- AT-Network - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

UPDATE - Pembina Hwy Buffered Bike Lanes
by Janice Lukes 07 Nov '12

07 Nov '12

Monday morning there was paint on Pembina identifying the north bound buffered bike lanes. The attached photos are self-explanatory. Lots continues to happen - lots still needs to happen for southbound bus stops / paving / paint! And was assured that yes, the poly posts will be installed this year - and attempts to clean snow around poly posts will occur. A phenomenal amount of underground work / logistics / etc. is occurring to install these buffered bike lanes. Unbelievable amount of manpower and work. Janice Lukes

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Webinar: Pedestrian Safety and Road Diets
by Shoni Litinsky 07 Nov '12

07 Nov '12

Please join Green Action Centre to watch the following webinar followed by discussion. Feel free to bring your lunch. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. FHWA and PBIC Webinar on Pedestrian Safety and Road Diets *Road Diets and Pedestrian Safety** Tuesday, November 20, 2012 2:00 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. EDT* Road diets, or the reallocation of road space through reduction in the number of regular traffic lanes, are of interest to communities that may be seeking to reduce traffic speeds, reduce crashes, improve accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists, or achieve a number of other benefits. This webinar will present information about the safety benefits of road diets, particularly to pedestrians, and highlight examples of road diet implementation in the United States. Libby Thomas, a researcher at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, will provide a brief presentation on some of the research findings related to road diets. She will discuss many of the safety benefits of road diets, which have been shown to reduce crashes among all road users. Mike Sallaberry, Transportation Engineer at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, will discuss the road diet experience in San Francisco, California. San Francisco has implemented more road diet projects within its 47 square miles than any other city in North America. This portion of the presentation will give some brief background on the history of road diets in San Francisco, focusing on how and why they are used. Mike will discuss how road diets have been used to create space for bikeways, pedestrian facilities, and transit, as well as how they are used for traffic calming purposes and to add landscaping and storm water management features to a street. The presentation will touch on some of the benefits of road diets but will focus more on how to get them approved, especially when they are controversial. Gina Coffman, of Toole Design Group, will discuss the road diet experience in Seattle, Washington. The City of Seattle has successfully implemented over 30 road diets. Before and after evaluations have indicated up to 70 percent reduction in injury collisions and 90 percent reduction in aggressive speeders on corridors where such projects have been implemented. Gina’s presentation will explore the history, research, planning and design of road diets, offering tips to build stakeholder support through public process. Seattle case studies will include before and after data showing changes in traffic and bicycle volume, neighborhood diversions, speeding and collisions over the years. The presenters will also participate in a question and answer session to discuss how to address barriers to implementation and answer questions from the attendees. This webinar is one of the free webinars that FHWA offers quarterly as part of its Pedestrian Safety Focus States and Cities initiatives. FHWA's Safety Office is trying to aggressively reduce pedestrian deaths by focusing extra resources on the states and cities with the highest pedestrian fatalities and/or fatality rates. Webinar archives for this series, as well as listings of upcoming sessions, can be found at http://www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/pedfocus_webinars.cfm<http://cts.vresp.com/c/?UNCHighwaySafetyRese/3084cb0a2d/01de1edd15/a2c00bae…> . -- *Shoni Litinsky* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/> _______________________________________________ AT-Network mailing list AT-Network(a)lists.umanitoba.ca http://lists.umanitoba.ca/mailman/listinfo/at-network -- *Shoni Litinsky* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3773 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/> Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/>

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WFP: Law on bicycle helmets soon (Nov.5'12)
by Beth McKechnie 05 Nov '12

05 Nov '12

Law on bicycle helmets due soon First offenders get off with quiz By: Steve Lambert WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's bicycle-helmet law will take effect within a few months, and first-time offenders will be able to avoid paying a fine by taking a new online safety quiz. Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau is finalizing the details of the law, which the legislature approved last spring. The aim, he said, is to promote helmet use while using penalties as something of a last resort. "Our goal is to actually not collect fines. Our goal would be for people to understand the law and put helmets on their head right away," Rondeau said in an interview. The law will require anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle or face a $50 fine. But young cyclists caught in a first offence will be allowed to skip the fine by completing a test that will educate them about bicycling safety. "We're going to develop -- are developing -- a question-and-answer on bike safety that people can do as an alternative to paying a fine," Rondeau said. The law will come into effect before spring, he said, and be accompanied by a public-education campaign to make cyclists don helmets as automatically as motorists wear seatbelts. When the law takes effect, Manitoba will join provinces such as Ontario, where minors are also required to wear helmets. But Manitoba's approach stops short of laws in Nova Scotia and British Columbia that apply to adults as well. Physicians, the opposition Liberals and many cyclists have criticized the exemption for adults, who say kids watch what their parents do. "If I look at parents, they're going to be the example that kids will follow. And I think if you don't bring it in for everybody, you're going to wind up getting a bad example," said Charles Burchill, an avid cyclist who commutes by bicycle to his downtown job every day. Doctors Manitoba, the provincial medical association, has said a broader law would reduce the number of severe head injuries cyclists suffer every year. Rondeau is not ruling out an extension of the law to adults at some later time. "Those are discussions we'll have on the compliance and we will talk about further measures as we see compliance move forward. But right now, this is the next logical step -- to apply to children. Let's see what happens." -- The Canadian Press http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/law-on-bicycle-helmets-due-so…

