and small talk. I expressed my concern and asked if there was anything that I could do. The daughter thanked me, and said she would pass along my well-wishes. Later, I found out from another neighbor that the older woman is going to be just fine. Phew. So what does this have to do with the "great places<http://www.grist.org/article/2011-05-23-great-places-reorienting-progressiv…>" idea David Roberts began exploring a few weeks back? Here's what: Great places have to be sustainable not just environmentally, but socially, too. Because human beings are social animals. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/sminor/4458106816/> Those brief talks I had with my neighbors were typical -- among dozens of similar interactions I have every week on my block and the streets around it. My dense, walkable, transit-rich neighborhood does a lot of great things for my carbon footprint (no car required, Zipcar within walking distance if I need one, farmers market only a few blocks away). But what it does for my soul might, in the end, be more important. Over the years, I have traded dog-sitting services with one neighbor. A store around the corner has accepted packages for me when I've been out. I've gotten, and given, career advice while sitting on the stoop. I've dropped my wallet on the sidewalk and had it returned by a woman whom I know could have used the money inside. She didn't touch the cash. My son has ridden his scooter up and down the sidewalk, and we've played stickball with the neighbor kids in the street. I've shoveled the snow in front of the house of the old couple next door. I've given hugs, picked up trash, and offered my shoulder to cry on. The street I live on is not just an address for me. It is an extension of my home. That sense I have -- that my living room extends into the street -- is, sadly, a privilege in this day and age. It's made possible by relatively low car traffic and high density of dwelling units on my block. This combination opens up a way of life that used to be common -- in which human beings naturally connect with each other over time, forming networks that can then be called upon when the going gets rough. Back in the late 1960s, a man named Donald Appleyard<http://www.pps.org/articles/dappleyard/>did some groundbreaking research into the way that car traffic kills street life and degrades the quality of urban communities<http://www.grist.org/article/2010-11-04-how-automobiles-make-our-streets-le…>. It was published in a book called *Livable Streets<http://www.amazon.com/Livable-Streets-Donald-Appleyard/dp/0415610648/ref=sr…>, *which will be back in print next year. He found that on streets with light car traffic, people felt more connected to their neighbors and their physical surroundings. The heavier the traffic, the more those connections suffered. The more the people suffered. The video below, from Streetfilms <http://www.streetfilms.org/>, is an excellent illustration of his work. Revisiting Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets <http://vimeo.com/16399180>from Streetfilms <http://vimeo.com/streetfilms> on Vimeo <http://vimeo.com/>. Since Appleyard did his research in San Francisco, automobiles have only grown more dominant on our streets. Recently, a British graduate student named Joshua Hart set out to replicate Appleyard's findings<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/19/ethicalliving.automotive>, and the quotes from his dissertation<http://www2.grist.org/grist-images/2011/June/6-20/DTESummary.pdf>[PDF] dramatize the toll autocentrism takes on human lives. Here's what one man in his 50s said about the street where he lives: [The traffic is] like a mountain range, cutting you off from the other side of the road.....it's hellishly busy....a bloody nightmare. The buses and lorries shake the house when they come by. The air pollution can be quite bad out the front, sometimes during rush hour you feel the air getting thicker and thicker..... Other recent studies have found<http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/12/walkable-ne…>that "social capital" -- that is, the number and quality of human interactions -- is higher in walkable communities<http://www.springerlink.com/content/xtq06270p27r1v0h/>. And even small increases in connectedness and activity can have significant health benefits<http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_small-day-to-day-changes-could-lead-t…> . Take a look at the video below (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVW8BCFsT3c) as well, from Mike Biddulph of Cardiff University<http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/cplan/contactsandpeople/stafflist/a-b/biddulph-mik…>. It compares two different streets in Cardiff, Wales, at the same time of day. One is what is known in the U.K. as a "home zone<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_zone>" -- a street that is designed with people as its primary focus, not cars. The other is a street with some traffic-calming measures in place, but where automobiles still dominate the streetscape visually and in terms of the space they occupy. It becomes clear very quickly which street makes it inviting for people -- especially children -- to come out of their homes and do what primates generally like to do, which is to socialize with one another. The concept of walkable, or livable, streets has slowly but surely been coming back into the mainstream conversation, in part because of the work of grassroots activists like Dan Burden <http://www.walkable.org/about.html>. Burden has worked many hours (and walked many miles) to try to convince municipal officials that they should design their cities and towns for people instead of cars. People are taking notice<http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/walking-expert-prescribes-ro…>. Streets are changing. More and more communities are passing "complete streets <http://www.completestreets.org/>" legislation that requires streets to be designed with pedestrians and bikes in mind, not just cars. It shouldn't just be 19th-century neighborhoods like mine that have a happy street life. It shouldn't just be rich neighborhoods. It should be all neighborhoods. But there are still way too many places in America where streets are for cars, and you take your life into your hands just trying to cross on foot<http://www.grist.org/slideshow/2011-05-25-do-not-walk-here> . Changing our streets to bring them back to human scale will take generations. It's a process, but at least the work has begun in earnest. Here's what Donald Appleyard said about the tension over street design: People have always lived on streets. They have been the places where children first learned about the world, where neighbors met, the social centers of towns and cities, the rallying points for revolts, the scenes of repression.... The street has always been the scene of this conflict, between living and access, between resident and traveler, between street life and the threat of death. Appleyard would likely be thrilled to see how his ideas are being taken up by a new generation. Sadly, he's not around to do so. He was struck by a car and killed in 1982 <http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Donald+Appleyard>. Sarah Goodyear is Grist’s cities editor. She’s also on Twitter<http://twitter.com/buttermilk1> . -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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Transportation Master Plan Open House - July 6, 2011
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

