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AT Webinar: What Do You Do? Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Skills (Wed Dec 12, 2-3pm)
by Beth McKechnie 06 Dec '18

06 Dec '18

Please join Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg for a group viewing of the monthly APBP webinar in the EcoCentre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/uncategorized/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-o…> boardroom. This will be followed by discussion for those who wish to stay. cheers, Beth *AT Webinar: Wed, Dec 12th, 2-3pm* *What Do You Do? Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Skills* What exactly does a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator do and what skills do they need to do their job effectively? On this webinar, you'll hear from a few Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinators from different cities and regions about their specific roles and how they differ from one another and what the key skills and capabilities are. We'll also discuss why its important to have someone in this role. *Presenters:* - David Henderson, Miami-Dade TPO - Shawn Smith, Regional Municipality of York

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WFP: Input sought for proposed Exchange District bike lane project (Dec5'18)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Dec '18

05 Dec '18

*Input sought for proposed Exchange District bike lane project * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/public-gets-chance-to-preview-propo… WINNIPEGGERS will get their chance today to weigh in on a proposed bike lane project in the Exchange District. The project, if approved, will result in a new protected bike lane on Princess Street, stretching from Higgins Avenue (near Siloam Mission) to William Avenue near (Red River College’s Roblin Centre). The information session at Roblin Centre is scheduled for today at 4 p.m. The public will have a chance to see the proposed designs, learn how feedback from consultations with stakeholders — including the Siloam Mission, RRC, Chinatown Development Corp. and Centre Venture — was incorporated and voice their opinions on the project. “It’s really important to get the public’s input,” project manager Mark Doucet said. “(We want to) make sure we’re balancing the needs of business owners and the traffic going through there.” Claire Li, who manages the Princess Street furniture store HUT K, said she thinks because that stretch of road isn’t connected to other nearby protected bike lanes in the neighbourhood, fewer people are using it. While Princess Street has painted bike lanes, the lack of concrete barriers between cars and bikes means cyclists may feel less safe — especially as the roads get slippery, Li said. For the past few months, HUT K employees have been tracking how many cyclists use the bike rack in front of the store, she said. Lately, those numbers are dropping. “There just aren’t bike lanes,” Li said. “Anything that supports other forms of transportation, and making it easier for bikers to feel safe and willing to bike the full Exchange, would be great.” Mark Cohoe, executive director of the advocacy group Bike Winnipeg, said getting more people cycling as a way to get around is a good approach to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and decreasing traffic congestion downtown. Cohoe also pointed to a recent Probe Research survey, jointly commissioned by CAA Manitoba and Bike Winnipeg, in which more than one-third of respondents said they would cycle more if adequate infrastructure were in place. The survey also found nearly half of respondents felt Winnipeg should add more separated bike lanes along major routes. “We’ve got a ways to go, but we’re definitely making progress,” Cohoe said. “People really want to see (cycling) as something that’s a viable option for them. A lot of people — given the right opportunity, and the right infrastructure — would choose to bike to their destinations.” The city’s consultation and study on the proposed Princess Street bike lane project are just preliminary steps in the process, Doucet said. A final report — which will make adjustments based on feedback and include a cost estimate— should be completed in early 2019. “Once we see what the costs are, we will take that to (city) council,” Doucet said. “We’re hopeful that it’s a high priority.” caitlyn.gowriluk(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project - Survey deadline
by Beth McKechnie 04 Dec '18

04 Dec '18

Still time to fill out the survey! ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Wolseley Downtown <WolseleyDowntown(a)intergroup.ca> Date: Tue, Dec 4, 2018 at 11:56 AM Subject: Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project - Survey deadline To: Wolseley Downtown <WolseleyDowntown(a)intergroup.ca> Good Morning, Last chance to provide feedback during phase 1! The survey to provide your input on the Wolseley to Downtown Corridor Project will close on *December 6, 2018*. During phase 1 we are collecting input that will contribute to identifying the values and issues that are important to you when working on improvements to active transportation within the study area corridor. View background information about the project at the project webpage <https://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/wol…>, and fill out the survey <https://wolseley-walkbike.metroquest.ca/>. Thank you to everyone who has already provided input! The project team will enter phase 2 of the public engagement program in late winter 2019 to review and discuss design options and alternatives. For more information visit winnipeg.ca/walkbikeprojects <https://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkBikeProjects/def…> .

