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WFP Analysis: Research supports reduced-speed initiative (Apr12'21)
by Beth McKechnie 12 Apr '21

12 Apr '21

*Research supports reduced-speed initiative * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/research-supports-reduce… OVER the last 10 years, six million vehicles have been added to Canadian roads, an increase of almost 20 per cent. Since the 1990s, the average vehicle horsepower has almost doubled, average vehicle weight has increased by 26 per cent, cars are 17 per cent larger and 80 per cent of vehicles sold in Canada today are trucks and SUVs. In Manitoba, more vehicles and larger, faster vehicles has led to a 50 per cent increase in collisions resulting in injury during the past decade. On Winnipeg streets in 2019, the last available statistics, every second day a pedestrian or cyclist was struck and injured by a driver seriously enough to be reported. Every third day a pedestrian or cyclist was sent to hospital, and almost once a month one was killed. Across the country, nearly one out of every five people killed or seriously injured in vehicle collisions is not in a vehicle. All these statistics are inspiring a wave of change across Canada, as cities are one by one lowering speed limits on residential streets to make neighbourhoods safer for all road users, and more comfortable for pedestrians and cyclists. Montreal led the way in 2019 by making sweeping speed-limit changes across the city. Main streets were reduced from 50 km/h to 40 km/h and all residential streets were changed to 30 km/h. Edmonton and Calgary, famous for their car culture, followed suit and reduced residential speed limits to 40 km/h. Quebec City recently announced it will match Montreal and go to 30 km/h on most residential streets. Lowering speed limits to improve road safety is simple physics. The energy transferred in a collision increases with both mass and velocity — bigger vehicles moving faster cause more damage. In general, if a pedestrian is struck by a car travelling at 50 km/h, there is a 50/50 chance of survival, but when speeds are reduced to 30 km/h, almost all pedestrians survive and 30 per cent will not even suffer an injury, making that speed a magic number for advocates. Slower speeds also reduce stopping distances, from 28 metres at 50 km/h to 20 metres at 40 km/h and 13 metres at 30 km/h, which makes roads safer by reducing the likelihood of collisions. The City of Calgary predicts that by reducing residential speed limits to 40 km/h, as many as 450 vehicle collisions will be avoided each year. Research in several cities has proven that the science has real-world effects. A study in Toronto showed that between 2013 and 2018, lowering posted residential speed limits from 40 km/h to 30 km/h reduced pedestrian collisions by 28 per cent and severe injuries fell by two-thirds. In Edmonton, implementing 30 km/h school zones has reduced severe pedestrian collisions by almost half. A 20-year study in the U.K. demonstrated that 30 km/h zones were associated with a 42 per cent decrease in road casualties. Travelling 50 km/h protected by a 2,000-kilogram metal box may not feel fast, but for a pedestrian or cyclist, sharing the road with large, fast-moving vehicles can be unnerving; so much so that it’s a significant deterrent to active transportation for many people. Slower residential street traffic not only makes neighbourhoods safer; it also makes them comfortable and livable, inviting more people to engage in walking and biking. In response to mounting pressure for change in Winnipeg, Coun. Jeff Browaty recently commissioned a public survey to ask people if they want to drive slower. Not surprisingly, more than half of respondents said no. Coun. Browaty has been using the results as proof that Winnipeggers are opposed to this change. Digging beyond the headlines, however, those who support safer streets might see the results as a victory. Certainly, they provide reason for optimism. Even with the poll offering little context or background, 44 per cent of respondents supported reducing speed limits and only one-third were strongly opposed. In mature neighbourhoods where people walk and bike far more than they do in the outer suburbs, support was about twice as high. Without context, people hear reduced residential speed limits, especially 30 km/h, and picture themselves crawling around the city at a snail’s pace. In response to this misconception, Edmonton launched a successful public engagement process to outline the impacts. The city even created an app that allows people to input their destination and see the travel time difference with the new speed limits. In most cases trips were minimally affected. Consider that in Winnipeg, 25,000 vehicles per day are driven down Grant Avenue, and it has the same speed limit as the cul-de-sac your kids play street hockey on. Portage Avenue downtown is eight lanes wide and has the same speed limit as the two-lane street you back onto when pulling out of your garage. Presented with context, it seems illogical not to change the speed limits. Public-safety policy is not a popularity contest, and should be based on data, engineering and science, but Coun. Browaty’s recent poll shows there is a significant base of support for calmer streets. We take pride in our city of great neighbourhoods; by using this new polling information as a springboard to public consultation that broadens support even further, we can follow the lead of other cities and reduce residential speed limits to make those great neighbourhoods even better. *Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group.*

