- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

WFP: Traffic woes at schools 'universal complaint' (Dec.18'12)
by Beth McKechnie 19 Dec '12

19 Dec '12

[Hmmm, School Travel Planning anyone?! Bike, walk, anyone? -Beth] Traffic woes at schools 'universal complaint' By: Nick Martin http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/traffic-woes-at-schools-universal-co… TRAFFIC can be a nightmare around every school in the Winnipeg School Division. No, not just the speeders who treat a school zone as a freeway -- it's caused primarily by parents dropping off and picking up their kids. There's often nowhere to park, no loop in front of the main doors and nowhere for kids to get in and out of cars easily and safely. "It was a universal complaint about every school," said trustee Mark Wasyliw, but "no two schools are similar." Earlier this year, trustee Mike Babinsky requested a staff report on traffic problems around Meadows West School, near Keewatin Street in northwest Winnipeg. Wasyliw had already heard and seen lots of problems in southern schools, so he got board support to amend Babinsky's request to cover every school in the division. The results were staggering -- not one school reported itself free of traffic problems, said Wasyliw. "This is the No. 1 issue that is universal in every school. "No one realized this is a large and difficult issue," he said. "The transportation department is reviewing it with each and every school." Residents complain about cars parked and stopping all over the area of Kelvin High School, he said. J.B. Mitchell in River Heights is kitty-corner to St. Jean Brebeuf School, a Catholic school, creating double the chaos. At Robert H. Smith School, also in River Heights, residents park on the street, forcing parents to double- and triple-park, often letting their kids out of the car straight into traffic. "Grosvenor's fast," Wasyliw said. "They're (Grosvenor School) worried about putting grades 4 and 5 out as crossing guards." Several schools are asking for adult crossing guards, which adds to the division's budget dilemma, said Wasyliw. "We're looking at possibly doing staggered bell times," to ease congestion, and so buses could pick up and drop off kids for more than one school. Many older schools have no area in which parents can pull in, Wasyliw said. "Bus loops and cutouts, they're 100 grand each. We have 13 schools (that) want them." nick.martin(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Dear Santa
by Zdan, Terry (MIT) 19 Dec '12

19 Dec '12

[cid:image002.jpg@01CDDDC3.862F2410] Season's Greetings Terry Zdan BA MEDes Policy & Service Development Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation 1520 215 Garry Street Winnipeg MB R3C 3P3 please note this is my only phone C 204 227 3724 E Terry.Zdan(a)gov.mb.ca

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"30km/h - making the streets liveable!". EU
by Zdan, Terry (MIT) 18 Dec '12

18 Dec '12

http://en.30kmh.eu/ About the initiative 30 km/h (20 mph) limits are an inexpensive and popular way to improve safety, cut pollution and encourage smarter travel choices. They lead to improved traffic flow and less congestion. People can move without fear. We want to achieve these benefits for the whole of the European Union. What is our vision? 30 km/h shall become the standard speed limits for villages, towns and cities with local authorities being able to decide on exemptions. Therefore, we will set the agenda for the European Commission. We want the commission to come up with a proposal to introduce 30 km/h speed limits. We are organising a "European Citizen´s Initiative" - a fascinating, brand-new policy instrument in the European Union. That includes a huge effort as we must collect more than 1 million signatures within one year from at least 7 different member states of the EU. Season's Greetings Terry Zdan BA MEDes Policy & Service Development Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation 1520 215 Garry Street Winnipeg MB R3C 3P3 please note this is my only phone C 204 227 3724 E Terry.Zdan(a)gov.mb.ca

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Grist: Chicago likes bikes – and it's about to prove it in a big way
by Beth McKechnie 18 Dec '12

