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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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CBC: Pedestrian scramble at River and Osborne part of neighbourhood blueprint (May10'23)
by Beth McKechnie 10 May '23

10 May '23

Plan from Osborne Village BIZ also calls for allowing on-street parking on both sides, widening sidewalks https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/osborne-village-pedestrian-scramble…

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Globe&Mail: Winnipeg rethinks Portage and Main intersection, but not the barriers
by Beth McKechnie 10 May '23

10 May '23

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-crossing-the-street-at-winni…

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WFP: Vote on studying Portage & Main reopening postponed to fall (May9'23)
by Beth McKechnie 09 May '23

09 May '23

Vote on studying Portage & Main reopening postponed to fall https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/05/08/vote-on-studying-… THE City of Winnipeg won’t explore the impact of opening a street-level pedestrian crossing at Portage Avenue and Main Street just yet. On Monday, council’s public works committee postponed a vote until October on ordering city staff to study the option. Coun. Janice Lukes, the committee’s chairwoman, said she believes council should wait until public consultation is completed on a consultant’s recently released options to revamp the intersection, which propose everything from basic pavement enhancements to a sixth-floor-level circular walkway. “Right now, we’ve got this public consultation going on. We don’t want to cloud the waters,” said Lukes. While the consultant’s ideas don’t include an option to reopen Winnipeg’s most famous intersection to surface- level pedestrian traffic, Lukes said she expects many people who support that change will share their views. Lukes said she expects foot traffic will one day be allowed at street level and she is personally open to the idea. Coun. Sherri Rollins, who raised the motion to study that option now, noted a street-level crossing is notably absent from the “fanciful” designs on which the city is seeking public feedback. “We don’t have the basics of costs and impacts for the option of opening up the intersection and that seems to me, through the course of time, to be a big omission that I’d like you to fix today,” Rollins told the public works committee. She suggested the new study should offer details on construction requirements, accessibility improvements, navigation, traffic impact, cost and other aspects of street-level access. Rollins, whose ward stretches close to Portage and Main but doesn’t include the intersection, said downtown residents deserve to have easy access to cross the street near their homes, as many folks in other parts of the city do. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: City eyes prioritizing active transportation route cleanups (May9'23)
by Beth McKechnie 09 May '23

09 May '23

City eyes prioritizing active transportation route cleanups https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/05/08/city-eyes-priorit… THE City of Winnipeg will explore options to prioritize spring cleanup on active transportation routes over clearing the same sand and grit off roads. On Monday, council’s public works committee ordered a staff report to determine what it would take to make the seasonal cleanup on multi-use pathways, protected bike lanes and sidewalks the higher priority of the two. “This would mean some of the streets not getting done as fast but prioritizing the active transportation network… because it’s much more hazardous if you wipe out on gravel on a bike or (while) walking or on a mobility device than it is in a vehicle,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, committee chairwoman. Since Winnipeg tends to have lengthy, snowy winters that require crews to repeatedly spread sand to improve traction, a cycling advocate said the debris left behind once the snow melts has triggered concerns. “I hear lots of complaints about it. I imagine that the councillors hear lots of complaints (too). People are definitely having issues out there… The gravel, especially on turns, can really take you down,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. “At some point, I’ve definitely had the tire come out from under me.” Cohoe said he believes quicker spring cleanup on active transportation routes would support the city’s goals to encourage more people to walk and ride bikes. “It improves safety, it improves comfort, but it also makes you feel a little bit more valid in choosing (a transportation option) that isn’t just an afterthought.” Cohoe said his group has previously asked for the change. Jim Berezowsky, Winnipeg public works director, said the sanding of sidewalks has increased considerably in recent years, a service that was traditionally restricted to freezing rain events in the past. Berezowsky said far more traction material is added now, following demands from citizens and councillors to address slick winter conditions, which may be difficult to remove from the narrow paths. “A lot of the challenges that I see (are linked to) the amount of material being applied… Our policy doesn’t state (that we should do) continuous sanding of the sidewalks.” He said sweeping sand off residential sidewalks was also not part of traditional spring cleanup. The report is expected back in about six months. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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CTV: 'Part of a worldwide trend': E-bikes becoming more popular in Winnipeg (May7'23)
by Beth McKechnie 08 May '23

08 May '23

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/part-of-a-worldwide-trend-e-bikes-becoming-more…

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WFP: Breaking the cycle - bike theft (May6'23)
by Beth McKechnie 07 May '23

