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WFP: City looks ready to roll with concrete bike-lane curbs (Aug.23'17)
by Beth McKechnie 23 Aug '17

23 Aug '17

*City looks ready to roll with concrete bike-lane curbs * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-flip-flops-on- use-of-concrete-curbs-for-bike-lanes-441458283.html CITY hall appears to be reconsidering its opposition to the use of low-profile concrete curbs for laying out protected bike lanes in Winnipeg. The city announced a nine-month pilot project Tuesday that would result in the placement of the concrete curbs on a short block in the Exchange District and on a 100-metre stretch of Sherbrook Street, south of Cumberland Avenue. The move is surprising. Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) has been proposing a similar approach for months, but each time, her efforts were rejected by the administration and the public works committee on the grounds the curbs were contrary to the city’s “award-winning” cycling strategy, which uses time-consuming and more expensive poured concrete. “It just goes to show the dysfunction we operate under at city hall,” Lukes said. “Of course, I’m happy, but what a lot of needless nonsense, time and effort was spent when they were going to do it all along.” Stephanie Whitehouse, city hall’s active transportation (AT) co-ordinator, said the nine-month pilot is a “materials test” to determine the suitability of the low-profile, portable concrete curbs, but added she was excited about the move. Whitehouse said the city’s awardwinning AT strategy places the highest priority on building protected bike lanes leading into and throughout the downtown network, but it doesn’t stipulate which materials to be used. She said the experience of other municipalities has shown concrete curbs to be an easy, efficient and less expensive way to build a bike network. The pilot will determine if they emerge as a preferred material to the city’s traditional method of using poured concrete. “I’m excited about this one. I think it’s a win,” Whitehouse said. “They’re great, they’re adjustable and movable.” Whitehouse said it took crews only three hours to lay down the 100 metres of concrete curbs on Sherbrook Street, adding she believes crews can beat that time on a similar stretch Wednesday along Bannatyne Avenue, between King and Albert streets. Whitehouse said the pilot program will determine if the concrete curbs are compatible with winter snow-clearing and ensure they are durable. “We don’t want to find efficiencies in installation and then discover we’ve created a whole host of deficiencies in our ability to deliver a street and cycling maintenance programs,” she said. The City of Winnipeg has been slow to adopt and resistant to using adjustable materials to construct protected bike lanes. While Winnipeg’s current approved plan is to build 10 kilometres of protected bike lanes downtown over a three-year period, Calgary built a 6.6km network in four months in 2015 and Edmonton built a seven-km network in a three-month span earlier this year. Both cities used the low-profile concrete curbs, along with paint and flexible bollards. Other municipalities, including Vancouver and Ottawa, have also incorporated the concrete curbs, along with other portable/adjustable materials, including planters, in constructing protected bike lanes. Whitehouse said regardless of the outcome of the pilot program, the city is committed to constructing the Garry Street portion of the downtown network using poured concrete methods, as part of a major roadway reconstruction. “We recognize this as an important material and a potential mechanism for delivering protected facilities,” she said. “They’re a great way to get (bike lanes) in and a more efficient way and generally more cost-effective.” Whitehouse said staff decided to do the $15,000 pilot as part of a $100,000 initiative for the enhancement of delineated bike lanes. The overall funding had been approved by council, part of its $4.7 million for active transportation for 2017. Whitehouse said the city will be looking for feedback from motorists and cyclists for the pilot areas. While the concrete curbs are fixed into the roadway, they are portable and can be moved and the routes adjusted in response to public concerns. (Details on the pilot program can be found on the city’s website: wfp.to/walkbike.) “Once people get a taste of it, they’ll want more,” Lukes said. “I’m glad we made the big effort and put the spotlight on the need for it.” aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca * * * * * Also coverage on CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ manitoba/winnipeg-adjustable-bike-lanes-1.4258288

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New White Paper on Advisory Bike Lanes
by Mark Cohoe 18 Aug '17

18 Aug '17

Alta Planning + Design has put together an excellent white paper on Advisory Bike Lanes <http://altaplanning.com/resources/advisory-bike-lanes-north-america/> that is well worth reading. Of note, there is a Canadian example (Somerset Street East in Ottawa). For those wondering what an advisory bike lane is, it's essentially a bike lane with a dashed lane marking between the bike lane and the travel lane. The big difference from a normal bike lane is that vehicles share a two-way center travel lane sandwiched between the two advisory bike lanes. When two vehicles approach, they yield to bicycle traffic and encroach into their respective advisory bike lanes to pass each other. A parking lane may or may not be present. It's used in situations where there is limited road right of way, and limited traffic volume. Think lower volume collectors like Des Meurons south of Vivian, maybe Sinclair where you generally have a 10m right of way. [image: Inline image 1] Mark Cohoe Executive Director Bike Winnipeg t: 204-894-6540 e: mark(a)bikewinnipeg.ca

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Considerate Constructors
by Charles Feaver 18 Aug '17

18 Aug '17

There is a program in the UK to encourage builders to be neighbourhood-friendly and ecologically careful in their building activities. The sites which meet the guidelines display the attached poster on their hoardings. The organization is going international; maybe we could invite them to Winnipeg... https://www.ccscheme.org.uk/ The Considerate Constructors Scheme is a non-profit-making, independent organisation founded in 1997 by the construction industry to improve its image. Construction sites, companies and suppliers voluntarily register with the Scheme and agree to abide by the Code of Considerate Practice, designed to encourage best practice beyond statutory requirements. For more information on the Code, please click here. The Scheme is concerned about any area of construction activity that may have a direct or indirect impact on the image of the industry as a whole. The main areas of concern fall into three categories: the general public, the workforce and the environment. Our aim: To improve the image of construction Why? The construction industry has a huge impact on all our lives, with most construction work taking place in sensitive locations. If all construction sites and companies presented an image of competent management, efficiency, awareness of environmental issues and above all neighbourliness, then they would become a positive advertisement, not just for themselves but for the industry as a whole. What? The Code of Considerate Practice commits those sites, companies and suppliers registered with the Scheme to care about appearance, respect the community, protect the environment, secure everyone's safety and value their workforce. Who? The Scheme is open to construction sites, companies and suppliers of all types and size and for every type of construction activity, with many construction companies and clients automatically registering all their work as company policy. ....

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Million dollar neighbourhoods
by Jeremy Hull 13 Aug '17

13 Aug '17

Walkable mixed-use neighborhoods help families build wealth—enough to help fund big-ticket items like college and retirement. https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2017/08/07/million-dollar-neighborhood <https://www.cnu.org/node/538> ROBERT STEUTEVILLE <https://www.cnu.org/node/538> AUG. 7, 2017 Houses appreciate. Cars depreciate. That simple contrast is a key to building wealth over a lifetime, writes Todd Litman, a researcher with the Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Even though housing is more expensive in walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods, vehicle costs are substantially lower. Households in such neighborhoods shift their spending from transportation to housing. Over 40 years, this shift will add a million dollars of net worth to a typical household, Litman calculates. That's enough to put children through college and/or to retire on—all from careful choice in housing location. There are plenty of other reasons to live in a walkable neighborhood—among them better health because exercise is built into the daily routine, less damage to the environment by cutting carbon emissions, and less time spent driving which frees up leisure. But the "million dollars" should really get people's attention. "Urban fringe homes generally offer more space per dollar, and so appear to be better investments, but there are other economic factors to consider. By shifting household spending from transport to real estate, Smart Growth tends to increase household wealth, and by providing more affordable transport options it increases economic resilience," says Litman, in a report called *Selling Smart Growth* <http://www.vtpi.org/ssg.pdf>. In the last generation, urban housing in North America has appreciated faster than suburban or rural housing. This price appreciation has added to the wealth of those who have invested in multimodal places. The appreciation is due to the rising demand for walkable urban places due to changing demographics, reduced crime, and the return of jobs to urban centers. Housing appreciation in Urban, Suburban, and Rural locations over the last 20 years. Source: Todd Litman, *Selling Smart Growth*. Litman discusses his own experience living in a walkable neighborhood in Victoria, British Columbia. • He purchased a house in 1995 for $236,000 • That house is currently worth about $750,000 • In 2025, when the mortgage is paid and Litman can retire, it "should be worth more than a million dollars," he says. That's a thirty year time period in Canada, but he has run the numbers for the US over 40 years for three scenarios: the TOD (transit-oriented development) location—a house in a walkable neighborhood with transit access; the inner-ring suburb; and the urban fringe. The fairly typical $60,000/year US household can afford $27,000 in combined housing and transportation expenses (that's 45 percent of income for the two expenses together). "After ten years the TOD home builds $63,789 more equity, and after 25 years $448,217 more equity, than an urban fringe home. If, starting at age 25, a household always chooses TOD homes and invests the transport savings in real estate, they can retire at age 65 with approximately $1.8 million in equity, $1,016,561 more than if they purchased urban fringe houses with high transportation costs," Litman calculates. Living in a walkable neighborhood benefits those who buy homes, but how about renters? The math works for non-homeowners as well. Households can save substantial money by reducing the number of cars the family owns, eliminating them entirely, and/or reducing the mileage on the cars they do own. For this, they have to live in a walkable neighborhood. Here are typical numbers for household living options: The potential savings are demonstrated in the Housing & Transportation Affordability Index <http://htaindex.cnt.org/> (H&T Index), created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago. The Index makes the case that households should not spend more than 45 percent of their income for housing and transportation combined. This goal is best achieved in walkable neighborhoods, even though the cost per square foot of housing may be higher in those neighborhoods. H&T Index of the Pittsburgh area shows affordability based on housing, left, and housing and transportation, right, in the Pittsburgh region. Distant areas are relatively less affordable. CNT founder Scott Bernstein notes that poor and working-class families are routinely given financial advice on how to get a car loan, but they are not educated on the financial advantages of reducing transportation expenses. Less affluent households in distant suburbs are often caught in a bind, Bernstein notes. Such households may use strategies to reduce car costs—especially owning older cars—but higher maintenance costs kick in when the car is driven a lot of miles. "It is difficult to spend less than about $6,000 annually to legally own and operate a high-annual-mileage vehicle," says Litman. The following are the characteristics of multi-modal neighborhoods where households can best cut their transportation costs: - An urban center is nearby. - Walking and cycling conditions are excellent. - Density is sufficient and housing is diverse. - Homes are within an easy 10-minute walk of commonly needed services (public transit, shops, schools, parks, etc.). - Streets are complete (designed for multiple users) and well connected. - Public transit and taxi/ride-hailing services are adequate. - Car-sharing (vehicle rental services) is available. - Delivery services are available. "Realtors should be paying attention to this," says Peter Katz, who co-presented this research in a session with Litman at CNU 25 in Seattle in May. Realtors have been selling "drive 'til you qualify," advising clients to buy the cheaper house further out regardless of transportation costs. "This doesn't serve Realtors for two reasons. It lowers the dollar value of their fee and it may eliminate the fee altogether, because the customer is looking at an entirely different location with perhaps a different Realtor." Robert Steuteville is editor of Public Square: A CNU Journal and senior communications adviser for the Congress for the New Urbanism. <https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/author/robert-steuteville-1>

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New E-Petition to support federal legislation on sideguards on trucks
by Anders Swanson 10 Aug '17

10 Aug '17

[I know Jeannette, the sponsor of this bill. Her daughter was killed in Montreal. She has been successful in having this implemented in numerous jurisdictions, but is now aiming to see it happen at the federal level. See below if you wish to review and consider signing and/or spreading among your networks. - Anders] https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1208

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AT Webinar Invite: Incorporating Public Art into Transportation Corridors, Wed, Aug 16, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 10 Aug '17

10 Aug '17

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar: *Incorporating Public Art into Transportation CorridorsWednesday, August 16 | 2:00 - 3:00 pm CDT * The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications for those who wish to stay. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! cheers, Beth -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 <(204)%20925-3777> | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 <(204)%20925-3777> | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca/>

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Forget the rest: The real reason to support active commuting
by Beth McKechnie 10 Aug '17