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WFP: Wheels in motion on push for active transportation network (Apr9'21)
by Beth McKechnie 09 Apr '21

09 Apr '21

Wheels in motion on push for active transportation network https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/wheels-in-motion-on-push-for-active… IT’S time to make it as easy to cycle or walk throughout Winnipeg as it is to drive. That’s the message to Mayor Brian Bowman, Premier Brian Pallister and federal cabinet minister Dan Vandal, from a lobby group that has demanded they take urgent action to provide a connected network of cycling and walking routes throughout the city. “Right now, unless you own a personal vehicle, your ability to get around Winnipeg to access employment, to access services, is really limited. You either have to use Winnipeg Transit … and your time for that trip is often twice or even four times as long as it would be for somebody in a personal vehicle. Or, if you travel on foot or by bike, you often have to face sections of your route that are very unsafe,” said Mel Marginet of the Green Action Centre, which is part of the campaign. Marginet said about 70 per cent of Winnipeg families surveyed by Green Action Centre said they live within three kilometres or less of their childrens’ schools. Only about 16 per cent said they walk or bike to get there, often due to safety concerns, she said. “People need safe ways to get to work, to school, to run their essential errands on foot and by bike and that’s really how we’re going to see… a response to our need for mode shift (from personal vehicle transportation to greener options),” she said. Ideally, the group hopes politicians will immediately take steps to add a temporary grid for a full active transportation network throughout the city, which would eventually be made permanent. Marginet welcomed Winnipeg’s temporary “open streets” but says such recreation options don’t help commuters. Nearly a dozen streets were designated as “open” in 2020, where vehicular traffic was limited to just one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily to make more room for cyclists and pedestrians. She said governments should also invest in active transportation to ensure equity, since Black, Indigenous and people of colour, as well as women and youth, are more likely to rely on transit, cycling and walking to reach their destinations. “(This is) really a response to those (Winnipeggers) to say that you matter in our society and that our transportation system should offer you comfortable choices as well,” Marginet said. Her organization, and representatives from 14 others, signed letters to lobby for the change, which were hand delivered to the politicians this week. Members of the group include several community organizations, as well as the superintendents of the Pembina Trails and Louis Riel school divisions. In an email, Mayor Bowman’s office said he continues to support Winnipeg’s pedestrian and cycling strategy and “remains open to looking at more ways the city can be innovative in its approach in the creation of new walking and cycling paths.” The statement did not promise specific action. In a written statement, a spokesperson for Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Derek Johnson said his government spent $7.5 million to expand hiking and biking trails last year. The statement didn’t promise specific action on a connected active transportation network for Winnipeg, but noted the city could spend some of the $75.3 million in provincial capital funding it will receive this year on that purpose. Dan Vandal could not be reached for comment. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Traffic Calming Request Process
by Beth McKechnie 05 Apr '21

05 Apr '21

[snipped from Councillor Lukes' newsletter] Speeding and Traffic Calming of Streets The public service has developed a new process to deal with requests for traffic calming of streets. Over the past few years, the public service has seen a dramatic increase in requests to investigate how to traffic calm residential and collector streets. The engineers have developed a six step process starting with a resident making a request. See details here: Traffic Calming <https://u2481139.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=-2FzUZWSuvR5fHvfuxBn3ORIuE0XH…>

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The Herald: Federal funds committed to active transportation (Apr1'21)
by Beth McKechnie 02 Apr '21