07 May '23

BREAKING THE CYCLE Bike theft is far from a uniquely Winnipeg problem, but other Canadian cities are having more success reducing numbers and reuniting owners with their wheels https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/05/breaking-the-cycle-4 JEN Sjodin never expected to be sending her 13-year-old son pedalling down a criminal path. But the Winnipeg mom was out of luck when it came to retrieving his $400 bike with the help of city police, so she and her husband took matters into their own hands, and their son Dawson’s legs. He’d saved for months to buy the grey and neon-green Giant Talon last fall. Not long after getting his new wheels, he rode to the Walmart on Taylor Avenue and locked his bike to the rack near the front doors. He was in and out of the store in about 15 minutes, and found his cable lock cut. The bike was gone. Sjodin filed a police report with the Winnipeg Police Service, posted a notice on Facebook and scoured online classified ads in hopes of finding the bike. Six days later, Dawson spotted it on Kijiji. “We called the police non-emergency line and talked with someone after hours,” she says. “They suggested to call back the next day, provide any updates to the police report and the police would check it out.” The next day was going to be too late. Instead, Sjodin, her husband and two brothers concocted a plan to steal the bike back. She messaged the seller and posed as an interested customer. When they met up, Dawson took the bike for a test ride and pedalled directly to his uncle’s house. Dawson got his bike back, but the experience left him shaken. “For my son, it has made him much more afraid to lock up his bike,” Sjodin says. “He doesn’t think it’s safe to lock it up anywhere.” ❏❏❏ The experience is one thousands of Winnipeg cyclists — from young kids to seniors — are all too familiar with, some repeatedly. Police say 1,665 bikes were reported stolen across the city in 2022. The real number, however, is likely many times higher; multiple studies suggest “small” property crimes often go unreported. Many victims won’t bother to involve police because of the time involved and minuscule odds of getting their stuff back. And although the city launched an online bike registry in 2018, it has proven mostly ineffective at reuniting owners and their rides — particularly when compared to measures implemented in other Canadian cities — say cycling advocates, bike-shop owners and even police. About 400 cycles are recovered in Winnipeg annually, but less than 10 per cent of them make their way home. In 2022, 386 bikes were recovered, and 15 were returned to their owners, according to the city’s community services department. In Edmonton, 23 per cent of recovered bikes are returned to their owners. More than 17,000 bikes are registered in the Winnipeg system, which combined existing paper registrations from 1995 with web records. Of that number, more than 7,500 went on the registry between 2018 and 2021. ❏❏❏ Tom Babin, a Calgary author, active-transportation advocate and “cyclist in chief” at online magazine Shifter, says bike theft breaks trust in communities, creates economic difficulties and fuels other crimes. “There isn’t a lot of trust between citizens and police when it comes to bike theft. There’s an assumption everywhere that the cops will do nothing about it, and they’re probably right. The police are busy,” he says. When filing police reports and registering bikes fail to show results, people such as Sjodin may take drastic measures when they see systems not working. “Can you imagine celebrating other crimes for stealing something back? Stealing your bike back might be good at the moment, but for society, it’s a terrible way of approaching it,” Babin says. Police say they understand that people may turn to vigilantism when they feel the police aren’t helping in their time of need. “I don’t blame people for doing that. Of course, we can’t recommend that people take matters into their own hands. But I understand the frustration,” says WPS Sgt. Yvan LeTourneau. Winnipeg cyclists can pay $7.35 and input their bike’s serial number, make, model, year, value and three images to add a bike to the city’s online registry. Any recovered bikes are taken to a city bike-storage facility and cross-referenced with the registry to try finding their rightful owners. A nondescript warehouse in a Winnipeg industrial district houses hundreds of bikes, likely bound for auction or the scrap pile. The city’s 2023 auction of recovered bikes ended Wednesday. Associated Auto Auctions, which conducted the weeklong online sale, had 428 bikes listed, an 11 per cent increase from 2022. All 428 were sold, the proceeds of which go into the city community services department’s coffers. Winnipeg has a single bike-recovery officer who is responsible for the warehouse, recovering reported bikes, communicating with the police, providing promotional materials and returning bikes back to owners. Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe says only three per cent of 300 cyclists surveyed found the online registry useful for recovering their property. ❏❏❏ Before he retired last spring, Rob Brunt worked as the Vancouver Police Department’s first-ever bike detective. He says in 2015, about one per cent of the 3,000 stolen bikes reported to the police were getting back to their owners. That year, he reached out to other cities and developed a partnership with Project 529, an online bike registration system. “This system allows anybody to search the stolen database. The cops can use it, the bike stores can use it and the community can use it,” he says. In the first year after Vancouver joined Project 529, police saw a 30 per cent decline in reported bike thefts, along with improvements in recovery efforts. That number is now a staggering 60 per cent, compared to the number of thefts in 2015. It’s free for bike owners to register their rides with Project 529, and the international database is available to anyone, not just law-enforcement agencies. Const. Kenny McKinnon of the Edmonton Police Service wanted to address Edmonton’s bike-theft crisis in a similar way. “For The EPS, bike recovery was abysmal,” he says. “When we worked in the downtown core, frequently we would stop people on bikes, and it was well known that they were known bike thieves. But being able to prove that the bike was stolen was the most difficult thing that we ran into.” McKinnon says it was important to partner with the community. Since 2019, all 18 bike shops in Edmonton offer point-of-sale registration for every sale, free of charge. EPS says more than 100,000 Edmonton bikes are registered through the Bike Index. When the system was first implemented, 1,200 bikes were sent to auction or destroyed annually. In 2021, that number fell to 774. Winnipeg’s online registry was developed by ePly, a company focused on event registration. The city is ePly’s first and only client for bike-registration purposes. LeTourneau has unsuccessfully pitched Project 529 and the Bike Index to the city. “(ePly) was never on our radar as a solution,” he says. “Why are we creating something that’s already been created elsewhere?” ❏❏❏ In April 2019, the community services department launched Bicycle Registry at the Time of Purchase Project, a stakeholder engagement survey. Of the 21 surveyed bike retailers who participated, 15 supported point-of-sale registration. Tim Woodcock, owner of Woodcock Cycle Works, says the city approached him and other shops to register bikes at the point of sale. Through the shop’s own database, Woodcock keeps a record of serial numbers for every sale. “It’s not that much extra work for us. I said to (the city) that I’m on board, and then we never heard anything back,” he says. “I don’t view selling a person a bike because their bike was stolen as a sale. If people get multiple bikes stolen, we lose them as cyclists.” City spokesperson Adam Campbell says the city annually provides shops with promotional materials for registration that can be included in paperwork when someone buys a bike. “During a consultation with stakeholders conducted in 2019, we found that not all bike shops or larger retailers support or have the resources to do a point-of-sale bike registration,” Campbell says. WPS Sgt. Todd Martens says the registration system needs to change. “If the system isn’t working to the best of its capability and you have evidence to prove it, let’s pivot,” he says. fpcity(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP Editorial: Walking it back - Portage & Main (May3'23)
by Beth McKechnie 03 May '23

03 May '23

Walking it back https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/2023/05/02/walking-it-… PORTAGE and Main has long been considered Winnipeg’s most famous intersection. Infamous may be more appropriate. Since 1979, Portage and Main — the confluence of this city’s two main non-river arteries — has been closed to pedestrians. Crossing at the intersection involves navigating a confusing underground concourse populated by businesses that close at 6 p.m., and is accessed by poorly maintained, poorly lit stairwells. Traversing Portage and Main is an accessibility nightmare for those with disabilities, and a baffling ordeal for tourists and newcomers to the city. The word iconic gets bandied about a lot when describing Portage and Main. What, exactly, is “iconic” about crumbling concrete barricades? The intersection is a reliable source of debate and, once, a go-nowhere plebiscite. And that’s about it. But now, the city is being presented with a rare opportunity to reimagine our most infamous intersection into something that could, perhaps, be worthy of the “iconic” designation. The current barricades need to come down, owing to necessary repairs above and below ground, and the city is soliciting public feedback on potential replacements, including a circular “sky garden” that would allow pedestrians to move across the intersection — suspended six storeys above traffic. Other ideas at street level include lookout towers, lighting poles, canopies, and “monumental public art.” Maybe we should revisit former mayor Susan Thompson’s laser-pyramid-and-hot-tubs idea while we’re at it. Most of these ideas do not involve improved street-level pedestrian access. Making Portage and Main more attractive to residents and visitors alike is a fine goal, but it shouldn’t be the only goal. What if — and hear us out — people could just cross the street? What if Portage and Main was accessible to everyone, every day, in their daily lives? While a balance can certainly be struck between the practical and the beautiful, what we’re talking about, at the end of the day, is an intersection. Perhaps we should improve its function before we talk about its form. The thing that makes cities feel alive is vibrancy at street level, the feeling of being part of a larger, kinetic energy that comes from being around a crush of other people — which is why pedestrian-only corridors and squares in other, larger cities tend to be popular tourist attractions. We can’t erect a concrete fortress around our supposedly iconic intersection and then turn around and wonder why our downtown practically has tumbleweeds rolling across it after 6 p.m. Vibrant city centres need people in them. Not just cars. A pedestrian scramble-style crossing — in which vehicles are stopped in all directions and pedestrians can move any way, including diagonally, to get where they need to go more quickly and efficiently — could be a potential solution for Portage and Main. Arguably the most famous scramble crossing in the world is Shibuya Crossing, which, in addition to being functional, is actually worthy of the designation “iconic.” Many cities have them. Oxford Circus in London features a pedestrian scramble; so does Yonge and Dundas in Toronto. Vancouver is looking at installing them as well. When they are navigated properly, scramble crossings — despite their moniker — are safer for pedestrians, according to City of Winnipeg engineers who started looking at them as part of a road safety strategy back in 2019. Re-erecting the barricades at Portage and Main — even prettier, more Instagrammable versions — only cements our image as a pedestrian- hostile, car-centric city. Sky gardens, discs, towers, orbs… it doesn’t really matter what you call them. A barricade by any other name is still a barricade.