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Bicycling Means Better Business
by Dave Elmore 04 Nov '12

04 Nov '12

http://www.utne.com/science-technology/bicycling-means-better-business.aspx? newsletter=1 <http://www.utne.com/science-technology/bicycling-means-better-business.aspx ?newsletter=1&utm_content=11.02.12+Science+and+Technology&utm_campaign=2012+ ENEWS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email> &utm_content=11.02.12+Science+and+Technology&utm_campaign=2012+ENEWS&utm_sou rce=iPost&utm_medium=email Bicycling Means Better Business <http://www.utne.com/science-technology/bicycling-means-better-business.aspx > bike lane "Biking is definitely part of our strategy to attract and retain businesses in order to compete in a mobile world," says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as we glide across the Mississippi river on a bike-and-pedestrian bridge-one of two that connect downtown to the University of Minnesota. "We want young talent to come here and stay. And good biking is one of the least expensive ways to send that message." As we turn onto to a riverside bike path to inspect another span the mayor wants to convert to a bike-ped bridge, he recounts a recent conversation. "I was having dinner with a creative director that a local firm was eager to hire for a key post. He was an American living in Europe, and we spent most of the evening talking about the importance of biking and walking to the life of a city," Rybak says, smiling. "He took the job." Minneapolis has invested heavily in biking-creating a network of off-street trails criss-crossing the city, adding 180 miles of bike lanes to city streets with plans to double that, launching one of the country's first large-scale bikeshare programs, and creating protected lanes to separate people riding bikes from motor traffic-which is why it lands near the top of all lists ranking America's best bike cities. That "ratchets up" the city's appeal to businesses in many fields, Rybak says. "We moved from the suburbs to downtown Minneapolis to allow our employees to take advantage of the area's many trails and to put the office in a more convenient location for commuting by pedal or foot," explained Christine Fruechte, CEO of large advertising firm Colle + McVoy, in a newspaper op-ed. "Our employees are healthier, happier and more productive. We are attracting some of the best talents in the industry." David A. Wilson, who directs 1,600 employees at the Minneapolis office of the Accenture management consulting company, says good biking opportunities are important to the well-educated 25-35 year-olds he seeks to hire. "Five years ago, I don't think business people were even thinking about bikes as a part of business. Today it's definitely part of the discussion." He notes that Accenture recently relocated their Boston and Washington, D.C. offices from suburbs to the city to offer employees better opportunities for biking, walking and transit. A Creative Generation Loses Its Car Keys Young people today are driving significantly less than previous generations, according to a flurry of recent reports. Even Motor Trend magazine notes that young professionals flocking to cities today are less inclined to buy cars and "more likely to spend the money on smartphones, tablets, laptops and $2,000-plus bikes." Annual miles traveled by car among all 16- to 34-year olds dropped 23 percent from 2001 to 2009 according to a study from the "Frontier Group" think tank-and that does not even count the past three years of recession and $4 gallon gas. The Federal Highway Administration found the miles traveled by drivers under 30 dropped from 21 percent to 14 percent of the total between 1995 and 2009. These young people represent the "creative class" talent pool that many companies covet. That's why civic, business and political leaders in cities around the country are paying attention to the next generation's wishes for lively, livable places to work and play. This means diverse cultural opportunities, plentiful cafes and restaurants, a tolerant social climate, a variety of housing choices and ample transportation options like biking-not only for commuting to work, but also for recreation after work and, in some cases, over the lunch hour. Richard Florida, the economic forecaster who coined the phrase "creative class," recently described these sought-after workers in the Wall Street Journal <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444914904577619441778073340.h tml> as "less interested in owning cars and big houses. They prefer to live in central locations, where they can rent an apartment and use transit or walk or bike to work." Florida sees bicycling as critical for thriving cities, which is why he joined New York City's heated debate last year about the proliferation of bike lanes across the city. "New York has became a haven for creative-class professionals," he wrote in the Daily News, which makes good biking facilities important to the city's future. He added that biking remains important to workers in creative fields even as they grow older. "When they put their kids in child seats or jogging strollers, traffic-free bike paths become especially important to them." Thirty-three executives at New York high-tech companies-including Foursquare, Meetup and Tumblr-also weighed in on biking issues, urging Mayor Bloomberg to "support a bikeshare system as a way to attract and retain the investment and talent for New York City to remain competitive in the fast growing digital media and internet-oriented economy." Bloomberg agreed, and the bikeshare program begins next March with 7,000 bikes for rent. The City That Bikes Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected last year on an aggressive platform of bringing new tech and creative businesses to the city. When he scored a major coup this summer with Google-Motorola Mobility's announcement that it was moving more than 2,000 jobs from a suburban campus to the heart of the city, Emanuel explained," One of the things that employees look [at] today is the quality of life and quality of transportation because of the ease that comes with it. And that ease is having trains as a choice, buses as a choice and bikes as a choice getting to and from work." The City of Chicago's Chief Technology Officer John Tolva says it's no coincidence that Google-Motorola Mobility's new home in the Merchandise Mart is right next to Kinzie Street, the city's first green lane-where bike lanes are physically separated from rushing traffic to make riders feel safer and more comfortable on the road. This idea of creating protected space for people on bikes, borrowed from Northern European countries where bikes account for 10-30 percent of trips, is now spreading throughout the U.S. Martha Roskowski-director of the Green Lanes Project, which promotes protected bike lanes across the country-explains, "Cities that want to shine are building these kind of better bike facilities as part