10 Aug '17

A new study offers perhaps the most definitive reason yet why society should be doing more to encourage cycling, and serves as another reminder that the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks. This British study <http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1456> took a comprehensive look at the health benefits of bicycle commuting, and the results are staggering. Over the course of the study, the 263,450 subjects who were under review had a 41 per cent lower chance of death than those who didn’t. “Cycle commuters had a 52 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease and a 40 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer. They also had 46 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 45 per cent lower risk of developing cancer at all,” the study’s authors wrote <http://theconversation.com/cycling-to-work-major-new-study-suggests-health-…> . Just let those numbers soak in a bit. They truly are significant. If a pharmaceutical company created a pill that could reduce your chance of dying by almost half, with particular success against those stubborn scourges of humanity of cancer and heart disease, it would be heralded as a wonder drug. Luckily, this pill is already hanging from the rafters of your garage. Two things struck me particularly from the study. In their analysis, the researchers accounted for the risk associated with road accidents, which offers further evidence that even the supposed risks of riding a bike are vastly outweighed by the benefits of riding. Put another way: Our irrational fear of the relatively small risk of a blow to the head is overriding the guaranteed health benefits of bicycle commuting. Our assessment of risk in this context is, to be blunt, pretty messed up. This mirrors the message of this new Australian documentary <https://youtu.be/nGsM-XIuGwo>This mirrors the message of this new Australian documentary arguing against the country’s mandatory helmet law. In it, public health doctors and advocates express the same message: the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risk of injury, so we should be doing more to make it easier to ride bikes daily for transportation. Which leads me to the second aspect of the study that really caught my attention. Of most benefit here wasn’t just riding a bike, but bicycle commuting. This is a pretty significant distinction. That distinction is the difference between encouraging people to get out and exercise and making it easier for people to simply use a bike in their everyday lives. The medical community has been encouraging us for nearly a century to do the former, and despite the mainstreaming of things like running and going to the gym, we keep getting more sedentary, more obese and more unhealthy. That approach to health isn’t exactly a ringing success. But this study seems to be mirroring what many cycling advocates have long said, and what bike commuters preach about all the time: But this study seems to be mirroring what many cycling advocates have long said, and what bike commuters preach about all the time:* Active living works when it’s part of our day, not an add-on.* The study found most of the benefits from cycling come in those situations in which cycling has already been built into the daily lives of people. In the world’s great bike cities, for example, people don’t bike because it’s good for them any more than they bike because it improves the street life of the city or because, God forbid, it reduces their carbon footprint. If you ask them, they will tell you that they ride a bike because it’s quick and easy. “Policies designed to affect a population level modal shift to more active modes of commuting, particularly cycle commuting (eg, cycle lanes, city bike hire, subsidised cycle purchase schemes, and increasing provision for cycles on public transport), present major opportunities for the improvement of public health,” according to the study’s conclusion. Therein lies the solution. If we want society to realize that 41 per cent improvement in our health that comes with bicycle commuting, we need to make it fast and easy to get places on a bike. That means continuing to accommodate bikes on our streets and building cities around the idea of active transportation. We’ve already started in most cities. We just need to hurry up. http://shifter.info/forget-all-the-other-reasons-you-should-be-riding-a-bik…

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Downtown Columbus will buy bus rides for 43, 000 workers
by Beth McKechnie 09 Aug '17

09 Aug '17

Property owners in the Ohio capital's core are rethinking the relationship between cars and jobs. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/08/downtown-columbus-will-buy-b… Despite a surge of redevelopment in downtown Columbus, office rents are tumbling and vacancy rates are on the up. The problem, business leaders say: Lack of parking. A structured parking space in the Ohio capital’s space-crunched core runs nearly $25,000 a year, which typically isn’t covered by revenues. So developers feel hamstrung from building new garages, and the city is wary of subsidizing them; building to meet parking demand, after all, is an exercise in futility <https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2016/01/the-strongest-case-yet-that-…>. Meanwhile, employers fear they’re losing ground to suburban competitors. Now Columbus has found an out-of-the-box solution, following a vote by downtown property owners last week. Starting next summer, they’ll buy transit passes for thousands of workers <http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170802/program-approved-to-give-free-bus-pas…> . Some 43,000 employees inside a special improvement district will be eligible for annual bus passes, free to them and paid for primarily by the 550 building owners in the area. “Capital Crossroads” property holders will pay 3 cents per square foot of space per year, which will generate about half of the $5 million subsidy. Grants and fundraising by Capital Crossroads board leaders will raise the rest. The Central Ohio Transit Authority has said it will offer the passes at a deep discount <https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/columbus-ohio-free-bus-passes>. The decision follows a successful pilot that ran from June 2015 through January 2017, which doubled the share of bus commuters among 844 employees at four companies in the district from 6.4 percent to 12.2 percent. If those results can be replicated across the entire downtown district, “Capital Crossroads estimates that it would free up 2,400 parking spaces—about four parking garages—and allow for 2,900 more people to work in the district,” according to the *Columbus Dispatch* <http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170312/building-owners-might-subsidize-free-…> . “Between 4,000 and 5,000 people would trade their cars for COTA on their commute, the district estimates.” In some ways, Columbus’ solution is a textbook “transportation demand management” strategy to nudge drivers out of single-occupancy cars, and reduce congestion, pollution, and road wear. San Francisco, Boulder, Cambridge, and others have TDM ordinances requiring developers to include transit-oriented amenities in new properties. Cities all over the country require developers to pay infrastructure impact fees, which often feed transit budgets <http://sf-planning.org/impact-fees>. And employers often help cover the cost of their employees’ transit passes. But this program will be the first in the country where bus passes are directly funded by property owners, according to Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of Capital Crossroads, and many cities are keeping a watchful eye on its deployment. “The more people who think about this, the more sense it makes,” Ricksecker told the *Columbus Dispatch* <http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170802/program-approved-to-give-free-bus-pas…> . There is deep and rather remarkable logic coming to the surface here. As the famed transportation scholar Donald Shoup has put it, the true costs of parking are largely hidden from drivers. Developers, property owners, employers, and cities subsidize the costs of parking infrastructure because of the seemingly un-severable connection they make between car access and economic viability. Columbus’s new program adds capacity to the number of commuters downtown can handle, and it also shows an optimism among property owners—who have everything to lose—that cars aren’t everything when it comes to a thriving downtown economy. Transportation demand management isn’t a silver bullet; many programs that pay commuters to take transit rather than drive have not yielded enduring behavioral changes. Some critics say that courting transit commuters with free passes takes the pressure off transportation authorities to build the higher-capacity, higher-frequency service that would organically attract more riders.

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New, authoritative reference on protected bikeways (ITE)
by Beth McKechnie 08 Aug '17

08 Aug '17

*From People for Bikes:* If the new *Protected Bikeways Practitioners Guide *from the Institute for Transportation Engineers were a record, it'd be a Jay-Z album: sampling the famous and the obscure to create something new. The 36-page document published this week (and available <http://ecommerce.ite.org/IMIS/ItemDetail?iProductCode=IR-144&Category=PUB&W…> to ITE members for $25, nonmembers for $31.50) remixes some of the most useful data, recommendations and perspectives from the latest bikeway design guides, from the 2016 Dutch CROW manual <http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/the-worlds-best-bikeway-manual-jus…> to the 2015 Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide <http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/massachusetts-is-about-to-release-…> from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. In addition to including a helpful list and healthy sampling from other guides, it also adds original work in several areas: how to integrate protected bike lanes on suburban-style curving roads, how to clear snow from protected lanes and how to evaluate their performance after installation. Read on for more highlights <http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/heres-a-new-authoritative-quick-re…> -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Undercover bike police seek out dangerous drivers
by Beth McKechnie 02 Aug '17

02 Aug '17

*Undercover bike police seek out dangerous drivers* https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/undercover-bike-police-seek-out-dan… Undercover police officers wearing plain clothes and video cameras have been sent out on bicycles to catch motorists who endanger cyclists by driving too close or cutting them up. The initiative was launched by the Metropolitan Police yesterday to increase safety for cycling commuters in London, where more than half a million daily journeys are made by bicycle. Analysis from City of Westminster council in 2013 showed that more than two thirds of collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles in central London were the motorist’s fault. Police have launched the programme to focus on motorists who drive dangerously, but officers will also pull up cyclists who misbehave, with one senior officer warning: “We can’t be everywhere, but we could be anywhere.” Motoring groups have welcomed efforts to increase safety for cyclists, but expressed concerns that resources could be better deployed by having more visible traffic officers, whose numbers have been cut by more than a quarter over five years. The Met said: “Officers . . . will go to any location, at any time, in any borough, based on intelligence and complaints, to ensure drivers properly obey the rules of the road.” The officers, riding unmarked bicycles donated by BMW, will prioritise three common driving offences, including the tailgating of cyclists, unsafe overtaking, and turning across a cyclist’s path. “If officers encounter a driver committing any of these offences, they will identify them to a nearby, marked police motorcycle rider, who will stop and engage with them,” police said. The motorist will be given a presentation on Highway Code rules governing safe driving around cyclists and will have to provide insurance and licence details and pass an eyesight test, while their vehicle is checked. Professional drivers will be reported and may have to appear in court, as will all motorists who are guilty of “particularly bad” driving. A similar initiative in Edinburgh this year resulted in almost 70 drivers pulled over in the first week. Sergeant Andy Osborne said: “We want all road users to obey the Highway Code. This tactic is about education and encouraging motorists who do not comply with the rules of the road to start doing so, for everyone’s safety and protection, theirs included.” Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “We know that safety concerns are one of the biggest barriers to cycling in London. That’s why we’re working hard to build high-quality safe routes to encourage even more people to cycle, and why I’m so pleased to see the Met tackling some of the dangers that we see on our roads.” Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, said he wanted to see improved safety for cyclists, particularly through segregated cycle routes, but added: “Our members want to see more traffic police out there. If you have enough manpower to have [undercover officers] out there, then have them in uniform.” Mr Greig said that motorists had become used to cameras mounted on bike helmets and dashboards and would not be unduly concerned by the police’s use of cameras. Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “I think drivers are generally quite considerate, but there are some who pass far too close and I don’t think they understand the consequences of their actions, which could be fatal.”

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*Exciting event alert!* BIKE!BIKE! Aug 24-27
by Beth McKechnie 31 Jul '17

31 Jul '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wrench Volunteers <wrenchvolunteer(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 1:37 PM Subject: *Exciting event alert!* BIKE!BIKE! Aug 24-27 Okay everyone, *we've got something very very exciting on the horizon!* *Next month (August 24-27th) our lil' prairie city is hosting Bike!Bike! ; an international Community Bike Shop conference!* Bike!Bike! is a gathering of folks from all around North America (even Mexico!) who are committed to using bicycles as a vehicle for social change. We'll be hosting 200-300 bike nerds & geeks from all over the continent and we're gonna need a lil help from y'all; 1.*Hosting conference attendees*; Got a floor? Couch? Spare bed? Even a patch of grass would be great! *Conference attendees get billeted out with local hosts and we need hosts to sign up online.* There's a short survey that's part of the Bike!Bike! registration <https://en.bikebike.org/conferences/Winnipeg2017/register/> about how much space you have, location, pets, loaner bikes, etc. If you're able and willing to host even one person please sign up asap! Just register for the conference as a host rather than a participant. It only takes 3 minutes! 2.*Participate*!: Bike!Bike! isn't just about bike nerdery but more-so about social justice and how we're trying to make the world a more equitable, sustainable, radical place using bikes and bike-based education. If you think you have any sort of knowledge or skills that would be useful to share with a bunch of other rad, eager-to-learn peoples then please register to attend and put together a workshop. Registration fees are pay-what-you-can (suggested $50-$100) with 2 meals a day and free entry to a bunch of great parties. Please inquire with me if you're not sure whether your workshop would be a good fit or not. Register or submit a workshop here <https://en.bikebike.org/conferences/Winnipeg2017/register/>. 3.*Volunteer/Loaner bikes* - We're looking for volunteers to help out of course. Most volunteers will be needed in the week or two leading up to the conference and tasks are many and varied. We also may need some loaner bikes for attendees to borrow. If you're able to volunteer or loan a bike there's a quick volunteer survey here that you can fill out; https://goo.gl/forms/ gt0MPFASygvRXoFg1 *4. Please share the Facebook event page / Pass this info on to other folks who might be interested in attending!* Bike!Bike! Facebook event page HERE <https://www.facebook.com/events/344539605974805/?context=create&previousact…> Thanks! Greatly appreciate your help on this! Cheers, Sarah Thiessen *Volunteer Coordinator* The *W*innipeg *R*epair* E*ducation '*N*' *C*ycling *H*ub 1057 Logan Ave, Winnipeg 204.296.3389 <(204)%20296-3389> www.thewrench.ca

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The Criminalization of Walking
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jul '17