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WFP: Legalize free-range parenting (Nov30'18)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Nov '18

30 Nov '18

*Legalize free-range parenting * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/legalize-free-range-pare… KATHARINA NUSS I AM encouraged by the amount of discussion and conversation that has been happening around whether the law should more explicitly allow children under 12 more independence. Dan Lett — in “ Protecting kids can mean awkward questions” (Nov. 3) — argues that protecting children requires diligence, and I fully agree with that. As I have said before, my issue is not with receiving a visit from a Child and Family Services worker — I understand and support CFS’s need to follow up when a concern is brought to their attention. What I take issue with is being told that it is not acceptable for children under 12 to be on their own under any circumstances, and that is the focus of the petition I started. Lett makes the argument that there is no harm done in being overly cautious, and that a few CFS visits that turn up no concern are a small price to pay, as it may keep some children from suffering serious neglect or abuse. It seems to be a sensible argument. However, this does not take into account that the status quo is not neutral, but is actually doing damage. It prevents children from engaging in activities that are key for healthy development. By denying our children opportunities to gradually learn independence, we put them at risk of a number of conditions and challenges. There is a sizable body of respectable research that demonstrates the importance of self-directed play, outdoor play, risk-taking and incremental independence for children’s physical, social, emotional and mental well-being. The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health of Canada says, “Access to active play in nature and outdoors— with its risks — is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings— at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” Psychology Prof. Peter Gray says, “Over the same decades that play has been declining, we have seen a well-documented increase in all sorts of mental disorders in childhood… five to eight times as many children today suffer from major depression or from a clinically significant anxiety disorder as was true in the 1950s.” ParticipAction has identified the protection paradox: “Children are overprotected in the name of safety, but trying to keep them safe by keeping them close and indoors may set them up to be less resilient and more likely to develop chronic diseases in the long run.” Dr. Mariana Brussoni et al. states that “The evidence… indicates that the overall positive health effects of increased risky outdoor play provide greater benefit than the health effects associated with avoiding outdoor risky play… (and) that risky play supportive environments promoted increased playtime, social interactions, creativity and resilience. These positive results reflect the importance of supporting children’s risky outdoor play opportunities as a means of promoting children’s health and active lifestyles.” As it stands right now, we have a law, enforced by CFS, which says kids cannot be unsupervised until the age of 12. Reality, however, paints a different picture of what we as a society deem normal and acceptable. Many children under 12 play outside without a parent hovering over them at all times — as they should, according to the research. Many children walk to school alone, or with friends or siblings, long before they are 12. School patrols are responsible for helping children (often under 12, often unaccompanied) navigate traffic before they are 12. If CFS tells parents that children under 12 should never be unsupervised, that means we are turning a blind eye to many such “violations” and the law is being enforced very selectively. What I am advocating is not for CFS to ignore a concern when it comes in. Rather, I would like to see a change in the law that explicitly allows for children to have these basic freedoms and learning opportunities, and which creates room for parental discretion based on the circumstances and an individual child’s maturity. That way, there is no basis for someone to call CFS solely because a parent is not hovering over their child every moment of their day. CFS then would not have to get involved in such a situation, which frees up valuable resources for them to attend to children and families that truly do need support and protection. Calls to CFS about children going to the local bakery, with a parent watching, are not, in fact, the ones that save lives, but ones that divert CFS resources from situations where the lives and safety of children are at risk. These situations only make parents and children anxious, and damage CFS’s reputation. To use an analogy: we do not aim to address the dangers of driving by saying that “staying out of a car is a small price to pay,” but rather by trying to balance the need for safety with people’s need to get places. Similarly, we should try to strike a balance here. I believe we need to find a way, while protecting all children’s safety and well-being, to also honour their need for healthy development. A change in the law would do both: it would give children the opportunities to develop the skills needed to become competent and confident in the world, while freeing up valuable CFS resources to focus on children and families that truly do need protection and support. Additionally, it would reflect the reality that our society already expects and allows our children to have gradually increasing independence before they are 12. *Katharina Nuss has started a petition to enact a “free-range parenting” law for Manitoba.*

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Webinar | Complete Streets: Key Challenges and Lessons Learned
by Mark Cohoe 29 Nov '18