02 Apr '21

Federal funds committed to active transportationLocal projects could benefit from federal strategy, $400m fund https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Federal-funds-comm… Although "if you build it, they will come" was written about a baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield, it could very well have been writing about active transportation routes. In March, the federal government pledged $400 million towards the country’s first active transportation fund, and the development of Canada’s first National Active Transportation Strategy. The purpose of the strategy, according to its official website, is to "co-ordinate active transportation investments that reflect best practice planning, design, regulations, and standards across levels of government, Indigenous communities, not-for-profits and the private sector." The announcement was great news for longtime proponents of AT. The Winnipeg Trails Association called the announcement: "Excellent news for all Canadian communities at a time we need it most." Local politicians also welcomed the announcement, noting a number of projects across the northeast that could benefit from the fund, though most expressed a cautious optimism that the money will find its way onto northeast streets. Daniel Blaikie, MP for Elmwood-Transcona, noted that northeast Winnipeg is home to a number of great active transportation routes, like the Northeast Pioneers Greenway and the Transcona Trail. However, getting from one to the other remains problematic. "These options help people engage in activities or commute to work without use of a vehicle," Blaikie said. "We need to work on those connecting nodes, so people can use that whole network in a seamless way that they can feel safe and comfortable and use a network that allows them to explore the community." Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) echoed those sentiments, adding that he would like to see funding go towards a number of projects in Transcona that have been delayed for too long, including an AT pathway along either Regent or Reenders to Panet Road. "Is there a way to figure that out in that section, a dedicated way to cycling?" Nason said, noting that finishing that route had been included in the 2018 budget, but was removed at the last minute. Nason would also like to see the AT route on Pandora, which currently ends at Day Street, completed, as well as a route through Canterbury Park connecting to the Transcona Trail. "If there’s a windfall, I’d like to see those connections made," Nason said. Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), who sits on the city’s standing policy committee on infrastructure renewal and public works, said he’d like to access support "to plant additional trees along the Northeast Pioneer’s Greenway in North Kildonan." Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) added that there are a pair of studies ongoing in his ward to improve bike routes, particularly along Roch Street. "I’m always into experiments, because if we don’t try things we can’t discuss them," Schreyer said. "What’s missing in the area is actually remarkably simple," said Michel Durand-Wood, an executive with the Glenelm Neighbourhood Association and author of the popular blog Dear Winnipeg... "We just need to focus on making it easier for residents to get to the stuff in our neighbourhood, like local businesses, services, parks, etc." Durand-Wood would like to see an investment in "more space for people," rather than cars, in local neighbourhoods. "Do we want a neighbourhood that is vibrant, accessible to all including seniors, children and those with disabilities, with tons of thriving local businesses that are easy to walk to?" he said. "Or do we want a place that is fast to drive through?" For more information on the federal program, visit infrastructure.gc.ca/trans/active-actif-eng.html

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WFP: Most city drivers want speed limit kept as is: poll (Apr1'21)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Apr '21

01 Apr '21

Most city drivers want speed limit kept as is: poll https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/most-city-drivers-want-speed-limit-… WINNIPEGGERS don’t want the speed limit lowered on residential streets, a new poll has found, despite a strong lobby effort to get city hall to slow drivers down. A Probe Research poll commissioned by Coun. Jeff Browaty asked 600 Winnipeggers about reducing the default speed limit on residential streets. A majority (56 per cent) said they opposed the change, while 44 per cent supported it. If given a chance to vote on a plebiscite to reduce the residential speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h, 66 per cent said they would vote “no,” 26 per cent said they’d vote “yes” and eight per cent weren’t sure. Browaty (North Kildonan), who opposes lowering the limit, said the findings show most Winnipeggers agree with him. “It is pretty clear that… most of Winnipeg is opposed to the 30 (km/h speed limit) and lowering it in general,” he said. The councillor said he hopes the feedback will help to convince his council colleagues to keep the current residential speed limit. Last year, the majority of council members voted in favour of a one-year pilot project to test a 30 km/h speed limit on five residential streets, though no exact date has been set for that to begin. Browaty opposed the change. He said he remains convinced the city shouldn’t pursue speed reductions because roads are safe under the current limits. “I think there are a lot of responsible people who, on the more major local streets, will drive up to 50 km/h and can do so safely,” he said. “I hope these polling numbers will give an opportunity for my colleagues to reflect on what their constituents are thinking.” The Probe Research poll surveyed a random and representative sample of 600 Winnipeg adults online and by phone between March 10 and 21. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, with 95 per cent certainty. Winnipeg groups that have pushed council to reduce the speed limit argue the change is needed to improve safety. And that risk is why all speed limit decisions must be handled by experts, not guided by public opinion, said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. “We’re not putting fire regulations to a plebiscite, why are we putting traffic safety to a plebiscite? We lose lives in this city due to people getting hit by cars. It’s unfortunate and I think we want to make sure that goes down to zero,” said Cohoe. The World Health Organization says pedestrians have a 90 per cent chance of survival when hit by a car travelling at 30 kilometres per hour, but that drops to less than 50 per cent when the car travels at 45 km/h. Mel Marginet, a sustainable transportation co-ordinator for the Green Action Centre, said she’s not surprised by the opposition to a reduced speed limit, something for which she has advocated. “Change is always hard and… a majority of Winnipeggers get around by personal vehicles and few people experience their neighbourhood on foot or by bike. So I think we just minimize that threat or we don’t appreciate how intimidating that is,” said Marginet. She expects public support would grow for a reduced speed limit on residential streets once Winnipeggers try them out. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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WFP: Councillor suggests alternate use for school-zone speeding funds (Mar30'21)
by Beth McKechnie 30 Mar '21