27 Jul '17

The simple act of walking is sometimes criminalized in the United States. Anti-jaywalking statutes and ordinances—originally motivated by auto-industry lobbyists in the 1920s—call for fines and, sometimes, imprisonment for crossing the street. Additionally, some localities have interpreted statutes against “child neglect” to encompass a parent’s decision to let their kid walk outside alone. The result of this criminalization? Such policies have reduced pedestrian liberty, increased automobile traffic and pollution, and created a disincentive for physical activity in the midst of an obesity and diabetes epidemic. In addition to discussing these effects, this Article argues that the purported safety benefits of criminalizing walking pale in comparison to those of decriminalization. In the context of currently vague child neglect laws, this Article suggests a bright-line rule that would empower parents’ decision to allow their children to do the unthinkable: walk themselves to school. Download full article <https://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lewyn.pdf> [pdf] from *University of* *Illinois Law Review* A few highlights are provided in another article <http://www.placemakers.com/2017/05/16/the-irrational-criminalization-of-wal…>(which also includes an interesting personal anecdote): Lewyn examines all this through the lens of jaywalking laws and child endangerment statutes, pointing out the irrationality inherent in the justifications used to defend both. A few tidbits: - Where jaywalking is not an offense or in areas where it’s not enforced or enforced with inconsequential penalties, rates of pedestrian deaths are greatly reduced. - Statistically speaking, were a parent intentionally seeking to have their child abducted they would need to leave them outside, unattended, for 500,000 years before it would be likely to happen. - An American child is fifty times more likely to die from a car crash than from an abduction by a stranger. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Hamilton's AT Benchmarking Program
by Beth McKechnie 27 Jul '17

27 Jul '17

Interesting to see what the City of Hamilton is doing with their AT benchmarking program, given they're similar to Winnipeg in terms of size and density. https://www.hamilton.ca/mapping-business-reporting/activity-reports/active-… -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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The WRENCH is hiring, please share!
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jul '17

19 Jul '17

Hi everyone, In case you know someone who would be a good fit, the WRENCH is looking for a new Co-Executive Director. It's a rewarding time for the right person to get involved as the WRENCH is apparently looking at some exciting major new projects in the next couple of years. *Application deadline: Fri, August 11th * cheers, Beth -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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8 Best Cycling Innovations from Velo-City 2017
by Beth McKechnie 12 Jul '17

12 Jul '17

1. Dockless bike sharing 2. Paying people to cycle 3. Smart traffic lights 4. Cobbled roads 5. New intersections 6. Harnessing user data 7. Bike paths for high rises 8. Solid tires Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/17/10-best-cycling-innovations-…

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The Lance: New outdoor bike repair station on greenway (Jul3'17)
by Beth McKechnie 04 Jul '17

04 Jul '17

*New outdoor bike repair station on greenway* http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/New-outdoor-bike-rep… Cyclists in Winnipeg who enjoy life in the saddle now have even more reason to get their fix. Two new outdoor bike repair stations were opened recently, one donated by Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) and one donated by Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry). The station donated by Mayes was officially opened on June 20 in St. Vital on the Bishop Grandin Greenway and the Dakota/Dunkirk Pathway at the northeast corner of Bishop Grandin Boulevard and Dakota Street, while the station donated by Gerbasi officially opened on June 22 in West Broadway at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre at 187 Young St. Mayes said he became motivated to support the creation of the station after Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) supported one in her ward last year. He said the station will serve the hundreds of cyclists that use the greenway on a daily basis. The stations are made in Manitoba by Rackworks, and they provide cyclists with free access to a variety of tools necessary to perform basic bike repair and maintenance. The stations consist of an air pump, and a repair stand that includes a selection of tools such as screwdrivers, levers, and wrenches that are attached to the stand by wires. "The whole idea is that there’s help if you have an issue with your bike," said key organizer Currie Gillespie of Rackworks, an avid cyclist and St. Vital resident, at the opening ceremony. "You might need air in your tires, or your seat might be slipping, or your handlebars need tightening up. There are more than 15 commonly-used tools here, and the stand is designed for all bikes." Gillespie is not only encouraging community members to enjoy the station, but also to help ensure it remains in good working order. "It’s a community repair stand, and it’s here for the community, so if somebody vandalizes it, it takes away the ability of the community to use it. If someone sees any vandalism, they can contact us at Rackworks," Gillespie said. He said the greenway and the many interconnecting bike paths and active transportation trails in the south end of the city are a massive boon. "The south end of the city is the best part of the city for cycling," he said. "For example, I can ride from my house in St. Vital to The Forks without playing with traffic." Mayes added the location of the repair station is a perfect one in light of the volume of bicycle traffic. "It fits in with the greenway, and it’s at the intersection of two main bike routes, so it’s a great place to do it. Currie has been great with this," he said. simon.fuller(a)canstarnews.com

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WFP: City seeks bids for Route 90 redesign (Jun29'17)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Jul '17

01 Jul '17

City seeks bids for Route 90 redesign http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-wants-consultants-route-90-rede… CITY hall is taking steps to prepare for the long-awaited widening of Kenaston Boulevard and the rebuilding of the St. James bridges. A formal request for proposals (RFP) was issued recently, asking potential consultants to develop preliminary designs for the Route 90 project Winnipeg city council approved in principle in January 2012. Senior councillors denied the RFP has been issued in anticipation of a resolution to the dispute between Ottawa and First Nations over the Kapyong barracks property. Ward Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of the property and development committee, said concern over the structural viability of the St. James bridges prompted city hall to have designs in place. “The St. James bridges take so much traffic, it’s a crucial transportation link,” said Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), adding it’s not necessary for the Kapyong barracks situation to be resolved before work begins on the bridges but it would be preferable. “We can work on that one project if we have to, but we’d like to see the whole thing done at once.” City hall has budgeted $2.5 million for the consulting contract. While the 2009 estimated cost of the project had been $129 million, the city acknowledged it was a rough estimate. The consultant’s final report will be expected to include revised cost estimates that would be accurate within a range of minus-20 per cent to plus-30per cent, known as a Class 3 estimate. The designs will be based on “Option 4,” one of five widening designs presented to the public during a series of open houses. It will widen the west side of Kenaston Boulevard between Taylor Avenue and Tuxedo Boulevard and the east side between Tuxedo and the bridges. According to the RFP document, the city will have to acquire 136 properties along Kenaston: 94 single homes and 21 duplex units; 52 of them are privately owned and 81 belong to the Department of National Defence. The plan to widen Kenaston provides for sidewalks on both sides, plus a three-metre-wide cycling and pedestrian pathway on the west side from Taylor to Wellington Crescent. The RFP advises potential consultants widening Kenaston will require closing several side streets. Option 4 also envisions a pedestrian bridge across Kenaston at Lockston Avenue. For the bridge project, the RFP states both northbound and southbound spans will be widened to four lanes and accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, and will tie into future cycling networks. The city wants a realignment of the eastward off-ramp to Portage Avenue, which cuts through the Viscount Gort Hotel property. For the southbound span, Orlikow said the city is going to require the roadway to be realigned and straightened. The RFP is requiring the consultant team to include at least one “industry recognized bicycle facilities design expert with extensive knowledge and experience in the design of complex bicycle facilities in North America.” The RFP closes at noon on July 21. The city expects to award a contract by the end of August and the winning consultant will be required to produce a draft preliminary design by Aug. 31, 2018. The tentative date for a public open house to review the preliminary designs is set for Nov. 1, 2018. aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Metro News & WFP: Council puts brakes on fast-tracking bike network (Jun28'17)
by Beth McKechnie 28 Jun '17

28 Jun '17

Council puts brakes on fast-tracking bike network http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/council-puts-brakes- on-fast-tracking-bike-network-431231623.html COUN. Janice Lukes failed for a third time to convince a civic committee to consider fast-tracking the construction of a protected bike network in downtown Winnipeg. Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) appeared before the public works committee Tuesday with a proposal to have department staff prepare two plans that could be considered for implementation in 2019 — one following the approved piecemeal approach, the other following the fast-track method. “Councillors would have two plans and they could decide, do they want to support increasing safety in downtown cycling or do they want to continue,” with the current plan, Lukes told the committee. Lukes, who used to chair the public works committee until she was removed fromthe post by Mayor Brian Bowman in early November, had pitched a variation of the same concept twice before: in late November and again in May. Each time, it was rejected. Lukes had no better luck Tuesday, but it was close. Committee members voted twice — once to reject the plan and a second time to approve it — and each vote ended in a tie. Winnipeg adopted a pedestrian and cycling strategy in 2015 that includes the construction of 10 kilometres of bike trails throughout the downtown area. City hall has only approved the construction of two kilometres of the network but the plan is already behind schedule and that portion won’t be completed until 2019. It’s projected it could take five to seven years to construct the entire downtown bike network. Lukes said Winnipeg should follow the examples set by Calgary and Edmonton, which constructed entire downtown bike networks of similar distances using temporary structures — low-profile concrete curbs, plastic bollards, paint and decorative planters — in a matter of weeks. Lukes told the committee the public works department has previously said constructing protected routes using temporary materials was a practical and cost-effective method. Couns. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) thought Lukes’ proposal was worth considering, while Couns. Marty Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge) and Matt Allard (St. Boniface) said the city should stick with its current plan of incremental path construction. aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca * * * * * Proposed downtown bike grid for Winnipeg gridlocked at city hall Coun. Janice Lukes’ motion for a gapless network of bike lanes downtown denied for third time http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/06/27/downtown-bi ke-grid-gridlocked-at-city-hall.html *By:* Keila DePape For Metro Published on Tue Jun 27 2017 A motion to install a bike lane network downtown died (again) at city hall Tuesday. “It’s frustrating,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who wanted the Infrastrucutre and Public Works Committee to direct city staff to cost out a rapid install of adjustable protected bike lanes. “We know we can do something cheaper, better, faster—why aren’t we?” Coun. Marty Morantz criticized the bike grid concept as a “dramatic” departure from the “award winning” Pedestrian and Cycling Strategy (PCS) council approved in 2015, which details active transportation infrastructure plans across the city. “If we decided to drop it (the PCS) and just do a downtown grid, projects all over the city would be in jeopardy for a temporary structure that would have to be made permanent at some point,” Morantz said, adding “adjustable elements” are already included in the current strategy. But that’s not enough for councillors who say a bike grid is key for the city’s connectivity. “We’ve already built some significant suburban routes that connect to downtown,” said North Kildonan Coun. Jefff Browaty, who spoke in favour of Lukes’ plan and the “final mile” connectivity it would offer. “That final stretch to get to people’s offices where people work and play, that’s what’s really missing right now.” Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) sided with Browaty, saying she’d “like administration to work on this,” and study it at least. But the fourth committee member, Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) sided with Morantz, questioning the merit in going for a temporary grid with a permanent plan already on the horizon. The committee’s 2-2 split on Lukes’ motion means a study to find out how much the downtown bike network would cost won’t happen anytime soon in Winnipeg. That's despite other Canadian cities offering a point of reference and successful examples. Edmonton introduced a $7.5 million bike grid plan in October and installed seven kilometres of lanes within the same three-month period it took Winnipeg’s public service to report on whether elements of that approach fit the PCS. Likewise, Calgary finished a 6.6-kilometre bike lane network within four months for $5.45 million. Lukes wanted the study to be included in the 2018 budget when she first advanced the motion in October, but she adjusted her expectations when it failed again in May. Now, blocked in her third attempt Tuesday, the forecast for 2019 isn’t looking good either. Lukes said she will continue to fight for the bike grid, but doesn’t yet know how to go about it at this point after being stymied at the committee level. “With this public works committee, I will not be able to make progress,” she said.

