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WFP: Extension of two ‘open streets’ sought (Sep5'20)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

Extension of two ‘open streets’ sought Wolseley Avenue, Churchill Drive named https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/motion-seeks-extra-time-for-pair-of… A new motion proposes city hall extend some of Winnipeg’s temporary active transportation routes, also known as “open streets,” which are set to close Monday. The current 10 routes, which include four traditional Sunday/holiday bicycle routes, limit vehicular traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily to provide extra space for … [View More]pedestrians and cyclists. The new routes and extended hours were a COVID-19 pandemic response measure, intended to help Winnipeggers stay active while keeping at least two metres apart. The six routes added this year are slated to close Monday at 8 p.m., while the traditional bike routes will reduce the vehicle travel restriction to Sundays and holidays only, between Sept. 13 and Oct. 12. The city centre community committee passed a motion Friday that aims to instead keep the enhanced AT access until Nov. 1 at both the Wolseley Avenue traditional Sunday/Holiday route and the temporary AT route on Churchill Drive. The changes require council’s approval. While a final vote on the matter could have to wait until the Sept. 30 council meeting, Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) said she’s hopeful the motion could instead inspire a quicker policy change by the public service. Rollins said she supports extending the other routes as well. “I would like more routes added… I think we need a lot more tools in our toolbelts to get children to and from schools in a safe manner,” Rollins said Friday. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), however, said he won’t push for the Wellington Crescent active transportation route in his ward to be extended, stressing public feedback on that decision should come first. A survey on the routes is slated to end Monday. Orlikow said the city must consider the views of those who support and oppose the routes, noting he’s heard complaints the one-block vehicle travel restriction has made it inconvenient for some drivers to reach their homes. “We have to be careful about councillors deciding how to use streets arbitrarily. We’re not traffic engineers, there’s impact city-wide, so we have to be making sure that we listen to our administration and the public,” said Orlikow. Open streets were also placed on sections of Lyndale Drive, Scotia Street, Egerton Road, Kildonan Drive, Kilkenny Drive, Rover Avenue and Vialoux Drive. The Lyndale, Scotia and Wellington sites are also slated to revert back to Sunday/holiday bicycle routes. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga [View Less]

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CBC: City of Winnipeg to close 6 active transportation routes after Labour Day weekend (Sep3'20)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

City of Winnipeg to close 6 active transportation routes after Labour Day weekend 4 remaining pedestrian, bike routes will be closed to vehicle traffic only on Sundays, holidays after Sept. 8 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-open-streets-closed-labour… More than half of the active transportation routes throughout Winnipeg will be closing after the long weekend, the city announced in a news release Thursday. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city designated 10 roadways as "… [View More]open streets," limiting vehicle traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The city usually limits vehicle traffic to one block on four of those streets on Sundays and holidays, from the Victoria Day long weekend until Thanksgiving, but expanded the closures in an effort to create bike- and pedestrian-friendly routes during the pandemic. As of Sept. 8, the program will end for six of the current routes. Vehicle traffic will be limited on the remaining four only on Sundays and holidays after the Labour Day weekend, the city said in its release. Motor vehicle traffic will continue to be limited on these routes from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays until Oct. 12: - Lyndale Drive – Cromwell Street to Gauvin Street. - Scotia Street – Anderson Avenue (at St. Cross Street) to Armstrong Avenue. - Wellington Crescent – Academy Road (at Wellington Crescent) to Guelph Street. - Wolseley Avenue – Raglan Road to Maryland Street. Signs informing people they are entering or leaving an active transportation route will be posted at each end of the route. Barricades marking the ends of the routes will also be in place during operational hours, the city said. Violating the motor vehicle restrictions can result in a fine under Winnipeg's traffic bylaw, the city added. The vehicle restrictions will end after Sept. 8 on these routes: - Churchill Drive — Hay Street to Jubilee Avenue. - Egerton Road — Bank Avenue to Morier Avenue. - Kildonan Drive — Helmsdale Avenue to Rossmere Crescent, and Larchdale Crescent to Irving Place. - Kilkenny Drive — Burgess Avenue to Patricia Avenue and Kings Drive. - Rover Avenue — Hallet Street to Stephens Street. - Vialoux Drive — Alcrest Drive to Wexford Street. The city launched an online survey <https://engage.winnipeg.ca/enhanced-active-transportation-routes-open-stree…> last month to gauge reaction to the program. Residents can still provide feedback for future consideration via that survey until Monday, the city's news release said. [View Less]