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WFP Analysis: Coun. Browaty? Meet Joe Downtown; he rides a bike, doesn’t like coffee and — surprise! — he’s a Winnipegger, too (May2'23)
by Beth McKechnie 02 May '23

02 May '23

*Coun. Browaty? Meet Joe Downtown; he rides a bike, doesn’t like coffee and — surprise! — he’s a Winnipegger, too* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/01/coun-browaty-meet-joe-do… WINNIPEG, we have a Jeff Browaty problem. In this city’s ongoing efforts to build a better, more progressive and more sustainable city — for those of us here now and future generations — the veteran North Kildonan councillor has emerged as a major impediment. Now, let me say that I respect the fact that Browaty puts his name on a ballot every four years and — if election results are any indication — has done an excellent job of representing his ward. His current position as chair of the finance committee of council proves he has the respect of at least some of his fellow councillors. However, I cannot be alone in squirming any time Browaty ventures out of his suburban enclave to engage on citywide issues. That was certainly my reaction when he almost single-handedly triggered the 2018 plebiscite on reopening Portage and Main. Browaty weighed into an issue that didn’t really affect his constituents, screwed over the people who live and own businesses downtown and then scurried back to the ’burbs. If that were his only crime against progress, it would be tolerable. But he’s at it again, this time at the April 26 meeting of the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee. One of the delegates at that meeting was Marianne Cerilli, founder of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, an advocacy group that supports progressive and sustainable urban planning. The TLUC is well-informed, well-supported and regularly makes a valuable contribution to discussions on the future of the city. Cerilli told the committee the city’s plan to spend $1 billion widening Kenaston Boulevard and extending Chief Peguis Trail — projects that Browaty passionately supports — are inconsistent with the principles expressed in the city’s proposed strategic priorities action plan. Cerilli is hardly the first person to make this observation, and she is not wrong in her assessment. At a time when the city is struggling to maintain existing infrastructure, and the world is trying to slow climate change, spending a billion dollars on bigger, longer roads is harmful. Perhaps it was because Cerilli is a former NDP MLA, and Browaty is a true-blue Tory. Perhaps it’s Cerilli’s contempt for suburban sprawl, for which Browaty is Winnipeg’s self-proclaimed poster boy. Whatever the reason, Browaty launched into a rant about how advocates such as Cerilli “do not represent most Winnipeggers.” Who, you may ask, are “most Winnipeggers?” They are, according to the councillor, the people who “want their street lights timed well so they can get to work as fast as possible. They want to drive their SUVs through the Tim Hortons drive-thru to get their coffee on the way to hockey practice.” Browaty then proclaimed that delegations at committee are “not relevant” and “not representative of Joe Lunchbox Winnipeg who work all day long, who pay taxes, to provide for their families and make a life for themselves.” Browaty is hardly the first politician to play the Joe Lunchbox card or to disparage lobby groups. Former NDP premier Gary Doer regularly referenced the perspective he gained at his daughter’s soccer games, and called lobby groups “one-trick ponies.” But there’s no evidence he ever insulted any of them face to face. There’s a ton of offensive stuff to unpack here. First and foremost, it’s not Browaty’s job to disparage the people who go before committee or council to express their concerns. Or to label them as representative or unrepresentative. He is an elected official and part of the job is listening to citizens, particularly those of the informed variety, such as Cerilli. More important, however, it is very hard not to gag over Browaty’s absurd description of a typical Winnipegger. No doubt some people living in his ward fit the image of a Tim Hortons- clutching, SUV-driving hockey mom or dad complaining about the timing of traffic lights. But surely Browaty has travelled outside his ward enough to realize the city is so much more than that. Let’s remember that Browaty represents about 45,000 people out a community of more than 750,000 people that has become infinitely more diverse and multicultural in the last 20 years. Even in his own ward, you can bet more people do not own a car or truck, or drive smaller vehicles, than those who pilot SUVs. And perhaps most important, there are a lot of people in this city who “work all day long, who pay taxes to provide for their families and make a life for themselves” who also want to see the city take a more progressive approach to urban planning. Some of them might even agree that extending Chief Peguis Trail is not warranted. Perhaps Browaty has been stuck in his SUV in the drive-thru too long to notice how much the city has evolved. Or, he simply hasn’t learned how to make friends outside his peer group in North Kildonan. Either way, it’s time for Browaty to start showing some respect to the people who take the time to engage with him and broaden his understanding of what it really means to be a Winnipegger. Or, alternatively, find another line of work. Heck, maybe he could ask Joe Lunchbox where he works and try to get a job there. dan.lett(a)winnipegfreepress.com

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WFP: Seeking calm amid traffic chaos (May2'23)
by Beth McKechnie 02 May '23