29 Nov '18

Join us on Tuesday, December 4th for a webinar on complete streets from the perspective of three Canadian examples. *Tuesday, December 4, 2018 | TIME: 12:00-1:00 PM * *MB Eco-Centre Board Room* This webinar will highlight challenges faced by complete street projects across Canada, and identify lessons learned by three practitioners. *Argyle & Grafton Shared Streetscape Project* *Hanita Koblents* (Halifax Regional Municipality) will present this award-winning project, which transformed the heart of Halifax’s entertainment district into a “shared streetscape”. *Main Street Renewal: Retrofitting a Complete Street* *Ronald Clarke* (Parsons) will discuss the planning, design and reconstruction of an arterial road through the Old Ottawa East community - a transformative investment that improved multimodal mobility, the streetscape and public realm. *The Art of the Trade-Off* *Ryan Martinson* (Stantec) will address approaches to making trade-offs when designing complete streets, drawing on his own experience of integrating technical and stakeholder inputs. Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

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Webinar: Segmenting the Market for Transportation Demand Management Campaigns
by Beth McKechnie 27 Nov '18

27 Nov '18

Apologies for the late notice but feel free to join us in the EcoCentre boardroom tomorrow at noon to view this webinar. Or register for free to watch from your desk. cheers, Beth ---------- Forwarded message --------- *Free NITC Webinar: *Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 10 am PT (1 pm Eastern) Speaker(s): Philip Winters and Amy Lester, University of South Florida Register: https://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/events/professional-development/webinar-11282018 Social marketing seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good. It is a useful transportation demand management (TDM) planning approach to promote travel behavior change. The purpose of this study was to explore a consumer market segmentation technique successfully used in Europe for its applicability to marketing efforts in the United States. Attitudinal and demographic data were collected from 1900 individuals in Florida, Oregon, and Virginia modeled after the European approach. Clustering analysis was applied to divide the sample into segments so that members of the same group share similar attitudes. These include attitudes about various modes, car use, and congestion and environment. A classification model was built to predict group membership. The most stable and distinctive segmentation resulted in 7 segments. From this list of over 100 attitudinal questions, 17 questions were found to separate segments most significantly and predict group membership with high level of accuracy. Attitudinal profiles for each group were developed based on thee mean responses to these “golden questions”. This webinar will discuss the method and results. KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this webinar, the learner will be able to: - Describe at least 2 potential benefits of market segmentation; - Explain differences between the European results and US results; - Identify 2 potential applications of the segmentation; and - Describe how to use the spreadsheet tool to identify a commuter’s segment. *CLICK HERE TO REGISTER <https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5346491132771270915>* *THE RESEARCH* This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) and conducted at the University of South Florida (USF). Read more about the research: SEGMENT: Applicability of an Existing Segmentation Technique to TDM Social Marketing Campaigns in the United States <https://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/research/project/1057/SEGMENT:_Applicability_of_a…> . *SPEAKERS* *Philip Winters, **University of South Florida* Philip Winters is the Transportation Demand Management Program Director for the University of South Florida's Center for Urban Transportation Research. *Amy Lester, University of South Florida* Amy Lester is a Faculty Research Associate at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida. Dr. Lester earned her PhD in Public Health concentrating on Social Marketing in 2014 from the University of South Florida, College of Public Health. Dr. Lester holds additional undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Health, Anthropology, and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Lester has strong methodological expertise, and her research interests focus on qualitative formative research, social marketing, social determinants of health, and program evaluation. In addition to research, Dr. Lester has extensive teaching experience at both the college and high school levels. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT This 60-minute webinar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary) <https://www.planning.org/cm/provider/100058/details/>. We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance. LEARN MORE Sign up for our newsletter <http://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/news/newsletters/join-mailing-list> to get updates on our events. ADD TO CALENDAR <https://calendar.google.com/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=M2xncXQxMDAwNmoxOTl…> *This webinar is hosted by the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. The research was funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a program of TREC and one of five U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.* *For more information about this webinar, contact us at asktrec(a)pdx.edu <asktrec(a)pdx.edu>.* -- Beth McKechnie* | *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | 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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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Fwd: 2018 Cycle of Giving
by Dave Elmore 23 Nov '18

