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WFP: Freeze-thaw cycle reignites public efforts to clear bike lanes (Mar28'23)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Mar '23

28 Mar '23

*Freeze-thaw cycle reignites public efforts to clear bike lanes* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/03/27/freeze-thaw-cycle-reigni… DOWN a stretch of Assiniboine Avenue, a bike lane switches from being underwater to a sheet of ice and back again, depending on the time of day. It’s a brief but dangerous time of year to be using active transportation in Winnipeg, caused by the freeze-thaw cycle of warmer temperatures zig-zagging with cold ones. It’s the city’s responsibility to ensure bike lanes and sidewalks are usable, but Hillary Rosentreter knows how it feels to take matters into her own hands. The Winnipeg resident was the organizer of several public snow- and ice-clearing efforts — initially under threats of fines — earlier this winter. When she fell while cycling a few days ago, and later saw a pair of older women struggling to support each other while navigating an icy walkway, she knew it was time again to pick the shovel up. “For me, although I’m young and able-bodied, I know that at some point, I’m going to be there, my mom is going to be there, all the people I love are going to be there, in a position where the city’s just not treating us to the kind of standard that we all deserve,” she told the Free Press on Monday. “And for a lot of people, that’s already the case.” Rosentreter took to social media looking for allies to help clear a bike lane along Assiniboine Avenue, which she said experiences a lot of use but had gotten dangerous to traverse. By Sunday afternoon, she and six other people were working, shovels and ice-breaking tools in hand, to clear the pathway to the pavement. The group even drew in the efforts of a passerby. “Losing that really crucial corridor, that just makes it that much more difficult at this time of year to actually avoid using your vehicle to get around, which shouldn’t be the case,” Rosentreter said. It feels a bit like déjà vu. Just months ago, Rosentreter was warned by the city of a potential financial penalty for clearing bike lanes. (After being publicly questioned, officials quickly said it would not happen.) It’s not a fear she has this time around, and Rosentreter is actively trying to ensure streets maintenance workers know where and when organized ice-clearing efforts are being made. “I think it’s kind of important to keep the city in the loop when we do intend to go out and do this kind of thing. I have no intention of cutting the city out of the picture, in fact, I would love if they would take over, so that we didn’t have to do it,” she said. “But the problem is the policies are what they are, and it’s just not conducive to the freeze-thaw cycles that we experience.” Communications co-ordinator Ken Allen said the city is still not considering issuing fines to vigilante ice clearers, adding early spring is a typically treacherous time for pedestrians and cyclists. “Under such conditions, plowing the ice that refreezes onto sidewalks each night is problematic, given that the ice is firmly adhered to the pavement surface, and the fact that there are over 3,000 kilometres of sidewalks and pathways across the city,” he said in an email. “Plus, the next-day thawing temperatures causes more water to accumulate and again refreeze overnight, which causes icy conditions to reoccur on almost a daily basis.” However, that explanation isn’t good enough for some at city hall. Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) has put forward a proposal for a pilot project testing the feasibility of clearing sidewalks all the way to the pavement (by clearing one in each of the city’s 15 wards) but said the idea has been consistently shot down. Currently, only downtown sidewalks are required to be plowed to pavement. Sidewalks along major routes, non-regional bus routes and collector streets are required to be cleared to a compacted snow surface, following about five centimetres of snow. Allard said considering the efforts of winter cities such as Edmonton, where service level requires many roadways be plowed to bare pavement within less than five days, Winnipeg should create a civic report to see if it would be able to do the same. “I struggle to understand why we wouldn’t ask for a report. It doesn’t mean that we’re doing it, it means the public service would write a report saying, ‘If we were to do it, this is what it would look like.’ There’s zero expense,” he said. At a council meeting March 23, Mayor Scott Gillingham said he was firm on his stance on the idea, but looked forward to debate on the motion. “I think that the councillor has brought the motion that’s about to be introduced, to refer it to public works, he’s brought it several times,” Gillingham said last week. “My position has been clear on that: I don’t think clearing snow on sidewalks to pavement is realistic across the entirety of the city… We have a very strong snow-clearing policy, as it is already.” Allard, however, plans to persist: the motion will be discussed at the standing policy committee on public works April 11. “I want to look at the snow-clearing bylaw to find out if it’s providing the right level of service, and from what I’m hearing from the community of those who use sidewalks is that it’s not to the right level of service,” he said. malak.abas(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: City council approves more 30-km/h speed limits (Mar25'23)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Mar '23

