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WFP: Bike Week celebrates the big 1-0 with BIRTHDAY BASH
by Beth McKechnie 08 Jun '23

08 Jun '23

*Bike Week celebrates the big 1-0 with BIRTHDAY BASH* Sunday, 1-3 p.m. Manitoba legislative grounds Free GET on your bikes and ride: Bike Week 2023 winds up with an afternoon of family-friendly activities, games, culture and music in honour of its 10th birthday. Papa Mambo, James Culleton’s SuperFun Show and DJ Mama Cutsworth will supply the tunes. The best mechanics in the city will face off in the Bike Olympics. Photo booths, bike-themed crafts, obstacle courses, a gigantic slide, a mobile plant sale and a host of other games and activities will be on offer — plus free hotdogs for the first 100 attendees. The fun doesn’t stop at 3 p.m., though. Riders can join the Pinata Pedal Party from 3 to 4 p.m. — where your challenge, should you choose to accept it, will be smacking down pinatas while in the saddle — and the Bike Week After Party from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Beer Can (1 Granite Way), where the first 60 riders will receive a complimentary beverage and DJ Hunnicut will spin tunes. — Jen Zoratti

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WFP: ‘Monstrous hole’ trouble on Sturgeon Creek path (Jun8'23)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Jun '23

08 Jun '23

*‘Monstrous hole’ trouble on Sturgeon Creek path* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/07/monstrous-hole-lo… A massive, water-filled hole where the busy Sturgeon Creek active transportation route meets a playground path has posed a safety hazard for several weeks, according to those hoping to speed up repairs. Randall Hull said he first complained to 311 on April 23, about the roughly 75-centimetre-deep depression he estimates stretches at least six metres. A barricade posted by city staff at each of its ends isn’t enough to alert people to the danger, he said Wednesday. “It is deep enough that if a child fell into it (they could be hurt). The one side of the hole is lined with bricks that are all exposed, so somebody could fall into the hole, hit their head on a brick and drown in the water, or accidentally bike into it because the barricade doesn’t completely cover it,” said Hull. “It’s just a public safety thing and the fact that it’s a path that leads up to a playground, it’s even more troubling that it’s not being attended to.” While most of the damage is concentrated on the path leading to a playground on Amarynth Crescent and the main Sturgeon Creek path is still passable, Hull said many residents routinely walk and bike in the area, raising the risk of potential injury. He recalled seeing some children standing in the water-filled hole at one point. The space appears to have been washed out during high water levels this spring. Erosion has been an issue at the spot, with less extensive damage last summer, Hull said. If the City of Winnipeg lacks resources to repair it quickly, it should do more to block off the area, said Hull. “I understand there’s probably 101 different issues to deal with in 101 different parks around Winnipeg. (But if the city is) not going to repair it, then put a snow fence around it, so it’s safe.” Coun. Shawn Dobson, whose ward includes the path, visited the site Wednesday. “That’s horrible. That’s not a pathway by any means. I absolutely share the concern. This should be fixed right away, otherwise our pathway network is incomplete now because of this monstrous hole,” said Dobson. The councillor said he immediately submitted a request that the city completely surround the hole with some form of barricade. The extent of the damage could be linked to issues beyond flooding, so the repair may be more extensive than it first appears, Dobson said. “It’s been getting progressively worse every year. Time to get it fixed right.” A request to interview someone from the city’s public works department was not granted Wednesday. In a brief emailed statement, spokesman Kalen Qually did not answer questions about how long the city expects it will take to repair the problem or why it has not been able to do so by this point. “The site is currently barricaded and staff are looking into making more permanent repairs to the area,” he said. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Brandon Sun: Group to study public spaces, active transportation (Jun6'23)
by Beth McKechnie 07 Jun '23

07 Jun '23

https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2023/06/06/group-to-study-public-spaces-tr… A new study done in partnership between Brandon University, the City of Brandon and Prairie Mountain Health has received approximately $68,000 in federal funding to explore how public spaces in the city are used. “Walking the Walk in Smaller Cities” in Brandon is one of four municipalities that have received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to investigate how active transportation options like biking and walking as well as public spaces can be better supported. Other participating cities include Guelph, Ont., Oshawa, Ont., and Saskatoon, Sask. On the team for the project are representatives of all three organizations: Brandon University professor Rachel Herron, director of communications Grant Hamilton and research assistant Jared Friesen, Mayor Jeff Fawcett, City of Brandon director of planning Ryan Nickel and Prairie Mountain Health medical officer of health Dr. Amy Frykoda. Presenting on the project was Hamilton, who said he believes the city has a chance to find world-class solutions to active transportation in smaller cities. He said the project and Brandon team had been assembled in less than a month. This summer, the project will consult with residents about how they walk and bike in Brandon’s public spaces as well as the reasons why they don’t. This will include online consultations as well at smallercities.ca, focus groups and in-person pop-up consultations throughout the summer. A council of representatives from groups like the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council and Westman Immigrant Services is also being formed to make sure people from different backgrounds and experiences are accounted for in the study. This fall, once data has been collected, Herron told council that the Brandon team will meet up with the other Canadian teams at a global workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following that, the Brandon team will meet up with local focus groups to explore ideas inspired by that visit to Copenhagen and how they can be translated to Brandon. Then, next summer, the team will pick an active transportation or public spaces project to implement in Brandon with the intention of inviting people from other smaller Canadian cities to help share what was learned. » cslark(a)brandonsun.com » Twitter: @ColinSlark

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St. Boniface Walk Bike project survey (closes July 6)
by Beth McKechnie 06 Jun '23

06 Jun '23

The St. Boniface to Downtown Walk Bike project is exploring options to improve travel choices, accessibility, and connectivity between the Esplanade Riel Footbridge / Provencher Bridge and the multi-use path on Archibald Street south of Nairn Avenue. The study also includes connections to the Southeast Corridor, Taché Promenade, and Notre Dame Street pedestrian bridge over the Seine River. Phase 3 of public engagement is here, and we want to hear from you! Based on what we heard during Phases 1 and 2 engagement, technical knowledge, and other planning considerations, we are proposing a route on Provencher Boulevard. https://engage.winnipeg.ca/stboniface-walk-bike

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Job Posting at UMCycle
by Jessie Klassen 05 Jun '23

05 Jun '23

Hi all, Happy Bike to Work Day and Commuter Challenge week! UMSU has a position available for an UMCycle Coordinator. Posting attached and also pasted below. While the posting date says May, the position is still open until filled. Please share widely. Thanks, Jessie Klassen Job Opportunity: UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STUDENTS' UNION UMCYCLE COORDINATOR ONE YEAR TERM University of Manitoba Students' Union (UMSU) is a non-profit organization which advocates on behalf of its memberships' best interests to internal and external stakeholders. Our primary objectives are to serve students and strive to enhance student life and the quality of education through consultation, representation and advocacy. Position Summary This is a one term position (with the possibility of renewal) within the operations of UMSU. Reporting to the Manager the coordinator is responsible for day to day store operations, training new staff, assisting staff, ordering of new parts and inventory as well as, managing the overall success of the business. In addition, the incumbent will be responsible for keeping the premises safe and clean for workers and customers. This position operates on a full time basis Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 4:30pm. Skills and Qualifications * Experience repairing bicycles - installation and repair of all systems of the bike (brakes, drive, steering, wheels, accessories) as well as experience with bicycle fitting; * Organize and facilitate bicycle workshops on safety & riding skills, repairs and maintenance; * Recruit and coordinate volunteers for the kiosk and workshops; * Organize events such as bike builds, group rides, tours, and riding buddy programs for campus and community; * Accepting incoming shipments, verify against ordering invoices; * Oversee the work of service attendants to ensure excellent service delivery; * Oversee service policies and procedures, concentrating on service excellence; * Assist customers in choosing the right bikes and accessories by providing expert opinion; * Create work orders for repair and maintenance offerings; * Ensure that all service processes are quickly and efficiently carried out; * Oversee thorough and accurate bike building and accessory installation work; * Create and maintain liaison with vendors and dealers in order to ensure quick delivery of parts and accessories; * Oversee bike and accessories inventory, and communicate low stock situations to manager; * Supervise shop support staff to ensure continuous cleanliness and maintenance of the premises; * Take responsibility for opening and closing the bike shop in a timely manner; * Assist in ensuring proper daily operations of the shop including order supplies, sales and high-quality customer management; * Equivalent combination of experience and education may be considered. UMSU promotes Employment Equity and is strongly committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. Therefore, we promote employment equity and encourage candidates to voluntarily self-identify on their application if they are members of the underrepresented group (woman, Indigenous person, a person with a disability or a visible minority). We offer competitive benefits package and pension plan. We wish to thank all applicants in advance for their interest; however, only those applicants considered will be contacted for an interview. Please provide a cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references and identify how you meet the desired qualifications listed by May 23, 2023 to: The Human Resource Department, 101 UMSU University Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, or email to: hiring(a)umsu.ca<mailto:hiring@umsu.ca> Jessie Klassen (she/her) Sustainability Projects Coordinator Office of Sustainability University of Manitoba 89 Freedman Crescent Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 431-997-1013 jessie.klassen(a)umanitoba.ca<mailto:jessie.klassen@umanitoba.ca> [cid:image001.png@01D997A4.37B9E260] The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

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Winners of $1m prize for sustainable city transport announced
by Beth McKechnie 02 Jun '23

02 Jun '23

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/02/winners-of-1m-prize-for… Ten months after cities around the world were offered the chance <https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2022/oct/10/cities-around-the-world-offe…> to bid for up to $1m (£800,000) to build or expand new cycling and walking schemes, the money has been awarded to designs in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, New Zealand and Albania, among others. The money was put up by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic arm of the media conglomerate set up by Michael Bloomberg <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/michaelbloomberg>, during whose terms as mayor of New York the city sprouted a rapidly expanding network of cycle lanes. Bids were assessed in conjunction with Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), an urban design NGO founded by Janette Sadik-Khan, who was New York’s traffic commissioner <https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2022/oct/10/cities-around-the-world-offe…> under Bloomberg. As well as the money – $1m for the winner and $400,000 apiece for the other nine cities – GDCI will help the cities with things such as design and local engagement. The top prize went to a plan to build more than 110 miles of protected cycle routes in Fortaleza, a city in Brazil’s tropical north-east, with a focus on helping children and older people use bikes, and promoting cargo bike delivery.