** Please share widely ** *WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN* *PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE INVITATION* ** ** The City of Winnipeg staff and consultant team invite you to attend the second Open House for the Transportation Master Plan (TMP). Drop by to view the main comments received from the public and stakeholders meetings and review the key directions and opportunities for the following transportation components: - Transit - Roads - Goods Movement - Active Transportation - Transportation Demand Management - Funding, Financing, and Governance We would like to hear from you on this important stage of the process!**** ** ** WINNIPEG TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN OPEN HOUSE**** Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 **** Time: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM**** Where: The Forks Market Atrium (at the base of the Forks Tower)**** Format: Drop in anytime – no formal presentation. **** ** ** Staff will be on hand to answer questions and collect feedback you may have. **** ** ** Visit the following Website to view or download the latest version of the TMP Newsletter: http://transportation.speakupwinnipeg.com**** ** ** Please forward this email to anyone that you feel would be interested in attending. Thank You!**** ** ** -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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WFP: His passion is the wheel thing - Winnipeg cyclist tireless advocate for AT
by Beth McKechnie 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

His passion is the wheel thing Winnipeg cyclist tireless advocate for active transportation By: William Burr When he goes on a canoe trip, Anders Swanson likes to be the one holding the map. The walls of his apartment are covered in them. Control freak or visionary, Swanson likes to know where he's headed. And he knows where he wants to take Winnipeg: toward a full-fledged embrace of the bicycle. Probably Winnipeg's most famous cycling advocate, his membership on the steering committee for Bike to Work Day, coming up Friday, is just the tip of the iceberg of Swanson's involvement. He sits on six advisory committees for active transportation, including Manitoba's and Winnipeg's. He participates in seven environmental organizations, some of which he started himself, such as the Orioles Bike Cage, a co-operative where cyclists go to learn how to repair their own bikes. His volunteer work is basically all he does outside his part-time jobs at the Natural Cycle shop and the Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba. "You get emails from Anders in the middle of the night all the time. I don't know when he sleeps," says Kevin Nixon, Winnipeg's active-transportation co-ordinator. Curt Hull, who works on Bike to Work Day with Swanson, is another peer who sings his praises. "It's his quiet, infectious enthusiasm and how he brings energy into a room -- I've seen him light up a city council meeting," Hull says. "He's pleasant to work with and funny, and he breaks up the gruelling agony -- he's got a good wit about him," says Janice Lukes, who sits on the city's active-transportation advisory committee with Swanson. She says he understands that cycling is more than a "niche market." "People generalize and think cyclists are spandex racer types. But they're not. They're the masses. And he gets it." Lukes says Swanson has been effective at selling cycling to people who were what she calls "tough nuts to crack," such as Mayor Sam Katz and city Coun. John Orlikow. Both speak highly of Swanson. "I'm a big fan of Anders, no question about it. That doesn't mean we're always going to agree," Katz says. "He's an advocate. We have many advocates in the city. We listen to them all, and we take a balanced approach after that," says Orlikow, but adds, "He's passionate and committed and a good community member, for sure." Swanson is a tall, burly, youthful 33-year-old and he has a thick, brown beard. He lives with his girlfriend in a spacious apartment downtown. A bike Swanson is working on sits upside down on the floor, wheels in the air. But he wasn't always a cycling enthusiast. When he was 16, he wanted nothing more than his own car, and he would eventually own several -- but not anymore. The cycling bug only bit him in 2004, when he bought a $25 bike to get to work and learned how to equip it for the winter. Beating Winnipeg's cold gave him a sense of accomplishment, and he was hooked. Shortly after that, he applied to work at Natural Cycle. Senior mechanic David Geisel says the cover letter Swanson wrote was so convincing they had to hire him. "He somehow touched on the cultural aspect of cycling and just made it sound as if nothing else mattered," Geisel says. While repairing bikes at Natural Cycle, Swanson heard many stories from commuters. "You get into discussions with customers and every second one has a story about this or that close call or this or that pathway that floods or doesn't go the right direction or doesn't connect, and I guess a penchant for mapping was making me connect all these dots in my head." He started OneGreenCity.com, a website where people share ideas about what kind of cycling infrastructure they would like to see in Winnipeg and then map it out digitally. One project led to another, and suddenly cycling advocacy was all he did. "It got pretty out of hand. All of a sudden there were so many trails to be built and events that people wanted to plan -- so anyways I started being on a lot of committees." Seeing ideas being turned into real changes to the city's landscape, such as new bike lanes, helps motivate him to sit through so many meetings. "When you see it come out in reality and then you see little kids biking down there, big smiles on their face, then it's like, OK, maybe this is pretty awesome," he says. Despite the bicycling inroads, it will be decades before Manitobans have the cycling infrastructure that other cities have, he says. "Even just to catch up, there's a lot of mapping and ideas and people to connect." william.burr(a)freepress.mb.ca *Put away the car keys... Friday is Bike to Work Day* BIKE to Work Day this year will feature over 20 "pit stops" spread out throughout the city where participants can meet up with each other and get free snacks, coffee, T-shirts and prizes. Largest pit stop will be at Bonnycastle Park -- at the corner of Main Street and Assiniboine Avenue -- where there will be a live TV broadcast. During and following the afternoon commute on Bike to Work Day, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., there will be a barbecue at The Forks with free hotdogs, veggie dogs or burgers for the first 300 cyclists and a prize draw. To register for this year's Bike to Work Day, map your route and find a pit stop, visit biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org