27 Mar '23

City council approves more 30-km/h speed limits https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/03/24/city-council-appr… DRIVERS must prepare to slow down, permanently, on 14 Winnipeg streets. On Thursday, city council cast the final vote to reduce the speed limit on four “neighbourhood greenways” to 30 km/h (from 50 km/h), along with 10 of the 2022 enhanced summer bike routes. The new speed limits will apply at all hours, once they are gradually implemented over the next two years. All 14 routes will be permanently declared neighbourhood greenways: on-street routes that typically use reduced speeds and traffic-calming measures to “comfortably and safely move cyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles.” Supporters say this improves safety for active transportation options at a much lower cost than constructing separated bike lanes. Winnipeggers appear to have mixed views on the change. City consultations about a pilot project that tested the reduced speed on the four initial neighbourhood greenways found 59 per cent of residents who lived on an affected street supported making the speed reduction permanent. That number dropped to 48 per cent among nearby residents, while 70 per cent of other road users opposed a permanent speed reduction.

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WFP: Allard opposes both budgets, pans major road projects (Mar23'23)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Mar '23

23 Mar '23

*Capital, operating budgets get thumbs-up* *Allard opposes both, pans major road projects* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/03/22/majority-of-counc… A DECISIVE majority of council members cast a final vote to approve the City of Winnipeg’s 2023 budget Wednesday, amid concerns about climate change and calls for more community safety hosts at the Millennium Library. The city’s capital and operating budgets passed in separate 14-2 votes. Mayor Scott Gillingham said the financial plan funds both social services and economic initiatives. “I think that this 2023 budget offers a balanced approach,” said Gillingham, making note of funds for 24-7 safe spaces, the downtown public washroom and key roads. Coun. Matt Allard, the only councillor to oppose both the capital and operating budgets, argued paying for preliminary work on widening Kenaston Boulevard and extending Chief Peguis Trail doesn’t make sense in the midst of a climate-change crisis. Past estimates indicate those projects would each cost more than $500 million. “We have roads we can’t fix and this budget says we should spend $2.8 million in imagining a billion-dollar road project. It is so much money relative to all of the other things… we could do with that kind of money, the transit we could invest in. We could build (out) the entire active transportation (strategy),” said Allard (St. Boniface). Allard raised an unsuccessful motion to amend the budget, which called upon council to increase the St. Boniface Street Links grant to $220,000 from about $119,000, spend $240,900 on a city-wide community garden strategy and hire a consultant on reducing Winnipeg Transit fares to $1. It also called for the city to devote $600,000, and seek another $600,000 of external funds, to replace the Winakwa Community Centre wading pool with a spray pad. Allard told media the Street Links funding would have been enough to persuade him to support the 2023 budget, since he deems it essential to helping folks cope with homelessness and addictions, though he will continue advocating for priorities to address climate change. Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) joined Allard to oppose the operating budget over concerns it didn’t offer enough investment in recreation and other city services, while Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) cast the second vote against the capital budget over concerns it fails to properly account for construction inflation. The vote followed one last collective plea from social service organizations to add four more full-time community safety host positions at the Millennium Library, based on previous success. “Our community safety hosts have de-escalated 209 out of 260… events that they’ve been involved with at the Millennium Library. That’s 80 per cent of the interactions that they’ve had where police did not need to be called,” said Michael Redhead Champagne, a board member with Fearless R2W, which trains the specialized security staff to provide trauma-related crisis work and connect vulnerable folks with resources. Champagne said the community safety hosts have secured shelter for eight people and given naloxone (to reverse opioid drug overdoses) to nine people. Champagne believes the hosts could replace security staff at other civic buildings, as well. “There are many other municipal spaces, such as community centres and (the council building) where community safety hosts would be more appropriate than traditional security,” he told reporters. He said two community safety hosts currently work at Millennium Library, though both of their terms will end in the next few months. Council didn’t alter the budget to grant the request on Wednesday. However, community services chairman Coun. John Orlikow said he also wants to see more of the specially trained hosts replace standard security staff at the downtown library in the near future, potentially even before the city approves a long-term safety strategy for the facility. “It’s a good program. It has people that really can connect with people… so I do really think the program has lots of merit,” said Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry). Gillingham said he’s “certainly open” to the idea of adding more community safety hosts but expects that would be considered after a report is released on long-term safety options at the library. “The conversation is, by no means, over with this budget. It’s just the timing of this budget is such that we still don’t have that report back,” he said. There is no set date for the report’s release. Efforts to improve safety at Millennium Library were thrust into the spotlight after 28-year-old Tyree Cayer was stabbed to death on the main floor on Dec. 11, leading the library to close. It reopened most services on Jan. 23, with metal detectors and police on site. Meanwhile, the budget received praise from members of the business community Wednesday, partly due to its funding to extend city water and sewer service to help develop CentrePort South, as well as the plans to expand Chief Peguis and Kenaston. “These decisions tell our trade partners continentally and globally that Winnipeg is a trade hub and we are open for business,” said Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association. The 2023 budget also includes a 3.5 per cent property tax hike and a $1.50 per-foot frontage fee increase, which will cost the average single-family homeowner $142 more. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Report: US Pedestrian Death Rate Increased 9x Faster Than Population During COVID
by Beth McKechnie 22 Mar '23