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WFP: Bicycle Garden - Bike shop pop-up hopes to get city rolling on two wheels (Sep1'20)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

Bike shop pop-up hopes to get city rolling on two wheels A Bicycle Garden grows on Sherbrook https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/a-bicycle-garden-grows-on-sherbr… THIS spring, with some freedoms put on hold, many people in Winnipeg found — or rediscovered — the freedom of riding a bicycle. Vendors, manufacturers and mechanics could hardly keep up with the reinvigorated interest as the global supply chain was interrupted and demand outpaced supply. “It’s like selling Coca Cola and … [View More]you’ve run out of Coke,” Lifesport owner Walter Jozwiak told the Free Press in May. Under those circumstances, Leigh Anne Parry and Anders Swanson got their wheels turning on a new idea, a pop-up bike shop called the Bicycle Garden, where they could peddle Dutch-built pedals to riders young and old. The shop opened last week on the main floor of the Sherbrook Flats building (267 Sherbrook St.). “We’d heard during the pandemic there was a shortage of bikes (particularly women’s bikes),” said Parry, who along with Swanson is co-founder of the Plain Bicycle Project. “And we had a source to get them in.” The project is a social enterprise that brings bicycles from the Netherlands, where they’re more popular than the Toyota Camry, to Winnipeg. The bikes are Dutch-style, featuring mudguards, skirt guards, and upright seating, which makes them practical for daily use regardless of athletic ability or the clothes you’re wearing. “It’s like you’re sitting in an armchair, floating in the clouds,” said Swanson, the director of the Winnipeg Trails Association, whose summer office is now in the shop. While the pop-up is selling leftover stock from previous shipments, it also features six pallets worth of bicycles and accessories — child seats, bells, lights, bags, baskets — that arrived from the Netherlands earlier this summer; another order is already being planned for later this week. The bikes range in cost from $350 (used) to over $1,000. Cycling had been rising in popularity in Winnipeg long before the pandemic: a 2018 poll conducted by Probe Research found over one fifth of respondents cycled weekly. While data related to the COVID-19 era is not yet available, Swanson said anecdotal evidence shows the mode of transportation has become an increasingly attractive option for many as habits changed during the pandemic. In April, when the city designated certain stretches for active transportation and restricted vehicle use, roadways were filled with cyclists, rollerbladers, or pedestrians. Elsewhere, vehicular traffic fell, leading to a minor reclamation of pavement by cyclists. “When the roads were empty, people were falling in love with (cycling),” Swanson said. Adding to the demand have been changes to the ways residents exercise. While gyms are open, many are struggling to regain members, and recreational sports, though ongoing, are dealing with similar reluctance. As well, bike ownership and maintenance is considerably cheaper than car ownership — a key consideration during a time of economic instability. As the school year nears, parents are also looking for active options for their kids to get to and from class, Swanson said. So far, the response from the community has been strong: the Bicycle Garden’s most recent harvest is nearly half-picked. AT other shops around the city, demand remains high, however supply continues to be an issue. “The biggest thing for us is that when a customer walks in the door, we’ll likely have a bike for them, but options are still limited,” said Mac Wood, the assistant sales manager at Woodcock Cycle. “In a typical spring or summer, that doesn’t happen.” “It’s certainly more difficult to forecast availability to our customers,” he said. “We, as an industry, are as much at the mercy of restrictions as any other.” The pop-up shop — which could go until October or beyond — is the commercial tenant on the main floor of the Sherbrook Flats. “When (the pop-up) came to us with a proposal, I was very excited,” said Sotirios Kotoulas, the building’s designer and part-owner. “For us, the most important thing is to activate the street,” he added. “It takes time to transform a streetscape or find the right fit, but obviously a bicycle shop is an amazing fit.” Outside the shop, there are a few tables and chairs, meant to evoke the bikes’ Dutch vibe. Repairs are also being offered on the boulevard, which borders an unprotected bike lane on Sherbrook. Since opening, Parry said the interest from the public has been obvious. “Day one, we had a lineup outside mostly of older people looking to get around independently,” she said. “There are a lot of people walking and biking by, which is really good for us.” ben.waldman(a)freepress.mb.ca [View Less]