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INVITATION: Plain Bicycle Pickup Party
by Anders Swanson 23 Jun '17

23 Jun '17

Happy Bike to Work Day! Next week, please join us as this party is going to go be spectacular. All welcome, but please RSVP with link below. Winnipeg meets Amsterdam for an evening. You don't have to be a customer to try one or compete in the Dutch Slow Biking Dinking (Doubling) Race or enjoy the music or have a beer and be merry. Kindly, Anders Plain Bicycle Party + Pick UpYou're invited to attend. Dear new plain bicycle owner and friends, The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here! The shipment has arrived from the Netherlands. We are finally going to see them on the streets of Winnipeg! The bikes survived their Atlantic journey, are being reassembled for you right now and are eager to meet their owners. Join us for a party to celebrate the achievement and pick up your bike. There will be live DJs, storytelling, a dinking* race, and more. Invitation and details on the next page. A huge thank you to the bike owners for your support, enthusiasm and endurance. For some, it has been almost a year and a half since you signed up. This project was only possible because of your patience and imagination. In buying a Dutch bike you are helping Winnipeggers (and North America) catch a glimpse of what the future of transportation looks like. Also a huge thank you to Torrin, Jan, Jamie, Mendert, Danny, Mikael, Fritz, Bas, Erwin, Charlton, Jon, Dan, Herbert, Michel, Ian, Keilewerf, Local Motion, Dave and The Forks crew, Give-A-Bike, Havensteder, Den Haag Fietspunt, Winnipeg Trails and everyone else in Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Den Haag and Winnipeg who helped make this possible. Sincerely, Leigh Anne and Anders The Plain Bicycle Project *PLAIN BICYCLE PICKUP PARTY* Wednesday June 28th, 2017 pop-up patio at The Forks (near the Atrium) All Welcome *Party:* 4pm-10pm; Bike Pickup: 7pm *Suggested dress code:* Semi-Formal or Business attire *Detailed Schedule:* 4:00pm: Registration begins (get your code) 4:30pm: Pre-event Media 5:30pm: The Plain Bicycle Story A presentation about how the bicycles were collected, where they came from, how to take care of them, how they can be used to help create an everyday cycling culture, Q&A, etc. 7:00pm - Get the Keys to Your Bike! (time at which you now officially own the closest thing to a magic carpet) 8:00pm - Group Photo 8:30pm - Slow Biking Race (Individual and Dinking*) Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd courtesy Natural Cycle Live DJs Music continue until 10 then the party moves inside to the Common. Please go here to RSVP <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…> (required). Note: If you cannot attend on Wednesday, please use the RSVP form <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…> to let us know so we can make arrangements. If you already talked to an organizer about it, do it anyway. Please. *not sure about this? Don’t worry. You’ll find out what this means when you get here. :) June 2017 28 RSVP required <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…> <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…> FRIEND ON FACEBOOK <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…> <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba8…> FOLLOW ON TWITTER <http://plainbicycle.us16.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=7da28f97a6eaedd38ba…>

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CBC: Bike Week sees pop-up lanes protect cyclists from vehicles (Jun20'17)
by Beth McKechnie 22 Jun '17

22 Jun '17

Bike Week sees pop-up lanes protect cyclists from vehicles on Winnipeg streets City experiment comes after months of consultation with public on biking infrastructure in Winnipeg http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/bike-week-winnipeg-1.4169731

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Fwd: MPI Cycling Media Event
by Jamie Hilland 20 Jun '17

20 Jun '17

Jamie Hilland Active and Safe Routes to School Program Green Action Centre 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue | (204) 925-3777 x103| Find us here Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member. Donate at CanadaHelps.org ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <BSmiley(a)mpi.mb.ca> Date: Jun 20, 2017 10:21 AM Subject: MPI Cycling Media Event To: Cc: *MEDIA INVITATION* Dozens of cyclists will be gathering at The Forks to visually demonstrate MPI’s new road safety campaign, involving vehicles and cyclists. The new campaign: ‘*Please* *Leave Space to Breathe*” will encourage motorists to leave 1-metre of space when passing a cyclist. *WHEN*: Friday, June 23 11 a.m. *WHERE*: The Forks Market Boxcar by North West Entrance Link to the site: https://www.google.com/maps/d/ viewer?mid=15CN-bcjJ_r_7-94loZJmKriCV5o&ll=49.887455438057884%2C-97. 13156190608214&z=20 *WHO*: Bike Winnipeg Green Action Centre (Active & Safe Routes to School Program) Winnipeg Police Service Manitoba Public Insurance [image: cid:6592D6FE-6D93-4FBE-BEC9-031ADABA75B6] For more information contact: Manitoba Public Insurance Media Relations Unit 204-985-7300 <(204)%20985-7300>

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Webinar Reminder: Beyond Counting - Putting Data to Work
by Beth McKechnie 20 Jun '17

20 Jun '17

*** Friendly reminder about tomorrow's webinar and pop up protected bike lane tour *** Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Should be especially interesting to hear from Calgary about collecting data related to their downtown protected bike lane grid. You might want to consider taking in the pop up protected bike lane tour in the Exchange over the lunch hour and then join us for the webinar at 2pm. Here are details on the bike tour but you can find more info on the project here <http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…> : Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride to explore and discuss proposed design options for the pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne. This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for discussion before you head back to work. cheers, Beth * * * * * *Beyond Counting: Putting the Data to Work for Better Planning and EvaluationWed, June 21 | 2-3 p.m. CDT* The June webinar will be an exciting panel! PeopleForBikes will discuss their forthcoming network analysis tool. Its goal is to join policy with politics, making it relatively cheap and easy for cities to locate the weakest areas in their biking network — and, eventually, the easiest ways to make the network better. The team from HDR and the city and county of Denver, CO, will review several case studies and discuss how the outcomes of a recent study helped inform future capital expenditures as well as knowing the level of accuracy when reporting bicycle data sets and the context in which specific vendor equipment performs best. Presenters will discuss applying before and after data collection programs as part of a pilot two-way cycle track project and being proactive in applying initial data collection findings to tweak layout, designs, etc. They will also discuss applying before and after data collection as part of permanent installations to understand user experience, user understanding of new technologies and apply those lessons learned to future design projects. The City of Calgary will present and discuss their Center City Cycle Track Network Pilot. *Presentation Panel:* - Jennifer Boldry, People for Bikes - Rick Plenge, P.E., PTOE - HDR - Dan Raine, Denver, CO - Ryan Martinson, Stantec (Calgary) - Katherine Glowacz, City of Calgary -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3777 x102 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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AT Webinar Invite: Beyond Counting - Putting Data to Work
by Beth McKechnie 15 Jun '17

15 Jun '17

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Should be especially interesting to hear from Calgary about collecting data related to their downtown protected bike lane grid. You might want to consider taking in the pop up protected bike lane tour in the Exchange over the lunch hour and then join us for the webinar at 2pm. Here are details on the bike tour but you can find more info on the project here <http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…> : Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride to explore and discuss proposed design options for the pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne. This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for discussion before you head back to work. cheers, Beth * * * * * *Beyond Counting: Putting the Data to Work for Better Planning and EvaluationWed, June 21 | 2-3 p.m. CDT* The June webinar will be an exciting panel! PeopleForBikes will discuss their forthcoming network analysis tool. Its goal is to join policy with politics, making it relatively cheap and easy for cities to locate the weakest areas in their biking network — and, eventually, the easiest ways to make the network better. The team from HDR and the city and county of Denver, CO, will review several case studies and discuss how the outcomes of a recent study helped inform future capital expenditures as well as knowing the level of accuracy when reporting bicycle data sets and the context in which specific vendor equipment performs best. Presenters will discuss applying before and after data collection programs as part of a pilot two-way cycle track project and being proactive in applying initial data collection findings to tweak layout, designs, etc. They will also discuss applying before and after data collection as part of permanent installations to understand user experience, user understanding of new technologies and apply those lessons learned to future design projects. The City of Calgary will present and discuss their Center City Cycle Track Network Pilot. *Presentation Panel:* - Jennifer Boldry, People for Bikes - Rick Plenge, P.E., PTOE - HDR - Dan Raine, Denver, CO - Ryan Martinson, Stantec (Calgary) - Katherine Glowacz, City of Calgary

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Police bikes
by ian_toal＠mymts.net 15 Jun '17

15 Jun '17

Not sure what to make of this: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/15/the-new-horsemen-why-america… Ian

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Iranian women and girls defy cycling fatwa
by Beth McKechnie 13 Jun '17

13 Jun '17

Some perspective on our own challenges... https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/12/girls-ride- bikes-iranian-women-defy-cycling-fatwa-tehran

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Fwd: **Correction** Let's Party! Saturday June 10th is International Trails Day
by Anders Swanson 09 Jun '17

09 Jun '17

FYI. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Winnipeg Trails <info(a)winnipegtrails.ca> Date: Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 2:52 PM Subject: Let's Party! Saturday June 10th is International Trails Day To: andersswanson(a)gmail.com Saturday, June 10, 2017 Join us tomorrow for International Trails Day! On Saturday we celebrate International Trails Day all over Winnipeg with a stellar lineup of events including a SLOW ROLL BIKE JAM and Pop-Up BBQ winding its way through some of Winnipeg's special places. Bring friends and family! Share the event on Facebook <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…>, Twitter <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…>or Instagram <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> . Bringing the party to a trail near you. Some highlights: - 9am - Meet up at The Forks for free coffee and Donuts. At 9:20, the Bike Jam starts heading south. - 10:30am - BenchMARK - Unveiling Pothole Bench - 11:40am - BenchMARK - Unveiling Scattered Spheres - 12:15pm - Henteleff Park - BBQ, Discussion & Explore - 2:00-6:30pm - SLOW ROLL BIKE JAM ALL OVER WINNIPEG! Join in the morning or *find us on the map* <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…>to meet up anywhere along the way. Stay for a short time, or join the whole thing! Our mobile slow roll bike jam will be exploring the city, stopping along the way to see some special places, doing some chalk street art, firing up the pop-up BBQ, showing off our brand new technology from Google . . . and more! - 7:00pm - 9:00pm Fools + Horses (379 Broadway) *Blazing Trails - The Past, Present and Future of Winnipeg Connecting People Through Transportation and Identity.* This evening is all about Winnipeg, who we are, who we want to be and how we get there. We have very interesting evening panel lined up with 3 very interesting perspectives. Talks and a panel featuring Michael Champagne, Heather Hinam and Anders Swanson. Moderated by Leigh Anne Parry. Licenced. *Help this event grow. Share it Facebook <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…>, Twitter <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…>or Instagram <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…>. * *Raining? Who cares! We aren't made of sugar. We are bringing a bunch of umbrellas and tents. If its raining come dance with us. Learn more about the event <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…> <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…> <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=128342d81c494f9ed0…> *Copyright © 2017 Winnipeg Trails Association, All rights reserved.* You asked to receive updates from the Winnipeg Trails Association. *Our mailing address is:* Winnipeg Trails Association 235–614 Des Meurons Street Winnipeg, Mb R2H 2P9 Canada Add us to your address book <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage2.com/vcard?u=128342d81c494f9ed0578c1…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage1.com/profile?u=128342d81c494f9ed0578…> or unsubscribe from this list <http://winnipegtrails.us10.list-manage1.com/unsubscribe?u=128342d81c494f9ed…> [image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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Come ride the City's pop-up bike lanes during bike week!
by Shoni Madden 05 Jun '17

05 Jun '17

Thrilled to be a part of the team working on the City of Winnipeg's West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor project. As bike week approached's you will all get a chance to provide some feedback on the proposed design options at a number of events. Details are on the Bike Week event page, but I have pasted them below as well. Hope to see a few of you on the bike ride :) - *June 20 - 11:00am-1:30pm - City of Winnipeg Public Engagement and Pop-up Protected Bike Lane* As part of the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*, the City of Winnipeg is looking at options to improve the existing painted bike lanes on McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue to protected infrastructure so that they are comfortable for people of all ages and abilities. The city is looking to continue the conversation and get input on proposed design options. The public engagement on this project began back in February 2017 and has documented input from stakeholders. The event will take place at Hugh John MacDonald School, 567 Bannatyne Ave. starting at 11:00 am. Come experience a pop-up protected bike lane demonstrating a potential design option and provide feedback. Attend the June 20, 2017 pop-up to win a free bike! (Bike provided by Hugh John MacDonald School and the WRENCH) For more information visit the website <http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…> . *June 21 - 10:00am-2:00pm - City of Winnipeg Public Engagement and Pop-up Protected Bike Lane * As part of the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*, the City of Winnipeg is looking at options to improve the existing painted bike lanes on McDermot Avenue and Bannatyne Avenue to protected infrastructure so that they are comfortable for people of all ages and abilities. The city is looking to continue the conversation and get input on proposed design options. The public engagement on this project began back in February 2017 and has documented input from stakeholders. The event will take place at at Old Market Square, Exchange District. starting at 10:00 am. Come experience a pop-up protected bike lane demonstrating a potential design option and provide feedback. For more information visit the website <http://winnipeg.ca/publicworks/pedestriansCycling/walkbikeprojects/westAlex…> . *June 21 - 12:00pm-12:45pm - Lunch Hour tour of the Exchange District Pop-up Bike Lanes* Join other interested cyclists at Old Market Square for a lunch hour ride to explore and discuss proposed design options for the pop-up protected bike lanes in the Exchange District. Take part in the ride and join the conversation and experience options to improve the existing painted bike lanes on McDermot and Bannatyne. This ride is part of the City of Winnipeg’s public engagement for the *West Alexander to East Exchange Corridor*. Join us at Old Market Square, the ride leaves at 12:00pm and will return by 12:30pm with some time for discussion before you head back to work. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Happy Commuter Challenge week to all :) -- *Shoni Madden* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3773 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> * Please note that my regular office hours are Monday/Friday. I will respond to your communication at this time.