22 Mar '23

*Sadly applies to Winnipeg too...* Pedestrian deaths are continuing to skyrocket even as the pandemic wanes — and since 2019, the death rate for walkers has eclipsed the rate of population growth by a factor of at least nine, analysts say. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/02/28/report-us-pedestrian-death-rate-incr…

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Urban Mobility Summit: The future of transportation in Canada | Tuesday, March 28 @ 12:30pm ET
by Beth McKechnie 16 Mar '23

16 Mar '23

Thanks to Jackie Avent for the share! FREE Webcast | Strategies to create safer, more inclusive and sustainable transportation | Speakers include: BC Hydro Manager of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Planning Alec Tsang, Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium President and CEO Josipa Petrunić and more Trouble viewing this email? Read it online <http://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/e7a4-2na9de--12uhyv-8s04yjh4> [image: The Globe and Mail Presents Globe Drive Urban Mobility Summit: The future of transportation in Canada | FREE VIRTUAL EVENT | Tuesday, March 28, 2023 12:30 P.M. - 2:30 P.M. ET [ REGISTER NOW ] | Presenting Sponsor: Toyota] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz30-8s04yjh5/> How should urban mobility evolve in view of climate change, health and safety, and changing societal norms? What solutions will support the movement of people and goods in cities? Join The Globe and Mail, alongside industry leaders, as they explore strategies for leveraging new opportunities to create safer, more inclusive and sustainable transportation. LEARN MORE > <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz31-8s04yjh6/> *FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:* [image: CHARLES BOULANGER] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz32-8s04yjh7/> *CHARLES BOULANGER <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz33-8s04yjh8/>* CEO, LeddarTech [image: BRENT HARTMAN] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz34-8s04yjh9/> *BRENT HARTMAN* <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz35-8s04yjh0/> Director, Standards, Fuels and Transportation, CSA Group [image: JOSIPA PETRUNIĆ] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz36-8s04yjh1/> *JOSIPA PETRUNIĆ <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz37-8s04yjh2/>* President and CEO, Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium [image: JAY PITTER] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz38-8s04yjh3/> *JAY PITTER* <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz39-8s04yjh4/> Award-Winning Placemaker, Author and Urban Planning Lecturer, Planner-In-Residence, University of Waterloo [image: JAMIE STUCKLESS] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3a-8s04yjh4/> *JAMIE STUCKLESS* <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3b-8s04yjh5/> Owner and Principal Consultant, Stuckless Consulting Inc. [image: ALEC TSANG] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3c-8s04yjh6/> *ALEC TSANG <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3d-8s04yjh7/>* Manager, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Planning, BC Hydro *MODERATED BY:* [image: PETRINA GENTILE] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3e-8s04yjh8/> *PETRINA GENTILE <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3f-8s04yjh9/>* Contributing Writer, Globe Drive, The Globe and Mail *Space is limited—Reserve your spot today! * *REGISTER NOW* <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3g-8s04yjh0/> [image: Powered by The Globe and Mail Events] <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3h-8s04yjh1/> Unsubscribe <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3i-8s04yjh2/pmreg33oorqwg5boivug…> | Privacy Policy <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3j-8s04yjh3/> | Terms & Conditions <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3k-8s04yjh4/> | Contact Us <https://trk.cp20.com/click/e7a4-2na9de-b4hz3l-8s04yjh5/> © 2023 The Globe and Mail Inc. 351 King Street East, Suite 1600, Toronto, ON M5A 0N1 Phillip Crawley, Publisher