30 Mar '21

Councillor suggests alternate use for school-zone speeding funds Take radar revenue, reconfigure roads: Allard https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/allard-wants-school-zone-speeding-r… A WINNIPEG city councillor hopes to spend photo radar revenue from school zones to reconstruct roads in ways that slow down the drivers in those areas. Coun. Matt Allard, council’s public works chairman, is calling for a staff report with options to reallocate that cash from the police budget to public works. In a new motion, the councillor notes school-zone tickets have been criticized as a revenue generator and stresses more must be done to stop drivers from speeding near schools. “Some of the data indicates that there isn’t (enough) in terms of changes in driver behaviour despite the photo enforcement locations,” said Allard (St. Boniface). “What’s proven to work is actually reconfiguring the road where there’s a high volume of tickets.” He suggests the public service check out traffic-calming options to see what would work best in school zones with speeding concerns, which could include speed bumps or road narrowing. Allard said he doesn’t know how much revenue police could lose through the move, though he said budgets could be gradually altered to ease the loss. “I’m convinced that we need to do more than just photo enforcement. We need to follow that up with other road improvements in order for speeding to properly be addressed,” he said. The councillor said he believes photo radar vans have been effective at slowing down some speeders, but the city needs to take further action to address others. If the effort succeeds, that could eventually reduce or eliminate the need for photo enforcement, he said. “I think the program is a good one (but) I think it needs reform,” he said. The Winnipeg Police Service raised $9.6 million in photo-radar revenue in 2020, an amount that plummeted from an initial budget estimate of $15.8 million because of a drop in driving during the pandemic. City budgets don’t specify how much of the revenue is raised through school-zone enforcement. A total of 10 mobile units are assigned to conduct speed enforcement in zones around schools, playgrounds and construction, according to the WPS website. The number of school-zone tickets handed out has been inconsistent in recent years: 53,263 in 2016, 50,125 in 2017, 41,784 in 2018 and 41,793 in 2019. The lack of a clear downward trend shows ticketing hasn’t triggered a lasting improvement in driver behaviour, said Christian Sweryda, a law student and former WiseUp Winnipeg member who has long criticized the photo-enforcement program. “Personally, I see that tickets would drop as people get used to knowing where the vans are. And then, every year or two (police) have to change something to get the tickets back up,” said Sweryda. In an emailed statement, WPS spokesperson Const. Rob Carver declined to discuss what impact the budget change could have on the police service. “We will not speculate on the potential impact of budget proposals,” wrote Carver. *Allard’s motion is slated for a vote at the April 6 meeting of the Riel community committee.* Joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

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Dangerous by Design 2021: Pedestrian Deaths Up 45% (US)
by Beth McKechnie 26 Mar '21

26 Mar '21

*Dangerous by Design 2021: Pedestrian Deaths Up 45%* The new edition of Dangerous by Design 2021 <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> from Smart Growth America reports that the number of people hit and killed by drivers while walking in the US increased by 45% in the last decade, and that the last four years have been the deadliest for pedestrian deaths since 1990. The report also highlights ongoing disparities in which groups of people are at greatest risk of dying while walking. Older adults, Black or African American and American Indian or Alaska Native people, and people in low-income communities continue to be disproportionately represented in fatal crashes involving people walking. The report uses the most recent federal Fatal Accident Reporting System data on pedestrian fatalities combined with data on population and walking rates to rank states and the 100 most populous metropolitan areas by their “Pedestrian Danger Index." Forty-nine states and 84 of the 100 largest metro areas have become more dangerous since the 2019 edition of the Dangerous by Design report. The report calls on states, localities, and the federal government to make improving pedestrian safety an urgent priority and identifies actions that can save lives. These include passing the newly introduced Complete Streets Act of 2021 <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…>, which would require state DOTs and MPOs to plan for all people who use the street, including the most vulnerable users. Learn more about the Dangerous by Design report in a webinar on March 25 at 2:00 pm ET <https://pedbikeinfo.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ae385fc8506278c2e45…> .

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Americans Drove Fewer Miles in 2020. Pedestrians Weren’t Any Safer. - WSJ
by Terry Zdan 23 Mar '21

23 Mar '21

https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-drove-fewer-miles-in-2020-pedestrian…

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CTV: Winnipeg planning to build more pedestrian bridges (Mar19'21)
by Beth McKechnie 21 Mar '21

