- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

Summary report - International Scan on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility (June 2009)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Aug '09

11 Aug '09

Interesting read (okay, maybe just for some of us!) - International Scan Summary Report on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility (June 24, 2009) Background info from the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre (U.S.): In May 2009, a team of 12 transportation professionals with expertise in bicycling and walking from the U.S. visited five countries in Europe to identify and assess effective approaches to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. Some of the countries, like Denmark, had experienced an increase in car use in the 1960s and 1970s, and subsequently reoriented their transportation policy to give priority to bicycling and walking. The scan team heard presentations from and had informal discussions with the foreign hosts. During most visits, the scan team also went on guided field visits (by bike as well as by foot) to better understand and experience the design and operation of various walking and bicycling facilities. These field visits were invaluable in documenting the facilities through photos and video, observing traffic behavior, and experiencing firsthand how well a design or operational strategy worked. The purpose of this scan tour was to identify and assess effective approaches to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. The summary report provides a quick-response overview of the team's findings and recommendations: http://drusilla.hsrc.unc.edu/cms/downloads/Pedestrian%20Bicycle%20Scan%20Su… cheers, Beth Green Commuting Initiatives Resource Conservation Manitoba www.resourceconservation.mb.ca

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Travel & Leisure mag: World's Top Biking Cities (July 2009)
by Beth McKechnie 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-worlds-top-biking-cities/1 * Copenhagen * Portland * Munich * Montreal * Perth * Amsterdam * Seattle * Paris * Minneapolis * Bogota

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Article - cycling facilities and social justice
by Beth McKechnie 10 Aug '09

10 Aug '09

Interesting article by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler debating cycling facilities in urban centres vs. "vehicular cycling" (emphasis on education for cycling in traffic), and the importance of social justice in cycling policy: http://www.vtpi.org/pucher_buehler_cycling.pdf

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Active Transportation - Canada: August 4, 2009
by Beth McKechnie 05 Aug '09

05 Aug '09

----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Haynes To: undisclosed recipients: Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 4:27 PM Subject: Active Transportation - Canada: August 4, 2009 Active Transportation - Canada features a regular posting of news articles, studies, reports, and other items that have relevance in this field, with previous postings available in an archive. In addition, pictures of existing Active Transportation infrastructure from communities across Canada will be profiled each week. The following items have recently been posted to the Active Transportation - Canada Blog. To view in more detail, go to: http://activetransportation-canada.blogspot.com **************************************************************************************************** AT Infrastructure Example: Regina SK - Off Road Trail 1.. Website: Haliburton Share the Road 2.. Morrissy Bridge group pressing on 3.. Downtown Saskatoon to get painted bike lanes 4.. Drawings of pedestrian Peace Bridge released 5.. Fitness: Bits and bites for Bixi newbies 6.. First Ontario Bike Summit 7.. ‘Rumours’, misinformation on pedestrian plan cited 8.. More than one way to sustainability 9.. Bike lane experiment begins 10.. Million Euro Subsidy For Cycling In EU 11.. Bike escalator being considered 12.. The healthy, but risky, choice 13.. Pathway to be built on Calgary's east edge 14.. Bixi a des ailes 15.. Bike Among the Ruins **************************************************************************************************** A reminder e-mail of new postings will be sent no more often than once per week. To continue to receive these updates, you need take no action. Should you not wish to receive updates, please return this e-mail with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject area. Interested in an AT workshop in your community? For more information, please contact: Michael Haynes Director, TransActive Solutions MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "ca.mc883.mail.yahoo.com" claiming to be activetransportation(a)rogers.com 613.424.2803

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WFP article Aug. 5, 2009 p.B1
by Stacy Matwick 05 Aug '09