23 Nov '18

Always lots of ways to help make holiday bicycle miracles come true. Donate (bikes/$), volunteer (so many ways to help, not just as a mechanic), spread the word (to your personal and corporate contacts. View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/0287b547bb40/2018-cycle-of-giving-2868781?e=2b47fa6a9b> *Just over one week away! The **Cycle Of Giving 24 hour kids bike building marathon* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>is bringing volunteer mechanics together to build over 300 bicycles for kids in need. We aim to raise $15,000 to support free bike programming for children and families in 2019. >From *12 pm December 1st to 12 pm December 2nd*, the Orioles Community Centre will be transformed into a magic workshop where salvaged and donated used bicycles are turned into holiday dreams come true. Help us give to more kids than ever before! *You can be part of the Cycle of Giving!* *Volunteer* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Donate* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Donate Online* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Tell a friend or Like **WRENCH* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>* on Facebook* <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…> *Copyright © 2018 The Wrench, All rights reserved.* You are receiving this e-mail because you signed up at the WRENCH or at an event that the WRENCH was a part of. *Our mailing address is:* The Wrench 1057 Logan Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3G 0A1 Canada Add us to your address book <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/vcard?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1abd&id=…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1abd&i…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://thewrench.us9.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=6238a8c152cbe3f4aa1ed1a…>. [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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The Guardian: 'If we wanted beauty, we'd travel to Paris': how Calgary resisted its iconic pedestrian bridge
by Beth McKechnie 22 Nov '18

22 Nov '18

The controversial Peace Bridge is now one of the most-used walking and cycling routes in Calgary. The councillor behind it reveals the project’s stormy process https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/17/if-we-wanted-beauty-wed-trav… The level of hatred directed towards that piece of infrastructure was out of proportion with the cost,” says Druh Farrell as she recalls the stormy process leading to the construction of Santiago Calatrava’s pedestrian and cycling Peace Bridge in Calgary. “It was an incredibly painful process. It became so intense.” The celebrated Spanish architect was brought in to address a complicated brief. The crossing – connecting downtown to the northern river pathway and the community of Sunnyside – had to completely span the Bow River, while being flat enough to avoid obstructing a nearby helicopter-landing area. Bringing in a big name didn’t change people’s opinions, however. For the opening of the bridge, councillor Farrell was escorted by four bodyguards. Even Farrell’s brother had to endure the ire directed at the Peace Bridge when a dinner guest discovered their relation and said to him: “You tell your sister that if we wanted beauty, we’d travel to Paris. In Calgary we just need it to work.” “It was the first piece of significant infrastructure predominantly for active mobility,” Farrell explains. “If it had been for vehicles, we would not have had any debate, and it would not have been controversial.” Since its ribbon-cutting in March 2012, though, the Peace Bridge has become one of the most-travelled walking and cycling routes in the city, with more than 5.5 million crossings, an average of 28,000 per week – not bad for a region that enjoys a meagre 1.75% modal share for cycling. Most Canadians know Alberta as “Oil Country” due to its economic dependence on the Tar Sands. Calgary, Canada’s fourth largest city, is home to a number of oil and gas headquarters. Covering a 848 sq kilometre area – eight times the size of San Francisco – and sprawling endlessly into the prairies, it’s easy to see why driving has become the default mode of transportation for the vast majority of Calgarians. In recent years however, things have started to shift, and residents have begun demanding options. Farrell sits at the heart of that transition. In 2007 Calgary’s Centre City Plan <http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Pages/Centre-City/Centre-City.aspx> was passed by a vote of the council under the then-manager of planning and design, Brent Toderian. The plan established that they would not consider any new river crossings for motor vehicles entering the downtown core. Situated where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, Calgary’s downtown is only accessible from the north and east by means of a river crossing, resulting in several car-dedicated bridges that are largely