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WFP: Portage gears up for Bike Week
by Beth McKechnie 22 May '19

22 May '19

*Portage gears up for Bike Week* https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/News-briefs-510… Portage la Prairie cyclists are invited to join in the fifth annual Bike Week from May 25 to 31. Portage Active Transportation Committee member Maureen Owens said she hopes that many will join in at least one of the week’s activities. Bike Week kicks off with a scavenger hunt, used bike sale and barbecue on Sat., May 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Greasy Chain, a bike repair workshop at the corner of 1st Street NW and Fisher Avenue. Yoga in the Park is featured near the bandstand at Island Park on Sun., May 26 at 11 a.m. Cyclists can ride out to Fort la Reine Museum (2652 Saskatchewan Ave. E) between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to receive a homemade cinnamon bun and free admission to the museum. A public art tour is set for Mon., May 27 at 7 p.m. and the Junk Yard Dogs Bike Trails will meet at the dump hill at 7 p.m. Families can take part in a cookie ride on Tues., May 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. with cookies available at Portage elementary schools. The cycling grub crawl is being held on Thurs., May 30 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Splash Island parking lot. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Portage la Prairie Regional Library, 40 Royal Rd. N. Portage students are encouraged to bike to school on Fri., May 31. The full schedule of events is available at facebook.com/activetransportationplap <https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/facebook.com/ac…>

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WFP: Mandatory bike registration unwieldy: city (May17'19)
by Beth McKechnie 17 May '19

17 May '19

*Further coverage on the bike registry...* *Mandatory bike registration unwieldy: city * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/little-support-for-mandatory-bicycl… A CITY committee will vote next week on implementing a mandatory bicycle registration program at the point of purchase, a measure the city’s administration opposes. In January, the protection, community services and parks committee directed city staff to study the feasibility of operating a mandatory municipal bicycle registry. The city already operates a voluntary bike registry — which aims to help police return recovered stolen bicycles to rightful owners — but it isn’t widely used. In an average year, less than 10 per cent of the roughly 1,000 recovered stolen bicycles are registered. Following consultations with the Winnipeg Police Service, 21 retailers and three cycling organizations, administration staff determined it wouldn’t be feasible or beneficial to force people to register their bikes. “While the inherent value of a bike registry is widely recognized, our engagement with stakeholders pointed to significant challenges related to implementation and enforcement of a mandatory bike registry,” city bylaw officer Winston Yee wrote in a report that was submitted to the committee. “Therefore, the public service is recommending that mandatory bike registration at the time of purchase not be implemented.” The report notes mandatory registration and licensing programs have been scrapped in other cities because the cost outweighs the benefits. The majority of retailers that were consulted were concerned about collecting personal information from customers, adding to their workload and the logistics of passing the information on to the city. Meanwhile, police suggested mandatory registration would add barriers to cycling, in addition to placing extra burdens on retailers. Many of the bicycle retailers surveyed for the report said there was value in the voluntary registry and some said they provide information about the program. The police service said it has identified opportunities to enhance its efforts to curb bike theft, including improving available resources. The report will be voted on at Wednesday’s meeting.

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WFP: Councillor calls for speed reduction (May17'19)
by Beth McKechnie 17 May '19