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Winnipeg needs you: Canada-wide Pedal Poll bike count next week
by Anders Swanson 02 Jun '23

02 Jun '23

Friendly reminder Pedal Poll - the cross-Canada bicycle count organized by Velo Canada Bikes - is happening again next week. Go here to sign up <https://signup.com/Group/117695512080/> if you can spare a couple hours on a Tuesday morning or Saturday. For 3 years now, thousands of volunteers across the country have been doing a coordinated count. Here is more general info. <https://velocanadabikes.org/pedalpoll/> There are dozens of participating cities and spaces are filling up! You can help make sure Winnipeg gets counted. We could use a few more folks here. There are 45 counting slots in Winnipeg, so far 10 are filled. Check it out. <https://signup.com/Group/117695512080/> Thank you! Anders Volunteer Chair, Vélo Canada Bikes

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WFP: Province commits to share cost to study Route 90 design (Jun2'23)
by Beth McKechnie 02 Jun '23

02 Jun '23

Province commits to share cost to study Route 90 design https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/06/01/province-commits-… MANITOBA taxpayers will foot half of the $1.4-million bill to conduct a design study for an expanded Route 90. Premier Heather Stefanson announced Thursday that the Manitoba government will contribute $700,000 to the City of Winnipeg to move the proposed project into its next phase. “Infrastructure corridors like Route 90 support new housing and business development in Winnipeg and promotes industry and trade, allowing for quicker access to business areas, such as CentrePort and the Winnipeg airport,” Stefanson told reporters gathered in a field just west of Kenaston Boulevard. The funding covers 50 per cent of the city’s identified costs for the project’s next phase, the province said. Widening Route 90 between Taylor and Ness Avenues was identified as a strategic infrastructure priority by the city council in 2011. An estimated 40,000 vehicles use the stretch of road each day. City hall has proposed widening the street to offer three lanes in each direction, add active transportation pathways on both sides and update aging infrastructure, including sewers and the St. James Bridge. A preliminary estimate predicts the project will cost about $550 million, with the majority of that budget dedicated to bridge and road renewal and sewer upgrades to prevent spills into the Assiniboine River. However, final design and analysis work could change the price tag. On Thursday, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham shot back at critics of the project, saying the infrastructure upgrades are critical to improving active transportation and Winnipeg Transit networks to meet growing traffic demand, and to the development of Naawi-Oodena at the former Kapyong barracks site. “There has been a lot of misinformation about this project shared online and in editorial pages over the past few weeks,” said Gillingham, who campaigned on a pledge to expand the roadway so long as a business case exists. However, the proposal has received pushback from sustainable transportation advocates who argue the development will increase the use of personal vehicles and undermine efforts to combat climate change. “Some of the information that I’m hearing out there… it’s incorrect,” he said. The federal government has also acknowledged the importance of the project, he said. An updated business case analysis and cost estimates are expected to be completed this calendar year, he said. “With the help of the Province of Manitoba, we will do the work necessary to improve the project ahead and to move this project forward,” he said. Stefanson said she supports the project moving forward but appropriate analysis must be conducted before any additional provincial dollars can be committed to the expansion. danielle.dasilva(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP Analysis: The evidence says we need fewer cars (Jun2'23)
by Beth McKechnie 02 Jun '23

02 Jun '23

The evidence says we need fewer cars https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/06/02/the-evidence-… RAY Kohanik puts forward in the May 29 edition ( It’s time to make better transportation decisions) that our city missed out by not building freeways in the 1970s, and that we should do it now. He supports this idea with arguments that might instinctively “feel” right, but that are entirely refuted by the city’s own data. I understand why Kohanik, or anyone else for that matter, might hold these views. It has been the predominant narrative around transportation in North America since the Second World War that the continual prioritization of car travel, at the expense of nearly everything else, is the key to economic prosperity and a higher quality of life for all. I used to hold these views. After all, it’s all we’ve ever been told since before many of our parents (or grandparents!) were even born. But despite this continent-wide, decades-long experiment in car-oriented transportation, we now have the benefit of hindsight and data. Loads and loads of data. So rather than make major infrastructure decisions based on what “feels” right, most Winnipeggers would agree that we should make evidenced-based decisions instead. On the economic side, it’s important to understand that while cars can be extremely useful, a transportation system built around everyone using one every time for every trip is prohibitively expensive. Simply maintaining the 8,300 lane-km of roads that city reports tell us we already own would require an extra $600 million per year. Every year. To get it, we’d need to eliminate the entire police department, the entire fire and paramedic department, and the entire Community Services department (the one in charge of pools, libraries and rec centres). Or we could double our property taxes. And no matter if Justin, Heather or Scott is collecting it, that money is all ultimately coming from the same pockets. Ours. It’s not just more than the city can afford. It’s more than we can afford. And that’s the problem. Many of us may say we prefer to drive for every trip, but that’s only because we’re choosing from a menu with no prices. And prices affect preferences. It’s why we don’t all live in 1,000-room mansions and fly a helicopter to work every day. We may prefer it, but when we are confronted with the reality of prices, our choices reflect that reality. So here’s some reality. Many of us worry about the cost of transit to the taxpayer, but the $38.7 million per year we’re planning to spend to “improve” driving on what amounts to 0.19 per cent of our road network could fund 27 per cent of our entire transit operations. And the numbers are even starker with active transportation: all the bike infrastructure in the city combined has a replacement value of less than $47 million. Many other cities are figuring that out already. Cities that we are losing young people to every year, like Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton, are following the data and building more efficient, economical transportation systems. Vancouver, the poster child for transit and active transportation in Canada, doesn’t have any freeways. And they aren’t building any. Calgary is spending $5 billion today to expand its light rail system. Meanwhile, Edmonton, a winter city like ours, is spending $100 million over the next four years to expand their cycling infrastructure. Edmonton’s Mayor Sohi says they’re doing it because “active transportation is the cheapest way to move people around.” Despite all this, there are still some who say we should be bold and expand Kenaston anyway. After all, Duff Roblin was ridiculed for his grand idea, and look how well that turned out. But in drawing comparisons to the floodway, it would be wise to remember that a cost-benefit analysis done at the time showed an expected positive return of nearly $3 for each dollar spent on the flood-proofing megaproject, whereas the cost-benefit analysis we have for the Kenaston widening expects us to lose nearly 90 cents on the dollar. Maybe Duff Roblin wasn’t a visionary, maybe he was just good at math. I agree with Ray Kohanik when he says that an efficient transportation system based in reality is needed. But the reality is that while we may wish prioritizing car travel on ever wider roads was financially sustainable, the numbers consistently show it simply is not. Any way you slice it, the future is in getting more people to walk, bike or take transit on more trips, more times. It’s the only way to pay for all of this. In the end, Kohanik laments that “the city is broke, broke, broke” but that “that’s another story.” We now know that it’s the same story. Cities that don’t figure that out soon will go bankrupt, bankrupt, bankrupt. *Michel Durand-Wood lives in Elmwood and has been writing about municipal issues since 2018.*

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WFP Letters to the Editor: Better options, fewer cars (Jun1'23)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Jun '23

01 Jun '23

Better options, fewer cars I read Ray Kohanik’s opinion piece *It’s time to make better transportation decisions* <https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/05/29/its-time-to-m…> (May 29) with interest. His analysis is correct that widening Kenaston Boulevard is a project out of our budget, whether or not cost-sharing comes through this time from other levels of government. (For those keeping score at home, Kenaston has been twice rejected. Third time’s the charm?) As it stands, by the city’s own analysis, traffic will have returned to Kenaston, and our commute times will be longer than they are now, before we have paid off the bill. The reality is we already have far more roads than we can properly afford to maintain given our tax base. Unless we want to double our property taxes and cut basically all of our services, we need to find a way to use our transportation infrastructure more efficiently if we want to give future generations a fighting chance for financial sustainability. I note that Kohanik points to Norway’s investment in EVs as a solution. While he highlights Norway’s similar climate and sprawl, he missed what is being done in cities. For example, Oslo has committed to radically reducing vehicle trips through investment in transit and its walk/bike infrastructure. They might have been inspired by Finland, where Oulu sees thousands of children biking to school through their cold and snowy winters (and a note that Oulu is quite a sprawling city, much like Winnipeg). As for being “unable to imagine” how people could possibly drive less, I’d encourage Kohanik to reach out to one of the 3,000-plus members of Peg City Car Co-op, which is seeing demand to expand further and faster. It seems like having the choice to drive less is something many Winnipeggers are already doing, or want to do. I sold my vehicle over seven years ago and am happier, healthier and saving a profound amount of money by walking, biking, busing and, when I need to, driving a shared Peg City vehicle. But I could only do this by living in a neighbourhood with services within walking distance, good bike routes, decent transit and access to the car-sharing co-op. We don’t need more lanes, we need better neighbourhood design and more transportation choice so more Winnipeggers can drive less if they want to. Mel Marginet Winnipeg Ray Kohanik’s question: “Finally, can someone please explain to me how someone with a bike picks up their kids from daycare and gets them to sports/activities and then home again on a bike?” Answer: on bikes. Our family did just this until middle school, when kids could bike alone. It was faster than driving. Heidi Klaschka Winnipeg