21 Mar '21

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-planning-to-build-more-pedestrian-brid… WINNIPEG -- With more and more Winnipeggers choosing to walk or cycle as a mode of transportation, the City of Winnipeg also has plans to add more pedestrian bridges around the city. According to Chris Baker, a City of Winnipeg senior active transportation planner, the city has two current priorities when it comes to pedestrian bridges. “The top priority is the Fort Rouge McFadden Bridge, connecting the Downtown to Osborne Village,” he said. “The next priority would be the Pembina Highway overpass at the Bishop Grandin Greenway.” Baker added that these shovel-ready projects are part of the city’s infrastructure priority list and will be built once the city finds the funding. *THE CITY’S CURRENT PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES* Currently, there are more than 50 pedestrian bridges in the city of Winnipeg. “That includes everything from the signature bridges, the Disraeli pedestrian bridge over the Red River or the Esplanade Riel and all the way down to a bridge in a golf course or in a city park,” Baker said. He noted the city’s active transportation policy is what guides where it chooses to build bridges, adding that the policy calls for several bridges and other grade separations throughout the city. *ARE THE BRIDGES NECESSARY?* Baker said through the city’s monitoring of walking and cycling it has discovered that people are partaking in these activities more and more. He said that in the spring of 2020, some locations reported a 30 per cent increase in the number of pedestrians and cyclists compared to 2019. Anyone who is looking to provide feedback on pedestrian bridges can contact 311.

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CBC: Winnipeg still considering whether to continue, or expand, active transportation route program (Mar19'21)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Mar '21

19 Mar '21

City reviewing pandemic program that was popular with users, but not always with residents on closed streets https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-city-open-streets-active-t… Thousands of residents pedalled and pounded the pavement of Winnipeg's "open streets" routes earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic — but decisions on what will happen with that initiative this spring are still on hold. The restrictive nature of public health orders in 2020, as the pandemic began, prompted the City of Winnipeg last spring to expand its four regular Sunday/holiday bicycle routes <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/city-winnipeg-active-transportation…> to seven days a week. It later added several other locations <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/city-winnipeg-more-active-transport…> across the city. Sections of Lyndale Drive, Wellington Crescent, Wolseley Avenue and Scotia Street were, as usual, reserved for pedestrians and cyclists during daytime hours until the Thanksgiving weekend last year, with motor vehicle traffic limited to one block on those routes. The city added sections of Assiniboine Avenue, Churchill Drive, Egerton Road, Kildonan Drive and Kilkenny Drive to that list in April, and Vialoux Drive in July. They remained closed to daytime vehicle traffic <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-open-streets-closed-labour…> until the Labour Day weekend last year. Now, with temperatures rising and some health restrictions still in place, there are questions about where the city will take the program this year. Some feel limiting motor traffic on certain streets should not only be continued, but expanded. "Absolutely. It's been life changing to have a place where we can walk and we can actually space" apart to observe physical distancing, Debbie Kroeker said as she strolled with a friend down Wellington Crescent. "If we didn't have this, we couldn't walk with more than one person. So it's just a way to really energize the community." A report on the active transportation routes was ordered by city council last September, but the public administration has asked for, and received, extensions to finish the work — the latest being until the middle of April. Staff with the city's public works department are expected to find options for other streets across the city that could be closed on some basis to motor traffic, and recommendations for establishing year-round active transportation route. The chair of the city's public works and infrastructure committee is keen to get going on some sort of expansion of the program, and is chafing at the wait for feedback from staff. "I, for one, would like to see them open right now," said St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard. "The public service has had two extensions to produce the report.… Seeing the snow melt and recalling the huge success last year, I'm really eager to get this going, and I don't see why we can't get it going right away." 'A lot of confrontations': Wellington resident Not everyone thinks expanding the program would be a good idea. One Wellington Crescent resident says turning her street into an active transportation route has prompted plenty of friction between cyclists and pedestrians, and residents trying to get to or from their homes. "The people that are using the street don't really have any regard to the people that live on the street and need to access the street," said Leanne (she declined to give her last name). "So there's been a lot of confrontations … you know, yelling at people for being on the street or having your vehicle when you're just trying to get to your driveway and get home." She says she filled out a city survey seeking feedback on the routes <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-open-streets-program-surve…> last year, and hopes some attention is paid to the residents. "Think of it from our point of view as well. We want everyone to be safe and walk, and it's a beautiful street and we want to enjoy it too, but we do live on it and we need to get our vehicles out," she said. Kroeker hopes the people who walk and bike the streets, and the residents along them, can find a way to use them together. "Everybody needs to dig a bit deeper and be tolerant and patient — and of course, please be respectful of our wonderful neighbours here and vice versa," she said. A spokesperson for the city's public works department called last year's open streets program "unprecedented" and said it was taking extra time to prepare the report on what to do next. "The additional time needed to present our recommendations has been a result of doing extensive due diligence in terms of consulting with stakeholders and working to ensure that any identified corridors are able to function as open streets," spokesperson Ken Allen said in an email.

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