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Winnipeg Free Press Poll: Bike to Work Day
by Beth McKechnie 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Friendly reminder to sign up for and participate in Bike to Work Day<http://biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org/index.html>this Friday, June 24th. In related news, the Winnipeg Free Press Poll question today is: Will you bike to work on bike to work day? Visit http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ if you are interested in casting your vote! cheers, Beth -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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WFP: Pedal pusher - Bike Valet Winnipeg
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Pedal pusher With his bike valet service, David Wieser is hoping more Winnipeggers will two-wheel it to city events By: David Sanderson / Roll With It Revenge is a dish best served cold. And dripping with paint. Not long ago, regulars at a bar in Livingston, Mont., were being plagued by a bicycle thief who would nab their wheels while they were inside, tossing back a few. One night, some of the victims hid near the watering hole's bike rack, and waited for the perpetrator to show up. Within an hour, a dark figure appeared and began sawing the lock off one of their bikes. Before the crook could make his getaway, however, he was greeted by a barrage of paintball pellets. (Charles Bronson fans everywhere will be pleased to learn that the act of vigilantism was filmed by one of the participants, and is now available for all to enjoy, on YouTube.) "That was a good video; I watched it last week," says David Wieser, the founder of Bicycle Valet Winnipeg -- a year-old organization that parks and protects Winnipeggers' bicycles at events all over town. The million-dollar question, then: will Wieser now follow suit, and arm his legion of valets with paintball guns? "Uh, no," Wieser says, with a laugh. "There are no plans to do that at this time." Bicycle Valet Winnipeg is exactly what it sounds like: Cyclists present their bikes to whoever is on duty at happenings like rock concerts and street festivals. Valets park the bikes in a cordoned-off area, then hand out claim stubs. At the end of the event, the bike owners return their ducats, and the valets fetch their rides. Best of all: it's free. "People always ask, 'How much?' but thanks to our sponsors and event organizers, we don't have to charge a penny," Wieser says, adding that Bicycle Valet Winnipeg is a subsidiary of Bike to the Future, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to make cycling in the Peg a safe and convenient transportation alternative, year-round. Wieser came up with the idea for Bicycle Valet Winnipeg in 2007, after reading about a similar enterprise in San Francisco. But before he made his dream a reality, Wieser, a 17-year member of the Canadian Armed Forces, was redeployed to Edmonton for training, and then to Afghanistan for a six-month tour of duty. "It was while I was in Kandahar that I really began jotting down notes, bouncing ideas off other people, and firing off emails," Wieser says. By the time he returned to Winnipeg in April 2010, the married father of one was "pretty much ready to go." Well, not exactly. At Bicycle Valet Winnipeg's inaugural event -- Bike to Work Day 2010 at The Forks -- Wieser had plenty of takers, but nowhere to put their bikes. "It fell on the same day