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WFP: City lags behind Calgary, Edmonton in cycling lane construction (Jun3'17)
by Beth McKechnie 03 Jun '17

03 Jun '17

City lags behind Calgary, Edmonton in cycling lane construction Winnipeg stuck in slow lane http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/winnipeg-stuck-in- slow-lane-426052613.html CIVIC leaders often compare our city’s progress to Calgary and Edmonton but when it comes to building bike networks, the experts say Winnipeg has a lot to learn from its western counterparts. Calgary has been cited for the speed with which it built a world class, 6.6-kilometre bike lane network through its downtown — four months in the spring of 2015 at a cost of $5.45 million. Edmonton is on pace to do an even bigger network (7.1 km) in three months, with a price tag of $7.5 million. Meanwhile in Winnipeg, city officials are boasting about how they will build 2.2 km of separated bike lanes in downtown over a three-year period. Construction on the first leg, along Garry Street, is expected to start later this month. Work is to be completed in 2019. A civic spokeswoman said it was unable to provide the cost of the downtown network as it’s part of an overall upgrade to several streets and water mains and separate costs for the bike lanes are not available. “I’m just really impressed with the Calgary network more so than almost anywhere,” said Tom Bertulis, a Boston-area traffic engineering consultant and an expert in multi-modal transportation design. “It’s one of the most impressive projects in North America. Even when compared to places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen — you look at Calgary and say ‘wow, this is really amazing what they’ve done.’ “If there’s any model to follow for Winnipeg, I recommend the Calgary model.” Bertulis, manager of traffic engineering for Design Consultants Inc. of Somerville, Mass., said the traditional approach to constructing bike networks has been to do them piecemeal, a branch at a time, over several years — an approach that Winnipeg is taking. But the lighting speed with which Calgary built its network — and is now being duplicated in Edmonton — has shown municipalities there is a more cost-efficient and timely method. Instead of digging up roads and pouring new concrete curbs to separate bike lanes from vehicular traffic — a labour- and time-consuming process that slows traffic flows during construction and leaves no room for design errors — Calgary opted for a lighting quick approach: design the network on paper, paint lanes on the streets, put down pre-cast concrete curbs inside the painted lines, and then place green plastic bollards on top to highlight the bike lane to motorists. To make it look nice, add a few decorative planters at key locations and intersections. Adjust traffic signal timing, where necessary, to lower the chance of collisions between riders and motorists. Highlight troublesome spots — intersections, driveways — with green road paint. “You can do a lot of planning and design to estimate what the usage and behaviour (of a bike network) might be but once it’s in place there might need to be tweaks,” said Tyler Golly, a member of the Stantec consulting team that designed the Calgary downtown network and the network now being built in Edmonton. Golly dubbed it the “test and tweak” method. “Using these adjustable materials allows municipalities to implement something fairly quickly because it doesn’t take a lot of time to construct and you can make adjustments by moving the barriers and changing signal timing to make it operate better for everyone,” Golly said. “Ultimately, when you’re rebuilding those roads, you can upgrade the network with permanent materials.” Calgary originally put its network in place in what was then an-unheardof- record pace of four months in the spring of 2015 on a 18-month pilot basis, arguing that since it used “adjustable materials” they could be taken out if the public didn’t like it. Bertulis said the disadvantage of building a network on the traditional piece-meal basis is that it usually fails to connect to the rest of the community, fails to attract the number of riders anticipated and then is branded a failure unless there is a strong political will to maintain it. Over the 18-month test period, ridership on all legs of the Calgary network increased. There were 100 adjustments made to the layout of the corridor based on feedback from riders, the public and adjacent property owners. The network attracted more women cyclists and more children. Some civic politicians who were initially opposed to the test program switched their votes when Calgary council voted in December to make the pilot permanent. The “adjustable” materials will remain for now and might be upgraded in the future with permanent fixtures when the roadways or underground infrastructure are upgraded. “I was a person that didn’t support this in the beginning,” Calgary Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart told the Calgary Herald following the Dec. 19 council vote. “I thought this was madness. But to see how it’s evolved, and how it’s working and to see how people are starting to get the fact that this is shared public space.” After trying the traditional, one-legat- a-time approach, Edmonton hired the Stantec team to design and implement its downtown bike network. Work on a 7.1-km network started April 5 — of this year — and is scheduled to be completed July 17. “We are poised to be one of the fastest implemented bike networks in Canada,” said Olga Messinis, Edmonton’s downtown bike network project manager. Messinis said Edmonton council had relied on the traditional approach to building a bike network, installing permanent lanes when rebuilding or upgrading roadways or underground infrastructure, but it was taking too long and failing to attract the expected ridership increase. “That failed for us miserably,” Messinis said, adding that Edmonton politicians were convinced to follow the Calgary model and gave the goahead in October 2016 and construction began in April. Messinis said the $7.5 million price tag for Edmonton’s downtown bike network is misleading, explaining that $4.2 million is being spent to upgrade and modernize the city’s downtown traffic signal network — which leaves the bike network cost at $3.3 million. The success of what’s happened in Calgary and Edmonton is frustrating for St. Norbert Coun. Janice Lukes, who was unsuccessful in convincing either the public works department or her council colleagues on the public works committee to simply study what those two communities have done and determine if it can be done here. Lukes said she was convinced Winnipeg could do better after safely riding through downtown Vancouver on its elaborate bike network while attending a conference in September. When she heard of what had been done in Calgary, she proposed a similar approach be studied here. Winnipeg adopted its cycling and pedestrian strategy in 2015, which outlines a 30-year plan to construct cycling routes across the city. Council approved the traditional, piece-meal approach for the bike network, approving routes each year. Lukes suggested following the Calgary model for the downtown segment, pointing out the city’s own 2015 strategy had recommended something similar — quickly building a complete downtown network — but public works staff ignored that portion of the report and Lukes’ proposal. Coun. Marty Morantz, chairman of the public works committee, earlier this week defended the decision to ignore Lukes’ proposal, incorrectly stating her idea is a breach of the city’s adopted strategy. “I thought we were all about innovation and new ideas and adopting best practices,” Lukes said. “It’s beyond frustrating.” aldo.santin(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Re: [At-network] Debunking John Forrester & Vehicular Cycling
by Beth McKechnie 01 Jun '17

01 Jun '17

What I really should have said is that we (apparently, for Morantz) need to debunk John Forester's premise that there should never be any cycling-specific infrastructure. On Wed, May 31, 2017 at 3:35 PM, Curt Hull <curthull(a)mymts.net> wrote: > Hear! Hear! Very well said Jeremy. > > Councillor Morantz needs to understand this. > > *Curt* > > Phone: 204.233.0545 <(204)%20233-0545> > Cell/text: 204.803.5436 <(204)%20803-5436> > E-mail: curthull(a)mymts.net > > On May 31, 2017, at 1:56 PM, Jeremy Hull <hull.jeremy(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > I would suggest a different approach. Granted, John Forester is a > single-minded and sometimes combative advocate for "effective cycling" or > "vehicular cycling." His motto is "Cyclists fare best in traffic when they > behave and are treated as vehicles." His approach is the basis for the > CAN-BIKE cycling courses and works well as many of us who have taken > CAN-BIKE training can attest. If you follow that approach you will be safer > than you would be on sidewalks, for example, or on multi-use trails or on > some bike lanes, depending on how they are designed. The problem with his > approach is that most cyclists are unwilling to ride in traffic and haven't > taken the training that would give them the confidence and skills to do so > safely. So to really increase the numbers of cyclists you have to make it > more comfortable for them to bike by creating separated infrastructure > which, if well designed, can also improve safety. > > But for the foreseeable future cyclists will still need to use the streets > to get around. I would like them to do so safely, so my response to Marty > Morantz is that he and the city should be actively promoting cycling > education, a la Forester, as well as building safe new cycling > infrastructure. We also need to educate drivers about how to drive safely > when there are bicycles on the road. And we need to educate everyone about > how to use the new cycling infrastructure safely. > > In short it's not either/or - we need both both public education programs > and good infrastructure. Marty Morantz is not taking this seriously, he is > only using the Forester reference as a red herring. Let's not buy into the > false controversy. > > > On Wed, May 31, 2017 at 12:20 PM, Beth McKechnie < > beth(a)greenactioncentre.ca> wrote: > >> Hello everyone, >> >> In case you are looking for a solid piece on debunking the idea of >> 'Vehicular Cycling', as put forward by Councillor Morantz yesterday, I >> would recommend the following piece: >> >> http://shifter.info/heres-what-happened-when-one-city-reject >> ed-vehicular-cycling/ >> >> >> <http://shifter.info/heres-what-happened-when-one-city-rejected-vehicular-cy…> >> cheers, >> Beth >> >> -- >> *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options >> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre >> <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> >> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> >> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here >> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> >> >> Green Action Centre is your green living hub >> Support our work by becoming a member >> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at >> CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> AT-Network mailing list >> AT-Network(a)lists.umanitoba.ca >> http://lists.umanitoba.ca/mailman/listinfo/at-network >> >> > _______________________________________________ > AT-Network mailing list > AT-Network(a)lists.umanitoba.ca > http://lists.umanitoba.ca/mailman/listinfo/at-network > > > -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Debunking John Forrester & Vehicular Cycling
by Beth McKechnie 31 May '17

31 May '17

Hello everyone, In case you are looking for a solid piece on debunking the idea of 'Vehicular Cycling', as put forward by Councillor Morantz yesterday, I would recommend the following piece: http://shifter.info/heres-what-happened-when-one-city- rejected-vehicular-cycling/ <http://shifter.info/heres-what-happened-when-one-city-rejected-vehicular-cy…> cheers, Beth -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Join us Tomorrow for the Commuter Challenge Kick-off!
by Heather Mitchell 31 May '17

31 May '17

Greetings, *Join Green Action Centre to kick off the most popular green commuting event in Canada!* [image: Inline image 1] *What:* The annual Commuter Challenge is a national celebration of healthy and sustainable transportation taking place during the first week of June. Close to 8,000 Manitobans participate every year by taking the bus, carpooling, walking or cycling to work. Winnipeg has won the past 12 out of 13 years as the top performing city in Canada. *When:* *Thursday, June 1st at 12:00-12:45 pm.* *Where:* Red River College, Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (Bijou Park, 504 Main Street). *Who:* Green Action Centre is pleased to welcome guest speakers The Honourable Cathy Cox, Minister of Sustainable Development, Councillor Brian Mayes, and Paul Vogt, President of Red River College. Trevor Dineen of CBC will host. *Why Participate?* It's great for the planet, saves money, promotes a healthy lifestyle, and you have the opportunity to win great prizes! This is also a great opportunity to *Challenge Your Co-workers To Be Green <http://greenactioncentre.ca/healthy-travel/challenge-your-coworkers-to-be-g…>* ! *** If you haven't done so yet, be sure to register your workplace <https://commuter.commuterchallenge.ca/register/workplace> and yourself <https://commuter.commuterchallenge.ca/register/individual> for the Commuter Challenge <http://greenactioncentre.ca/module/commuterchallenge/participate-in-commute…>, starting June 4th! *** Happy Commuting, *Heather Mitchell *| Workplace Commuter Options Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> | 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue (204) 925-3772 Green Action Centre is your green living hub. Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/green-action-centre/>. <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Metro Wpg: Winnipeg mayor weighs in on adjustable bike grid idea (May31'17)
by Beth McKechnie 31 May '17

31 May '17

'Playing catch-up': Winnipeg mayor weighs in on adjustable bike grid ideaCoun. Janice Lukes has been trying to get her council colleagues on board with a plan to catch up to other major cities quickly with a downtown bike grid. *By:* Braeden Jones <http://www.metronews.ca/authors.jones_braeden.html> http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/05/30/winnipeg-mayor-weighs-in-o… Winnipeg’s Mayor Brian Bowman is setting off for the Big City Mayors’ Caucus meeting in Ottawa this week, where he’ll sit on a panel with his colleagues from the west, Mayors Gregor Robertson, Don Iveson and Naheed Nenshi. They’re not meant to discuss cycling, but among that company, Bowman is the lone leader who hasn’t fast-tracked the expansion of downtown bike lanes. On Tuesday, after the current and former chair of Winnipeg’s public works committee traded jabs over the former’s attempt to get a downtown adjustable grid fast tracked — in vain — Bowman weighed in on the concept, and whether or not Winnipeg is late to the game Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary are already playing. “I don’t agree we are falling behind, we are actually playing catch-up significantly,” Bowman said. He explained this current council “inherited” poor active transportation (AT) infrastructure, and said it’s “going to take time to play catchup,” but noted progress has already been made during his tenure. “It’s a 20-year long-term plan, but let’s even look at this year,” he said. “This year we increased the AT budget by 57 per cent, a sizeable improvement from the previous year.” He also lauded the council-supported pedestrian and cycling strategy. But even with that plan, AT upgrades in Winnipeg are tied to road renewal in most cases, far from the quick turnaround pushed for by big-city mayors he’s meeting with this week. Innovative solutions like Edmonton’s efforts to install adjustable pre-cast curbs to rapidly build bike lanes downtown, which is still underway but was just initiated last fall, are exactly what former public works chairperson Coun. Janice Lukes tried to get current chair Coun. Marty Morantz to consider Tuesday. Bowman said he’d look at “any opportunities” the city has “to do things more efficiently,” but he wouldn’t voice support for the idea, even in principle. “It would be nice to fix all of the roads, to build all the bike paths, and fix everything with transit all in one year, but we are committed to a thoughtful plan that is an award winning plan, and pursing its implementation,” Bowman said.