05 Aug '09

City will need to pedal harder Bike-path upgrade worthwhile; bike-sharing program necessary By: Dan Lett Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION 5/08/2009 Cyclists negotiate traffic at Main and Bannatyne Tuesday. The city and province must be congratulated for deciding to extend the bike-lane system, but that should just be a start. Once again Winnipeg is at a crossroads, only this time it's mounted on a bicycle as it stares down its destiny. At first blush, bike lanes may not seem like a make-it-or-break-it issue of urban planning. To be sure, increased use of bicycles is important for the environment and making cities work better. But in this town, the issue is typically portrayed as gravy -- not the meat and potatoes. However, this conventional wisdom wilts after visiting a city that embraces the bike, rather than just tolerates it. A city such as Montreal. It had been some years since I had spent quality time in Quebec's largest city, and while I always remember Montreal as a city that featured more than its fair share of bike commuters, the city has gone above and beyond in making itself bike-friendly. The first major development that I spotted were the buffered bike lanes. Not just white lines on the side of major routes downtown, but distinct two-way thoroughfares separated from vehicular traffic by a concrete median. Although it presents a challenge for pedestrians -- you have to look both ways, twice -- it is clearly safer and more efficient for cyclists. But Montreal also features a Bixi bike-sharing system that allows Montrealers to pick up bicycles in one location downtown and drop them off in another. The stations are located no more than 200 metres apart from each other. Racks of Bixi bikes can be found with alarming regularity; there are more than 3,000 bikes at 300 individual stations. One year of Bixi access is just $78, taxes included. In total, Bixi has 8,000 members. It registered about 250,000 individual rides last year. The system was named one of Time magazine's Top 50 inventions of 2008 and is being replicated in Toronto and Ottawa. It's not an entirely new idea, of course. Paris boasts a similar program, Velib, which supplies more than 20,000 bicycles throughout the core of the city. And each and every year, more and more cities are taking steps to promote bikes and public transit, especially in city cores that simply cannot absorb an endless supply of vehicular traffic. Which brings us back to Winnipeg. Congratulations must go out to the city and province for extending Winnipeg's dedicated bike-lane system and for including bike lanes alongside the new rapid-transit bus corridor. Unfortunately, there was a hitch. City traffic engineers could not find a cost-effective way of negotiating the Osborne Street underpass, which essentially cuts the downtown-bound bike lane in half. The underpass cannot be expanded to include a bike path, so cyclists would be forced to share the underpass with buses and other vehicular traffic at some risk. Cycling advocates cried foul, claiming that they weren't getting a safe, uninterrupted route from southern neighbourhoods into the downtown. The city has responded with a promise to rebuild the underpass some time in the future, but not in the near future. The absence of a solution for the Osborne underpass dilemma does not undo the good done by the city and province on this issue. It does, however, demonstrate Winnipeg's capacity for falling short on good ideas. It also suggests that civic officials are stuck in that mindset that says bike lanes are gravy, not meat and potatoes when it comes to urban planning. They would be wrong, of course. Bigger cities with greater population density have little choice but to consider radical approaches to moving people in and out of core areas. Winnipeg is not under that kind of pressure, but that does not mean we can take a leisurely approach. There is a downtown renaissance going on in this city, even if it is moving at a glacial pace, and one of the new trends is the growing number of people travelling downtown for work. The new Manitoba Hydro headquarters will be full by this fall. Red River College is expanding in the Exchange District and the University of Winnipeg is doing likewise. There are continuing rumours that another government entity (Manitoba Lotteries?) could occupy the top floors of the Hudson's Bay store at Memorial Boulevard and Portage Avenue. The time is right for the city to move aggressively on bike lanes, bike-sharing programs, and improvements to mass transit in and out of downtown. The rapid-transit program is a move in the right direction, but it should be coupled with efforts to make parking more expensive and rapid transit more affordable and convenient. And let's not forget safety. On Tuesday, two cyclists were struck by cars. Carnage like that is reason enough to look at alternatives. Modern, progressive cities move more people on bikes and rapid transit than in minivans and sedans. They do that because they have to. Winnipeg may not need the same kind of amenities for cyclists now. But we're going to need them soon and there's no good reason to put off the inevitable. dan.lett(a)freepress.mb.ca Find this article at: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-will-need-to-pedal-harder-52508…