of a suite of assets that attract business. And they find that bike infrastructure is cheap compared to new sports stadiums and lightrail lines, and can be done much faster." George Washington University business professor Christopher Leinberger, a leading authority on real estate who predicted the current urban boom in a series of articles for the Atlantic magazine, points out "Biking is no longer just a niche for the macho guys. It's for a lot of people now. Ideally, we should have a 20-25 percent mode shift for bikes in cities. Great urban spaces are all about choices, including in transportation." Leinberger marvels at how bicycles are changing Washington, D.C., where he lives. "Bikes have been a critical part of D.C.'s turnaround. They are putting in protected bike lanes which does a lot more to encourage riding than just a white line of paint between people and a one-ton vehicle." Ellen Jones, director of Washington's Downtown Business Improvement District, says, "It's just crazy how biking has taken off here, especially the new bikeshare system which a lot of people are using for commuting." We spoke after she returned from an appointment with managers of a high-tech company wanting to rent an old warehouse downtown. "A lot of their employees bike to work and they were concerned about whether they could easily get their bicycles upstairs. When bicycling is part of the final decision on where a company relocates, then we know its impact." The boom in biking is also creating opportunities in the real estate sector. Jair Lynch, founder and CEO of a DC real estate development and construction company, declares, "We don't work in places that aren't near bike lanes." Even in the slow economy, $200 million in new apartments are currently under construction adjacent to the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, a bike "freeway" cutting through the south side of the city. Another benefit businesses see for locating in bike-friendly locations is a break on health insurance costs. QBP, a bike parts distributor in the Minneapolis area employing 600, offered a series of incentives for employees to commute by bike and discovered an unexpected bonus-a 4.4 percent reduction in health care costs, totaling $170,000 a year. Tracy Pleschourt-partner at Carmichael Lynch, an ad agency in downtown Minneapolis that promotes biking-is excited about the possibilities of the just-launched Zap program, which electronically documents bike trips using on-bike RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices and trail-edge sensors. Right now the program offers only gift certificates and discount gear as prizes for frequent biking, but insurers are looking at it as a way to reward health-conscious companies with lots of employees riding bikes. Boosting the Business Climate Beyond Big Cities & Bike Meccas Bikes are improving the business climate even in cities not ranked as bike capitals or large metropolitan regions. Mayor Lee Leffingwell of Austin, Texas, said, "I certainly recognize the environmental, public health and quality of life benefits that more bicycling can bring our city, but I also value the contribution to the economy that comes with the provision of smart transportation options that attract major employers to Austin." Austin is ambitiously expanding its bike infrastructure; its first green lane opened last spring, one of 10 planned for the city. Cirrus Logic, a computer chip company that depends on specially trained engineers, moved to downtown Austin last summer from an outlying location "to become more attractive as an employer," says PR director Bill Schnell. "We can't just pluck anybody for our jobs. The people we want are mostly younger, and biking is part of the equation for them." CEO Tyson Tuttle relocated Silicon Labs, which designs integrated circuits for computers, to downtown Austin five years ago to be close to the city's bike trail system. It was one of the first of many tech companies that are now in the area. Tuttle, who himself sometimes rides to work, says it was a smart move. "Biking on the trails is something a lot of employees enjoy, and when people think about joining the company it's a big draw. It also helps with wellness and fitness." You might think that Memphis would be the last place in America to believe bikes can take us down the path to prosperity. In 2008, with not a single bike lane inside the city limits, Memphis was named one of the three "Worst Cities for Cycling in America" by Bicycling magazine (alongside Dallas and Miami). That prompted the city to stripe a few lines of bike lanes, but it landed on the three worst cities list again in 2010 (this time joined by Birmingham and Jacksonville). This year Bicycling honored Memphis as the "most improved" city for bicycling. It was also named as one of six cities (along with Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Austin) to receive support from the Bikes Belong Foundation's Green Lane Project in creating a network of protected bike lanes to serve as best practices for other cities to follow. What happened? For one thing Mayor A C Wharton became a champion of biking, announcing, "We believe in the power of bicycle facilities to enhance the health, economy and safety of our community." He hired a bike-pedestrian coordinator for the city and put plans into motion that led to more than 60 miles of bike lanes. Memphis business leaders began talking about the importance of biking to city's future. Shepherd Tate-an attorney at the large Bass, Berry & Sims law firm-puts it plainly. "There's no question about it. Biking makes a difference in attracting talent." Eric Matthews, CEO of Launch Memphis and two other initiatives to nurture and attract new businesses, notes, "Biking correlates with entrepreneurs." The city, already home to the world famous St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is positioning itself to become a center for new biomedical firms. "My job is to convince emerging companies that they can get the workers they want to come here," says Dr. Steven Bares, President of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, an initiative to bring emerging health companies to Memphis. "The bike is part of the overall strategy to compete for talent." Jay Walljasper, author of The Great Neighborhood Book and All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons, chronicles urban life for a variety of publications. His website: www.JayWalljasper.com <http://www.jaywalljasper.com/> . This article was originally published on GreenLane Project <http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/198> . Photo courtesy Spencer Thomas <http://www.flickr.com/photos/spencerthomas/> , licensed under Creative Commons <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en> . Read more: <http://www.utne.com/science-technology/bicycling-means-better-business.aspx #ixzz2BINaPSdr> http://www.utne.com/science-technology/bicycling-means-better-business.aspx# ixzz2BINaPSdr