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CBC News: Winnipeg city councillors exchange barbs over bike lanes (May31'17)
by Beth McKechnie 31 May '17

31 May '17

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/downtown-winnipeg-cycling-grids-1.41… Winnipeg city councillors exchange barbs over bike lanes Former public works chair accuses successor of ignorance after he quizzes her on urban-cycling theory By Bartley Kives, CBC News <http://www.cbc.ca/news/cbc-news-online-news-staff-list-1.1294364> The question of whether bike lanes help or hinder traffic safety generated a cycle of barbs at city hall in a dispute between council's current and former public works chairs. On Tuesday, Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) appeared before the committee she used to oversee to express concern that the city is about to delay the construction of an adjustable grid of downtown bike lanes. This prompted her successor, public works chair Marty Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge), to suggest bike lanes do not protect cyclists from traffic accidents at intersections. Morantz also asked Lukes if she is familiar with the work of 87-year-old U.S. cycling activist John Forester, who lobbied in the 1970s for cyclists' right to use the road and argued against keeping bicycles separated from motor-vehicle traffic. Lukes, the former director of the Winnipeg Trails Association, asked Morantz if he was familiar with anything about cycling before he became public works director. Outside the committee room, Lukes called Morantz ignorant. "I think he just doesn't understand. He doesn't follow this," Lukes said. "It's just ignorance." Lukes said she remains upset that Morantz amended her request to ask the city to study the idea of installing an adjustable downtown bike grid as a means of quickly creating more room for cyclists. Morantz, she said, amended that motion to simply find out whether the grid is consonant with city active-transportation guidelines. "Had he read it in the first place, he would have seen that it was in there, but this was more of a delay tactic," Lukes said. "This probably won't happen in two or three years or longer. The only way it will happen sooner is if it's the mayor's priority." Morantz said he has conducted his own research into urban cycling and he believes there is an alternative to what he described as the "conventional wisdom" about protected bike lanes. "I don't think any debate is ever settled," Morantz said. "I think it's important for people to know that there's another school of thought." Morantz said city hall should be lauded for spending more on cycling infrastructure "than we ever had before" and denied he is attempting to scuttle an initiative favoured by Lukes, who was removed from the city's executive policy committee last fall by Mayor Brian Bowman. Bowman, for his part, said he believes protected bike lanes do serve cyclists well. "That's what the experts tell us," the mayor said. "When we developed our pedestrian-cycling strategies, it contemplates protected bike lanes in many cases." The city plans to spend $4.7 million this year on conventional bike-and-pedestrian infrastructure, plus another $3.6 million to extend buffered bike lanes along Pembina Highway between DeVos Road and Killarney Avenue and $1.6 million to create protected bike lanes on Empress Street between Portage Avenue and St. Matthews Avenue.

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ON spending up to $42.5M this year on cycling infrastructure out of cap-and-trade fund
by Beth McKechnie 30 May '17

30 May '17

Good to see Ontario using their cap-and-trade monies on cycling infrastructure and other GHG emissions reduction projects. Would like to see the same approach for future carbon tax revenues in Manitoba. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/29/ontario-to- spend-up-to-425-million-this-year-on-cycling-infrastructure.html -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Metro Wpg: Bike grid discussion returns to City Hall Tuesday
by Beth McKechnie 30 May '17

30 May '17

Bike grid discussion returns to City Hall TuesdayCoun. Janice Lukes says she plans to reiterate her call for city staff to look into the feasibility of fast tracking a downtown bike grid, Tuesday. http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/05/28/winnipeg- still-lags-behind-on-protected-bike-grid-talks.html In the time it took Winnipeg’s public service to report back on whether an adjustable grid of bike lanes would fit the city’s existing plans, Edmonton has installed nearly 7 km of protected cycling infrastructure <http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2017/05/10/edmonton-downtown-bike-gri…> in its downtown. That really frustrates Coun. Janice Lukes, who last fall pitched a similar idea <http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/10/13/winnipeg-forum-planned-for…> of adjustable infrastructure to expedite the bike-lane build <http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/11/10/winnipeg-councillor-pushin…> out locally, around the time councillors out west unanimously supported fast-tracking their version by this spring. She hosted a well-attended info session with experts involved with bold cycling infrastructure projects in Calgary and Edmonton on a panel, then tried to get the Infrastructure and Public Works committee (IRPW) to order a report on what it would take to follow suit in Winnipeg. <http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/11/29/winnipeg-pumps-breaks-on-b…> But rather than research cost and feasibility, the committee asked administration to take 120 days to report back on whether the concept aligned with existing pedestrian and cycling strategies (PCS). “Surprise,” Lukes said Sunday. “They’ve come back and said it is in the plans. Imagine that.” An administrative report going to the IRPW committee Tuesday confirms what Lukes said about half a year ago, council had already looked at the roads a downtown “grid” would go on, and “adjustable methods” are already “considered as an implementation method at some locations.” The report notes “adjustable” bike lanes are a deployment method of protected cycling facilities, and concluded with “this being the case, adjustable methods for the implementation of a protected bike facility fits within the goals and objectives of the PCS.” Administration recommends the committee accept the report for information—there is no further action advised. “I guess what I am going to have to do then is come back with my original motion… direct the department to study it again,” Lukes said. “Now that we see it is in fact in the strategies, hopefully (the committee) will say, ‘okay, let’s study what it’ll cost to implement downtown in a short window.’” While she is pleased IRPW committee members will now know the public works department is acquainted with her preferred implementation method, and hopeful it can gain traction, she’s less happy with how the process has been delayed. “We need to start it now, then refine it, that’s the whole idea with an adjustable grid,” she said. Lukes explained that a protected bike grid allowing people to travel safely around the heart of a city is part of a bigger picture, with growth, civic pride, place making, bolstering the economy, and attracting new businesses and workers all in the frame. Without that bigger picture in the equation, she thinks it’s worth moving quickly on this item “for safety” at the very least. But she worries the IRPW committee, whose chairperson said “taking a baby step forward on this is a good idea” when her motion was changed in November, will concur with the administrative report to the point that there is no action taken, and no appetite for catching up to similar cities rolling out grids across the country. Even if the committee does support her original motion, she still has little hope that a new report would be ready in time to get a plan into the 2018 budget by the fall, pushing the whole idea back to 2019 at the earliest. “It’ll never get in unless the mayor made it a priority,” she said.

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Connecting cities' scattered bikeways
by Beth McKechnie 24 May '17

24 May '17

*Excellent article and resources on StreetsBlog:* For 20 to 30 years now, many cities have been laying down bike infrastructure where it’s cheap and easy.. ...cities are now looking systematically for possible connections between their existing bikeways. These examples [in Austin, New York City, Tallahassee, Seattle and Vancouver B.C.] demonstrate the value in shifting away from focus on the “low-hanging fruit” of bike infrastructure – streets with excess auto capacity or unused parking – and toward the most important roads for bicycle connectivity, even if they require difficult tradeoffs. These changes may be more politically difficult, but if chosen well they promise bigger payoffs in ridership and safety. http://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/05/22/connecting-cities-scattered-bikeways-…

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Metro Wpg: Racks, corrals and cages - Winnipeg adding more bike parking (Apr.27'17)
by Beth McKechnie 23 May '17

23 May '17

Thought others might also have missed this article published last month (or was it just me?)... Racks, corrals and cages: Winnipeg adding more bike parkingCyclists will have more parking options this summer, especially downtown where the downtown BIZ has plans for three eight-spot corrals. http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2017/04/27/winnipeg-adding-bike-racks… Considering the plethora of parking lots in Winnipeg, it can be hard to believe that some commuters struggle to find a spot – but that's often the reality for cyclists. And that's why Mark Cohoe said it was a good thing that city council approved a grand total of $185,000 in grants to create more bike parking Wednesday. "There's some areas where (bike parking) is better… but if you get into other areas it drops off significantly," said Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. "There's definitely some spots where it's really hard to find." Stephanie Whitehouse, the city's active transportation coordinator, said the money allocated this week "is a culmination of two years of budgets," as 2016 grants "hadn't gone out." She explained the grants follow the city's approved strategies by giving groups like business improvement zones (BIZ's) funding to increase their area's bike parking. "They hear from local businesses and people where the demand is and then they facilitate and install the facilities," she said, adding it often factors into "beautification" efforts. Once the group decides what they'd like to install and where, the public works department reviews the plan prior to installation. Grants approved this week include $45,000 to the Downtown BIZ, $15,000 for the Exchange District BIZ, $5,000 for the Old St. Vital BIZ, and $10,000 each for the Corydon, South Osborne, Transcona, West Broadway and West End BIZ's. Melanie Andrushko, the acting transportation project manager for the Downtown BIZ, said the plan is to spread new bike racks "throughout the downtown and the Exchange District in 2017." "We will be looking to add to the current inventory of bike racks situated on the sidewalks, but we would also like to try and add two on-street bike parking locations." Known as "bike corrals," the on-street parking is meant for high traffic locations and can fit eight bikes or more–the grant approved for the Downtown BIZ is for three corrals, worth approximately $32,000, as well as other short-term racks. Andrushko said 400 responses to a recent BIZ-led transportation mode survey found "most respondents would like to use cycling more as their preferred mode of transportation," so the new racks and corrals are helping make that feasible. Whitecourt said she's eager to "get the ball rolling" on the corrals, which could be permanent fixtures. "We did have some in the past but they had to be installed then removed, they were seasonal… they don't always weather well," she said. "We're looking for a durable one." Council also approved $30,000 for Bike Winnipeg to install racks in areas without a local BIZ, and $30,000 for the Green Action Centre to install racks and bike cages at schools. Whitehouse said the bike cages, which are exactly what they sound like, are a response to bike theft happening "repeatedly," which is "particularly traumatic for children." "To lose such a valuable piece of equipment for them is hard… also we are looking to encourage more kids to bike to school," she said. For anyone adding it all up on their calculator who noticed that all amounts to just $175,000, kudos, the final $10,000 is for the Winnipeg Public Service itself to install a bike cage downtown at 180 King St. for city staff to use. That installation follows the city's pedestrian and cycling strategy goals, which binds the city to demonstrating "leadership in providing short-term bicycle parking for visitors to the City of Winnipeg facilities and secure long-term parking and end of trip facilities for employees at municipal buildings."