02 May '23

River Heights group pushes city for changes after vehicle volumes spike on residential street Seeking calm amid traffic chaos https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/05/01/seeking-calm-amid-the-tr… WINNIPEGGER Tim Fennell counted more than 4,200 vehicles driving past his Cambridge Street home in just 24 hours last month. While calling for traffic calming measures, he said an average of 175 vehicles per hour on a “narrow” residential street is far beyond what should be considered safe. “I believe that the City of Winnipeg has engineered a dangerous situation by continuing to direct more and more traffic on a street that they know was never designed to handle the volume,” he told the Free Press on Monday. Fennell, a founding member of a residents group called Calm Cambridge, has raised concerns with city hall and council members about a spike in vehicles using the street between Corydon and Academy avenues in River Heights. He said drivers treat it as a shortcut during construction projects on Harrow and Stafford streets. “We’d like to see some action taken to calm the traffic, at least slow the traffic down,” said Fennell. City spokesman Ken Allen said staff are aware of “renewed interest” in calming measures due, in part, to construction leading to more traffic on Cambridge. “We are currently investigating the situation to determine potential options to address traffic concerns,” he wrote in an email. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, said traffic volumes are a concern on several streets near the River Heights/ Crescentwood boundary. She hopes staff, who receive many requests, will be able to conduct a community traffic calming study. Lukes said a community plan would be more effective than individual changes. “When you change something on one street, it’s a domino effect on other streets,” said the councillor for Waverley West. “Traffic is like water. It’s just going to go somewhere else.” Lukes acknowledged there has been an “incredible” amount of traffic on Cambridge due to road work. She said traffic calming measures are a priority for city staff. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said he is working with city employees to address the issues raised by residents. Fennell has been conducting his own traffic counts on Cambridge, north of Corydon. He uses a motion sensor and digital camera. He counted 4,214 vehicles when he went through all the images taken April 26. Much of the traffic was recorded during the morning and afternoon commutes. Fennell said the section of Cambridge between Corydon and Academy shouldn’t be handling so many vehicles in a single day because it is narrower than the stretch south of Corydon. He believes thousands more vehicles per day were using the street to avoid congestion around nearby construction projects last summer. “That’s when we started pushing and saying something has to be done,” said Fennell. In addition to a long-term solution, his group asked for temporary traffic calming measures in a bid to improve safety and livability. Fennell is concerned about the safety of his two children and others who live on or use the street. “We help them cross the street because there are too many cars and they’re going too fast,” he said of his kids. The speed limit outside his home is 50 km/h. When he watches vehicles pass by, most drivers appear to be travelling at or just below the limit. Fennell is in favour of reducing speed limits on residential streets to 30 km/h. In March, the city lowered speed limits to 30 or 40 km/h on four streets in residential areas as part of a pilot project. The city will look at whether drivers slow down and whether the change affects livability and quality of life. In his neighbourhood, Fennell wants the city to consider making physical changes to roadways or turning some into one-way streets. Speed humps were previously installed on Cambridge between Academy and Kingsway. Ian Walker, chair of Safe Speeds Winnipeg, said he observed a lot of traffic when he visited Cambridge on a recent Friday afternoon. “It was like it was being used as a collector or arterial street,” he said. Safe Speeds Winnipeg has lobbied the city to reduce speed limits to 30 km/h in residential areas in a bid to reduce the risk of fatal or serious injury collisions. The group believes the change would help neighbourhoods thrive and encourage residents to be more active. chris.kitching(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching

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WFP: Calming traffic by design (Apr29'23)
by Beth McKechnie 01 May '23

01 May '23

CALMING TRAFFIC BY DESIGN THE City of Winnipeg will study ways to calm traffic through design. Council has approved a motion to order a city staff report on methods to add traffic-calming design elements whenever a street is selected for reconstruction. The potential changes could include narrowing roads, adding speed tables (sections of raised road) and/or installing curb extensions to create more space for pedestrians. A report on the matter is expected back in about eight months.

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WFP: Councillor pushes for Portage, Main plebiscite (Apr29'23)
by Beth McKechnie 01 May '23

01 May '23

*Councillor pushes for Portage, Main plebiscite* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/04/28/councillor-pushes… IF the city wants to reopen Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians in the future, all Winnipeggers should get another vote on the idea first, according to one city councillor. Coun. Russ Wyatt will push for a policy that requires a plebiscite prior to opening the city’s most famous intersection to foot traffic and for council to follow the results. Wyatt said he will raise a motion to that effect at the May council meeting, primarily over road safety concerns. “When you open this intersection to pedestrians, you can expect injuries and fatalities and that’s my biggest concern. I want the citizens of Winnipeg to have a right to weigh in on this issue as they did before. And that will be council policy before any decision,” he said. Plebiscites are typically considered non-binding votes, which is why Wyatt wants the policy to commit city council to respect the results. In 2018, 65 per cent of Winnipeggers who participated voted “no” to reopening the intersection to pedestrians; council has not taken action to permanently reopen it since. Wyatt said he is concerned there may be a new appetite to restore pedestrian access. Debate has raged on for years about allowing pedestrians to cross the street at the surface level of the intersection, something they haven’t been able to do since 1979. Supporters argue pedestrian access would help connect and revitalize downtown, while opponents argue it would snarl traffic and pose safety concerns. The matter was thrust into the spotlight again this week as the city began seeking public feedback on options to enhance the intersection. An online survey and open houses will seek input on a wide variety of ideas, including a sixth-floor-level “sky garden” circular walkway, “monumental” public art, a set of four lookout towers and multi-media lighting poles, along with simpler upgrades that would add trees and/or enhance paving. None of the options would give pedestrians permanent access to cross the street at ground level. While those ideas from a city consultant don’t include cost estimates, Wyatt said he is also concerned about the potential price tag. “I don’t see why the ratepayers of Winnipeg should be subsidizing fancy lights and whatnot that could cost millions. I think there’s higher priorities in our city,” he said. Others argue a policy that guarantees voters a say in the matter wouldn’t make sense. “I think that’s preposterous. I think it’s an abrogation of their duties as elected councillors. We don’t have a plebiscite over the Chief Peguis (Trail) extension. We didn’t have a plebiscite over (building) Bridgwater. It’s just ridiculous,” said Adam Dooley, a spokesperson for the Vote Open campaign in 2018. The city council process already allows the public to provide input on council and committee decisions through a delegation process, he said. A Winnipeg-wide vote would also prevent the city from focusing on feedback from the intersection’s immediate neighbours, Dooley said. “I think if this were a regular public works project, then the residents in the area would have a larger say than what they are having because they overwhelmingly want this to happen: pedestrian access at Portage and Main. And they’re being told they can’t have that because of votes from, mostly, the suburbs.” Coun. Sherri Rollins said she doesn’t support the use of more plebiscites, stressing elected officials shouldn’t shirk their duty to make informed decisions on voters’ behalf. “A simple yes/no (public) vote is just artificially narrow, so I’m not a fan of plebiscites in general. I really feel that they are anti-democratic. They don’t underline or emphasize the accountability that most of us believe is part of being in elected office,” said Rollins. In a brief written statement, Mayor Scott Gillingham said he won’t support Wyatt’s motion. “I don’t think the city needs another plebiscite on Portage and Main.” joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Special-interest groups don’t represent most Winnipeggers, says Coun. Jeff Browaty (May1'23)
by Beth McKechnie 01 May '23