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Bike benefit calculator
by Leah Goertzen 03 Nov '12

03 Nov '12

Follow this link to find an interesting to calculate what biking may be worth to you: http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/biking/ Leah Goertzen Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba info(a)pacm.ca

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Vancouver cycling stats
by Charles Feaver 03 Nov '12

03 Nov '12

Vancouver has some impressive cycling numbers: According to the October 30 Vancouver Metro, http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/421260/vancouver-breaks-away-from-the-cyc ling-pack/ Vancouver is a tour de force when it comes to cycling in the region. According to new bike use statistics released by TransLink for Bike to Work Week Monday, 12.1 of every 100 trips taken in the City of Vancouver are now on bicycle. Behind the pace setter, Richmond leads a tightly packed peloton with a much lower rate of 3.1 trips per 100. "The numbers seem very impressive," said Vision Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs. "We did what everybody said we needed to do to make it work, and that's build safe cycling infrastructure." Vancouver has more than 400 kilometres of bike lanes, about 10 of which are separated. That number is expected to grow substantially as the city hopes to make cycling, walking or public transit account for two thirds of all trips in the city. Those modes accounted for 40 per cent of trips in 2008. Transportation 2040 Plan, which outlines those goals and strategies, will be presented to city council Tuesday morning. ... Overall, TransLink says the number of bike-only trips in the region have increased 26 per cent between 2008 and 2011, 106,500 trips from 84,300. In Vancouver, the amount of trips increased 35 per cent during the same period, 55 per cent of which were to and from work. ... Interestingly, men make up the vast majority of cyclists - 71 per cent. TransLink's vision, outlined in the Regional Cycling Strategy, is a 10 per cent cycling mode share by 2040. Its mode share is currently the highest recorded, at 1.8 per cent of all trips.