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Sustainability Planner: City of Winnipeg
by Beth McKechnie 23 May '17

23 May '17

*Sustainability Planner (Temporary)City of WinnipegPlanning & Land Use* https://careers.winnipeg.ca/psc/cgext/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_ HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST&Action=U&FOCUS= Applicant&SiteId=1&JobOpeningId=115282&PostingSeq=1 *Closing date: June 1, 2017 *The Sustainability Planner works collaboratively with City Departments, other levels of government, and the community to achieve the City’s goals of sustainability and environmental quality as directed by the Mayor and Council by providing the administrative support and coordination appropriate to develop, maintain and enhance sustainability initiatives. In addition to sustainability initiatives, under the direction of the Principal Planner, this position also participates in divisional projects and tasks related to mid- and long- range planning as required. *As The Sustainability Planner You Will Be* - Assisting the Environmental Coordinator in prioritizing and supporting the sustainability goals and actions of the City of Winnipeg. - Developing detailed action plans, including project scope, key stakeholders, timelines and budgets. - Working collaboratively with other departments, community agencies, levels of government, community groups, etc. and represent the Planning, Property and Development Department on working groups and community groups dealing with sustainability initiatives. - Drafting briefing notes, Council reports, memos, discussion papers and other written communication on proposed sustainability policy and initiatives and presents to the Environmental Coordinator. - Participating in major planning initiatives, such as the preparation of local area plans and the review of Plan Winnipeg (OurWinnipeg). *Your Education And Experience Includes* - Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Environmental Studies/Science, Geography, Natural Resource Management or Planning with a demonstrated knowledge of municipal environmental issues, or an equivalent combination of academic and experience (critical). - Master’s Degree in Natural Resource Management, Planning, Environmental Studies/Science, Geography, Public Administration would be considered an asset. - A minimum of twelve (12) months experience in planning/implementing environmental/sustainability initiatives. - Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective professional and working relationships with a wide variety of people (including elected and senior appointed officials). - Demonstrated highly developed oral and written communication skills. *Conditions Of Employment* - Applicants will be required to undergo testing to determine their knowledge, abilities and skills as they relate to the qualifications of the position. If YOU are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application, including a detailed resume, online at winnipeg.ca/hr . OR, by mail quoting *Posting #: 115282 Sustainability Planner by June 1, 2017* to: Mark Laubmann, Recruitment Clerk, Planning, Property & Development, 2nd Floor - 65 Garry St, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4K4. We have great benefits and competitive salaries, and we are committed to ongoing learning and career development! For more information on this opportunity and other careers within the City, visit: *www.winnipeg.ca/hr <http://www.winnipeg.ca/hr>*. WE SEEK DIVERSITY IN OUR WORKPLACE. INDIGENOUS PERSONS, WOMEN, VISIBLE MINORITIES, AND PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY ARE ENCOURAGED TO SELF-DECLARE. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. Requests for Reasonable Accommodation will be accepted during the hiring process.

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Compost Courier (Driver/Cyclist) Employment Opportunity - Compost Winnipeg
by Beth McKechnie 23 May '17

23 May '17

*** Please share widely. Thanks! *** *Green Action Centre seeks Compost Courier (Driver/Cyclist) for Social Enterprise Operations* *Position Description: * Green Action Centre seeks an independent and energetic individual who is a proficient driver and cyclist to assist the weekly operations of our social enterprise, Compost Winnipeg. *Background: * Green Action Centre is non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in Winnipeg and serving Manitoba. We promote greener living through environmental education and encourage practical green solutions for homeowners, workplaces, schools and communities. We recently launched the social enterprise Compost Winnipeg, a fee for service operation that offers compost collection services to offices, food vendors and households in Winnipeg. *Responsibilities: * In cooperation with other Green Action Centre staff, the Compost Courier has the following duties and responsibilities: - Pick-up, weighing and tracking of organic waste from Compost Winnipeg customers; - General customer service; - Cleaning and maintenance of compost collection bins as required; - Transportation of organic waste to composting facilities; - Promotion of Compost Winnipeg services to potential customers; - Regular communication and logistics planning with the Compost Winnipeg project manager; and - Other duties, as assigned. *Qualifications: * Must be reliable and able to work without close supervision. Key qualifications include: - Organized, punctual, responsible and self-disciplined; - Good communication skills; - Able to work well with others; - Valid driver’s license; - Competent driver with clean driving record; - Competent cyclist; - Ability to consistently and safely lift 25 kilograms; - Available to work Tuesday - Friday 8:00AM – 3:30PM; and - Knowledge of composting or willingness to learn. *Date: * Starts Tuesday June 20, 2017. *Term: * This is a permanent position with the possibility of increased hours. *Remuneration: * Begins at $15 per hour (28 hours per week). *Additional Information:* This position reports to the Compost Winnipeg Project Manager. A criminal record check will be required. *Deadline: * Resume and cover letter must be received by 4:00 PM CDT, Tuesday June 6, 2017. *To Apply:* Submit a resume and cover letter to Kelly Kuryk info(a)compostwinnipeg.ca. Digital applications are preferred. Printed applications can be dropped off or mailed to our office (Green Action Centre 303 Portage Ave, 3rd Floor, Winnipeg MB, R3B 2B4). *No phone calls please.* *Visit: * www.compostwinnipeg.ca and www.greenactioncentre.ca for more information. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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WFP: Jubile Underpass closed 56 hours to allow for Transitway construction (May19'17)
by Beth McKechnie 19 May '17

19 May '17

Jubilee Underpass will be closed 56 hours to allow for Transitway construction Interchange takes a long weekend www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/stay-away-from-jubilee- interchange-this-long-weekend-423050933.html WINNIPEGGERS aren’t the only ones going on holiday this long weekend — a key portion of Pembina Highway is also taking the weekend off. For 56 hours, all four traffic lanes underneath the Jubilee Underpass will be closed to motorists as construction crews continue to build a crucialpiece of the next stage of the Southwest Rapid Transitway. That means an estimated 150,000 vehicles will be scrambling and looking for othernorth-south routes in this area of the city starting at 8 p.m. today and ending at 4 a.m. Tuesday. For the first time since the Jubilee interchange opened in November 1969, no regular motorists will be allowed through one of the busiest traffic routes in the city for an extended period. The city says about 70,000 vehicles travel northbound and southbound there every weekday. Saturday’s traffic is about 56,000 vehicles and Sunday’s is about 50,000. Scott Payne, manager of asset management for Winnipeg Transit, said the only exceptions will be emergency vehicles, transit buses and the special shuttle service vehicles the city has organized for pedestrians walking north and south on Pembina Highway. “We couldn’t safely do the work with numerous motorists and pedestrians going through,” Payne said Thursday. Having pedestrian shuttles “doesn’t happen very often, but we appreciate a pedestrian will have to go quite a distance because of the closure. They would have to go all the way to Waverley (Street) or Osborne (Street) because of the rail lines. These shuttles will go through the underpass, and they will stop construction when the pedestrian (shuttles) are there.” Payne said there won’t be as many transit buses going through the site as there are most days because they will be on weekend schedules. The city is recommending motorists use alternative routes including Osborne, Waverley and Kenaston Boulevard. Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge — East Fort Garry) said the road closure may result in short-term pain for motorists and long-term gain for bicyclists, bus riders — and even motorists— when the next stage of the rapid transitway is completed. “This will be a fantastic transportation route,” Gerbasi said. “It is dark and narrow there now for bicyclists and pedestrians, but (this) will open paths in both directions of Pembina. Everyone you talk to about the bike paths say this is fantastic.” Gerbasi said while the new bus route and bikes will dog-leg off Pembina, it will soon become the route of choice for students in this area cycling to and from the University of Manitoba. “You’ll have a consistent, separate bike lane here — it’s completely separate from cars — and it will be plowed all winter,” she said. “When people are safe from cars, people will go on it.” Gerbasi said she’s also pleased that while the construction is ongoing on this project, the city is already getting feedback for the next route to the east side of the city from downtown. “We really need to build this system,” she said. “We only have 1.4 kilometres of rapid transit now.” When the Jubilee interchange was officially opened, provincial transportation minister Joe Borowski drove a 1901 Oldsmobile over the span, followed by other antique vehicles carrying municipal and U of M officials. The interchange over Pembina was designed to link with the thenproposed Southern Expressway from downtown to Pembina Highway south. It was also intended to reduce the traffic bottleneck produced by the thousands of vehicles turning off and on to Pembina from Jubilee Avenue. The cost was $1.25million. The city has said the current Southwest Transitway project will cost $467 million and include not just the changes at Jubilee and Pembina, but also other overpasses or bridges, nine rapid-transit stations, and a new bus roadway and active transportation path running from Jubilee to the University of Manitoba. The Jubilee work is expected to be done by 2019 and the entire Transitway project will be open in 2020. Payne said thework being done on the underpass this weekend is extensive, with construction crews knocking out some of the supports between the northbound and southbound lanes as well as the six-metre high retaining walls. “They’ll take a good portion out... and then the new piers will go up (in the weeks ahead),” he said. Payne said the east-side sidewalk will also be demolished, but a temporary replacement pathway will be put in at the same place, at a lower elevation. He said asphalt will be put down to facilitate lane changes as the construction progresses, so some northbound or southbound traffic lanes may sometimes be shunted over into another lane. “When it is all completed, it will look like new,” Payne said of the underpass. “There will be a significant number of improvements for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.” Payne said there will be an extra traffic lane in both directions, bringing the total to three lanes each way; each lanewill be wider than it is now; rapid transit buses will get their own bridge, with bike lanes next to them; bicyclists and pedestrians will have sidewalks and paths on both sides of Pembina connecting to newand proposed trails; and trains will also get a newbridge cost-shared by the city and CN Rail. But Payne said this won’t be the only time all lanes of Pembina will be closed at this site. “There will be additional weekend closures,” he said, including when bridge girders are lifted into place. “We will give advance notice. We want to minimize the closures.” kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Smog sucking bikes?
by ian_toal＠mymts.net 19 May '17

19 May '17

An interesting (if theoretical) way to remove smog from cities. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/19/anti-smog-bikes-china-air-da… Ian

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Webinar reminder: Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and Inviting, WED, May 17, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 16 May '17

16 May '17

Apparently sending messages this late in the day leads to errors! The correct time should be *2-3pm Wed*. On Tue, May 16, 2017 at 7:34 PM, Beth McKechnie <beth(a)greenactioncentre.ca> wrote: > *** Friendly reminder about Wed's webinar 1-2pm *** > > Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local > viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. > > > The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303 > Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications > for those who wish to stay. > > > RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! > > > cheers, > > Beth > > * * * * * > > > *Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and InvitingWednesday, May 17 | 2:00 - > 3:00 pm CDT * > > *Presenters*: > > > - Ria Hutabarat Lo, City of Sunnyvale > - Ryan McClain, Fehr & Peers > > This webinar will discuss making city-wide crosswalk policies work for > your community. Speakers will present crossing policies for uncontrolled > and signalized intersections and trail crossings, using examples that > provide clear, easy-to-use flowcharts establishing the preferred > treatments for crosswalk enhancements, traffic control, and trail crossing. > We'll also discuss the role of undercrossings in multi-modal transportation > networks including reviewing several case studies of railroad > undercrossings in Santa Clara County. The speakers will also discuss > streamlining decision-making and routinely applying best practices. > > -- > > *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options > > <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre > <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> > <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> > > 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here > <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> > > Green Action Centre is your green living hub > > Support our work by becoming a member > <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at > CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/> > > > > > >

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Webinar reminder: Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and Inviting, WED, May 17, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 16 May '17

16 May '17

*** Friendly reminder about Wed's webinar 1-2pm *** Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications for those who wish to stay. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! cheers, Beth * * * * * *Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and InvitingWednesday, May 17 | 2:00 - 3:00 pm CDT * *Presenters*: - Ria Hutabarat Lo, City of Sunnyvale - Ryan McClain, Fehr & Peers This webinar will discuss making city-wide crosswalk policies work for your community. Speakers will present crossing policies for uncontrolled and signalized intersections and trail crossings, using examples that provide clear, easy-to-use flowcharts establishing the preferred treatments for crosswalk enhancements, traffic control, and trail crossing. We'll also discuss the role of undercrossings in multi-modal transportation networks including reviewing several case studies of railroad undercrossings in Santa Clara County. The speakers will also discuss streamlining decision-making and routinely applying best practices. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Webinar invite: Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and Inviting, Wed, May 17, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 10 May '17

10 May '17

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of this month's APBP <http://www.apbp.org/> webinar. The webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre boardroom (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications for those who wish to stay. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! cheers, Beth * * * * * *Making Crossings Safe, Convenient and InvitingWednesday, May 17 | 2:00 - 3:00 pm CDT * *Presenters*: - Ria Hutabarat Lo, City of Sunnyvale - Ryan McClain, Fehr & Peers This webinar will discuss making city-wide crosswalk policies work for your community. Speakers will present crossing policies for uncontrolled and signalized intersections and trail crossings, using examples that provide clear, easy-to-use flowcharts establishing the preferred treatments for crosswalk enhancements, traffic control, and trail crossing. We'll also discuss the role of undercrossings in multi-modal transportation networks including reviewing several case studies of railroad undercrossings in Santa Clara County. The speakers will also discuss streamlining decision-making and routinely applying best practices. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Fwd: The Bicycle Mayor and Leader Summit - June 10th
by Anders Swanson 04 May '17