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WFP Analysis: It’s time to make better transportation decisions (May29'23)
by Beth McKechnie 29 May '23

29 May '23

*It’s time to make better transportation decisions* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/05/29/its-time-to-m… ARCHITECT Brent Bellamy comments in the May 23 edition ( Need more congestion? Route 90 plan is the $500-M ticket) that improving Kenaston Boulevard will be, in total, more than just the $500 million construction cost, that the bill won’t be paid for up to 30 years, that greater capacity will create further congestion as this becomes a preferred route, and that we should consider the impact on future generations. In all of these points, Mr. Bellamy is correct, although I think he should have mentioned that for something like this, there is cost sharing with the province/feds which typically reduces the cost to the city. The reality is we could have avoided a lot of this pain had we made better decisions 50 years ago. Around 1970, Plan Winnipeg decided that, with minor exceptions, we would be a city without freeways. Today, for a city of our size, we have significant traffic congestion and an inefficient transportation system. Rather than expediting travel from one part of the city to another, it seems like it is more designed to spread the pain, as most routes take about the same time. On that point, traffic is bad enough on major routes at rush hour that we now have restrictions on travel through residential areas because commuters would rather take the “scenic route” than fight traffic on a “major route” studded with light signals (which, by the way, the Kenaston expansion won’t deal with — it still incorporates stop lights). If there is more traffic on a widened Kenaston, there will be less through River Heights. The simple fact is that if we had not made the decision to avoid freeways in 1970, the cost of implementing them would have been significantly less than the cost today. Consider the issue of the Red River Floodway, the initial cost of which was significantly less than $100 million in the mid-1960s. To give you an idea of the cost of deferring capital expenditures, Fargo, N.D., is currently implementing a “floodway- style” Red River diversion. Although it has some more complex details than our own floodway, the cost: US$3.2 Billion. Bellamy, among others, has touted the benefits of active and mass transportation. At the urging of special interest groups such as Bike Winnipeg, politicians have dedicated millions of tax dollars to creating an “active transportation” network — including bike paths — and are considering expansion of the mass-transit system. The reality is these solutions are not realistic for our climate and the busy North American lifestyle of most families. On the matter of bike paths for commuting, I have never heard a convincing argument for this. Someone needs to stand up and say this will never work for the vast majority of people. As it is, the existing system of bike paths are largely unused, let alone considering expanding the system further. While this is a feel-good story, it doesn’t make sense for us for a variety of reasons. Essentially, commuting by bike will work only for those who can shower when they get to work, for people who don’t need a vehicle to make calls out of the office on a given day, who can keep separate attire at work and don’t have a busy family life. If you need to use your vehicle for work, live in the suburbs or don’t have facilities to shower/ change, this will never work. Furthermore, given our climate, this is barely workable for four to five months of the year. Finally, can someone please explain to me how someone with a bike picks up their kids from daycare and gets them to sports/activities and then home again on a bike? Some will say improved mass transit is an answer. The existing system loses a fortune every year, and the ongoing cost of providing frequent and efficient mass transit to overcome climate and distance is unimaginable. As a first step, we need to make the existing system safe. Until we confront that issue, ridership will be limited to those who have no choice or for whom the cost of commuting with a vehicle is prohibitive. Also, building a mass-transit system forces the assumption of where planners think people will want to go in 10, 20 or 30 years. That’s a tough call. It’s a good thing we didn’t build mass transit out to Polo Park to serve the Jets and Bombers. Perhaps an alternative is to accept the fact that personal vehicles are and likely will be the preferred form of transportation for the foreseeable future. In the same manner, single-family homes are likely to remain the preferred form of residence. To try and reconcile these issues, could we perhaps embrace the move to electric vehicles instead and accept the need for an improved traffic system? In Norway, a country with a winter climate and a small population spread over a wide area, the majority of vehicles sold are now electric. Manitoba has the current and potential power resources to be self-sufficient in energy as well as an even more significant exporter. Further development of this resource would allow Manitobans to maintain our lifestyle and help address climate change through export of clean electricity. An expansive charging network would remove one of the main concerns of potential vehicle owners and do so at a fraction of the cost of mass-transit expansion. Either way, an efficient transportation system based in reality is needed. It’s unfortunate that we are where we are, though this is the cost of poor decision making in the past. It’s even more unfortunate the city’s finances are so messed up that we absolutely can’t afford to take this project on, regardless of any benefit. The city is broke, broke, broke. But that’s another story. *Ray Kohanik writes from Winnipeg.*

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WFP: Coalition urges pause on Kenaston, Chief Peguis projects (May27'23)
by Beth McKechnie 27 May '23

27 May '23

*Coalition urges pause on Kenaston, Chief Peguis projects* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/05/26/coalition-urges-p… THE City of Winnipeg should pause any new spending on two major road projects expected to cost a combined $1 billion, until it determines if they are worth their financial and environmental price, according to a sustainable transportation advocate. On Friday, the Transportation and Land Use Coalition urged city council to avoid committing funds to widen Route 90 (Kenaston Boulevard) and extend Chief Peguis Trail, aside from money needed to complete a cost-benefit analysis and environmental assessment of each project. “We just want to be sure that no money is spent in the upcoming budget until that (analysis and environmental review) is received and assessed,” said Mel Marginet, co-chair of the organization. Marginet accused city council of rushing the approval process by listing the two projects within its strategic priorities action plan, which is expected to help guide the city’s 2024-27 multi-year budget. The coalition fears the city could lose money on the projects and the developments could undermine the municipal government’s efforts to combat climate change. “It’s going to induce the continued reliance on personal vehicles within our transportation system… The bike routes that are included as part of the Kenaston project… are very inadequate and it’s unrealistic to expect that the cycling trips that they will generate will in any way mitigate the induced demand for personal vehicles,” said Marginet. The group also claims the projects are unrealistic, since the federal government already rejected at least one application to help fund the Kenaston work. The city confirmed the senior government declined a request to fund Route 90 improvements in 2017, though the design was different at the time. The Chief Peguis Trail extension would extend from Main Street to Brookside Boulevard, pending council approval and funding. The Kenaston proposal would widen the boulevard to offer three lanes in each direction between Ness and Taylor avenues, while adding transportation paths on both sides. The city is now seeking public feedback on the latest Kenaston design. That project has also drawn complaints from some area residents. Carol Styles said she’s concerned about a lack of information on how the city will assist folks whose homes are removed to create room for the project and those who will be left to live next to a major construction zone. “What is the plan for the people that they’re expropriating and the people they’re leaving behind? There’s… little talk about noise mitigation during the construction, as well as afterwards,” said Styles. While she agrees the road is in desperate need of repair, Styles said some residents have been hesitant to make home improvements since they still aren’t sure when the long-discussed widening project will happen. “Having lived through the process for 15 years and three iterations of these community engagement sessions, as they call them, (my concern) is really about the process… People want to know (what’s happening). Make a decision, let’s do it or not do it.” When asked if the provincial government now expects to fund the two projects, Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith repeatedly said: “Stay tuned.” Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal, federal minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, called both projects “very important,” but stressed it’s up to the city to set its own infrastructure priorities. Coun. John Orlikow said the city has conducted extensive consultation on the Kenaston project, and is continuing to seek feedback. However, he agreed it should commit to a clear plan forward soon. “Unfortunately, there are some homes that need to be expropriated… but these people have been living in limbo for the last 15 years… So, it really is time to move this project forward, one way or another.” Orlikow noted the Kenaston project would also improve a sometimes “dangerous” St. James Bridge, crumbling roads and Transit access, while sewer repairs incorporated into the road work would help reduce combined sewer overflows. “The value isn’t just (for) the road, it’s many, many layers,” he said. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Webinar Recording - Rapid implementation of bikeways for healthy, safe, equitable & more sustainable communities
by Kristine Hayward 25 May '23

25 May '23

Hi AT folks – see below a link to the webinar recording of NCCEH Healthy Built Environment Webinar Series held on May 24, 2023: Title: Rapid implementation of bikeways for healthy, safe, equitable and more sustainable communities Presenters: Brian Patterson, Urban Systems; Matt Craig, TransLink The recording of the presentation and slide deck are now available here<https://ncceh.ca/content/webinar-recording-rapid-implementation-bikeways-he…> Kristine Hayward (she/her) Physical Activity Promotion Coordinator Population & Public Health MB Health and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority 2nd floor - 490 Hargrave Street Winnipeg, MB R3A 0X7 Email khayward(a)wrha.mb.ca<mailto:khayward@wrha.mb.ca> Bike racks are available in front of the building at the corner of Hargrave and McDermot. Plan your Winnipeg Transit trip: http://winnipegtransit.com/en/navigo<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://winnipegtransit.com/en/navigo__;!!IqQd2s…> Metered street parking and pay lots in the area – please note designated loading zones and spots requiring a disability permit. Disclaimer : This email (including any attachments or enclosed documents) is intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, copying or dissemination is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, return the original (if applicable) and delete the email. Avis : Le présent courriel (y compris toute pièce jointe) est destiné à la personne ou aux personnes à qui il est adressé, et peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels, privés ou protégés par un privilège juridique. Toute utilisation, divulgation, distribution, copie ou diffusion non autorisée est strictement défendue. Si vous avez reçu le présent courriel par erreur, veuillez en informer immédiatement l’expéditeur, retourner l’original (le cas échéant) et supprimer ce courriel.