18 Dec '12

Chicago likes bikes — and it’s about to prove it in a big way By Lori Rotenberk <http://grist.org/author/lori-rotenberk/> http://grist.org/cities/chicago-like-bikes-and-its-about-to-prove-it-in-a-b… Look over your shoulder, Portland, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. Chicago is about to roll out plans to lay down 645 miles of bike lanes by 2020. If you’re not careful, the Windy City is going to pedal off with the title of Most Bikeable City in the U.S. Today, the city’s bike-loving mayor, Rahm Emanuel, will unveil the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 <http://www.chicagobikes.org>, an aggressive bicycling blueprint that was a year in the making. With 30 miles of protected bike lanes already completed and another 70 promised before the end of Emanuel’s first term in 2015, the city’s new cycling infrastructure will weave through every neighborhood, assuring a path within a half-mile of every Chicagoan’s home. The unveiling takes place on Chicago’s once taxi-, auto-, and bus-infested Dearborn Street. The city spawned a wave of envy<http://streetsblog.net/2012/12/05/chicago-bike-lane-envy-sweeps-the-nation/…>among national bike bloggers this month when it removed a motor vehicle lane from the downtown artery, replacing it with a two-way protected cycling lane complete with bike traffic signals<http://grist.org/news/traffic-signals-for-cyclists-pop-up-nationwide/> . Michael Amsden, a project manager for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) Bike Program says swiping a lane from drivers took “lots of political know-how,” adding that “no other city has cut through dense traffic” in that manner. While other cities have been putting in bike infrastructure for years, what sets Chicago apart, Amsden says, is the sheer super-speed at which the city has laid down protected bike lanes, going from “zero to second-most in the country in just 18 months.” City officials hint that converting car lanes into bike lanes is the way of Chicago’s future. The mastermind of all this action is Chicago transportation czar Gabe Klein<http://grist.org/transportation/2011-12-15-zen-and-the-art-of-urban-transpo…>, known for cruising town on his Dutch-style two-wheeler sporting vintage linen suits. In many areas of the city, Klein says, lane installation is tied with planned infrastructure improvements, which will make the work less expensive. And while initial funding for the project is local, next year the city will work with federal funds awarded through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. But the plan’s strongest asset, say supporters, is its backing from the public: It’s a grid designed by the people for the people. To create it, CDOT teamed up with the Active Transportation Alliance<http://www.activetrans.org/>, a local nonprofit advocacy group that set up community meetings in nine areas of the city. Alliance volunteers met monthly for a year with residents in neighborhood bars, restaurants, and homes to discuss where they wanted to see the bike lanes installed. Major obstacles included the city’s numerous rail lines, waterways, and high-crime areas. Large maps detailing the routes were delivered to CDOT engineers. “To my knowledge,” says Lee Crandell, the Alliance’s director of campaigns, “no other city has involved the public as much as Chicago has.” Klein hopes to see the number of cars on the roads — and their speed — decrease. (According to the 2010 census, only 1.3 percent of Chicagoans bike to work, but studies show more would if they felt safe.) Future engineering includes more pedestrian crosswalks, bus-only lanes, and digital speed signs for motorists along busy thoroughfares. Over time, Amsden envisions the Windy City becoming less frenetic as the “Mary Poppins Effect” <http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/the-mary-poppins-effect/> kicks in – that is, as racing bikes and Spandex give way to more casual cruisers and street clothes. “When motorists see someone dressed in their work clothes riding a bike with a bell and a basket, while sitting upright, they seem to slow down because the cyclist’s look calls for respect,” Amsden says. “Drivers in Amsterdam, for example, know how to drive next to a person on a bicycle.” There’s been little opposition to Emanuel’s quest to transform Chicago’s driving habits. One of the few outspoken critics is John Kass, a plump (“readers tell me that bicycling to work would seriously improve the sculpt of my buttocks”)*,* car-driving *Chicago Tribune* columnist who has often painted cyclists and their protected lanes as either hipsters or snobs. When Emanuel gushed about progressive transportation and the need for sustainability in times of environmental shifts, Kass wailed that bike riders are the “One Percenters of the Commuter Class.”<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-22/news/ct-met-kass-0822-2012082…> “We thought we’d be able to get through the summer without reading a nakedly antagonistic-to-bicyclists story,” moaned a writer on the Chicagoist<http://chicagoist.com/2012/08/22/john_kass_bullshit_bike_lanes_post.php>blog. “Leave it to Tribune curmudgeon John Kass to piss in our Corn Flakes yet again.” Pete Scales, spokesman for CDOT, estimates the city spent $4 million on the 30 miles built in 2012. City Hall considers it a small investment with a large return. Bike lanes, Emanuel and Klein believe, will attract new and young entrepreneurs and high-tech companies to Chicago. Crandell adds that studies have proven that bike lanes help fuel the local economy. “It is said that the faster a credit card goes by your door, the less likely it is that card will be used in your store,” he explains. “When someone is on a bike, they can just pull over, hop off, and park. And biking creates more bike-related businesses.” Last year *Bike Magazine* listed Chicago as the 10th most friendly city for riding. This year it rose to No. 5. CDOT hopes that the Dearborn improvements will put the city in the lead. But can Emanuel really make good on such ambitious promises, given Americans’ love affair with the automobile? Word is that in Emanuel-speak, he’s f#!*ing determined. “I’m a big believer in getting things done versus talking about them,” says Klein. “So is the mayor. We have a moral responsibility to make change as soon as possible.” Lori Rotenberk is a Chicago-based journalist whose work has appeared in the *New York Times*, *The Boston Globe*, *Chicago Wilderness Magazine*, and the *Chicago Sun-Times*. She is also also wild about nature. Follow her on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/@loriandwhillie>.