that the Queen was in town," Wieser explains. "The city was supposed to deliver a bunch of bike racks, but they were so busy with the royal visit that they forgot about us." To make sure that never happened again, Wieser began building his own bike racks. (Last week, he put the finishing touches on No. 51.) He's also busy building on Year One, when his valets -- all of them volunteers -- worked at close to 20 events, including the last six Blue Bomber games. Wieser just got word that his services will be needed at all of the Big Blue's home games this year, and Bicycle Valet Winnipeg will also be present at the Red River Exhibition, Canada Day at The Forks, and the M.E.C. Bike Fest in July. To date, Bicycle Valet Winnipeg has tended to everything from skateboards to unicycles to bike trailers. "Last year, we even had a 10-foot-long, four-wheel car cycle -- it was awkward to park but we did it," Wieser says. On the other hand, mopeds need not apply. "No, we won't park anything with an engine. We're trying to encourage people to choose active transportation to get to their event." In addition to establishing relationships with organizers of the Manitoba Marathon, and/or the management of this city's new NHL franchise, Wieser has one other goal in mind. "We parked (Hot 103 DJ) Ace Burpee's bike at the Ciclovia festival last year," Wieser says. "He draws such a crowd, I wish we could have a bike valet following right behind him wherever he goes." For more information, and to see where Bicycle Valet Winnipeg will be setting up next, visit www.bicyclevaletwinnipeg.ca. david.sanderson(a)freepress.mb.ca Valet girl IN August, David Wieser will bid adieu to Winnipeg, and to his "baby," Bicycle Valet Winnipeg. Wieser, an electrical distribution technician at 17 Wing, is being transferred to a base in Ontario. Last month, Wieser hired Rosanne Ritchot to take his place as Bicycle Valet Winnipeg's chief co-ordinator. We recently caught up with Ritchot, and asked her a few questions about the future of Bicycle Valet Winnipeg, and her own passion for getting around town on two wheels. Free Press: Was there a seminal moment in your life when you discovered you were a serious cyclist and not just somebody out for a little fresh air? Rosanne Ritchot: I discovered my love for cycling during a bike trip from Winnipeg to Alaska and back, in 2004. Understandably, it would have been wiser to discover this love before leaving on a 5,000-plus-kilometre trip, but fortunately, it worked out. FP: Just a hunch, but I'm guessing you didn't show up for your interview with a David Wieser behind the wheel of a Hummer. RR: I wouldn't have dreamed of showing up for this job interview in any type of car! I have to admit, though, that I didn't ride my bike. I walked. FP: I know you haven't officially started yet, but do you have any ideas re: your new title? RR: I don't have any specific plans yet. But I do dream of Bicycle Valet Winnipeg getting bigger, if only because I dream of Winnipeg being a city more open and accessible to cyclists. FP: One of David Wieser's chief tenets is that Bicycle Valet Winnipeg will never charge individual cyclists to use its services. Do you subscribe to that belief? RR: Absolutely. In my opinion, BVW's purpose is to make taking your bike instead of your car as easy, as accessible, and as affordable as possible. Using your bike is a glorious thing, and BVW should help to make that true for more and more Winnipeggers.