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WFP Analysis: Need more congestion? Route 90 plan is the $500-M ticket (May23'23)
by Beth McKechnie 23 May '23

23 May '23

Need more congestion? Route 90 plan is the $500-M ticket https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/23/need-more-congestion-rou… THE projected cost of the city’s plan to widen Route 90 is equivalent to a 6.9 per cent property tax increase for every Winnipeg homeowner. It will take 30 years for Winnipeg taxpayers to pay off the new road, and in the long run, traffic congestion will get worse. The City of Winnipeg is currently asking for public feedback on a new design for widening Kenaston Boulevard between Ness and Taylor avenues, including related sewer upgrades and an expansion of the St. James Bridge. The city is hoping that other levels of government will share the cost, but Ottawa has already rejected applications twice before, in 2015 and 2018, and the province’s Multi-Year Infrastructure Investment Strategy makes no mention of the project. This likely leaves Winnipeg taxpayers to foot the bill on their own. The cost of widening Kenaston is typically reported to be $500 million, but a 2019 city document, Unfunded Major Capital Projects Detail, provides a more accurate picture of the total costs. Using the $500 million construction value, it projects that when borrowing and operating costs are included, the project will require annual payments of $38.7 million, (6.9 per cent of the city’s operating budget) amortized over 30 years. This represents a true project cost of $1.2 billion, and is predicated on construction values not increasing further, having already risen steadily from $129 million in 2009, to $375 million in 2015 and $450 million in 2018. The formula’s operating costs include projected increases in maintenance required for the larger infrastructure. For 20 years, the city has earmarked $100,000 annually for the maintenance of Kenaston Boulevard. The state of the road is evidence of how woefully inadequate that number is, but it’s also evidence of how strained our city’s finances are. The application to the Building Canada Fund in 2015 revealed that additional operating and maintenance costs for an enlarged roadway were projected to be $1.9 million per year, a significant addition to the city’s already stretched road-maintenance budgets. The costs are staggering, but Kenaston is congested and many people believe that needs to be addressed. This is the other bit of bad news found in the city’s reports. The 2023 Route 90 Improvements Study indicates that even after increasing road capacity, traffic congestion will eventually be greater than it is today. The study projects that over several years, driving times between Ness and Taylor will increase to 8.7 minutes in the morning peak and 9.2 minutes in the evening peak, compared with eight minutes and 7.2 minutes today, respectively. The study predicts that if we don’t enlarge the road, those times will increase by several minutes, but this might be challenged, because despite significant growth in south Winnipeg, the number of cars travelling on Kenaston every day (measured at the bridge) hasn’t increased since 1995. People find alternate routes. The traffic study seems counterintuitive, but it reflects something many cities have already learned. You can’t build your way out of congestion. A bigger road always attracts more cars, eventually consuming any additional capacity. This concept is known as “induced demand.” The increased capacity of bigger roads will immediately reduce commuting times. To take advantage of the higher capacity network, drivers divert from different routes, are less strategic with the times they travel and are less likely to use public transportation or carpooling. All of this increases the number of vehicles on the new road. Greater convenience also results in more people willing to commute longer distances, incentivizing suburban sprawl, increasing car dependency and further increasing traffic volumes. Almost invariably, within a few years of a road expansion, traffic congestion begins to return and, as the Route 90 study demonstrates, may get worse than it was before. This large increase in the number of vehicles on Kenaston will also have important impacts on surrounding neighbourhoods, pushing significantly more traffic to adjacent feeder streets such as Academy Road and Corydon Avenue. The design carves a vehicle canyon, lined with concrete acoustic walls, through existing mature neighbourhoods. Large intersections will decrease walkability and pedestrian safety, reducing connectivity between neighbourhoods, and inhibiting any ability for the future development on the former Kapyong Barracks land to integrate with surrounding communities. It’s often suggested that enlarging Kenaston will generate economic growth as a long-haul trucking route that opens new international trade opportunities, but without a marked long-term improvement in congestion, it’s unclear why a road through residential neighbourhoods would inspire new trade and commerce. Currently, only four per cent of vehicles on Kenaston are large trucks, and the road’s role as a trade route was significantly diminished when the CN Intermodal Terminal moved to Symington Yards, replaced by the outlet mall. Provincial investments in CentrePort Canada Way and the Perimeter Highway are more appropriate catalysts to this growth. With all of Winnipeg’s post-pandemic challenges, widening a single road may not be the best way to spend such a staggering amount of money. There are so many more impactful quality-of-life improvements that could be made. We could invest in the tree canopy, neighbourhood parks and community centres. For that same money, we could build 7,000 new affordable homes as an impactful way to address homelessness and poverty. Winnipeg’s full 25-year rapid transit plan connecting the entire city — an investment that might actually reduce congestion — could be built for the same projected cost. We could even just fix the pothole-blighted roads we already have. As we evaluate widening Kenaston, we should remember that we are not making a choice just for ourselves. Our children and grandchildren will be paying for it as well, and we should ask ourselves if they will believe we spent their money wisely. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

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Globe column on EV reality
by Charles F 21 May '23

21 May '23

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-stellantis-ev-b… government is enchanted – obsessed even – with the idea of building batteries for electric vehicles on home soil. Already, Volkswagen is soaking up about $14-billion in public subsidies to build a battery factory in Southwestern Ontario, and Stellantis, owner of Jeep and Fiat, and LG Energy Solution are demanding equal treatment for their joint venture.The mission to make Canada (well, Ontario) part of the global EV supply chain was inevitable and, from a purely industrial point of view, makes some sense, even though the per-employee job creation bill may emerge as the most expensive in Canadian history.But on so many other levels, the decision to lunge into the EV supply chain lies somewhere between irresponsible and crazed; it locks us into an ever-expanding car culture for generations when we should be downgrading the car as a transportation tool, as some European cities are doing. EVs, and hybrid cars to a lesser extent, enjoy a global image that is entirely unjustified. The pitch – buy an EV and save the planet – is just nonsense.Never mind that EVs are still cars that need to be parked. Their presence will still disfigure cities, pushing politicians and developers to build new parking lots, roads and highways to gratify the endless swarms of drivers (see Ontario’s proposed Highway 413, an assault on the wetlands, waterways and farmland in Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt).And never mind that EVs are hardly “clean,” even if they have no tailpipe emissions. The EV supply chain is notoriously ugly and carbon-intensive. Yes, EVs can make urban air more breathable, but at what cost to the greater environment?Cleaner air in cities does not mean climate change will slow down. The EV revolution could even accelerate global warming as forests in sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere are razed to make way for the mines and smelters that produce the nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium required to build EV batteries. The Washington Post recently reported that the high-pressure, acid-based nickel-leaching process used in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of the metal, generates 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of nickel. After a slow burn, there is no doubt that EVs will sound the death knell for diesel- and gasoline-powered cars. European Union law requires all new cars to have zero carbon emissions from 2035. In the United States, President Joe Biden wants the Environmental Protection Agency to tighten car-emission standards to the point that two-thirds of new cars and light trucks will have to be electric by 2032. Canada is considering an even more aggressive zero-emissions mandate, backed by the lavish investments in battery production.The debate virtually worldwide is the speed at which governments should banish internal-combustion engines; it is rarely about the need to banish cars regardless of what power source they use. EV production could actually increase the number of cars on the road, since families will probably buy them initially as second cars – urban runabouts – while they keep their longer-range fossil-fuel cars for as many years as possible.As EV use soars, so will the demands on regional and national power systems. Already, there are fears that plugging in millions of cars at night could blow grids in areas where there is barely enough electricity to meet peak demand. Last September, California asked residents to avoid charging EVs during a brutal heat wave, when all the juice was needed to keep the lights and air conditioning on. As the planet heats up, so will the battle to find enough power to keep EVs charged up and homes running.More power plants will have to be built and, in many countries – perhaps most – that means building coal and natural-gas plants. The International Energy Agency says that about two-thirds of global energy comes from fossil fuels and that ratio is unlikely to change much any time soon, since nuclear plants are costly and renewable energy is unreliable and rolling out slowly, if steadily.It may make sense to plug in an EV in Ontario or Quebec, where zero-emissions energy is the dominant power; it makes little sense to plug in an EV in Alberta, where almost 90 per cent of the electricity is generated by fossil fuels. EV owners in Alberta are merely transferring emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack.In some enlightened cities, the debate is not whether EVs are a net benefit but whether cars of any size, shape or power source are. In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo doesn’t want her streets cluttered with fossil-fuel or battery-powered cars. The city has banned heavily polluting diesel cars, added bike lanes to most of the streets in the centre, eliminated most cars from a few main roads like the Rue de Rivoli and is expanding the metro network. The result is that car trips in Paris have fallen by almost half since 1990, according to a study by Les Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport.Which brings us to Canada. If there is one project that would create thousands of jobs, improve business productivity, clean up the air, reduce the output of greenhouse gases and cut the demand for endless highway construction, it would be high-speed electric rail between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, where population densities are high enough to make the project sensible. Cost estimates are all over the map. The University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy put the price tag at about $12-billion, which is $2-billion less than the bucks being thrown at the Volkswagen battery plant alone. But forget it – the Canadian government wants more cars, not fewer. Canadian cities will remain car sewers forever.Sent from my phone.