01 May '23

*Special-interest groups don’t represent most Winnipeggers, says Coun. Jeff Browaty* *Advocates’ relevance questioned* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/04/28/special-interest-… CITY council’s most senior member has caused outrage after telling members of special interest groups their views are out of step with what most Winnipeggers want. “I appreciate your advocacy, but I don’t think a lot of these opinions are relevant,” North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty, who was first elected in 2006 and is currently finance committee chairman, told Marianne Cerilli, a former MLA and mayoral candidate, after she made a presentation to councillors. “I appreciate everybody who comes to city hall, and takes time out of their day to make presentations — people are very passionate,” Browaty said during the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee Wednesday. “(But) the people who present here really do not represent most Winnipeggers, in my opinion. Each one of us on council represent 45,000-ish people. They’re not looking to blow things up. They don’t have time to come and make presentations all day. They want their street lights timed so they can get to and from work as fast as possible. Or drive their SUVs through Tim Hortons drive-thru to get their coffee on their way to hockey practice. “The consultation we get is not as relevant as the consultation we get as elected officials going door to door every four years to talk to people… it’s not at all as representative of Joe Lunchbox Winnipegger, the people who pay taxes and work all day long to provide for their families, to make a life for themselves.” On Friday, Browaty made an attempt to explain his comments, saying he knew Cerilli had been a politician, so she would have a “thicker skin because of the business we’re in.” But there was little in the way of contrition. “I’m not sending her an apology card today, but all Winnipeggers have the right to have their views and ideas heard. I still do maintain that some of the delegations we hear on budgets are from special interest groups and aren’t representative of the majority of Winnipeg,” he said. “Just because you’ve come to council, your opinions aren’t more important than residents submitting letters to the editor, calling in to talk-radio shows, posting in online community forums or talking directly to elected officials.” Mayor Scott Gillingham said he wasn’t at the meeting, and he doesn’t know everything that was said, so any questions about it should be directed to Browaty. But Gillingham said all councillors work hard to have a good sense of the views of the people they are representing. “We do have an open process at the City of Winnipeg. I appreciate the knowledge and passion that delegations bring to their presentations, and I have learned a lot from this process, but Coun. Browaty is correct that delegations are just one tool that council uses to make its decisions,” he said. “From what I saw (on a social media posting) I didn’t see anything that concerned me, as far as decorum.” Cerilli, a founder of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, said Browaty’s comments were offensive. “This is not about personal opinion. This is about research and evidence. I was telling (councillors) the city has policy on this and for the city to follow the policy. I think he needs to be more concerned about his conduct with a city committee about following public policy. His ideas about urban development are from the 1950s. That’s where he is,” she said. “I don’t care if he apologizes or not.” Marc Cohoe of advocacy group Bike Winnipeg has been making presentations to councillors since the days when cyclists asking for bike paths were considered members of a fringe group. The city now spends millions of budget dollars to build, maintain and clear them. “I was shocked to hear him. I’ve heard presentations that have changed my mind on things and I’m sure others have, too,” Cohoe said. “It’s important in the democratic process for people to listen. I know this is not the whole process, but we bring in expertise and ideas which are valuable to the city. If you sit and dismiss that public-engagement process, what are you telling people?” Longtime Point Douglas advocate and social activist Sel Burrows said he is likely considered “a special interest delegation” by councillors. “It is important for politicians to hear from others,” Burrows said. “Delegations showing up at city council is part of gradually changing councillors’ thoughts on issues. It is particularly important for suburban councillors, who aren’t aware of inner-city issues where most of the homelessness and crime happens.” Mel Marginet, co-chair of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, said she believes Browaty’s comments are so serious the mayor should remove him as finance chair. “His comments were deeply shocking. It was deeply insulting to his residents and the city as a whole. He should be pulled from the committee,” Marginet said. Coun. Matt Allard said he not only has no problem with delegations, he welcomes appearances from more of them. “I believe that it is important to encourage and welcome delegations from the public and any organization that has an interest in making the city better and wants to share their ideas about it,” Allard said. — With files from Joyanne Pursaga kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP Analysis: Portage and Main has to be people-friendly (May1'23)
by Beth McKechnie 01 May '23

01 May '23

Portage and Main has to be people-friendly https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/05/01/portage-and-m… Is it too soon? Can we talk about Portage and Main again? It’s been almost five years. The vote was clear, but 2018 feels like a different lifetime, doesn’t it? We’ve been through a lot since then, and a lot has changed. The pandemic was devastating for downtown, and its legacy is lasting. Significantly fewer people are now coming downtown to work. Office buildings are sitting empty. Shops, restaurants, and the last movie theatres have closed. Tax incentive programs that were eagerly snapped up by developers in the past, now sit unsubscribed as they shy away from new residential construction in the city centre. As the social, cultural, and economic heart of our city, downtown needs as much help as it can get right now, because no city flourishes without a prosperous and healthy core. Another thing that has changed is we now know what’s going to happen at the city’s storied intersection. The waterproofing membrane that protects the underground concourse at Portage and Main needs to be replaced and the barricades we so passionately fought over are coming down as part of a multi-million-dollar construction project. If we are removing the barricades, what should we put back? A design team was hired to answer that question, and their proposals were recently unveiled for public feedback. The goals for the design are to improve accessibility, increase safety, enhance the pedestrian experience, and attract people back to the intersection, restoring it to a vital public space and needed a catalyst to help bring downtown back to life. Of course, they must do this while maintaining the pedestrian blockades that prevent people from using the intersection if they are not driving in a vehicle. The designers face the daunting task of trying to attract people while at the same time actively repelling them. Attempting to overcome this dichotomy, the proposals made are dramatic, a ring of sky gardens floating six storeys in the air, lookout towers on each corner, or monumental public art that we can drive under. The scale and grandeur of the proposals are striking and demonstrate just how important Portage and Main is in our collective psyche. Portage and Main is not just an intersection. It’s where we come together in celebration, in protest and in mourning. It has always been seen as the heart of the city, even when hidden behind concrete walls. There is significant irony in the fact that we believe Portage and Main is important enough to invest in a big idea that brings it back to life, but we voted so clearly to say we are not willing to spend a few seconds longer in our cars to accomplish this goal organically, and at low cost. The designs presented are beautiful, and would be exciting additions to our city, but without allowing functional day-to-day use of the intersection by pedestrians, creating attractions to draw people is unlikely to find success. The fact that attractions are felt to be necessary to overcome the impacts of our choice to value driving faster over quality of place, accessibility, and economic vibrancy, means they would stand as monuments to our city’s unwavering dedication to the vehicle, even more than the concrete walls are today. These grand gestures would be the embodiment of the gymnastics our city is willing to put itself through to avoid the easy solution, and ensure it remains subservient to vehicles above all else, even in our downtown. Despite the difficult times downtown Winnipeg is going through, Portage and Main is seeing some important sidewalk-level growth. Restaurants like Earls, OEB, 529 Uptown, and Hy’s are opening or expanding, a Goodlife gym has been built, 300 Main and soon 138 Portage East will bring 550 new residential homes to the area, and the MMF is transforming the Bank of Montreal into an important heritage centre. These developments, and the more than 10,000 people working within a block of the intersection, provide more than enough pedestrian gravity to create a vibrant public space simply by inviting people to freely cross the street, restoring Portage and Main to the powerful neighbourhood connector it once was. Despite the post-pandemic need for downtown to be given every opportunity to find new life, it is unlikely we will seize the simple solution, and settle for prettier barricades that can be enjoyed from our cars as we drive past. Thankfully, the distant future of Portage and Main has been cast and it will be as a vibrant public space and downtown focal point. Paired with the redevelopment of Union Station, the Transportation Master Plan envisions a major downtown rapid transit station at Portage and Main, anticipated to serve more than 50,000 people every day. It seems impossible to imagine a major transit hub without reintroducing pedestrians. Portage and Main is really just an intersection. Its traffic volumes, weather, width and whatever else has created its mythological status, isn’t wildly different from Main and Broadway, Portage and Colony, Kenaston and Sterling Lyon, or many large intersections across the world with pedestrian crossings. Until we treat it like it is a normal intersection, it won’t matter how many floating doughnut gardens or elevators to the sky we build. Portage and Main will never successfully attract people if it is simultaneously designed to repel them. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