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TONS Seeks Urban Transportation Consultant
by Beth McKechnie 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

From: Samantha Rodeck <info(a)tonsmb.org> Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 10:09 AM Transportation Options Network for Seniors (TONS) is looking to hire an Urban Transportation Consultant to help fulfill its mandate of informing and educating Manitobans on transportation options that enhance quality of life and promote age-friendly communities. Attached is the job description to be shared within your networks and to those who you know would be interested in applying. The *application … [View More]

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WFP: Bike Dump - Volunteers pedal passion at bike shop (Aug31'20)
by Beth McKechnie 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

*Volunteers pedal passion at bike shop* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/finding-life-with-wheel-meaning-572… FOR someone who spent the first 33 years of life in California, it seems odd that Edward Cloud would enjoy riding a bicycle in frigid winter temperatures. “I remember the first time I rode in -45 weather for 10 or 15 kilometres. I just felt so vibrantly alive — more alive than I ever felt,” said Cloud. “I’ve never found anything to be enjoyable in that way.” Cloud’s love of … [View More]cycling turned into a volunteer role at the Bike Dump, a volunteer-run, community bicycle shop. Started in 2005, the Bike Dump strives to make cycling accessible to all by offering access to tools and a space where people can fix their bikes for free. People can also use recycled bike frames and parts to build their own bike. Volunteers are available at the shop, which is located at the back of Red Road Lodge at Main Street and Logan Avenue, to help guide people through repairs and bike-building projects. Cloud, who lives in the North End, is committed to making the community a better place. “I’ve made it my personal mission to try to spend most of my life making things better for people. Volunteering at the Bike Dump is one of the ways I do that.” Darcee Lytwyn began attending the Bike Dump’s women, queer and trans night on Mondays in 2017 so she could learn how to repair her bike. She started volunteering last winter and says it’s “the grit and the passion” that she loves about being involved. “Everyone’s enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge with you,” Lytwyn said. “It’s a great space for discovery and for learning all together.” Riley McMurray has volunteered at the Bike Dump for almost 10 years and enjoys it because he can immediately see the effect of his efforts. “You’re actually working with someone and you see them ride out with the bike they just built with you that day. You can really tell how much it means to them,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll tell you they need that bike to get to work tomorrow. It can really be a lifeline.” The Bike Dump is currently closed to the public as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic. It’s disappointing to all of the volunteers. The shop is hoping to offer limited hours soon. In the meantime, volunteers are helping folks by appointment on a limited basis. The Bike Dump is always looking for volunteers, Cloud says. They are expecting to hold some shop clean-up nights in the coming weeks, which is a great way for new volunteers to learn about the Bike Dump’s methods. Anyone interested in volunteering can email winnipegbikedump@gmail. com. No experience is necessary. Although the pandemic has weighed heavily on Bike Dump volunteers at times, Lytwyn says that interacting with the group online has reminded her what a special place the bike shop is. “As we’ve been organizing in our Zoom calls and our emails, it’s just been evident how our volunteers have the biggest hearts,” she said. “They care for the community and they care so much for each other.” [View Less]