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New bike plan unveiled for Toronto (includes a number of cycletracks)
by Anders Swanson 16 Jun '11

16 Jun '11

See more here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/06/15/toronto-bike-plan.ht… As per the article, these curb-protected facilities will be a first for Toronto. Winnipeg already has one on Assiniboine... Winnipeg: 1 .....*+0.5 if you count the Norwood Bridge* Toronto: 0 Success. Related note of pride: Thompson is getting its first bike lanes ever, this year (on Burntwood). Anders Swanson Active Transportation Project Coordinator Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba | www.pacm.ca c.204-294-7027 | activetransportation(a)pacm.ca

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In Mexico, citizens create DIY bike lanes
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jun '11

16 Jun '11

In Mexico, citizens create DIY bike lanes By Colleen Kimmett On Vancouver's city council, support for building bike lanes has been pretty much unanimous <http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/08/11/BicycleBacklash/>. (It helps having a mayor who bikes to work and opposition members who spend their vacation cycling around Europe.) Here, it's the politicians who have had to ease bike infrastructure into the public realm, with communication plans, consultations, and trial runs<http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Transportation/2009/06/23/BurrardBridgeBike…>. For some, it's still too much. For others, not enough. In Mexico, reports Treehugger.com <http://www.treehugger.com/>, residents of Guadalajara -- a city that adds 350 cars to its street every day -- are taking a different approach, with DIY bike lanes. The city at one point created a cycling plan with recommended bike routes. But nothing ever came of it. Fed up with their government's inaction, a group of citizens led by students and teachers at a local technical college, decided to take matters into their own hands. They erected signs and painted lines on the street to create dedicated bike lanes, and released a video and document explaining how and why they did it. "In Mexico, the cost of building a bike lane reaches about a hundred thousand dollars per kilometer," the group explained. "This means that the section on which we worked, 2.5 kilometers on each side of a two way avenue, could have cost about five hundred thousand dollars. The investment, the citizen's investment, was of only a thousand dollars." The full story and video, can be found here<http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/01/guerilla-diy-bike-lane-guadalajara-…>. *Colleen Kimmett reports for The Tyee.* *http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/2011/01/13/DIYBikeLanes/ * -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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Register for Bike to Work Day Winnipeg!
by Beth McKechnie 16 Jun '11