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Active Transportation - Canada: July 20, 2009
by Beth McKechnie 30 Jul '09

30 Jul '09

----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Haynes To: undisclosed recipients: Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 9:03 AM Subject: Active Transportation - Canada: July 20, 2009 Active Transportation - Canada features a regular posting of news articles, studies, reports, and other items that have relevance in this field, with previous postings available in an archive. In addition, pictures of existing Active Transportation infrastructure from communities across Canada will be profiled each week. The following items have recently been posted to the Active Transportation - Canada Blog. To view in more detail, go to: http://activetransportation-canada.blogspot.com **************************************************************************************************** AT Infrastructure Example: Halifax NS - Informal bike parking 1.. Arrest made, van seized after hit-and-run injures five cyclists 2.. New ACT Canada Newsletter 3.. Commuting by Bike or Foot Provides Heart Help for Men in Study 4.. Carless in Calgary 5.. Dufferin County Active Transportation and Trails (DCATT) Master Plan 6.. Chaos! Mayhem! The End of The World As We Know It! Would That Be Such A Bad Thing? 7.. Calgary - No plans to unveil new pedestrian bridge 8.. The pedestrian's guide to Toronto 9.. Clark County commission broaches idea of tax on bikes 10.. Eco Mobile à Laval launches "Try a Bike" - En Route to Active Transportation 11.. Victoria Walks 12.. Walking Promotion in NZ 13.. Dar plans for bicycle lanes to ease congestion 14.. Report: Reclaiming city streets for people 15.. Netherlands: e-Bikes Market Share Surging **************************************************************************************************** A reminder e-mail of new postings will be sent no more often than once per week. To continue to receive these updates, you need take no action. Should you not wish to receive updates, please return this e-mail with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject area. Interested in an AT workshop in your community? For more information, please contact: Michael Haynes Director, TransActive Solutions MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "ca.mc883.mail.yahoo.com" claiming to be activetransportation(a)rogers.com 613.424.2803

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The Transportation Prescription
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jul '09

27 Jul '09

transportation paper e-alert[Forwarded on behalf of Mike Tutthill} Thought folks may be interested in this . . . Mike From: Prevention Institute [mailto:prevent@preventioninstitute.org] Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 7:53 PM To: mtutthill(a)mhlrc.ca Subject: The Transportation Prescription Prevention Institute Alert July 24, 2009 Visit us online! Spread the word! Forward this to a friend and encourage them to sign up Update your contact information We invite your feedback: Prevent(a)PreventionInstitute.org PREVENTION INSTITUTE 221 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607 Tel: 510.444.7738 MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "ent.groundspring.org" claiming to be www.PreventionInstitute.org New Resource Alert: The Transportation Prescription Traditional transportation policy has been crafted to move cars faster and further. Missing from the equation is how transportation, or lack thereof, affected people's quality of life: their health, their opportunities and their vitality. The consequences of these policies are felt today with high levels of air pollution, injury, and lack of access to critical goods and services. Also, given our focus on cars, non-automobile related transportation options have been neglected; a lack of walking and biking infrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks and bike paths have added to the alarming increase in obesity in the U.S. All of these impacts are felt particularly strongly in low-income communities and communities of color adding to rampant health disparities in our nation. The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America, a report by PolicyLink and Prevention Institute, commissioned by the Convergence Partnership, is a policy guide that analyzes the intersection of transportation, health and equity. This report provides key policy and program recommendations that can improve health outcomes in vulnerable communities, create economic opportunity, and enhance environmental quality. This report also features a foreword by Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and one of the primary authors of the upcoming federal transportation bill -an over $500 billion investment that will set transportation policy and funding in the United States for approximately the next six years. "For too long now, our transportation decision-making has failed to address the impacts that our infrastructure network has on public health and equity," Rep. Oberstar said. "The asphalt poured and lane miles constructed enhanced our mobility and strengthened our economic growth; but too often, this auto-centric mindset took hold and crowded out opportunities to invest in a truly sustainable inter-modal transportation system, in particular a system that meets the needs of underserved communities." The Transportation Prescription provides a summary of an in-depth review of the intersection of health, equity and transportation, by key academics and advocates in the field. The nearly 200-page analysis will be published separately in August in a report called Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy: Recommendations and Research. --- --- --- Please FORWARD this alert to others interested in primary prevention and encourage them to JOIN OUR NETWORK so they too can be informed as new prevention-related resources are released. A focal point for encouraging effective primary prevention and equity, MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "ent.groundspring.org" claiming to be www.PreventionInstitute.org is your link to prevention-related ideas, projects, publications, tools, and events. Home | About Us | Our Prevention Approach | Tools -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this list as mtutthill(a)mhlrc.ca. Click here to unsubscribe, or send email to unsubscribe.370926.285338432.3975917285698775186-mtutthill_mhlrc.ca(a)en.groundspring.org. Our postal address is 221 Oak Street Oakland, California 94607 United States