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Brandon Sun: City hears calls for active transportation (May19'23)
by Beth McKechnie 20 May '23

20 May '23

*City hears calls for active transportation* https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2023/05/19/city-hears-calls-for-active-tra… Despite some opposition, Brandon residents showed overwhelming support for active transportation and community growth during Thursday evening’s city plan event. More than 70 residents filled the Brandon Curling Club’s upper lounge at the Keystone Centre for the first city plan event since March, when a confrontation between attendees and city staff at a previous session led to the temporary cancellation of consultations for the project. A group of citizens confronted staff and accused them of trying to implement elements of a conspiracy theory surrounding 15-minute cities. The concept of 15-minute cities proposes communities be designed in a way that allows residents to access all necessary amenities and services in 15 minutes or less of travel time. The conspiracy theory alleges a plan to assign people to zones within their community they’re not allowed to leave. The first member of the public to speak was Rick Macl, part of the group that confronted city staff in March. He criticized the city for pursuing growth and trying to attract new residents without working harder to reduce the cost of living. He said originally coming from Winnipeg, the property taxes in Brandon were “insane” and decried upcoming increases to Brandon’s water utility rates. Macl brought up 15-minute cities while speaking, saying they aren’t a conspiracy theory and the city’s actions show it is pursuing that goal. While kicking off the meeting, Brandon’s director of planning and buildings, Ryan Nickel, said when the process to design a new city plan started, thought was given to how to generate engagement from the public. Nickel thanked those attending for their time and consideration, and said he hoped people had come because of a variety of interests and opinions. He said he hoped the event would be a safe environment for everyone to address their concerns. “We want to acknowledge that we had a pause,” Nickel said. “We know there was a lot of passion.” After an introduction to the concept of a city plan and how it’s made, city planner Sonikile Tembo and Nickel gave a series of short presentations on elements of the plan broken up by opportunities for attendees to ask questions. On top of the prudence of planning for the city’s future, Tembo said Brandon is required by the province to complete plans like this every so often. Nickel said in recent years around 74 per cent of Brandon’s growth has come from “emerging” areas in the southwest and the North Hill, with 26 per cent coming in more established neighbourhoods. One challenge to industrial growth, Nickel said, is while Brandon plenty of industrial land, only some of it is fully serviced with utilities and infrastructure. During consultations, the city has heard residents ask for a greater variety of housing and a bigger emphasis on mixed-use zoning to allow services to operate near residential areas. While the city has identified a desire for more active transportation routes around town like bike paths, Macl questioned the value of doing so given how many people drive to work and the number of months where biking is inaccessible due to winter weather. He said he’d like to see members of Brandon City Council walk to work every day and see how that suits them. Addressing some of those concerns about active transportation, Nickel said it’s not about restricting vehicles, it’s about providing safe options for people who are travelling on foot, by bike or other methods of movement. “It’s about taking the space we already have and using the space a little bit differently,” Nickel said. In response, Macl argued against the potential cost of maintaining more bike paths and said he hasn’t heard any safety concerns from pedestrians or cyclists. Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen, sitting on the panel of city representatives, said there are several motor-vehicle collisions and bicycle accidents every year and it is the city’s goal to prevent them. Macl challenged Balcaen to say how many fatalities he’s seen over his 30-year career, to which a fellow member of the public said: “One is too many.” Cycling advocate Grant Hamilton, who lost a finger and suffered a permanently separated shoulder last year when he was struck by a car while riding his bike, said it is “absolutely wild to hear that people like me don’t exist.” He said he didn’t speak up to complain about himself, but to say he doesn’t want any motorists to feel the guilt the person who hit him did. That, he said, is why Brandon should pursue safety for all road users. Another resident said that while she doesn’t intend to get rid of her vehicle, she appreciated road safety issues being looked at so she and other people can more easily choose to walk if they want to. She pointed out that by making more accessible walking and cycling infrastructure, it will also make it simpler for people using scooters or other mobility aids to get around. Multiple people spoke about how they either bike during the winter or would if the city had the proper infrastructure in place. While speaking about movement, Nickel acknowledged that residents have made it clear they’re unhappy about the current state of Brandon Transit and said city council has identified improving the service as a priority. The city’s community housing and wellness co-ordinator, Shannon Saltarelli, said in working with the city’s most vulnerable population, she’s found how important active transportation options are for them. More information on future city plan events and the feedback generated by the public can be found online at brandon.ca/cityplan. » cslark(a)brandonsun.com » Twitter: @ColinSlark

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WFP: Peg City puts faith, new fleet into free-floating service (May18'23)
by Beth McKechnie 18 May '23

18 May '23

Peg City puts faith, new fleet into free-floating service https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2023/05/17/peg-city-car-co-op-pu… IT’S a new era of car sharing in Winnipeg — one without city parking fees, advanced bookings and precise dropoff locations. Peg City Car Co-op’s free-floating car-share program, nicknamed Flo, will launch June 7. “I really feel the wind is behind our backs,” Philip Mikulec, Peg City chief executive officer, said Wednesday, standing near one of 35 Toyota Corollas set to join the program. The vehicles won’t have a permanent home. Instead, they’ll stay in prescribed zones when not being used, untouched by City of Winnipeg time limits and, for the user, street parking fees. It is “more flexible, but it’s more last-minute” than Peg City’s typical structure, Mikulec said. Currently, Peg City vehicles must be booked for at least one hour and returned to the same spot from where they were picked up. The round-trip program — now nicknamed Fix — will continue alongside Flo. “The two will complement one another,” Mikulec said. Free-floating vehicles must be booked within a half-hour of use. Available cars will appear on a map, real-time, on Peg City’s app for users to book. Members can drive those vehicles without a predefined end, and they don’t have to return the Corollas to the trip’s starting location. However, the car must be parked in one of 12 designated zones throughout the city. When Jared Kozak exits his home base of Osborne Village in a Flo car, he can leave it in a designated zone in River Heights, Crescentwood, Corydon, Riverview, Lord Roberts, Norwood, St. Boniface, West Broadway, Wolseley, St. Matthews or the West End — or back in River-Osborne. “(This will) revolutionize the way that we do last minute bookings,” said Kozak, a Peg City member. The cars, which are decorated with Flo labels, can disregard city time limits and parking fees in designated zones highlighted on Peg City’s app. “It’s, like, brilliant,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who also serves as deputy mayor. City council unanimously approved a bylaw change allowing for free parking of the co-op cars in the 12 zones. It follows a pilot project in which certain parking spaces were reserved for car-sharing vehicles. Five spots became permanently reserved for car shares in early 2022. Lukes couldn’t say Wednesday how much street parking revenue the city will lose because of the zones. Peg City Car Co-op will spend $875 annually on Flo car parking permits ($25 per vehicle). For Lukes, the program’s gains outweigh the money lost. “It’s doing far more than revenue generation,” she said. “It reduces the wear and tear on our streets, it reduces the greenhouse gases, it’s good for the environment.” Cars are expensive, and this is an alternate form of transport, Lukes added. “It’s… really cheap,” agreed Zephyra Vun. She sold her vehicle in 2019, and got a Peg City membership. She pays $4.50 monthly for a casual spot. A regular membership (with cheaper vehicle rental rates per hour) requires a $500 refundable share. Members are set to pay 35 cents per minute while using Flo vehicles. The price caps at $10/hr and $50/day, with subsequent days costing $40. For a casual user such as Vun, the daily rate is $56. There are nine Flo drop-off spots in clusters of three downtown and in the Exchange District. The cars can also be taken out of province. “The cars are communicating with us,” Mikulec said. “If there’s something going wrong, and the vehicle has been suspiciously out of the zone for a long time and stationary, it’s going to alert us.” Members will be asked to leave the keys in the vehicle after ending a trip in a designated zone. Once alone, the vehicle automatically locks itself down. If it’s in a Flo zone, it will reappear as available on Peg City’s map, Mikulec said. The company has attracted more than 3,000 members since its 2011 launch. Communauto, Canada’s largest car-sharing business and a Peg City partner, assisted the local co-op in launching its app last month. “I’m sure (free-floating cars) will be a big boost in membership and usage (for Peg City),” said Marco Viviani, Communauto vice-president for strategic development. A similar program has been in Montreal for 10 years. Since then, the flexible model has spread to Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Hamilton, Ont., Viviani said. In Montreal, usage of the flexible model nearly matches usage of the station- based model Peg City Car Co-op is known for, he added. One car-sharing vehicle takes up to 15 privately-owned cars off the road, according to Peg City Car Co-op. Three-quarters of its members bus or take active transport to work. Lukes (Waverley West) said she wants to see the new program model expand: “I just think that we need to have these (zones) all throughout the city.” Meantime, Peg City Car Co-op also launched a new logo Wednesday, a green circle with white lettering. It will hold its annual general meeting May 31. It has a fleet of more than 130 vehicles. gabrielle.piche(a)winnipegfreepress.com

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WFP Editorial: A tale of two roadway plans (May18'23)
by Beth McKechnie 18 May '23