04 May '17

[I had a chance to meet with Inge Janssen staff from this program and see a talk from Anna - Amsterdam's bicycle mayor - and was inspired by the potential of this idea in Canadian cities too. They are looking/willing to grow the program and have a free get together in Amsterdam coinciding with VeloCity in Nijmegen. Its an excellent opportunity to connect internationally. Maybe Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage? There area a few different formats possible, but basically anywhere can have a bike mayor and this program will help support/network to get it started. (Note that in Europe, a "Mayor" is more like a councillor but this is not an actual politician and does not preclude places with bike friendly ones (look at Amsterdam...). This is something set up to recognize and give voice to a keen and energetic person who feels passionately, works outside the official structure and is capable of explaining cycling to the public and working positively. They are a volunteer and work alongside the local Bicycle Advocacy group and politicians. Sydney has one. Amsterdam has one. Have a look! PS. No, I am not in the running... but I know how useful it can be to have a framework for communication. I *can* think of a dozen people in Winnipeg who would be great and whom I would be happy to support/guide through the process. - Anders] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: CycleSpace <inge(a)cyclespace.org> Date: Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 3:04 PM Subject: The Bicycle Mayor and Leader Summit - June 10th To: andersswanson(a)gmail.com *Hello!* *Do you want a Bicycle Mayor in your city? Join the Bicycle Mayor and Leader Summit on the 10th of June.* *Buy your tickets <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> now!* CycleSpace is organising the first ever Bicycle Mayor and Leader Summit. An inspiring day on how cycling mayors, influencers and leaders can change cities and mobility worldwide. Learn everything about the Bicycle Mayor program and meet with cycling experts, policy makers from all around the world and off course with Anna and Sarah, the Bicycle Mayors of Amsterdam and Sydney. The program of Saturday the 10th of June will we open for everyone who is interested in the program. Our goal is that everyone will leave our pavilion knowing how a Bicycle Mayor can change cycling in their city. But this day will be much more than just that! There will be interactive talks, creative sessions, a cycling tour and ideation workshops to stimulate ideas of bold radical visions to challenge the future of bicycle solutions. The day will end with drinks, dinner and a little bit of dancing! Buy your tickets now!! Are you a visitor of Velo-City? The Summit is an official pre-program of Velo-City and Velo-City visitors will get a discount. Order your tickets through My Velo-City <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e…> Cheers! Team CycleSpace Do you really want to join the Summit, but you have trouble with financing this? We might be able to help find funding for this event, please contact inge(a)cyclespace.org <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> *Copyright © CycleSpace, All rights reserved.* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/profile?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5b26&…> or unsubscribe from this list <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> This email was sent to andersswanson(a)gmail.com *why did I get this?* <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/about?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5b26&id…> unsubscribe from this list <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5…> update subscription preferences <http://cyclespace.us13.list-manage.com/profile?u=a47bd218e361741e8361e5b26&…> CycleSpace · Herengracht 124-126 · Amsterdam, Nh 1011 AA · USA [image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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WFP: Proposed bike-ped bridge over Pembina Highway (Apr.29'17)
by Beth McKechnie 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

Proposed bridge over Pembina Highway would be ‘huge’ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/proposed-pedestrian- and-cycling-bridge-over-pembina-highway-will-be-huge- huge-huge-420783833.html BICYCLISTS and pedestrians heading to a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game or classes at the University of Manitoba may be two years away from having a quicker path to get there with their own $12-million bridge across Pembina Highway. If approved, the Bishop Grandin Walk-Bike Bridge Over Pembina Highway project would open in spring 2019, and the city is holding a workshop to get feedback from the public next month. Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg — St. Norbert) called the project “huge.” “There will be a bridge for rapid transit buses (over Bishop Grandin) and a bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians and then, when the bicyclists get to Barley Brothers (restaurant), they all go up and over from berm to berm across Pembina Highway,” Lukes said on Friday. “There is a big push for this. It is applicable for federal funding.” Lukes — a longtime advocate for bike paths — said it would make an area of heavy traffic and multiple lanes safer for cyclists, noting there has already been one bike fatality there. Dick Stevenson, 69, was cycling to a Winnipeg Blue Bombers exhibition game in 2014 when he was hit and killed by a car on Pembina Highway near Bishop Grandin Boulevard. The new bridge would connect the Bishop Grandin Greenway across Pembina Highway so bicyclists would be able to cycle from the Sage Creek subdivision on the easter side of the city to Fort Whyte Alive on the western side. Lukes said the bridge would make it easier for people in nearby neighbourhoods to get to new Southwest Rapid Transitway stations where they can securely park their bikes. The city says in a section of a report that the bridge may look “pretty long” because it has to be built using current accessibility standards. As well, it is being built with safety in mind by using lighting and connecting pathways and making sure bridge users would be visible to motorists and sidewalk users. Construction is expected to begin as early as March if city council approves the project. The workshop is being held in the Sky Deck Event Centre at the south end of Investors Group Field on May 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free parking is available in the university’s U lot at the south end of the stadium. For information, visit winnipeg. ca/Bishop Walk Bike Bridge kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca

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NYC's Protected Bike Lanes Have Actually Sped Up Car Traffic
by Beth McKechnie 28 Apr '17

28 Apr '17

A quick read and a good news story for a sunny Friday morning! https://www.fastcompany.com/3035580/new-york-citys- protected-bike-lanes-have-actually-sped-up-its-car-traffic When New York City first started adding new protected bike lanes in 2007, some drivers made the usual argument against them: Taking street space away from cars would slow down traffic. After years of collecting data, a new report <http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2014-09-03-bicycle-path-data-anal…> from the city shows that the opposite is true. On some streets redesigned with protected bike lanes, travel times are actually faster. And it turns out the new lanes have a range of other benefits as well. For pedestrians, the bike lanes make walking safer by shortening crosswalks and making crossings more obvious to drivers. Pedestrian injuries have dropped an average of 22% on streets with bike lanes. Not surprisingly, cyclist injuries have also decreased; on 9th Avenue, for example, even though far more bikes are on the street, cyclist injuries have gone down by 65%. For cars, a better traffic flow comes partly as a side benefit from a safety feature added with the bike lanes. Cars turning left now have pockets to wait in–so they’re less likely to hit a cyclist riding straight, but they also stop blocking traffic as they wait. “Having that left turning area, where you’re able to get out of the flow, you can see the cyclist, the cyclist can see the turning vehicle, you can pause and not feel the pressure from behind to make a quick movement,” says Josh Benson, director of bicycle and pedestrian programs for the New York City Department of Transportation. “That’s a major major safety feature of these type of bike lanes. But it also helps the flow.” That’s not to say the city hasn’t gotten some complaints about the changes–in some cases, people perceived that traffic was slower, perhaps just because they expected it to be. “I think there are those people who had the perception that travel times increased just because visually they saw the roadway looked different,” says Benson. “It’s part of the reason we do a lot of empirical data collection, because we get a lot of anecdotal feedback.” The new data will help the department as it promotes an ever-growing network of protected lanes in new neighborhoods. “Just being able to really show an overall comprehensive benefit for these facilities is going to help us with the next generation of bike lanes,” says Sean Quinn, co-director of the DOT’s Pedestrian Projects Group. “We’re not going to just say this is a bike facility, and it’s going to help one mode of traffic–we’re going to say it has the potential to help everyone in the neighborhood where we’re placing the facility.” The new bike lanes even help local business <https://www.fastcoexist.com/1682022/want-to-make-money-build-a-business-on-…>; the city has found that streets with bike lanes are linked with more retail sales, new jobs, and more tourists. Over the last seven years, New York has installed over 30 miles of protected bike lanes, but it’s just the beginning. “It’s our plan to do five miles of protected bike lanes every year going forward,” says Benson. “That’s actually about 100 city blocks of protected bike lanes, so that’s a huge chunk of city streets every year.”

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BBC News: Cycling to work can cut cancer and heart disease, says study
by Charles F 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Not only fun, but a life-saver too! Cycling to work can cut cancer and heart disease, says study - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39641122

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Cycling Without Age: Winnipeg Launch May 2
by Beth McKechnie 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Excited to share the news that a Winnipeg chapter of Cycling Without Age is launching on *Tuesday, May 2nd, 10:30am at the Riverview Health Centre Foundation*. Ole Kassow, the founder of the organization, will be present. Spearheaded by Michael & Wendy Erlanger after a visit to Copenhagen, the Winnipeg chapter will be the 10th in Canada (see list <http://cyclingwithoutage.com/chapters-canada/>). There's also a nice write-up <http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/souwester/Enjoy-a-ride-no-…> in yesterday's Sou'wester. Please see the attached invite for details and be sure to *RSVP by Monday, April 24 to **cwawinnipeg(a)gmail.com* <cwawinnipeg(a)gmail.com> if you plan to attend. cheers, Beth ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Beth McKechnie <beth(a)greenactioncentre.ca> Date: Sat, Mar 18, 2017 at 12:04 PM Subject: Cycling Without Age: Why you should take a senior for a bike ride To: AT network <at-network(a)lists.umanitoba.ca> If you need a smile and a good news story, read the whole article <http://ideas.ted.com/why-you-should-take-a-senior-on-a-bike-ride/>. Would be wonderful to pilot this in Winnipeg! * * * * * Copenhagener Ole Kassow launched a program to bring older Danes on bicycle outings. Now volunteer pilots in 29 countries are taking their passengers on the road. It all started with a friendly wave. In 2012, Copenhagen native Ole Kassow’s daily cycling commute took him past a nursing home. Every morning, the management consultant would see impeccably dressed 97-year-old Thorkild, who’d greet him from a spot on a bench, a walker by his side. Kassow wondered about the last time the man — and the home’s other residents — had been on a bike. “Because most Copenhageners love cycling, I assumed he’d love to go back out in his community, to interact with his neighbors, and do something he’d probably always done in his life,” he says. He received permission from home staff to take a senior for a ride in a rental trishaw — a cargo tricycle with a low passenger compartment that goes in front of the cyclist. This ride eventually led Kassow to create the nonprofit Cycling Without Age <http://cyclingwithoutage.org/>, an initiative that now includes more than 250 chapters in 29 countries. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your green living hub Support our work by becoming a member <http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/become-a-member/>. Donate at CanadaHelps.org <http://canadahelps.org/>

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Millennials & seniors move into Calgary's first car-free condo
by Beth McKechnie 10 Apr '17

10 Apr '17

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/millennials-and-seniors-start-movi… Developer Joe Starkman thought Calgary’s first condo without a single stall for tenants’ automobiles would attract millennials. Between the complete absence of parking and the millennial-friendly perks that come with the purchase of a unit — think an Ikea gift card for furniture, a new urban bicycle and credit for car-sharing service Car2Go — you can’t blame him. Residents started moving into the history-making, parking-free N3 development on Monday and while the majority are under the age of 35, Starkman has been pleasantly surprised at just who will be living in the 167-unit tower in the up-and-coming East Village. “Generally, it’s a younger group moving in,” said Starkman, with Knightsbridge Homes. “But the other anomaly we had is we ended up with a whole bunch of seniors.” Starkman said he’s heard from older buyers who don’t drive and are keen to live close to a transit station, amenities including a yet-to-be-opened grocery store, and a diversity of ages. “One actually said to me, ‘I’m tired of living with all of these old people,” he said. “It leads you to think maybe we need more of a mix, instead of us putting all of our seniors in seniors homes overlooking the grass growing out in the suburbs.” Whether young or old, the people who will call home a 465-square-foot one-bedroom or a 625-square foot two-bedroom inner-city condo are living in a piece of Calgary history. When city council in notoriously car-loving Calgary unanimously approved the 15-storey parking-free condo tower in May 2015, it was a first for the city. Under normal Calgary rules, a tower of N3’s size would require about 100 parking stalls and Starkman estimated because of the water table needs in the area, each would have cost $50,000. The absence of underground parking stalls allowed Knightsbridge to finish the development quicker than a typical build and offer a lower price point. Starkman said he was first inspired to build a car-less condo after offering his daughter an old car while she was studying at Dalhousie University. “She said, ‘A Car? What am I going to do with a car,'” he recalled. “(She said,) ‘I’ve got a transit pass, a bike and I can walk.'” The conversation spurred baby boomer Starkman to hire marketers who talked to young Calgarians in downtown coffee shops. They found 30 per cent of the people surveyed lacked drivers licenses and 50 per cent didn’t own a vehicle. With all but 20 units sold, Starkman said there’s clearly an appetite for the no-car concept in Calgary. “I’m not saying this no parking should take over the world in Calgary,” he said. “We’re not downtown Toronto or London, but it seems to me there was a bit of a gap in the marketplace that nobody was really approaching.”

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