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CTV: ‘It’s obviously very high’: Winnipeg traffic levels remain steady during pandemic (Mar12'23)
by Beth McKechnie 13 Mar '23

13 Mar '23

*Winnipeg traffic levels remain steady during pandemic* https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/it-s-obviously-very-high-winnipeg-traffic-level… City traffic counters show that while vehicle levels on Winnipeg streets saw a brief drop at the beginning of the pandemic, they bounced back quickly. An expert in green commuting says this is indicative of a larger problem in our city. The City of Winnipeg monitors how many vehicles drive on our roads through a series of traffic counting stations <https://legacy.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/trafficControl/trafficData/trafficCo…> installed in high-traffic areas around the city since December 2019. The numbers show that while traffic levels did dip during the first few months of the pandemic, they quickly returned to current levels. Just before the beginning of the pandemic - in February 2020 - traffic counters show an average of 19,466 vehicles on Winnipeg streets. That number jumps in February 2021 to 21,495 traffic counts, and remained steady at 21,409 counts last month. Mel Marginet, part of the sustainable action team at the Green Action Centre (GAC), said she’s not surprised by those traffic numbers. “In the early phases obviously everything in the world shut down, so we experienced this massive change where we sort of noticed how much space we were giving to personal vehicles on our streets,” she said. Marginet said the drop in vehicle traffic didn’t last long because people in Winnipeg don’t have a lot of options when it comes to getting around town. “Because we had cut transit service, we hadn’t offered practical solutions for people to get from A to B … we just very quickly saw this ballooning of our traffic volumes.” She said Winnipeg’s traffic levels remained high even at a time when many businesses were still closed. Marginet said Winnipeggers feel that they have no other choice as far as personal transportation goes. “That’s what we hear over and over again,” she said. “Whether we do a transportation survey with an organization in the suburbs or in the city … a question we always ask is how people are currently travelling, and it’s obviously very high for personal vehicles.” She said more than 80 per cent of trips within Winnipeg are made by personal vehicles, a very high number compared to other cities. However, Marginet said that driving is not everyone’s favourite way of getting around. “You ask that follow up question of ‘what’s your preferred way to get around?’ and we see travelling by personal vehicle just falls sharply. People would rather bike, take the bus, carpool, those sorts of things.” She said the current state of Winnipeg Transit is part of the problem. “Open comments like ‘I’d love to take the bus, but it’s going to take me three times as long, I have to transfer two times, I tried taking the bus but then I just got passed up all the time, or I was squished in there like a sardine,’” said Marginet. “It’s such a shame because we just have this really low hanging fruit of people that really don’t want to make all of their trips all the time in a personal vehicle, but they have no choice,” she added. Rising fuel costs and inflation has led to more interest in the GAC’s Go Manitoba program, which helps people find carpool partners, bus and bike routes, and other green commuting options. “As soon as those gas prices were rising, we really started to see an increase of people coming to Go Manitoba,” said Marginet. She said it is going to take a lot to change people’s transportation habits, starting with better city planning in general. “It really is going to take a push I think for the public to start to demand better,” Marginet said. She added that the City of Winnipeg already has some plans that have yet to be executed. “We have amazing transportation plans in this city and strategies, and things that have been developed with so much community consultation. “Public officials need to start following the evidence.”

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NCCEH Webinar - Rapid implementation of bikeways for healthy, safe, equitable and more sustainable communities
by Beth McKechnie 08 Mar '23