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WFP: A bridge too fine - Riverton gets snazzy replacement (Nov.3'12)
by Beth McKechnie 03 Nov '12

03 Nov '12

A bridge too fine Riverton gets snazzy replacement By: Bill Redekop RIVERTON -- The previous four bridges here, dating back 120 years, were all wiped out by floods. Those bridges spanning the Icelandic River were built in 1892, 1910, 1932 and 1974 -- the last one knocked out by flood and ice floes in 2011. So when the fifth bridge -- it and the previous one have been pedestrian bridges -- was unveiled last week, people had to put it to the test. At the opening ceremony, 157 people got onto the new Riverton footbridge at once. Then it started to sway. Mayor Colin Bjarnason said at that point his son, Kevin Johnson, toting his two boys, decided against being the 158th, 159th and 160th persons. "It never bothered me," said the mayor of the slight movement in the bridge, which was not considered in danger. You have to see this bridge. Stantec engineers stop short of saying it's indestructible -- that's what people said about a certain ocean liner -- but claim it will "withstand whatever the river can throw at it." It's a $2-million state-of-the-art pedestrian bridge that lights up like a chandelier at night. LED lights are embedded in all the cross girders and into every second post along the decking. So at night, said resident Peter McCabe, "It's like you're in New York or someplace." This isn't New York. It's a town of 560 people that was originally settled by Icelandic pioneers, 105 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Riverton couldn't raise $20,000 for a bridge on its own, never mind $2 million. Its contribution to the bridge is $2.50 per capita, or about $1,500. The province pays the rest under the Disaster Financial Assistance program, with the understanding the federal government will cover 85 per cent of those costs under its disaster assistance program. Bridges have been a good-luck, bad-luck story for the community. The bad luck is their bridges keep being knocked out by flood ice every generation or so. The good luck is every time the bridge gets rebuilt, the town gets an upgrade paid for by the federal and provincial governments. Each new replacement bridge is built bigger and stronger to meet new building codes. The result is the magnificent $2-million footbridge. Rivertonians have voted right. Provincially, they are represented by NDP MLA Peter Bjornson (Gimli). Federally, their MP is Conservative James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake). However, it seems more a case of first in, first out. Bjarnason said he was on the phone to government officials about obtaining a replacement bridge the same day the old one was destroyed. Stantec came forward with a design proposal and the town council submitted it almost directly to government. Bjarnason said council didn't hold public meetings and ask for public input on various designs like Souris has. Souris, with three times the population of Riverton, is still waiting for a less expensive footbridge to replace its famous suspension bridge lost in the 2011 Souris River flood. It's not like Riverton doesn't have a regular bridge for vehicle traffic. There's one half a kilometre away. The new footbridge just reconnects the east side of town, where fewer than half the residents live, considered old Riverton, to the west side for pedestrian traffic. It is also a tourist attraction and a community-enhancer. Last year's flood knocked out two of the four bridge piers. During the rebuilding, Stantec engineers took out a third pier to remove another target for ice floes. Engineers just kept a single centre pier but braced it with four anchors, burrowed 21 metres into bedrock, on each side. Stantec said the pier will withstand river ice one metre thick. Stantec also bevelled the pier into a point so it can either split ice floes or at least deflect them away. Sperling Industries built the 90-metre-long bridge in the village of Sperling, just southwest of Winnipeg. Bjarnason said he feels the bridge helps put Riverton back into the tourist game. In earlier times, Riverton was a more important hub for Icelandic Canadians than Gimli. Plus, a town heritage group recently erected a bronze statue of Sigtryggur Jónasson, known as the Father of New Iceland. "(Gimli town officials) have been blowing their whistle an awfully long time. We're proving we've got something here and we're going to start letting people know about it," said Bjarnason. bill.redekop(a)freepress.mb.ca http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/a-bridge--too-fine-177072891.html* *

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Live streaming of Sustainable Mobility Summit Nov. 5-7th!
by Jessie Klassen 02 Nov '12