18 May '23

* A tale of two roadway plans * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/2023/05/17/a-tale-of-t… CONSIDERING the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and motor vehicle use, it is instructive to compare two approaches to urban planning in Winnipeg: one along Route 90 between Ness and Taylor avenues and the other in Osborne Village. The former is a plan to widen a busy roadway, a move that will ultimately attract more vehicles and, in all likelihood, fail to achieve its primary goal of reducing traffic congestion. The latter is an attempt to discourage motor vehicle use by prioritizing pedestrian traffic, public transit and active transportation. The City of Winnipeg is planning to spend some $500 million to widen Route 90 and separate combined sewers along the roadway. The plan includes upgrades to the St. James bridges and would add new, dedicated walking and cycling pathways. The main objective of the mega project is to improve traffic flow for motor vehicles. To achieve that, the city plans to add a lane northbound and southbound and standardize the speed limit at 60 km/h (it currently varies between 50 km/h and 70 km/h). Proponents of the plan argue widening the roadway is necessary to reduce traffic congestion and to prevent it from getting worse as Winnipeg’s population grows. Without the added lanes, commute times along Route 90 for northbound vehicles during morning rush-hour would nearly double over the next 18 years to about 14 minutes, the city projects. Southbound commutes would increase from around eight minutes to 11 minutes during afternoon peak periods. The added lanes would keep both commute times at about seven to nine minutes. What the city’s analysis does not address, however, is that adding more lanes will induce demand for vehicle traffic and create more gridlock over time. What urban centres all over the world have discovered is that building larger, wider roads only serves to attract more vehicles, and does not actually solve the problem of traffic congestion. The analysis also fails to consider how alternative options — including a vastly improved public transit system, enhanced active transportation and the use of other strategies to reduce the use of single-occupancy vehicles (such as more ride sharing) — could reduce traffic congestion and eliminate the need for wider roads. Meanwhile, a few kilometres to the east, Osborne Village is looking to create a more livable neighbourhood by actively discouraging motor vehicle use. Instead of seeking ways to accommodate more vehicles, the Osborne Village BIZ’s “Blueprint for a Vibrant and Healthy Neighbourhood” is proposing less space for cars and trucks and more room and flexibility for pedestrians and cyclists. It is a unique and forward-looking approach. The plan proposes to narrow each of Osborne’s four traffic lanes within the village from 3.25 metres to three metres to allow for wider sidewalks. It also proposes to lower the speed limit and bring in a “pedestrian scramble” at the corner of Osborne and River Avenue, where all vehicles would temporarily stop to allow pedestrians to cross in all directions at the same time. It would be the first such pedestrian crossing in Winnipeg. By favouring pedestrians and cyclists over motorists, the Osborne Village proposal seeks to achieve the opposite of what the Route 90 plan would likely bring: more single passenger, carbon- emitting vehicles to the area and ultimately, more traffic gridlock. Perhaps it’s time to reimagine how the Route 90 corridor could look with less emphasis on motor vehicles and a greater focus on alternative forms of transportation.

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CBC: Widening Winnipeg's Kenaston Boulevard, Chief Peguis Trail not worth the cost: sustainability expert (May17'23)
by Beth McKechnie 17 May '23

17 May '23

City's 'strategic misrepresentation' overstates benefits, understates costs, Ken Klassen says https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/route-90-widening-not-worth-cost-1.… As Winnipeg considers whether to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on two of the most expensive road construction projects in its history, one expert says the city's own data shows the projects aren't worth the cost. Ken Klassen is an engineering technologist with four decades of experience advising companies on ways to improve sustainability. He gave a presentation to city council's executive policy committee in March, urging them not to go ahead with plans to widen Kenaston Boulevard and extend Chief Peguis Trail. Using reports produced by the city, including some obtained through freedom of information requests, Klassen argued the costs far outweigh any purported benefits. "Part of the strategic misrepresentation that the city has consistently done with this project [is] they've overstated the benefits [and] they've understated the impacts on the community," Klassen said in an interview. Earlier this month, the city released its preliminary designs for upgrading the Route 90 corridor between Taylor Avenue and Ness Avenue, including adding two new lanes to Kenaston Boulevard. That report states more than two-thirds of the cost of that project is needed for necessary upgrades to the road, sewers and St. James Bridge. Past cost-benefit study The city estimates the Kenaston Boulevard project will cost about $500 million, and the 2023 budget includes $2.8 million for preliminary planning, including conducting business case studies of the Kenaston and Chief Peguis Trail projects. Klassen, who lives on a street near Kenaston Boulevard, said the city already did that study a decade ago. A 2012 report prepared by MMM Group Ltd. estimated widening Kenaston would generate $125 million in revenue for the city over 20 years — $6.25 million per year. The city's unfunded major capital projects report from 2019 estimates the Route 90 project will cost the city $38.7 million per year, with financing and maintenance costs factored in. The cost of the proposed Chief Peguis Trail extension is also pegged at about $500 million. Klassen said considering those costs, the two projects are "the equivalent of a 14 per cent increase in your property tax every year for the next 30 years." In an emailed statement, Mayor Scott Gillingham said the city would conduct a new cost-benefit analysis using current data before applying for federal and provincial funding. "But this isn't simply about widening a road. It's about removing a bottleneck on one of our most important trade routes," Gillingham wrote. "Kenaston is six lanes wide immediately north and south of this section. The bottleneck creates congestion and causes some drivers to cut through other streets in River Heights." Feds rejected project twice Klassen also cast doubt on the possibility of the city getting federal and provincial support for the project. He points out that the federal government has rejected it twice already — once in 2015 under the Building Canada Fund and again in 2018 under the National Trade Corridors Fund. Other Canadian cities have dedicated massive amounts of money to building their rapid transit networks with the help of federal funding, Klassen said. "The federal government is not funding urban freeways, they're funding rapid transit," he said. "Winnipeg taxpayers are literally seeing their federal tax dollars being used to fund rapid transit in other cities, and we're not at the table." Gillingham points out the Kenaston plans also include new active transportation paths and upgrades to transit stops, allowing for articulated buses to be used along the route. "Outside of this project, we will continue to implement [the] transit master plan and make further enhancements to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure," he wrote. Rather than building wider and longer roads as a way of dealing with congestion, Klassen said Winnipeg should focus on expanding its rapid transit network, which carries an additional benefit. The largest bus manufacturer in North America, New Flyer, is based in the city. As Winnipeg moves to electrify its bus fleet, it can take advantage of Manitoba's abundance of cheap electricity. "We don't build cars like Ontario does. We build buses," Klassen said. "We don't drill for oil and gas the way Saskatchewan and Alberta do. We have hydroelectricity. Yet we're not leveraging our inherent resources. It's ridiculous."

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WFP Analysis: City fails to look to the future (May17'23)
by Beth McKechnie 17 May '23

17 May '23

* City fails to look to the future * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/05/17/city-fails-to… MOST Winnipeggers won’t know that on April 18, with the release of the agenda for our five city community committee meetings, they were notified of a chance to comment on the new city strategic plan or Strategic Priorities Action Plan (SPAP), a new guiding document for Winnipeg. Unless you make it your business to know, you would be oblivious, because you had only two days to register by April 21 for the public meeting April 24-26. We have all been jammed by scheduling games like this, where someone doesn’t give the time needed to meet or complete a job. There are terms for this type of action in workplaces — weaponization of procedures, administrative harassment, or social bullying. What do you call it when governments routinely do it to citizens? Governance procedures are often used to exclude, while creating the optics of inclusion with no meaningful engagement and participation. Our city governance routinely makes public meetings a charade, merely a token gesture or formality. The recent community committee meetings of city council, discussing something as important as a strategic plan, were an example, even before disrespectful councillor comments. Policy and procedure are connected. We need an inclusive, participatory process to get good evidence-based public policy, including evidence from lived experience. This was the main point of my presentation at the community committee that caused Coun. Jeff Browaty to confuse unsustainable privilege to drive SUVs around drive thrus with civil rights. Real democracy is required for real progress to address the climate and inequity crisis we face. Cities must become climate smart by design, through good urban planning, and connecting collaborative public engagement, research evidence, budgets, and public policy. But there was not just a problem with undemocratic procedure related to what happened at the community committee, but with the SPAP itself. A strategic plan is mandated by and flows from the requirements of Our Winnipeg, the governing document approved by council to guide city planning and development. This plan to implement Our Winnipeg should not be pet projects cobbled together by councillors and called a strategic action plan — pet projects like Chief Peguis Trail incompatible with guiding policy. The Our Winnipeg document and dozens of related policy documents call for complete communities, where people can access services and resources close to home and for mode shift. Meaning to meet our climate obligations we must reduce our personal vehicle-reliant mode share from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, by 2030. To do this, we must reduce the gasoline purchased and burned by 50 per cent, which requires the city to make transit, car-pooling, biking, and walking viable and convenient. Electric vehicles will help, but electric vehicles don’t address traffic congestion. This mode shift is impossible in a city designed for car reliance, like Winnipeg. A strategic plan which prioritizes the extension of the Chief Peguis Trail expressway and other street widening megaprojects like Kenaston is not aligned with Our Winnipeg and other policies. This infrastructure expansion makes it impossible for us to meet our transportation climate emission goals and responsibilities. Borrowing billions of dollars for vehicle infrastructure we can’t afford just can’t happen. We can’t knowingly continue to design the city for cars, inequity, climate chaos and catastrophe. On May 30, council must not approve the SPAP. After I made these points as a member of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TLUC), Coun. Browaty, the finance chair, made shocking comments, implying he, and the constituents he represents, do not support the climate plan, that his constituents wanted to drive their SUVs around drive-thrus to get coffee. Did he violate his councillor code of conduct not just with climate change denying comments but in support of the SPAP? Section 10 of the Code indicates council members will “adhere to all by-laws, policies and procedures adopted by council.” If the integrity commissioner investigated, would they find elected officials not following public policy, particularly those who consider it irrelevant to support policy for addressing climate change? This is important because Coun. Browaty leads city budget development. The mayor, who appointed him finance chair, was quoted saying he did not see anything wrong with Coun. Browaty’s comments. We must stop this disregard for public policy and groups that, acting in the public interest, follow public policy development at city hall. These citizen groups take time to review the documents, prepare, sign up, and speak up, urging those elected to live up to their mandate to create a healthy city for all. There are special interest groups who benefit handsomely from the unsustainable way Winnipeg has been developed and governed for decades. They presented to council meetings in support of the billion-dollar Chief Peguis Trail Highway extension. The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce spokesperson made some outlandish comments of his own, claiming the Chief Peguis Trail extension would help meet our climate goals by reducing traffic congestion. Wow! Who is relevant? Who is speaking for public interests? Which councillors are going to stand for climate-relevant policy? *Marianne Cerilli is a former MLA and mayoral candidate.*