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WFP: Urban expert staying out of Portage and Main fray as new city planning, property, development director (Apr28'23)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Apr '23

28 Apr '23

New planning, property and development director advocated for re-opening intersection *Expert stays out of Portage & Main fray* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/04/27/urban-expert-stay… A ONCE-VOCAL advocate for reopening Portage and Main to pedestrian traffic will be staying out of the debate on the future of the historic intersection in her new position. The city announced Wednesday that urban planning expert Hazel Borys will become director of planning, property and development at the end of July. Borys, an engineer with an MBA and president of Placemakers, an international city planning firm, was a leading voice for the Yes side in the campaign to remove the concrete barriers before the 2018 municipal election, where the issue appeared as a non-binding plebiscite question on the ballot. “Keeping this corner closed signals to Winnipeggers and the world that we are a car city,” she told the Free Press at the time. “Keeping the intersection closed hurts our economy and well-being.” A majority of residents disagreed, voting to leave things as they are. Borys intends to leave advocacy to others when she begins her new role. “My past opinion hasn’t changed at all, but what has changed is Portage and Main is a political decision now,” she said Thursday. “For it to change, it would be a political decision.” Earlier this week, the city released a discussion paper outlining the issues surrounding the intersection, including a massive project to repair the membrane under the street protecting the Winnipeg Square concourse, which has been in place since the underground mall opened in 1979. The paper also revealed several concepts for improving pedestrian movement and the area’s physical appearance. The city has asked for public input. Borys said the planning department will help city council get the information it requires during public consultations and, eventually, arrive at a decision. Mayor Scott Gillingham said Thursday he wasn’t concerned that the department will be led by someone who advocated to open the intersection. “I think hiring Hazel Borys is good for our downtown development plans,” he said, noting her reputation as “an innovator.” “She has an extensive record of working with cities across North America and working on densification… I think the work she has done will serve us well.” Borys, who is married to Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq director and CEO Stephen Borys, has helped cities reduce red tape in order to make development processes easier, while also assisting in guiding governments through zoning reforms. She said she will be able to do both in her new position, just from a different vantage point. “I’ve spent the last 19 years on the other side of the desk,” she said. “I’m super-excited. I’m looking forward to going much deeper than on my consultant side.” Coun. Jeff Browaty, who helped lead the battle to keep Portage and Main closed to pedestrians, said he’s looking forward to working with the new planning department head. “While we clearly disagree on the opening of Portage and Main to pedestrian crossings, I actually support a lot of the planning principles she has been involved with,” Browaty said. “I came to respect her work many years ago when she successfully led the public consultation for the private developer of the controversial Edgewood Estates towers at Chief Peguis Trail and the Red River. While the majority of the time elected officials and public servants see eye to eye on issues, when we don’t, it’s understood council’s direction needs to be implemented.” Browaty also noted, as an aside, he is partially responsible for getting Borys to Winnipeg. “I was the city rep on the Winnipeg Art Gallery board of governors when we hired her husband… as director,” he said. Borys said she will be mothballing her company and expects the first weeks and months in her new position to be part of a “big learning curve.” “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I can’t wait.” kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca

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WFP: Businesses have mixed feelings about proposed pathways at Portage & Main (Apr27'23)
by Beth McKechnie 27 Apr '23

27 Apr '23

*Businesses have mixed feelings about proposed pathways* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2023/04/27/businesses-have-mixed… Businesses below Portage and Main have mixed feelings about proposed pathways above the iconic intersection. On Tuesday, the City of Winnipeg released ideas to revitalize the downtown crossing, seeking public feedback. One rendering displayed a “sky garden” — a circular walkway six storeys above ground level with potential bridge connections to adjacent buildings. Glass elevators would connect to the street, the plaza and the underground concourse. “They already have the connection down below,” said Mike Publicover, owner of Stonework’s Bistro. Publicover opened his Winnipeg Square eatery last year. Connecting to Winnipeg’s skyscrapers, including the new 300 Main, was a major consideration before settling, Publicover said. “So now (people are) going to start walking over and above,” he said. “Will they come down?” Already, businesses below struggle to get customers when the workday ends. Publicover’s feelings would be different if the underground network, which covers Portage and Main and extends outwards, didn’t exist. “The added cost to the city of doing it, I don’t know that there’s value when there’s already something here,” Publicover said. The city is preparing to replace the waterproof membrane protecting the underground concourse. It could cost between $15 million and $20 million to excavate the intersection’s surface for membrane repair, according to one engineering report. More connections above ground could be good for business, said Melani Bastians. “Down here, we do have a lot of folks who are Monday to Friday,” said Bastians, who owns two restaurants in Winnipeg Square. When the weekend hits, customers leave and everything shutters, Bastians said. Taste of Sri Lanka, one of her businesses in the underground concourse, closes after 4 p.m. during the week and doesn’t open Saturdays or Sundays. “I want more customers, always, and avenues of which they can get here,” Bastians said. “If we had overpasses, then it would support the general public.” She’s now doubly invested in Winnipeg Square. Bastians opened The Green Eatery beside Taste of Sri Lanka three weeks ago. “People don’t really know that there are places like this in Winnipeg Square,” added Adanna Hanniford, The Green Eatery’s manager. If overpasses will bring people downtown, that’s good news, she said. The nearby GoodLife Fitness and the 300 Main residences are already positives for the restaurant, which has vegan and gluten-free products, Hanniford said. Above-ground changes to Portage and Main likely wouldn’t affect Cookies by George, predicted Lasha Yaeger. “We get business from there,” she said behind the counter, pointing to the Portage and Main concourse. “They’re coming here anyways. It’s not like they’re going to avoid us.” Still, she worried businesses in the concourse might see fewer visitors if overpasses became concrete. The proposed sky garden’s effect on underground businesses is hard to forecast, according to Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. New infrastructure could draw people to the area, he noted. “Right now, I think our bigger concern isn’t skywalk/underground, it’s ‘How do we get more people downtown?’” he said. Once traffic has increased, the focus becomes guiding people to shops and vendors downtown, he said. “Some of the initial concerns were about costing and city priorities — all legitimate concerns. We really want to be creative, we really want to be innovative, and this is an opportunity to engage Winnipeggers in a conversation around ‘What kind of downtown do we want?’” Remillard said. A public survey to give feedback on potential Portage and Main changes is open until May 26 at winnipeg.ca/portageandmain. The city will also host two events about the ideas in May. — with files from Joyanne Pursaga gabrielle.piche(a)winnipegfreepress.com

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CBC: Winnipeg hires CEO of urbanist consulting firm as new planning, property and development director (Apr26'23)
by Beth McKechnie 26 Apr '23