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CTV: A new active transportation route could link St. Boniface and Downtown (Aug27'20)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Aug '20

29 Aug '20

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/a-new-active-transportation-route-could-link-st… WINNIPEG -- The City of Winnipeg is seeking the public’s feedback on an active transportation route linking the St. Boniface and Downtown neighbourhoods. Through this initiative, called the St. Boniface to Downtown Walk Bike Project, the city would aim to improve travel options, accessibility, and connectivity between the Esplanade Riel footbridge/Provencher Bridge and the multi-use path on Archibald Street, south of … [View More]

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WFP: Study urges traffic changes in school zones (Aug29'20)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Aug '20

29 Aug '20

*Study urges traffic changes in school zones * * Calls for reducing speeds all day on more streets* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/study-urges-traffic-changes-in-scho… A REPORT on school zone speeding in the East Kildonan-Transcona area has prompted the city’s public works department to make recommendations to get more drivers to obey school-zone speed limits. Tasked with investigating speed violations in the neighbourhood, the city department delivered a report to the East … [View More]Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee, which found 11,195 tickets were issued in the neighbourhood’s reduced-speed school zones in 2018. The majority of tickets were issued through photo enforcement while 237 were issued through traditional police enforcement. Of the photo enforcement tickets, more than 90 per cent involved reduced speed zones at three schools: River Elm with 6,390 tickets, The King’s School with 2,276 tickets and École Riviere Rouge, where 1,367 tickets were issued. The report recommends expanding school zones beyond streets immediately bordering schools to ensure all parents and children within the 1.6 km walking zone of the school have access to safe streets, increasing the 30 km/h rules to a 24-hour, seven days a week schedule to reduce confusion about holidays and evenings, and expanding school zones to middle and high schools. It recommended removing the requirement that school zones be implemented on non-regional streets in favour of a policy based on road classification, fencing, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and other factors. Also, it recommended following the City of Calgary in implementing reduced- speed zones near playgrounds. There are 240 reduced speed school zones throughout Winnipeg. These zones have a maximum speed of 30 km/h which are in effect from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday from September to June. In an email statement Friday, Winnipeg Police Service said “reduced speed school zones throughout the city see fluctuations and variances in detected offences.” Though the study was only conducted for East Kildonan-Transcona, the city confirmed a wider study on road safety is underway, and will review reduced speed school zones efficacy in other areas of the city. Despite high levels of infractions in some school zones, police data found motorists generally reduce speeds to comply with school zones, and typically drive below the 50 km/h limit in effect during non-school hours. Feedback from six school districts in the city overwhelmingly indicated that the reduced-speed school zones improve student safety, according to the report. Further evidence from a study conducted in Edmonton found that reducing speed from 50 km/h to 30 km/h resulted in a 45 per cent reduction in fatal and non-fatal injury collisions and a 55 per cent reduction in injuries to vulnerable road users. The report comes in the midst of other municipal investigations into street safety measures, including a possible 30 km/h speed limit on all residential streets. If this limit were to come into play, reduced-speed school zones may not be necessary, the report said. julia-simone.rutgers(a)freepress.mb.ca [View Less]

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Job Posting - Managing Director position @ The WRENCH
by Anders Swanson 29 Aug '20

29 Aug '20

Morning. Please pass on this exciting opportunity <https://thewrench.ca/tag/job-posting/> to anyone you think might be a great fit for a great organization! Anders

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NACTO guide: Setting safe speed limits on urban streets
by Beth McKechnie 26 Aug '20

26 Aug '20

*City Limits: Setting Safe Speed Limits on Urban Streets* A new guide <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) outlines how to use a tested, context-sensitive safe systems approach to strategically set safer speed limits on urban streets to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. This three-method approach provides an alternative to percentile-based speed limit setting: 1) … [View More]

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WFP: Local tech firm studies near-misses in bid to prevent collisions, make roads safer (Aug25'20)
by Beth McKechnie 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