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cyclelogistics - Moving Goods by Cycle
by Zdan, Terry (MIT) 14 Dec '12

14 Dec '12

http://cyclelogistics.eu/index.php?id=4 cyclelogistics - Moving Goods by Cycle Running from May 2011 until April 2014 and spanning 12 countries, the EU-funded project CycleLogistics aims to reduce energy used in urban freight transport by replacing unnecessary motorised vehicles with cargo bikes for intra-urban delivery and goods transport in Europe. CycleLogistics will expand its niche market position and be regarded as a serious alternative for the transportation of light goods in inner cities. This will be achieved by: * Communicating topic and potential to the transport sector in order to shift more goods transport from cars to cargo bikes. Existing cycle couriers will also be encouraged to transport heavier loads by utilising electric assist. * Motivating municipalities to create a favorable regulatory framework and policies for cycle logistics, to analyze the internal potential to employ cargo bikes for municipal services, and to encourage business services to take advantage of cycle logistics. * Encouraging private individuals to use cargo bikes, trailers and baskets to transport shopping and leisure time equipment, while at the same time ensuring that retailers provide customers with incentives and necessary infrastructure. * Testing and reporting on various cargo bike transport products (cargo bikes, trailers, electric motors and bags & baskets), and therefore promoting their uptake by providing potential consumers - private, business and government - across Europe with access to valuable information. FYI the Ikea store in Winnipeg has bike racks but no cargo trailers for bikes. Season's Greetings Terry Zdan BA MEDes Policy & Service Development Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation 1520 215 Garry Street Winnipeg MB R3C 3P3 please note this is my only phone C 204 227 3724 E Terrry.Zdan(a)gov.mb.ca

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Cyclists and Pedestrians Can End Up Spending More Each Month Than Drivers
by Dave Elmore 14 Dec '12

14 Dec '12

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/12/cyclists-and-pedestrians-ca n-end-spending-more-each-month-drivers/4066/ Cyclists and Pedestrians Can End Up Spending More Each Month Than Drivers Kelly Clifton <http://kellyjclifton.com/> has heard this stereotype a number of times: "Cyclists are just a bunch of kids who don't have any money," says the professor of civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University. "They ride their bikes to a coffee shop, they sit there for four hours with their Macintoshes, they're not really spending any money." If you're a shopkeeper with such suspicions, you're probably not on board with any plan that would cut down on parking right outside your door. Cyclists are the ones with time to kill; drivers are the ones with money. This perception is problematic in a place like Portland, where the bike-friendly city government is now looking to extend the reach of bike infrastructure - and the appeal of bikes themselves - to newer riders and neighbourhoods farther afield from the urban core. "As we move out beyond those areas into more auto-oriented areas," Clifton says, "we start to see businesses say, 'Hey, wait a minute. You're taking away on-street parking to put in bike lanes, you're taking away the one parking spot in front of my store to put in a bike corral. I don't see many bikers around here. So what does this mean for me?" Until now there hasn't been much empirical evidence to allay such concerns. Clifton and several colleagues have attempted to fill that research gap in a project for the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium <http://www.otrec.us/> (read a PDF of the draft report here <http://kellyjclifton.com/Research/EconImpactsofBicycling/OTRECReport-ConsBe havTravelChoices_Nov2012.pdf> ). They surveyed 1,884 people walking out of area convenience stores, restaurants and bars, and another 19,653 who'd just done their supermarket shopping. Some of the results are unsurprising: Drivers still make up a plurality of customers to all of these businesses. And, with greater trunk capacity, they far outspend people who travel to the grocery store by foot, bike or transit. But for all of the other business types examined, bikers actually out-consumed drivers over the course of a month. True, they often spent less per visit. But cyclists and pedestrians in particular made more frequent trips (by their own estimation) to these restaurants, bars and convenience stores, and those receipts added up. This finding is logical: It's a lot easier to make an impulse pizza stop if you're passing by an aromatic restaurant on foot or bike instead of in a passing car at 35 miles an hour. Such frequent visits are part of the walkable culture. Compare European communities - where it's common to hit the bakery, butcher and fish market on the way home from work - to U.S. communities where the weekly drive to Walmart's supermarket requires an hour of dedicated planning. "It's not just a phenomenon born of the need to carry things," Clifton says. Walkable (and bikeable) communities by definition facilitate a more frequent interaction between patrons and businesses. This means these bikers and pedestrians are also more regular customers. "That also says something about marketing," Clifton says, "about customer loyalty, about neighborhood-based businesses." The study examined 89 businesses across the region, 11 of them grocery stores. At the bars, convenience stores and restaurants (all high-turnover sit-down pizza and Mexican spots), researchers snagged consumers on their way out between June and early October of last year. They gave them a 5-to-10 minute tablet questionnaire about their demographics and travel behavior, how they'd traveled that day, what they'd spent, and how often they estimated they visited the business each month. The researchers coordinated with a local grocery store chain to survey customers there during a single week this April. Their findings are neatly summarized in these three graphs. This first one shows how much consumers spent on average per trip, by transportation mode: Here, people estimated how many trips they took per month: And this is the total estimate of consumer spending per month: There are obviously some other factors at play here. Families with cars are less likely to eat out than single young professionals on a bike. And we'd all prefer that drivers run up smaller bar tabs than pedestrians. Clifton also raises another possibility (although this particular study can't verify it): "Does Portland have a green dividend?" she asks, citing a concept coined by economist Joe Cortright <http://www.ceosforcities.org/city-dividends/green/special-reports/portland/ > . Cars are costly. And Portland's green infrastructure means many people don't have to foot that expense. "Do we then have more money in our pockets," Clifton asks, "to spend on other things?" As Portland begins to make tougher decisions about bike infrastructure, this is an intriguing point. The "young and fearless," as Clifton calls them, are already biking there. These are the riders who will happily dodge cars and thunderstorms without much dedicated infrastructure. Now the city needs to coax what Clifton calls the "interested but concerned." These are the people who will require a higher level of accommodation - separated bike lanes, actual bike parking - and therefore some tougher conversations about what that might mean for scarce resources and roadway (and for the drivers who might be impacted by reallocating them). "If only we had asked these questions when we invested in the automobile," Clifton says. "On the one hand, we're asking the right questions. But we're also holding non-motorized modes up to a different standard than we have held the automobile."