26 Apr '23

Hazel Borys to divest herself of Placemakers, take on helm of city department https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/hazel-borys-planning-director-1.682… The City of Winnipeg has chosen an urban planner who runs a binational consulting firm to be its new director of planning, property and development. Hazel Borys, the CEO of Placemakers in Canada and the United States, will take over the city department responsible for land use at the end of July, Winnipeg chief administrative officer Michael Jack announced on Wednesday. She will succeed Marc Pittet, who's served as Winnipeg's acting planning, property and development director since John Kiernan retired in 2022. Borys said Wednesday she feels like she's taken on the job at "a really critical moment" in Winnipeg's history. "I think we have a number of significant challenges that we'll need to address together and that's really similar to many Canadian cities right now," Borys said in an interview. "But I think we also have both the opportunity and the responsibility to become a more resilient, livable and inclusive place. One of those challenges will involve stemming a burgeoning trend where Winnipeg is starting to lose development opportunities to several of its immediate neighbours. An increasing concentration of industrial, commercial and residential developments have sprouted up just outside city limits in municipalities such as Macdonald, Rosser, West St. Paul and Springfield. Borys said she plans to work with other municipalities to ensure both the city and its neighbours benefit from a new regional planning framework ordered by the provincial government. "My focus as the director of planning, property and development won't be about fighting over the existing pie that the region has, but how when we all work together, we can grow that pie quite a bit," she said. "So I'm not terribly concerned about where today's development capacity is going." Modernizing land use Borys said she believes development can intensify in existing Winnipeg neighbourhoods if the city modernizes outdated rules that govern land use. "What the development community most struggles with is our zoning bylaw hasn't yet caught up with the policies that we have in place to help do those things," she said. "That means that development takes longer — and time is money, from a developer's perspective." Borys suggested the city must focus on densification to achieve its development goals. "I think we have to get back to our agricultural roots and instead of thinking about dollars per new development, we need to be thinking about dollars per hectare and jobs per hectare," she said. "So how we can use our land more productively, just like a farmer looks at how to use her land more productively as well." Winnipeg's mayor, a centrist conservative who hired a number of urbanists to his own staff, referenced the incoming property director's progressive leanings when he welcomed her to the city. "Hazel has an incredible reputation as an innovator, placemaker and community builder and I look forward to working with her in this new role," Scott Gillingham said in a tweet on Wednesday. Borys, however, chose not comment on several hot-button issues facing Winnipeg's planning, property and development department, including the revitalization of Portage and Main and a pending decision in a lawsuit against the department by developer Andrew Marquess. Born in Alabama, Borys was educated in Ohio before she moved to Winnipeg in 2008 with her husband, Stephen Borys, who runs the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq. Borys has worked in the urban planning field for 19 years. With Placemakers, she consulted for both developers and governments. She helped the City of Winnipeg develop its long-term planning framework and also sits on the Manitoba Municipal Board. Borys said she has tendered her resignation from the municipal board, whose powers have been expanded to include the ability to overturn City of Winnipeg land-use decisions. She also said she will divest herself of an ownership stake in the U.S. side of Placemakers and dissolve the Canadian company of the same name.

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WFP: ‘Sky garden’ among ideas floated for Portage & Main (Apr26'23)
by Beth McKechnie 26 Apr '23

26 Apr '23

City seeks public input on concepts to improve pedestrian access, enhance appearance at reimagined intersection *‘Sky garden’ among ideas floated for Portage & Main* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2023/04/25/sky-garden-pedestrian-pl… THERE’S a chance Winnipeggers could finally be able to cross the street again at the city’s most famous intersection… but they’d be doing it six storeys above traffic. A “sky garden,” with a plant-adorned circular walkway, potential bridge connections to adjacent buildings and glass elevators connecting the street, plaza and underground concourse, as well as an option to add a set of four lookout towers with viewing platforms (one at each corner), are among several ideas to revitalize Portage Avenue and Main Street the city is now seeking public feedback on. “The City of Winnipeg sees Portage and Main as an iconic, historic destination and worthy of a little bit of extra attention… and that’s why we’ve looked at ideas that are somewhat conventional, as well as some that are more bold,” said Kurtis Kowalke, a principal planner for the city. The changes — advanced by a city consultant — could allow for temporary pedestrian access at ground level, such as for special events. However, the vision doesn’t pursue a long-debated call to permanently restore surface-level pedestrian crossing. The intersection has been closed to pedestrians since 1979, and Winnipeggers voted down a non-binding plebiscite to reopen the corners in 2018. The new vision is being considered as the city prepares to replace an ailing waterproof membrane that protects the underground concourse, which has been deemed beyond its useful life. A deal struck by the city in 1976 to construct the concourse and an above-ground building guaranteed the developer a barricaded intersection for 40 years, forcing pedestrians into the underground mall. Crews must excavate the intersection’s surface to repair the membrane, which an engineering report once estimated would cost between $15 million and $20 million. Kowalke said public input will help the city narrow down design ideas to reimagine the public space, and the crumbling concrete barriers will likely be replaced with more-attractive fencing or bollards. Other options to revamp the site could add “living art” (a raised garden ring with no pedestrian access) or “monumental public art,” such as a large, dome-like structure above the street (depicted as an example in the city survey). Multimedia lighting poles could also be added with or without canopies. At street level, the city could add public art to building walls, plant trees and spruce up the site’s paving. Cost estimates for the new options were not provided. Mayor Scott Gillingham declined to offer an opinion on which, if any, of the ideas he supports. “It has to be something that is reasonable but also exciting. It’s our most iconic intersection,” said Gillingham. The idea of simply reopening pedestrian access at street level has triggered intense debate for years, with supporters arguing the change is needed to help revitalize and better connect downtown. Opponents say allowing foot traffic would snarl vehicle traffic, cost millions of dollars and increase road-safety concerns. In the 2018 plebiscite, 65 per cent of Winnipeggers voted against removing the barriers. Advocates for pedestrian traffic argued most of the no votes were cast by people living in the suburbs who did not want to be inconvenienced by longer stop-light waits at the intersection that would be required for walkers to cross the street. One advocate who urged residents to “vote open” at the time questions the logic of diverting pedestrians upward, instead. “I don’t know if you need to invest as much as some of these designs are going to cost. I think we can have a really great intersection if we have a pedestrian crossing at grade and some nice, artistic, culturally relevant designs going on at street level,” said Adam Dooley. Pedestrian access at an overhead walkway could perhaps be seen as a compromise keeping vehicle and foot traffic apart, but a grade-level crossing remains his first choice, he said. The president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce said the new options to enhance the site are worthy of discussion. “It elevates the conversation that we’ve been having for far too long around this intersection… from one of barricades or removing barricades to one… (about what) kind of downtown centre… we want to have for our community,” said Loren Remillard. Kate Fenske, chief executive officer at the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, said street-level access remains her organization’s top priority. “Allowing pedestrians to cross the street at Portage and Main would have a minimal impact on drivers but drastically reduce the time for pedestrians to get across…. A good design is one that encourages more people at street level. That’s critical for economic activity, for improving safety and for vibrancy of downtown,” said Fenske. She also questioned how adding a raised circular walkway would stack up against other priorities for limited city dollars. Some city councillors agree the primary focus at Portage and Main should be to add a ground-level pedestrian crossing. “Before we start contemplating the budgets involved (with) pedestrian overpasses that might be pretty and might involve greenery… I’d like to just ask that basic question… (of) how to make it accessible at grade,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins. Rollins is backing a new motion at city hall, which calls for staff to study options to add surface-level access at Portage and Main. The public works committee is expected to consider ordering that report next month. On Tuesday afternoon, folks in the Portage and Main area shared mixed views on the ideas. Adam Enns said paving and tree improvements make sense but an above-ground circular walkway isn’t realistic. “What’s the function of it, just to look nice?…. It seems like a waste of money to me,” said Enns. Jennifer Olson feared the “sky garden” walkway may not best serve downtown residents. “It looks nice but what is in it for the people who live here? I’d like to see a grocery store, some more services… not necessarily some elevated walkway. And I would like to see Portage and Main reopened (to pedestrians at the surface level),” said Olson. Jay Rodgers said he liked the “sky garden” at first glance, though its potential cost must be considered. “I think it’s very attractive,” Rodgers said. “It looks modern and I think it would increase traffic circulating in the area.” A survey at winnipeg.ca/portageandmain will seek public feedback until May 26. The city will also host two events on the ideas, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10 at the lobby of 201 Portage Ave. and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 11 at Portage and Main’s underground concourse (near Scotiabank). joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Nature article: Suburbs are a climate disaster, but they can be redeemed
by Jackie Avent 25 Apr '23