02 Nov '12

Hello Everyone! Green Action Centre will be hosting a local viewing of the Sustainable Mobility Summit on Monday, November 5th, and Wednesday November 7th, right here in the Eco-Centre boardroom. This is a fantastic conference, taking place this year in Hamilton, Ontario. We will be streaming live: Monday, November 5th: 9:30am - 4pm Wednesday, November 7th: 12:30pm - 4pm Find out more about the Sustainable Mobility Summit here<http://www.actcanada.com/EN/Conference2012/Default.aspx>. View the program schedule here<http://www.actcanada.com/EN/Conference2012/pdf/SustainableMobilitySummit201…>(pp. 16-17). Please let us know if you are planning to join us by emailing jessie(a)greenactioncentre.ca or calling 925-3772. Hope to see you here! ** *Jessie Klassen* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca>| Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(204) 925-3772 Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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BttF's Submission to Charleswood Transportation Study
by Mark Cohoe 31 Oct '12

31 Oct '12

HI, I thought I would share with you the submission that Bike to the Future has made to the consultants undertaking the Charleswood Transportation Study. It is available here <http://biketothefuture.org/attachments/0000/1824/2012-10-26_bttf_charleswoo…>. Our next steps will be to contact as many organizations within the study area as possible and ask them to join us in asking for the improvements we have identified. If you can help out in that regard, please feel free to contact me at 204-894-6540. Cheers, Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike to the Future

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WFP: MPI, PUB split over safety fund (Oct.31'12)
by Beth McKechnie 31 Oct '12

31 Oct '12

[Though it's disappointing (but not surprising) to hear such vocal backlash to MPI's proposed contributions to improve the safety of road infrastructure, it's encouraging that it's now on the table. For years, we have heard the great ways ICBC has used this approach to address poorly designed road infrastructure, especially intersections. The result has been greatly improved safety for everyone, including pedestrians and cyclists. Plus it has saved everyone money through reduced claims. Not mentioned but included would also be health care savings from those hurt in collissions. Sounds like a win all around! -cheers, Beth] MPI, PUB split over safety fund Regulator backs idea but doesn't want premiums to pay for it By: Bruce Owen The Public Utilities Board has not given a green light to Manitoba Public Insurance's plan to help fund road-improvement projects. But there are indications the panel that regulates automobile insurance rates is on the same road as MPI with regard to funding road-safety projects. MPI and the PUB are divided over how the Crown insurer is to pay for such projects. Money for a new road-safety program, which could include rumble strips or new merging lanes, would come out of basic insurance premiums, MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said, the same as it does now for MPI's current road-safety programs. Funding would not come out of MPI's rate-stabilization reserve, which stands at about $156 million, MPI's 2011-12 annual report states. The PUB has been after MPI for about two years to take about $20 million out of its rate-stabilization reserve and create a separate road-safety program to pay for initiatives that would reduce collisions and costly claims, such as when a car hits a deer. How soon a plan gets put on the PUB's table -- MPI officials have been mulling this for more than a year -- depends on what a yet-to-be-announced independent consultant recommends. "We are in the very, very early stages of this," Smiley said Tuesday. "We told the PUB we are looking at this. This is very preliminary." News the insurer is looking at expanding its road-safety program was reported last week by the Free Press and soundly criticized by the Opposition Progressive Conservatives. The Tories say it's the government's job to spruce up infrastructure. "Manitoba Public Insurance has a specific mandate and that is to provide Manitoba drivers with insurance, period," Brandon MLA Reg Helwer, the party's critic for MPI, has said. MPI is eyeing the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's road-improvement program, which began in 1989. ICBC splits the cost of road projects -- such as roundabouts, pedestrian signals, rumble strips, medians, sign upgrades and intersection improvements -- with municipalities and the B.C. government. ICBC says a recent evaluation of the program found two years following a project's implementation, there is on average, a 20 per cent reduction in severe crashes and a 12 per cent reduction in property damage crashes. The evaluation also found for every dollar spent on a project, ICBC and customers saved $5.60 over two years and $12.80 over five years in reduced claims costs. CAA Manitoba spokeswoman Liz Peters said the auto association wants to see MPI's plan before it passes judgment. "While we acknowledge a similar endeavour has been successful for ICBC, we disagree that this is a strategy that Manitobans would likely support," Peters told the PUB at a hearing last week. "We definitely believe that infrastructure is the role of the government and should remain that way." Byron Williams, who represents the Manitoba branch of the Consumers' Association of Canada, told the PUB his clients believe infrastructure spending should also be paid through tax dollars, not insurance premiums. "But our clients want to emphasize that they're open to persuasion on this, but open to persuasion based upon sound empirical evidence," he said. "There's also risk that they're dissipating the corporation's energies on too many roles, minimizing the positive contribution it can make." bruce.owen(a)freepress.mb.ca http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/mpi-pub-split-over-safety-fun… <bruce.owen(a)freepress.mb.ca>

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