16 Jun '11

*** Please share widely *** Dear Fellow Winnipegger, Join us in making an impact by cycling to work on June 24th as part of the 4th annual Bike to Work Day Winnipeg! By registering for free online, not only will you get a chance to take part in all of the days events including complimentary snacks, beverages, BBQ, prizes and parties, you will add your voice to ours and take a stand for cyclists and a greener, more bike-friendly Winnipeg. This year is a year to celebrate both the advances in our city's walking and cycling infrastructure as well as our event plans. Please take a moment to learn more at www.biketoworkdaywinnipeg.org Even if you are unsure today whether you can bike on June 24th--register! Your registration and support of the event will help grow the event each year. Please see below for a schedule of the day. We look forward to seeing you on your bikes soon! cheers, Beth -------- *JUNE 24th is BIKE TO WORK DAY* *6:30-9:00am* Locate a pit stop using our online map<http://bikeplanit.org/map/index.html?site=btwd&ll=49.87335,-97.160518&z=13&…>. Stop along your commute and receive free snacks and coffee (available on a first come, first serve basis) along with other swag and t-shirts. Find a buddy and share the ride to work! *Please note that there is NO pancake breakfast this year; instead we will be hosting a BBQ to bookend the day.* *4:00- 7:00pm* Manitoba Lotteries BBQ at the Forks. Stop by on your way home for free music and a great party! Free food for the first 300.

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New research: Benefits of New and Improved Pedestrian Facilities - Before and After Studies
by Beth McKechnie 11 Jun '11

11 Jun '11

S. Turner, R. Singh, P. Quinn and T. Allatt (2011), "*Benefits Of New And Improved Pedestrian Facilities – Before And After Studies*," Research Report 436, NZ Transport Agency ( http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/research/reports/436/docs/436.pdf ). [snipped from the Executive Summary:] This research, conducted between 2005 and 2009, aimed to investigate whether the implementation of new pedestrian facilities (or the improvement of existing facilities) led to increased pedestrian rates, and to record these changes in a standardised format that could be used in transport planning and project funding. This study also tried to develop an expected pedestrian-usage model, based on before and after data analysis, for planners and funding agents to use when planning new or improved facilities and evaluating projects. The final part of the project involved developing a monitoring database containing before and after pedestrian count data for various new and improved pedestrian facilities, along with a list of accompanying factors such as safety, delay and directness. Results from the before and after pedestrian count surveys and analysis of the individual case studies showed that the implementation of improved pedestrian facilities resulted in increased usage at seven out of the eight sites analysed. The magnitude of these changes varied between sites, from 7% for the Moorhouse Ave signalised pedestrian crossing to 90% for the kerb extensions at Collingwood St. The reasons for the increases in flows were analysed in each of the individual case studies, and were found to be a mix of factors such as safety, delay and directness. Overall, it was observed that the construction of kerb extensions/refuge islands resulted in the largest increase in pedestrian numbers, followed by the installation of kea crossings. -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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New research: increasing sidewalk coverage to reduce GHG emissions
by Beth McKechnie 11 Jun '11

11 Jun '11

[From the Victoria Transport Institute (VTPI) newsletter] Lawrence D. Frank , et al. (2011), "*An Assessment of Urban Form and Pedestrian and Transit Improvements as an Integrated GHG Reduction Strategy*," Washington State Department of Transportation (http:// www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/765.1.pdf ). This study used detailed data to assess the impacts of various urban form factors on vehicle travel and carbon emissions. This analysis indicates that increasing sidewalk coverage from 30% to 70% of streets in an urban neighborhood would typically reduce vehicle travel 3.4% and carbon emissions 4.9%. Land use mix and parking pricing also had significant impacts. Increasing average parking fees from $0.28 to $1.19 per hour (50th to 75th percentile) reduces vehicle travel 11.5% and emissions 9.9%. Study results were used to develop a spreadsheet tool that can evaluate the impacts of urban form, sidewalk coverage, and transit service quality and other policy changes for local and regional analysis. -- *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 non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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