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WFP Editorial: Two wheels and one big problem (May17'23)
by Beth McKechnie 17 May '23

17 May '23

* Two wheels and one big problem * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/2023/05/16/two-wheels-… THE sun is shining, the trees are budding and Winnipeg bike thieves are gearing up for another busy season of breaking locks and reselling stolen goods online. Bicycle theft might seem like small potatoes when compared to more serious local concerns — such as an uptick in violent crimes and arsons — but it’s a nagging issue that commands few resources and sees little improvement year after year. After year. Stolen bikes have become an accepted, embarrassing fact of life in Winnipeg. When Ai Weiwei’s towering sculpture of 1,245 silver bicycles was installed at The Forks in 2019, social media was atwitter with jokes about how long it would take thieves to run off with the 30foot public art piece. During last year’s mayoral race, candidate Rick Shone had his bike stolen minutes after pitching a plan to reduce bike theft — again, online reaction was swift. Few seemed surprised that a bicycle was snatched in broad daylight. While bike theft is a chronic issue in cities across Canada, local efforts to curb the problem have been laughably ineffective. A recent investigation published by the Free Press revealed that Winnipeg has a single bicycle recovery officer. That lone employee is responsible for managing the city’s unclaimed bike inventory, creating promotional materials, responding to police reports, recovering stolen property and returning bikes to their rightful owner. Quite the job description for one person. That there is only a single officer — in a city of 750,000 people — dedicated to addressing bike theft shows how serious the Winnipeg Police Service considers the issue. Last fall, officers reportedly laughed off a resident’s request to help thwart a bicycle robbery in-progress. The victim lost his wheels and his confidence in the system — a sentiment that can have dangerous consequences. The same Free Press investigation profiled a mother and son who had taken to vigilante justice to recover the 13-year-old’s stolen bicycle. After spotting the wheels for sale online, the pair concocted a plan to meet with the seller and retrieve the goods. Things worked out for the pair, but vigilantism is risky business. As many as 3,000 bikes are reported stolen in the city annually; although, the actual number of thefts is likely higher since small-scale property crimes are often underreported. Of that, roughly 400 bicycles make it back to their rightful owners. Missing bicycles shouldn’t be the department’s top priority, but the city needs to reassess how it handles the issue. The current system requires residents to pay $7.35 to register their bicycles with the city’s online database. In theory, registration makes it easier to reunite bikes with owners; however, only 10 per cent of lost bikes ever return home, making it clear the process isn’t working. Vancouver and Edmonton have managed to increase reunions through free online bike databases and point-of-sale registrations. The city would also do well to offer more secure sites to lock up bikes, such as the bike corral in the parkade of the Millennium Library. Winnipeg cyclists have enough to contend with between crumbling infrastructure, aggressive drivers, difficult weather conditions and a lacklustre cycling network. The risk of also having your ride swiped is another hurdle for citizens trying to engage in active transportation. While biking is billed as an important pillar in the city’s forthcoming Transportation Master Plan, Winnipeg has kilometres to go before it can be considered an accessible cycling city. Addressing bike theft is key to that transition. Winnipeg Police don’t need to re-invent the wheel, but they do need to recognize its value. And come along for the ride.

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Global: Winnipeg still lags behind on active transportation, experts say (May13'23)
by Beth McKechnie 15 May '23

15 May '23

https://globalnews.ca/news/9696861/winnipeg-still-lags-behind-on-active-tra…

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WFP: CentrePlan 2050 targets new residents, more traffic on feet, less in cars (May12'23)
by Beth McKechnie 12 May '23

12 May '23

*CentrePlan 2050 targets new residents, more traffic on feet, less in cars* *Vision for a downtown with ‘people’* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/11/city-proposes-massive-ch… A new vision to revitalize Winnipeg’s downtown pitches options to create new green space, calm traffic, reimagine Graham Avenue and attract new residents among its key goals. Described as a blueprint to redevelop downtown, a preliminary version of CentrePlan 2050 released Thursday sets a target to ensure at least 350 new residential units get built in the city centre each year until 2030, followed by 500 annually after that. That’s part of a much broader strategy to attract more residents and visitors. The proposal floats ideas to create “ideal neighbourhood streets” with safe crossings for foot traffic, street trees, pedestrian lighting, on-street parking and narrow road lanes meant to help slow traffic. “We want more people living in the downtown and staying in the downtown and not just driving through the downtown… I think now’s the time to have a conversation about pedestrian safety, cycling… transit and motor-vehicle traffic,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham. “There’s a couple things I really want to see, (including) finding ways to add more green space in the downtown, finding more ways to redevelop surface parking lots and add the amenities to the downtown communities that people depend upon and rely upon in other communities across the city.” The proposal doesn’t identify designated “neighbourhood” streets, though a city official suggested Edmonton and Kennedy could be included. The city is also seeking input to design future bike routes in the areas of St. Mary and York avenues, Notre Dame and Cumberland avenues and William Stephenson Way and Graham Avenue. Additional goals include attracting major grocery stores, planting trees, creating new parks, adding winter activities and increasing access to riverbanks. It has been a busy week for proposals and discussions about inner-city Winnipeg’s future. The proposal’s release followed Wednesday’s unveiling by the Osborne Village BIZ of a multi-pronged plan to transform one of the city’s most densely populated neighbourhoods. There have also been two public open houses staged by city planning department staff to get feedback and answer questions about a consultant’s report on a revitalization of the controversial Portage and Main corridor. The project also aims to “reimagine” Graham Avenue, since the city expects buses will no longer use it within five to 10 years. The report notes car travel is already prohibited on several blocks. It suggests the avenue’s central location could serve as a key cycling connection and makes it “perfectly situated to be downtown’s signature open space.” The report indicates motor-vehicle access on some sections of Graham, mostly where it is currently not allowed, is “to be determined.” The future version of the street could incorporate some combination of: a “shared zone” with more room for pedestrians, cyclists and patios; a “green zone” with trees, plantings and recreation; and a “celebration zone” with a flexible space to accommodate street parties, food-truck festivals and active-transportation paths. Richard Mahé, a senior downtown planner for the city, said Graham Avenue options could be considered “block by block.” “As the buses leave, it gives us a really unique opportunity to rethink how we want to use that space for people,” he said, noting changes could still accommodate vehicles. Mahé said the strategy acknowledges downtown has changed as more people continue to work from home. “We saw a lot of progress in our downtown pre-pandemic, and the pandemic has exposed certain weaknesses in our downtown. We’ve had an (over-reliance) on the office worker to animate our downtown…. We need to provide more housing downtown and a broader range of different housing options to meet different needs,” he said. While the online survey asks residents if they support efforts to “increase safety by reducing car speeds” downtown, Mahé said that’s not a current focus. The document also notes connector and corridor streets would be treated differently. An urban-issues expert said Graham deserves special attention. “Graham is one of these oddities of Winnipeg’s downtown,” said Jino Distasio, a professor of urban geography at the University of Winnipeg. “As a kid that has grown up in the downtown, I scratch my head because I have never understood what Graham Avenue was as a destination… that one, to me, needs help from (public) input to figure out.” Distasio said all downtown routes should be designed to meet the needs of all forms of traffic. “You have to have accessibility and the ability to efficiently and effectively move 50,000, 60,000 workers, students and visitors in the downtown but you also want to do it as safely as possible…. All of this is about scale and balance,” he said. Kate Fenske, chief executive officer of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, said any changes should prioritize quality of life for the 18,000 people who currently live in the area and help attract new residents. “I think a lot of our streets downtown are treated like a thoroughfare. (This is) more about how… we design our downtown to be for people first,” she said. “That it’s not just a neighbourhood to pass through… that supports businesses as well,” said Fenske. She believes the initial target to build 350 new homes in the area each year makes sense, since inflation and rising construction costs have recently made development more challenging. Data shows 352 new residential units were built downtown in 2021, followed by 141 last year. A five-year average between 2017 and 2021 was notably higher at 454, but the number of units is “historically volatile,” partly because new homes tend to arrive through large, multi-year projects, city spokesman Kalen Qually said in an emailed statement. While some drivers have expressed concern traffic-calming measures could snarl traffic, the head of council’s property and development committee said other cities have smoothly adopted similar changes. “(As for) the bias… that it’s all going to slow down, I’ve watched other cities do this. Other cities have the same hesitation, the same concerns and then it just doesn’t happen,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins. The new ideas should help guide the city to build a downtown “for everyone,” she said. “They’re reimagining many streets in the downtown and, dare I say, even the potential to eliminate some…. Do we need that many or do we need more walkable malls, and so forth?” she said. Winnipeggers can weigh in on the ideas in an online survey at winnipeg. ca/centreplan2050 until June 15 or attend an open house from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 25 at Manitoba Hydro Place (360 Portage Ave.) joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: Portage and Main future draws plenty of interest (May11'23)
by Beth McKechnie 11 May '23