08 Mar '23

Thanks to Kristine Hayward for the share. Looks interesting! *From:* National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health < contact(a)ncceh.ca> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 8, 2023 7:24 AM March 23, 2023 @ 12 - 1pm Pacific Time Click here to view this newsletter in your browser <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=Edt2UQjur4mog_YPc7G63MmJm_j70…> [image: National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health |] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=wCy03Om9bbLmBsfeLoBizazqH9Wv-…> Healthy Built Environment Webinar [image: Webinar: Canada’s New Impact Assessment Act: Opportunities for Intersectoral Action in Public Health] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=9MbpUN0UAgXHtSX7pJ51A60iZkO2g…> *Rapid implementation of bikeways for healthy, safe, equitable and more sustainable communities <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=puNkOglgKXODtyTi2x7xXaOR38-E9…>* *March 23, 2023 @ 12 - 1pm Pacific Time (PT)* * Cost: FREE* *Matt Craig* Director, System Planning, TransLink *Brian Patterson* Senior Transportation Planner, Urban Systems Register <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=puNkOglgKXODtyTi2x7xXaOR38-E9…> Over the past several years, cities across Canada and throughout the world have increasingly shifted their approach to delivering bikeways by following a rapid implementation or quick build approach. This approach enables the delivery of safe and comfortable cycling facilities—as well as comprehensive cycling networks—all at once and at a lower cost compared to traditional methods. The flexibility embedded in this process also enables fast and responsive design adjustments, ensuring that as facilities are made permanent over time, they meet the needs of a broad range of users and contribute to the creation of vibrant, prosperous, and resilient communities. Rapid implementation facilitates an urgent response to a range of critical issues facing our communities, including public health, the climate emergency, social inequity, road safety, congestion, and increasingly constrained municipal budgets. For this reason, this approach became a key strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with cities around the world re-allocating road space to meet physical distancing requirements and accommodate changing mobility patterns. The COVID-19 pandemic has created generational changes in how people move around urban areas with a significant increase in active transportation in communities around the world. TransLink, with the support of Urban Systems, recently developed the Rapid Implementation Design Guide for Bikeways in Metro Vancouver <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=CDx6aarbFaGNq9_VrfUIFZU-dRS4y…>. This session will provide an overview of the Guide and how rapid implementation of cycling facilities can help create more healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities. *Join our eNews List* *Join our e-Newsletter List <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=qIEOVNH7UEW3Kr1kOOF0hs5b_sp5W…>* and get monthly updates on the latest environmental health and COVID-19 resources delivered directly to your inbox. *Follow us! * Don't miss the latest news + resources [image: Facebook] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=khUCqhKW64VLnDHG3L0EZoHlH4mMU…>[image: Twitter] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=WRBDMGCRG2TAp3UIyyhgGtBIbVRCL…>[image: LinkedIn] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=2Qkw9vXDGrjvKDDaKXVXrHYQHgv8l…>[image: YouTube] <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=B1h039mPZZkiJchJR4a6MVFvHx3W3…> *HAVE FEEDBACK? *Your feedback helps us to ensure our products and resources will continue to meet your needs. Please *share your thoughts with us <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=gmRc-nhfq1tlFpa-qVAKQTHKnKnkc…>* . ------------------------------ *>> Version française: *Si vous préférez recevoir nos bulletins en français, s'il vous plaît *cliquez ici <contact@ccnse.ca?subject=Je%20pr%C3%A9f%C3%A9rerais%20recevoir%20les%20bulletins%20en%20fran%C3%A7ais&body=Veuillez%20modifier%20mes%20pr%C3%A9f%C3%A9rences%20de%20langue.%20>* *.* ------------------------------ This email is compliant with Canadian Anti-Spam legislation. For more information please visit the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation page <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=YlPP-8aPbwrDpqhFLQ5TrYfyZX1OA…>.Production of the NCCEH eNews has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada through the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health. NCCEH is one of six *National Collaborating Centres for Public Health <https://app.cyberimpact.com/click-tracking?ct=j-WKxQySASQHKpnYM9y_2mHc0TYEj…>* . National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health 655 W. 12th Avenue Vancouver, British Columbia | V5Z 4R4 | Canada 604-829-2551 | contact(a)ncceh.ca Anti‑spam policy <https://app.cyberimpact.com/anti-spam-policy?l=en_ca> | Report an abuse <https://app.cyberimpact.com/report-an-abuse?ct=ogCcyqD3H3bKgHXHzNHXENAP1N7R…> | Unsubscribe <https://app.cyberimpact.com/unsubscribe?ct=ogCcyqD3H3bKgHXHzNHXENAP1N7RRT3z…> [image: Try Cyberimpact for free] <https://www.cyberimpact.com/en/?utm_source=cifooter&utm_medium=email&utm_ca…>

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Sustainability Night - March 8
by Beth McKechnie 27 Feb '23