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UPDATE: TOPIC CHANGE! (Presentation on The New Pedestrian Control Guide) Fwd: ITE Manitoba monthly lunch Presentation on Thursday, December 13th
by Anders Swanson 12 Dec '12

12 Dec '12

[ Hi folks, quick note: the topic for this lunch and learn had a last minute change, and now may not be quite as relevant to active transportation (although I imagine the lunch would still be tasty.) The Pedestrian Control Guide topic has been deferred to 2013. - Anders] Hi everyone,**** ** ** The topic of the December ITE Manitoba monthly lunch meeting has changed. *Dr. Jeannette Montufar* will still be presenting, but the new topic will be *CITE National Initiatives*. The presentation on The New Pedestrian Control Guide will likely be done sometime in 2013. Sorry for the sudden change! The information at www.itemanitoba.ca has been updated.**** ** ** We would also like to remind everyone that the ITE Manitoba Executive elections will take place at the December meeting. The details of the meeting are:**** ** ** Date: Thursday, December 13th**** Time: 12 noon**** Location: The Round Table (800 Pembina Highway)**** ** ** We still hope to see everyone come out next Thursday!**** ** ** *Björn Rådström,** **BSc**(CE), P. Eng.***** ITE Manitoba Secretary**** ** ** ** ** ** ** Hello everyone,**** **** It is finally here, the first ITE Manitoba monthly lunch presentation will be on Thursday, December 13th! As usual, it will take place at 12 noon at The Round Table at 800 Pembina Highway. Our presenter this month is *Dr. Jeannette Montufar, P. Eng.*, of the University of Manitoba. Dr. Montufar’s presentation is on *The New Pedestrian Control Guide*.**** **** Dr. Montufar is a professional engineer registered in Manitoba and Alberta, and Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba. She is also Principal of Montufar Group, a transportation consulting firm specializing in road safety and freight transportation. Dr. Montufar has done extensive work in the U.S. and Canada on projects dealing with road safety, freight transportation, the application of advanced technologies to commercial vehicle operations, truck size and weight policy, goods movement in urban areas, traffic information systems, and the automation of data collection systems. She has worked for the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio; the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station, Texas; and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan.**** **** The cost for the presentation and lunch is $20 for members and guests, and $15 for students. This notice can also be found at www.itemanitoba.ca. We hope to see you all there next week!**** **** *Björn Rådström,** **BSc**(CE), P. Eng.***** ITE Manitoba Secretary****

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PUB orders MPI to improve cycling safety
by Charles Feaver 11 Dec '12