25 Apr '23

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01369-3 How to create liveable suburbs <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> The sprawling outer areas of US cities are the physical embodiment of unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity, argues urban-design researcher Dana Cuff. Rigid and often absurd planning rules prevent the construction of blocks of flats <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>, shops, schools, health facilities and workplaces. “It will take many creative solutions to redeem suburbs,” Cuff says, such as building housing for teachers on underused school land or offering loans for constructing affordable housing. Nature | 5 min read <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Nature Briefing <briefing(a)nature.com> Date: Tue, Apr 25, 2023 at 1:04 PM Subject: First close-up images of tiny Mars moonlet To: <Jackie.avent(a)gmail.com> What matters in science | View this email in your browser <https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?e=4e0751221c&u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Tuesday 25 April 2023 [image: Nature Briefing] <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Hello *Nature *readers, Today we discover that researchers have sequenced the genomes of more than 10,000 ancient people, find out why parrots like to video call each other and marvel at the first close-up images of Mars’s tiny moonlet Deimos. [image: A bleached human skull lies on its side on mossy ground. The skull’s lower jaw has become detached, lying separately in front of the skull. More bone fragments and broken skulls are visible in the background.] <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> These 2,000-year-old human remains were found in a stone chambered cairn in Greenland. There has been an ‘ancient-DNA gold rush’, with the number of ancient-human genomes exponentially increasing since 2018. (Ashley Cooper/Getty) Ten thousand ancient genomes sequenced <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> More than 10,000 ancient-human genomes have now been sequenced. In 2010, the first ancient-DNA sequence was published, of a man who lived 4,000 years ago. Since 2018, thanks to technological advances, there has been an explosion in the number of ancient genomes sequenced. The vast majority come from people who lived in Europe, Russia and the Middle East <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>. “We need to shift that focus and obsession with numbers” and look at genomes from other parts of the world, says palaeogenomicist María Ávila-Arcos. Nature | 4 min read <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Reference: bioRxiv preprint <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> (not peer reviewed) [image: A line chart showing the quantity of genome data from ancient-human remains. The data set has grown rapidly since 2018, owing to advances in DNA sequencing, and extraction and has risen to 10,067 in 2023.] <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Parrots call each other to be less lonely <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Giving pet parrots the opportunity to video call other birds helps to counter isolation and boredom <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> in the intelligent animals. Researchers trained 18 pet parrots, ranging from macaws (*Ara*) to cockatiels (*Nymphicus hollandicus*), to phone a friend using Facebook Messenger. “All caretakers reported perceived benefits, some arguably life-transformative, such as learning to forage or even to fly by watching others,” write the authors in their paper, which includes some well-worth-watching video <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> of parrots chatting. The Guardian | 4 min read <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Reference: *CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems* <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> paper <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Reader poll [image: Pie chart illustrating poll results to the question “What do you think about the commercial space age?”] <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Today, a lunar lander built by the Japanese firm ispace will touch down on the Moon’s surface <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>. It will be the first private company to land on the Moon, and the first of several commercial lunar trips flying this year. Briefing readers had mixed feelings about this burgeoning commercial space age: more than half of the respondents to our poll last week said they preferred when space exploration was led by governments only. Another 40% welcome private space missions. Many readers felt the money pumped into space missions — both private and public ones — could be better spent on Earth, for example on addressing climate change. There were concerns about the amount of space debris that missions would create, and about the environmental impact of rocket launches. “There should be an international agency to regulate who can send what into space and clean up afterwards,” writes librarian Penelope Bulloch. “I think we should reframe the conversation altogether,” suggests sustainability project manager Joan Suris. “Every time we have started mining resources on Earth we have created more environmental and social problems than we have solved. What are the unforeseen consequences of ‘commercial exploitation’ of the Moon?” Features & opinion Deep ocean exploration isn’t about science <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Attempts to reach the bottom of the sea have a surprisingly long history, as Jeff Maynard recounts in *The Frontier Below*. The book is a brisk tour of diving and submersibles <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>, heavy on engineering and light on science. “That’s fitting, because the endeavour was hardly ever about science,” writes reviewer and *Nature *reporter Alexandra Witze. Instead, it was about retrieving goods from wrecked vessels, military interests or finding a ‘lifeless’ place to dump nuclear waste. Nature | 6 min read <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> [image: Nature Special: Nature+] <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> ACCESS *NATURE* AND 54 OTHER NATURE JOURNALS <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> Nature+ gives you immediate online access to *Nature* and 54 other journals. Nature+ is a flexible monthly subscription and is currently available only to personal users in the United States <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> and in the United Kingdom <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> . Learn more about Nature+ in the US <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> or in the UK <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> How to create liveable suburbs <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> The sprawling outer areas of US cities are the physical embodiment of unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity, argues urban-design researcher Dana Cuff. Rigid and often absurd planning rules prevent the construction of blocks of flats <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>, shops, schools, health facilities and workplaces. “It will take many creative solutions to redeem suburbs,” Cuff says, such as building housing for teachers on underused school land or offering loans for constructing affordable housing. Nature | 5 min read <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> The far-reaching impacts of melting ice <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…> How does melting ice contribute to destructive wildfires in the western United States? And how does ice loss lead to extreme floods in Nepal? A sobering yet hopeful quiz, accompanied by stunning visuals <https://nature.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c6057c528fdc6f73fa196d9d…>, clarifies how the shape of coastlines, the weather and the survival of communities are all tied to ice. 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