Local tech firm studies near-misses in bid to prevent collisions, make roads safer DETOUR FROM DISASTER https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/detour-from-disaster-572209962.h… SERIOUS traffic accidents and fatalities have fallen dramatically over the past 50 years, but that decline has now plateaued and traffic fatalities remain the eighth leading cause of death around the world. MicroTraffic, a Winnipeg technology company, is using artificial intelligence to take a different approach … [View More]to mitigating this ongoing public safety issue. It uses data from existing traffic cameras to identify intersections and roadways where the largest numbers of near-misses occur and is helping municipalities leverage that data into creating safer streets. MicroTraffic, which recently received funding to hire three more people from the province’s Innovation Growth program (which will bring its workforce up to 25), has already gained significant traction. After only a couple of years in the market, its work with around 40 municipalities has resulted in about $225 million in planned infrastructure changes to dangerous intersections. It has also attracted institutional validation in the form of a partnership with Aviva, the international insurance company. The unlikely duo has teamed up for an innovative funding program that is offering about $50,000 to five Canadian municipalities to conduct studies on 10 intersections in each city to provide data on intersections where the greatest number of “near-misses” occur. The winning applicants will be expected to pay 25 per cent of the costs up to maximum of $12,500. “Road infrastructure projects, like replacing a dangerous intersection with an interchange or a roundabout, cost a lot of money,” said Craig Milligan, CEO and co-founder of Micro-Traffic. “Knowing that you’re going to save lives and knowing the risks that are there can really help justify that decision.” Milligan is finding that traffic safety professionals are keen to be able to take a proactive approach rather than have to rely on data from crashes that have already occurred. “Almost three-quarter of fatalities are happening where they have not happened recently,’ he said. “So you put the money in locations where the fatalities happen and it just happens somewhere else. That is a frustrating approach for everyone working on road safety.” Milligan, who has a PhD and is an expert on road safety engineering, worked as a consultant for several years and he and co-founder Joel Penner conducted about 300 safety improvement studies. “After doing it for a time, too many people were dying at intersections where we had already done intersection safety improvement plans for,” he said. “The way they died was not represented in the historical crash data… and it was clear there were other risk factors, serious ones, at play that were impossible to detect with existing methods.” Milligan does not take credit for the approach, as there is active academic study to detect latent risk factors or the science of surrogate safety. But Milligan decided to implement those ideas through a computer vision system where the artificial intelligence drives an engine that automatically goes through the video. “It recognizes what is going on, sees how fast people are going, how close they are to one another and if someone is hitting the brakes sharply,” he said. “From those trajectories we construct risk indicators. They have proven to be very effective at precisely identifying risk.” Aviva connected with MicroTraffic as part of the insurance company’s own program to reduce serious traffic injuries called Take Back Our Roads. Catherine Brown, vice-president marketing and corporate social responsibility at Aviva Canada, said, “Micro-Traffic’s approach to prevention really fits nicely with our overall platform. Craig and his team are fantastic partners to work with. We wanted to be able to bring the technology to the forefront and make it more accessible to municipalities to focus their infrastructure investments in a way that is looking at prevention and proactive activities.” It is also not lost on the City of Winnipeg, which has just embarked on its own road safety strategic action plan that will use data and public input to set the pace of road safety investment over the next five years and beyond. Parallel and in conjunction with that, the city is in the middle of a pilot project with MicroTraffic. Rebecca Peterniak, the community traffic engineer at the City of Winnipeg, said MicroTraffic’s technology provides much more data to work with that traditional traffic analysis. “Improving road safety data is a really important objective,” she said. “We do have collision data which is historic in nature — we have to wait for collisions to happen before we get that information.” She said that using the kind of near-miss analysis that MicroTraffic can provide between all road users — vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians — allows them to take a deeper dive to understand what’s causing high accident rates. “It gives us a deeper understanding of what is going on in the background,” she said. martin.cash(a)freepress.mb.ca [View Less]

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