unwelcoming to cyclists and pedestrians. The Centre City Plan identified three locations where potential bridges could be built, dictating two simple criteria: they had to be dedicated pedestrian and bicycle crossings only, and they had to be beautiful. But as Farrell soon found out, building something of beauty in “Cowtown” would not be as easy as it seemed. The total budget for the bridge was C$24.5m (£14.2m), half the cost of a planned highway interchange in nearby Cochrane, 11 miles west of Calgary, that would serve one-50th of the population of Calgary. “Now I think most Calgarians would recognise it was worth it,” she asserts emphatically. “I certainly believe it was worth it because the bridge is so well used.” In spite of the initial negativity, the bridge stands out for Farrell as a memorable pivot point for Calgary. “The Peace Bridge really was a first for a lot of reasons,” she says. “It got people talking about architecture, and it identified a bottled-up need and desire for more walking and cycling connections to our downtown core.” In the years to follow, the city constructed the George C King and Elbow River Traverse bridges – a pair of pedestrian and cycling connections to the east of downtown, with a fourth crossing planned to the west when demand grows to sufficient levels. The iconic structure has become more than just a gateway to the city. “What we ended up doing unintentionally with the Peace Bridge is building a public space over the river,” recalls Farrell. “It’s far more than a transportation hub or connection – it’s a meeting place, a sense of place, on top of our beautiful river. “It’s the most photographed structure in the city. It’s used for the promotion of Calgary in everything from real estate to hotels, and included in international bridge-design showcase books. It reinforces that we did the right thing.” The Peace Bridge also laid the groundwork for Calgary’s next big cycling infrastructure project: a downtown cycle-track network. Within a year of the bridge opening, the latent demand for cycling infrastructure became clear. As more people were using the trails and bridges to enter the city, they needed a comfortable place to travel once they burst onto the downtown streets. Farrell stood at the forefront again, providing the initial push for the 7th Street Cycle Track that would connect directly to the Peace Bridge. Perhaps unsurprisingly, talk of reallocating road space spurred anger. After the construction in 2013, the 750m bidirectional, curb-protected lane quadrupled cycling numbers along that corridor overnight. Initially the project was to be completed in increments, but the discussion shifted to the idea of building the whole scheme at once as an 18-month pilot project. It seemed to be smooth sailing until a change of council later that year made the politics more challenging. As with the Peace Bridge, Farrell says hostility towards the project from businesses and politicians was disproportionate to the cost of C$5.75m. But the temporary nature of the pilot cycle lanes allowed them to pass by an 8–7 vote in April 2014. A little over a year later, Calgary’s downtown cycle-track network was delivered two months early and $2m under budget – reallocating just 2% of downtown street space to induce 1.2 million bicycle trips over 18 months, with little to no driver disruption. “Pilots are so important. For one thing, we were constantly adjusting,” explains Farrell, referring to the 100 tweaks that staff made in response to data collected at 80 different points. These changes were facilitated by the provisional nature of the scheme, including flexible delineators, planter boxes, temporary concrete curbs and floating traffic signals. “The transportation department was extremely nimble in identifying problems and mitigating them. By the end of the pilot, the system worked. So they weren’t just waiting until the end of the project to make adjustments – they were doing it all along and measuring the data. We had such a compelling case. We had more people cycling: different people, young people, women, and families were all using the network. It was hard to say ‘no’.” In December 2016, the council voted 10–4 in favour of making the network permanent, meaning that the pilot had accomplished exactly what was intended: demonstrating to a skeptical public that with safe separated space for cycling, even the sprawling, frigid cities of the Canadian Prairies will get on their bikes. Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart, who had initially voted against the pilot, changed her vote, telling reporters: “I was a person that didn’t support this in the beginning. I thought this was madness. But, to see how it’s evolved, and how it’s working and to see how people are starting to get the fact that this is shared public space …” Now Calgary’s cycle network is cited as a reason companies and employees are relocating to the city. As Farrell said: “If we want to attract new industries to Calgary, we need to first build a city that’s worth moving to.”