11 May '23

Strong opinions on study of possible changes to iconic intersection at open house Portage and Main future draws plenty of interest https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/05/10/portage-and-main-… THE opportunity to weigh in on changes that could transform Portage and Main drew Winnipeggers to an open house inside one of the controversial intersection’s office towers Wednesday. City planners were on hand inside the lobby at 201 Portage Ave., to answer questions about a consultant’s study released last month outlining a variety of projects that could be done at street level and — in some cases — high above it, to improve access and esthetics in the divisive corridor. The ideas, both restrained and grandiose, were generated by the inescapable reality that major surgery is required to repair the city’s deteriorating infrastructure heart. The membrane below the intersection that since 1979 has protected the underground concourse of shops and services that also serves as the only pedestrian access, is well past its life expectancy and needs to be replaced. That massive construction opens the doors to change, if not opening the barricades to foot traffic. “If the real purpose of this is to make downtown a viable place again, it has to be done in a certain manner to make people actually want to be here, which I think is mostly in part to opening pedestrian traffic back into the area,” said Jeff Hodgins, who works near the vehicles-only intersection. “Not only just that, but also making it a safe place for pedestrians, reducing people driving through.” The consultant’s study included a fanciful six-storey-high “sky garden” offering access via glass elevators and another idea featuring lookout towers at each corner, along with possible large-scale art installations and attractive paving stones and tree planting. Hodgins was among visitors who stopped in to speak with city staff, wrote suggestions for improvements on sticky notes and applied red, yellow and green stickers to posters of individual ideas to denote interest. By mid-morning, some had quite a few more green stickers than others. A poster describing edge-to-edge sidewalk paving with trees at the intersection was dotted with mostly green stickers, while the lookout towers, sky garden and public art options were, judging by the smattering of yellow and red stickers, more contentious. Hodgins, who noted that he liked the lookout towers, placed a red sticker on the sky garden and a yellow on the large-scale art proposal. “Before we start throwing up art pieces, we should probably really be addressing the core issues,” he said. “We can put up a beautiful art piece when we’re not broke as a city.” Those “core issues” seemed to be the focus of many; a board left blank for people to place their suggestions was filled with notes including “Priority is opening!” “Bike lanes should be considered,” and “Public safety, more police and security.” Others were concerned about the price tag that could be attached to some of the showier options. Jim Moore, the property manager of 201 Portage, decried the overhead designs as “pie in the sky” and “way too pricey” on his suggestion sticky note. “By far the best, most reasonable ideas are these ones where you take down the barricade, you make it waterproof again with a membrane, you put some bollards up for safety, some trees, some lighting and you’re done,” Moore said. “And you don’t cost hundreds of millions of dollars, or whatever the price tag might be on sky decks or things like that.” Kirby Cote’s suggestion took up two sticky notes: “Designs do not meet the Accessibility for Manitobans Act standard for public spaces.” “We know what universal design looks like, we know how to create accessible, inclusive spaces and we know what vibrant communities need to be safe and healthy,” she said. “And art is part of it, but we also need to think about the space that we are putting the art in, and can everybody move around that space?” Cote, who is visually impaired, lives nearby and struggles to navigate the intersection. “We can’t even keep a bathroom downtown open 24-7, or a transit shelter. How are we supposed to keep towers and bridges and elevators open?” she said. “I feel like whoever submitted these designs was extremely out of touch with the people that are actually walking around in our downtown area.” Critiques of the current set of ideas are what the organizers were hoping for, said Kurtis Kowalke, a principal planner for the city. “If certain ideas don’t resonate with people, that’s what we want to hear,” he said. “We really want to put as many ideas on the table as possible at this stage where we’re really having those discussions about what works, what doesn’t, what resonates, what actually fulfils our project objectives.” A second pop-up open house is being held in the underground concourse this morning and the city will continue to accept online surveys ( https://engage.winnipeg.ca/portageandmain) until May 26. A study based on the results, along with design recommendations, will be released in the fall. “If this morning has been any indication, I think there is a lot of interest,” Kowalke said. “There’s certainly a lot of people that work right at the intersection or catch a bus in the intersection, there’s lots of people nearby, and I think they have a really strong opinion of what Portage and Main should be.” While visiting the open house, Asper Foundation president and businesswoman Gail Asper felt the most important choice wasn’t on a poster. Rather than place a green sticker on any of the existing options, she scrawled her own on a small piece of paper — simply take down the barricades and allow pedestrians to cross the street. Quickly, her paper was dotted with others’ green stickers. “I think it’s good to have these discussions,” she said. “But what concerned me about the things that I saw posted in the lobby, none of them included opening the barricades, and that is a huge disappointment to me.” malak.abas(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP Analysis: Outdated thinking fuels proposed Route 90 expansion (May11'23)
by Beth McKechnie 11 May '23

11 May '23

Outdated thinking fuels proposed Route 90 expansion https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/10/outdated-thinking-fuels-… IT’S not the first time Winnipeggers have been promised that a large, stand-alone infrastructure project would alleviate their commuting woes. History is littered with stories about local government and construction-sector enthusiasts crowing about how something that is longer and wider, with more underpasses or overpasses or bridges, would eliminate bottlenecks and gridlock. By now, you’d figure we’d recognize a hustle when we see one. The most recent example of the magic bullet theory of infrastructure planning comes in the form of an ambitious, $500-million plan to widen and improve all aspects of infrastructure of Route 90 — sewers, bridges, transit hubs and active transportation — one of the most important north-south traffic corridors in the city. This plan, City of Winnipeg traffic engineers claim, will significantly cut travel time during the busiest parts of the day. Lurking beneath the hoopla and lofty claims that accompanied the recent release of the plan is an inconvenient truth that has been established over decades of experience in other bigger and busier cities: longer and wider roads do not relieve traffic congestion. To quote the legendary Sam Schwartz (the New York City traffic engineer who coined the term gridlock): “If you build it, they will come.” Urban planners refer to the phenomenon Schwartz described as “induced demand.” In other words, the wider and longer the road, the more cars will end up using it. The increased volume that flocks to expanded roadways often leaves them as, or more, gridlocked than they were before. What lessens gridlock? Again, the proven methods in other cities involve making it more difficult and expensive to drive automobiles to and from the busiest neighbourhoods. However, there’s something more: the world’s biggest cities rely on massive investments in mass transit to keep people out of their cars. Cities that look to the future — which includes just about every Canadian city of equal or larger size — are extremely cautious about widening and lengthening roads. They are more enthusiastic about discouraging automobiles and supporting investments in transit. By proposing a widening of Route 90 to alleviate traffic congestion, Winnipeg demonstrates it is about 50 years behind the urban planning curve. There are two things we must keep in mind when considering this project: first, there is a current issue with gridlock on Route 90; second, the project (as it’s now configured) is about a lot more than just widening a road. As presented, the “widening” of Kenaston Boulevard represents only about one-third of the project costs and scope. According to the city’s presentation, 42 per cent would be dedicated to bridge and road repairs or replacement, and 27 per cent would involve much-needed sewer upgrades. The argument is because the road surface and bridges along Route 90 will need to be replaced anyway, it makes sense to include as many other “needs” under the umbrella of one project. What doesn’t make a lot of sense, however, is the city’s insistence that widening it will affect congestion and travel times. It is an argument so flawed, it borders on delusional. When the Route 90 report was released last week, city traffic engineers dutifully showed current loads and then modelled well into the future to predict the increased traffic that will come from expected population growth. Embedded in these calculations, however, is a dangerous assumption: that the city does nothing else to get people out of their cars and onto transit. It’s not even certain, at its current four lanes, traffic loads will increase. Again, in more progressive cities, it is well-known traffic will avoid the busiest routes. Maybe not every day, but as congestion increases, people find different routes or — wait for it — ride the bus. Thankfully, the city will have a chance to save itself from this plan, as described. If the city really wants to widen the road and reduce congestion, then it needs to designate the additional lane in each direction as a bus-only, rapid transit route. If people from the burgeoning neighbourhoods in the southwest quadrant knew they could take an express bus from a transit hub at Kenaston and Mc-Gillivray Avenue, along a rapid transit lane on Route 90 that goes all the way downtown, we’d be an important step closer to solving this city’s traffic problems. Or consider doing the rehabilitation and ancillary infrastructure but don’t widen the road. If the cost of widening is 31 per cent of the total project price tag, then the city could save more than $150 million by just focusing on the other enhancements: better transit hubs, road and bridge rehabilitation, active transportation. The Route 90 plan as presented is badly conceived, based on outdated thinking and jam-packed full of fallacious reasoning. As configured, it hasn’t got a hope in hell of reducing the traffic problems. So, remind me again, why are we spending $500 million on this project? dan.lett(a)winnipegfreepress.com

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