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Interesting discussion in Metro Vancouver about licensing cyclists and paying for using the roadways
by David Wieser 26 Jul '09

26 Jul '09

This discussion is happening in Metro Vancouver right now about taxing and licensing cyclists. Looks like some good arguments in there for when the issues come up here in Winnipeg. David Wieser http://disqus.com/people/davidallan/#main davidallanin Burnaby NewsLeader - COLUMN: It’s time to end the free ride for cyclists<http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/burnabynewsleader/opinion/COLU…> on Burnaby Newsleader <http://burnabynewsleader.disqus.com/> "It's time to end the free ride for motorists. As a car-free person and cyclist by choice, I am constantly being forced to subsidize a motoring lifestyle that is rapidly destroying the public environment for private benefit, which in turn serves to destroy my own, and my neighbours' health and well-being. Whenever I see "free" parking, I pay for that. Every time I see an obese smoker idling in traffic inside a ton of useless metal, with three empty seats beside her, I think, 'there is my tax dollars subsidising an unhealthy lifestyle enabled by motoring,' and I will pay for that for years to come. Your auto insurance subsidy, your gasoline subsidy, your parking subsidy, the brown haze of pollution, I pay for that. Police services that assumes I am at fault in any collision, and that laughed in my face when I asked about the liklihood of my stolen bike being returned, I pay for that. yet I see a large publically funded bait-car campaign with a great deal of advertising. I pay for that. Without any public consultation, the federal goverenmnet has seen fit to buy 12% of a fqiled foreign car company, and will guarantee warranties on poorly built products. I pay for that. Cyclists are not some strange invasive species. They are your friends and neighbours, your doctor and your postman; they are homeowners, business owners and sometimes motorists and yes, they are already taxpayers, just like you. Unlike many self-serving lobby groups, the future that cyclists desire is a benefit to everyone--clean air, a clean and healthy food and water supply, communities and streets that are safe for all users. Instead of attacking bicycle riders, you should be thanking them for trying to bring a healthier and more livable future to the Lower Mainland." And another reply to the news article suggesting that pedestrians should be taxed and licensed as well since they are using sidewalks / roadways as well. http://disqus.com/people/glennnnnn/#main

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Cycling Etiquette
by David Wieser 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Nothing fancy about this video, but it's an introduction to a competition in two categories in the competition: "Why Biking Rules!" and "The Biking Rules Street Code." The video is somewhat entertaining in how poor some cycling skills and etiquette are though! http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/bikingrulespsasubmission/

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Bicycle Boulevard Planning & Design
by David Wieser 16 Jul '09

16 Jul '09

This report is intended to serve as a planning and conceptual design guide for planners, engineers, citizens, advocates, and decision makers who are considering bicycle boulevards in their community. Data for this guide was developed from literature review, case study interviews, and input from a panel of professional experts. Download the 6 MB document at: http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/guidebook.php

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