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WFP Editorial: Making Winnipeg a cycle-safe city (Nov19'18)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Nov '18

19 Nov '18

* Making Winnipeg a cycle-safe city * ON Tuesday, the city’s public works committee will consider a proposal to spend $5.4million in each of the next three years on infrastructure, including cycling corridors, new sidewalks and cycling-education programs. However, the future success of the city’s active transportation network comes down to more than just cash and concrete. In recent years, in accordance with the city’s active-transportation strategy, there have been dedicated bike lanes and protected bike lanes installed on many streets in West Broadway, the West End, downtown and the Exchange District, to name a few. The new infrastructure has made it safer for cyclists and challenging for motorists used to having the streets to themselves. Frustrated cyclists point to limited road space and belligerent driver behaviour as reasons why cycling is dangerous or not worth the hassle. Motorists point to scofflaw cyclists with no regard for traffic signals or pedestrians as the problem. However, both groups (and many commuting cyclists also use cars, and many motorists ride a bike for pleasure) have a point. What’s really needed in Winnipeg is an actual active-transportation culture. We’re getting there in fits and starts. Infrastructure is a big part of it. But education and safety are also important. An example of the old way of doing things is found in Wolseley. In the summer, motor traffic on Wolseley Avenue is restricted to one block at a time on Sundays, leaving the street open for cyclists, many of whom continue over the Assiniboine River to ride along Wellington Crescent, where the same restrictions apply. However, that freedom to ride without worrying about cars is linked to the mistaken assumption that cycling is merely recreational, and seasonal. For cyclists to be safe around motorists, cycling needs to be part of year-round traffic awareness — not just on certain days of the week on certain streets. For motorists to be comfortable, cyclists must adhere to safety precautions and traffic laws. (Yes, cyclists, red lights apply to you. Yes, motorists, you should change lanes to pass a bicycle.) When residents are asked about local infrastructure, sometimes the most vocal voices will be against changing anything. The city has a long-term Pedestrian and Cycling Action Plan, available on the city’s website. Proposed changes to active-transportation infrastructure are guided by a 2014 policy document, Winnipeg Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies. The recent consultation process begun for the Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project invites feedback from area residents and those who visit or pass through the area. Whether you use the roads or sidewalks or a combination of both, it’s worth taking part. But for taxpayers who wish infrastructure would only mean endless repaving of roads, consider what attempts to change the city’s transportation ecosystem can save you. Decreased motor traffic means better flowing traffic, and that’s one effect of people opting to ride a bike instead of a car in which they’re the only occupant: more room on the roads, even with a protected bike lane. Roads take less wear and tear, the community benefits from fewer greenhouse- gas emissions and individuals boost their fitness levels. Infrastructure upgrades can also mean more accessible sidewalks and better crossings at intersections. You don’t have to look far in Winnipeg to see how motor traffic has been prioritized for decades: a glut of surface parking lots, sidewalks and bike lanes that end abruptly, and increasing urban sprawl. It’s long past time to look at other ways of getting around, and making the city work for all its citizens — not only those with their hands on the wheel.

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Scientific American: Why Don’t We Forget How to Ride a Bike?
by Beth McKechnie 17 Nov '18

17 Nov '18

Why Don’t We Forget How to Ride a Bike? *The way memories are anchored in the brain plays a role, neuropsychologist Boris Suchan explains* November 15, 2018 Most of us learn how to ride a bike during childhood. But as we grow older, many of us stop riding and put those once-beloved bikes in storage. Years later, when we discover these relics and hop on, it’s as if we never stopped biking. This is surprising because our memories let us down in so many other instances, such as remembering the name of a place or a person we once knew or where we put our keys. So how is it that we can ride a bicycle when we haven’t done so in years? As it turns out, different types of memories are stored in distinct regions of our brains. Long-term memory is divided into two types: declarative and procedural. There are two types of declarative memory: Recollections of experiences such as the day we started school and our first kiss are called episodic memory. This type of recall is our interpretation of an episode or event that occurred. Factual knowledge, on the other hand, such as the capital of France, is part of semantic memory. These two types of declarative memory content have one thing in common—you are aware of the knowledge and can communicate the memories to others. Skills such as playing an instrument or riding a bicycle are, however, anchored in a separate system, called procedural memory. As its name implies, this type of memory is responsible for performance. One of the most famous studies showing the separate memory systems was that of an epileptic named Henry Gustav Molaison (aka H. M.). In the 1950s he underwent the removal of portions of his brain, including large parts of his hippocampus. After the operation doctors found that although the number of seizures had decreased, H. M. was unable to form new memories. Many of his memories of the time before the operation were also erased. To learn more about his amnesia, neuropsychologists carried out various tests with H. M. In one, they asked him to trace a five-pointed star on a sheet of paper while only looking at it and his hand in a mirror—meaning the image was reversed. Although H. M.’s hand–eye coordination skills improved over the several days he performed this task, he never remembered performing it. This meant that he could develop new procedural, but not declarative, memories. Is procedural knowledge then fundamentally more stable than explicit knowledge? As it turns out, the former is more resistant to both loss and trauma. Even with traumatic brain injury the procedural memory system is hardly ever compromised. That’s because the basal ganglia, structures responsible for processing non-declarative memory, are relatively protected in the brain’s center, below the cerebral cortex. However, it’s not clear, beyond brain damage, why procedural memory contents are not as easily forgotten as declarative ones are. According to one idea, in the regions where movement patterns are anchored fewer new nerve cells may be formed in adults. Without this neurogenesis, or continuous remodeling in those regions, it’s less likely for those memories to get erased. One thing we know for sure, however, is simple sequences of movements we internalize, even far in the past, are typically preserved for a lifetime. Or as the saying goes, it’s “just like riding a bicycle.”

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