11 Dec '12

This fall, Bike to the Future collaborated with the Manitoba Cycling Association to make its first ever presentation to the Public Utilities Board identifying concerns that MPI fails to teach motorists how to drive safely near cyclists, both in their Driver Education booklet and in their public advertising. The PUB picked up on several points we emphasized in their Order [http://www.pub.gov.mb.ca/pdf/mpi07/157-12.pdf .]. 1. Section 10.0: "It is therefore recommended that: 3. MPI review and act upon the recommendations put forward by the presenters from Bike to the Future and the Manitoba Cycling Association with respect to road safety and messaging to motorists regarding cyclists." 2. Section 11: "It is therefore ordered that: A Road Safety Research Technical Conference take place to discuss Road Safety matters, involving interveners and community partners, to be held on or before March 31, 2013." ... that the PUB expects MPI "would seek to involve scientist and experts from North America on road safety issues such as . roadway bicycle safety, and the role of other road safety investments" and will include in the conference interveners and community partners, among others. Further, "The Board anticipates that at the next GRA [General Rate Application] proceeding, MPI will come forward with new road safety initiatives, including with respect to . bicyclists ., in addition to its ongoing initiatives relative to unsafe speed, impaired driving and seatbelt usage. 3. The PUB noted the Corporation's goal, as stated in its Strategic Plan, that it will become a community leader and act as a central repository to facilitate the sharing of data amongst stakeholders for research and making informed decisions, and to take a more active role in road safety research. This responds to Bike to the Future's request for more and better data relating to cycling safety. The Road Safety Technical Conference could have a huge impact on cycling and safety if it brings in experts from cities that have successfully increased cycling traffic, and develops a consensus among leaders of government departments and police forces on how to manage circulation in order to increase the safety of cyclists.

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Pro Walk Pro Bike link to videos and presentations
by Beth McKechnie 11 Dec '12

11 Dec '12

The bi-annual *Pro Walk Pro Bike* is the premier conference for everything walking- and cycling-related in North America. Even if you weren't able to attend the 2012 conference in Long Beach, CA (alas, I am among that group), you can check out videos of keynote presenters and powerpoints from breakout sessions here: http://www.pps.org/pwpb2012/presentations/ I haven't watched it yet but the rousing keynote by Mark Gorton that closed the conference was apparently quite popular: video - http://www.pps.org/we-are-the-majority-the-cars-dont-vote/ presentation - http://rethinktheauto.org/national-presentation/ Note that the next PWPB conference<http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/pittsburgh-to-…>takes place Sept 8-12, 2014, a little closer to home -- Pittsburgh. cheers, Beth

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Cycling Health and Safety - An overview of research
by Beth McKechnie 11 Dec '12

11 Dec '12

Cycling Health and Safety An overview of cycling health and safety research Prepared By: *Chris Cavacuiti BA, MD, CCFP, MHSc, ASAM* Staff Physician, St. Michael's Hopsital, Department of Family and Community Medicine Toronto, Ontario Introduction In my cycling-related research work with Share the Road and the St. Michael’s Dept. of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, I’ve been truly impressed with the breadth and quality of the studies that have been published on this topic. As anyone who has an interest in cycling health and safety research will tell you, there are some incredibly smart and dedicated researchers out there who have made this topic their life’s work. When I speak to other cycling researchers and advocates, one of the biggest challenges they tell me that they face is finding and organizing the wealth of data that is already out there. I am often approached by journalists, researchers and advocates who are looking for more information on a particular area of cycling research, but there was usually nowhere I could send them for quick and easy access to the information they wanted. These experiences made me realize that what I and many others needed was a well-organized, well cited and text-searchable overview of key cycling research that would contain many of the most important facts, figures and findings in this field. I approached Eleanor McMahon at Share the Road with this idea and asked her if Share the Road would be interested in helping to organize this overview and host it on their website. Share the Road thought this was a great idea and kindly agreed to help. So in the summer of 2012, Share the Road and I hired a very bright and capable young summer student (Matthew Cheah), to help us put together this overview. I’d like to personally thank Eleanor McMahon and Matthew Cheah for all their work in helping make this overview a reality. I’d also like to thank Cary Moretti for his IT input and support with this project (…and for putting up with me talking about this project on more than a few of our long rides together!) One final word - we’ve made every effort to keep the statistics and wording in this overview as close to the original documents as possible and to correctly cite each and every fact, figure and quotation we’ve included. However, this document is no replacement for reading the original articles and we’d encourage those who are using this overview to cross-reference our statistics with the original documents. Believe us - they are well worth the read! Happy searching! http://www.sharetheroad.ca/files/Cycling_Safety_Overview___2012_12_05.pdf

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