27 Feb '23

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Christie Nairn <Christie.Nairn(a)umanitoba.ca> Date: Mon, Feb 27, 2023 at 12:00 PM *Please distribute widely.* Join us for *Sustainability Night 2023* at the University of Manitoba on March 8 to connect with other sustainability-minded members of the UM campus community. Enjoy an evening of sharing sustainability ideas, learn about ways to get involved, and take part in a panel discussion on gender equality and sustainability. Cap off the night by meeting and sharing ideas with other sustainability-conscious community members during the networking wine-and-cheese. The evening’s panel discussion will complement International Women’s Day on March 8, by examining the links between sustainability and the UN Sustainability Development Goal #5 — gender equality and empowering all women and girls. 6 PM – Doors open 6:30 – 7:30 PM – Speed networking 7:30 – 8:30 PM – Panel discussion Moderator: *Adele Perry*, Director, Centre for Human Rights Research Panelists: - *Tracey Peter*, Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs) - *Larissa Kanhai*, Research Lead ‘Bridging the Gender Gap’ - *Mekenna Coldwell*, undergraduate student, UM Engineering Society group and executive member for the Women of Manitoba Engineering Network (WOMEN) - *Vanessa Lillie*, Director, Cultural Integration (Indigenous) 8:30 PM – UM Sustainability Award winners announced 8:45 PM– Networking wine and cheese *Tickets are $5 each. **Purchase your ticket now!* <https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/um-sustainability-night-tickets-547764878497>

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CTV: Winnipeggers share active transportation route snow clearing concerns (Feb25'23)
by Beth McKechnie 26 Feb '23

26 Feb '23

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/makes-cycling-really-difficult-winnipeggers-sha…

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WFP Editorial: Winnipeg finally embracing ‘winter city’ tag (Feb20'23)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Feb '23

20 Feb '23

Winnipeg finally embracing ‘winter city’ tag https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/02/19/winnipeg-finally-… WINTER has always defined Winnipeg. Mountains of snow, icy roads, biting windchill and temperatures that plunge to dangerous lows. It’s a season that prompts residents to question their life choices and causes whole flocks of people to opt out entirely and head south for warmer climes. In recent years, however, Winnipeg has started to define winter in new terms. This year, the city has seen an unprecedented number of events encouraging citizens to get outside and embrace the cold. It’s a positive trend with promising and wide-ranging societal implications. While there have always been pockets of people who look forward to winter for its seasonal activities — skiing, skating, tobogganing, snowmobiling, ice fishing — for many, the months between November and April were to be endured, not enjoyed. Attitudes seem to be shifting among the general population. The Forks can take some of the credit. The organization has offered winter programming for decades, but receiving a Guinness World Record designation for longest naturally frozen skating trail in 2008 sparked a newfound sense of seasonal pride. Today the Nestaweya River Trail attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every winter. The free and accessible skating, walking and skiing paths are used for pleasure and as active transportation routes. The temporary landmark has become a site for world-class dining and creative public art installations. Festival du Voyageur is another trailblazer. Since 1970, the francophone arts and culture festival has been offering Winnipeggers a reason to celebrate the season with snow sculptures, maple syrup taffy and music. This year’s event, which is currently underway, boasts new programming and more than 200 artists. Yet nothing has impacted attitudes more than the COVID-19 pandemic. With indoor spaces posing serious health risks, the population was forced to venture outside. Socializing en plein air became the norm year-round and ushered in a new era of cold-weather community-building. Residents in Wolseley banded together to create a community park on the Assiniboine River, ice rinks and snow castles cropped up in yards across the city and the municipal government promised better winter maintenance of pedestrian and cycling pathways. This year, even as public health orders have lifted, the urge to enjoy winter remains. An expanded licensing program has allowed restaurants and bars to keep their patios open year-round, if they so desire. Business improvement zones in Osborne Village and Downtown have hosted ice-sculpting competitions, public art showcases, outdoor concerts and frosty beer-athalons. The Manitoba Marathon saw hundreds of people take part in its inaugural Hot Chocolate Hustle on one of the coldest weekends of the year thus far. A Maze in Corn has added a fine-dining snow restaurant to its roster of winter activities. All these innovations are proof that if you build it — especially out of snow — they will come. Last week, Winnipeg played host to the Winter Cities Shake-up Conference, a gathering of experts designed to highlight how northern cities can make the most of winter and tap into economic opportunities through urban design, public policy and novel experiences — something local businesses and individuals are already capitalizing on. Edmonton has a dedicated strategy to make winter more enjoyable for residents through better snow management, city-wide outdoor events and accessible recreation. The City of Winnipeg would do well to pursue a similar vision to make this place livable and vibrant year-round. Winnipeg will always be a winter city. The way residents and officials approach this polarizing season could make that a selling point, rather than a disadvantage.

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