17 May '19

*Nason wants to slow residential traffic as concerns mount over pedestrian deaths* * Councillor calls for speed reduction * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/councillor-moves-to-reduce-winnipeg… PEDESTRIAN safety took centre stage at city hall as councillors discussed lowering residential speed limits and expanding school-zone driving restrictions. Councillors clashed over whether Winnipeg is doing enough to develop a comprehensive road-safety plan. In the shadow of a deadly first half of 2019 — six pedestrians have been killed in the city thus far — Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) said he plans to table a motion on Monday, seeking to reduce residential speed limits throughout Winnipeg. The rookie councillor is also planning to call for an expansion of school-zone driving restrictions that would result in reduced speed limits year-round for 12 hours per day. “With regards to residential (neighbourhoods), I’m open to having dialogue on either reducing it to 40 or 30 (kilometres per hour),” Nason told reporters following Thursday’s monthly city council meeting. “I think that’s a good dialogue to have, and I think that would go towards reducing risks on residential streets and not having a major impact on people getting around the city.” Research shows dropping the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h would add an additional 48 seconds for every kilometre travelled during a commute, Nason said. That’s not an unreasonable delay, he said. Other Canadian municipalities are looking at similar measures. Vancouver is in the process of piloting 30-km/h speed limits in residential zones, while Edmonton city council is discussing the possibility of lowering its limits in such neighbourhoods. Nason said Winnipeg council has repeatedly looked at it over the years, yet no action has been taken. “I get tired when people use reports as a crutch. As a council, it sounds like we can say, ‘Let’s go this route.’ The reports have been done. I think it’s high time we take some action on this and show some leadership,” he said. So far this year, eight pedestrians have been killed in Manitoba. In an average year, there are 12 pedestrian deaths in Manitoba, officials said. On Wednesday night, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in an alleged hit-and-run on Portage Avenue near the Viscount Gort Hotel. The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition, but was subsequently upgraded to stable. The Winnipeg Police Service said a suspect turned himself in shortly after the collision. During Thursday’s meeting, Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) repeatedly questioned Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface), chairman of the public works committee, about when the city will have its own “comprehensive road safety strategy.” Three attempts by Lukes to have the question answered — and to get a firm timeline nailed down — were sidestepped. Instead, Allard repeatedly pointed to the fact the city subscribes to the province’s “Towards Zero” strategy, while highlighting piecemeal initiatives the municipal government has been implementing in the past year. Efforts aimed at getting people to drive slower and safer weren’t limited to city hall. Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler held a news conference Thursday to warn motorists to slow down while passing construction sites and crews that are working outside. “A lot of pedestrians are becoming fatalities on our roads, and it is a really serious issue that we have to address. We just had two fatalities again on a road in just the last 48 hours,” Schuler said. A man and a woman were struck and killed while crossing Nairn Avenue at Panet Road on Tuesday. kevin.rollason(a)freepress.mb.ca ryan.thorpe(a)freepress.mb.ca

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Wpg Sun: Mandatory bike registry unlikely for Winnipeg: report (May15'19)
by Beth McKechnie 16 May '19

16 May '19

Mandatory bike registry unlikely for Winnipeg: report https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-news/mandatory-bike-registry-unlikely-for… [For tips, check out / share: https://greenactioncentre.ca/healthy-travel/how-to-avoid-bike-theft/] The city’s public service is advising council not to add a mandatory bike registry. Back in January, council ordered a study of mandatory registration at the point of bike purchases, with the goal of returning more stolen bikes to their owners. But the public service now recommends that idea be scrapped, arguing it would be too expensive and too complicated to implement. “Our engagement with stakeholders pointed to significant challenges related to implementation and enforcement of a mandatory bike registry,” Marcia Fifer, the city’s licensing co-ordinator, writes in a report headed to council’s protection, community services and parks committee. In a follow-up interview, Fifer said smaller retailers were concerned that adding registration to each bike purchase would demand too much staff time. “We didn’t want to put a burden upon our retailers,” said Fifer. She said a scan of bike registries in other Canadian cities found all who had tried mandatory ones, which at one point included Winnipeg, have since abandoned them. Fifer said the cost to administer and enforce such programs was found to exceed the potential benefits. “The cost definitely outweighed any money the program was bringing in,” she said. The public service does plan to find new ways to better promote the city’s voluntary bike registration system, which has grown to list 12,000 bicycles, Fifer said. “That’s significant because we used to get only a few hundred new registrations a year, now in the last year we’ve gotten about 3,000,” she said. Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski), who lobbied for the mandatory registry, said he’s disappointed by the report. Eadie said reuniting owners with stolen bikes is especially important in his ward, where cycling is a key means of transportation. He fears maintaining the status quo means it will remain difficult for police to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. “They’re not considering the burden on the officer on the street, who will also face the frustration of the people,” said Eadie. Coun. Sherri Rollins, who chairs the protection and community services committee, agreed bike theft is a pressing concern, noting her own three children’s bikes were all stolen last year. “Winnipeg has particular challenges with respect to bike theft, so I think there is an imperative to always see … if there is any innovations that we could be doing,” said Rollins. The chair said she was pleased by the report’s extensive consultation efforts and will wait to hear her colleagues’ responses to it before weighing in on its recommendations. The protection committee will consider the report on May 22. jpursaga(a)postmedia.com Twitter: @pursagawpgsun

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WFP Editorial: Manitoba needs better road-safety strategy
by Beth McKechnie 16 May '19

16 May '19

*Manitoba needs better road-safety strategy * https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/manitoba-needs-better-… A NUMBER of high-profile pedestrian deaths resulting from collisions in Winnipeg this year has road safety on the minds of many. The question is, what to do about it? Manitoba’s Road Safety Plan 2017-2020 highlights a grim statistic: despite the fact some progress is being made — traffic-related deaths declined to 80 in 2015 from 120 in 2006 — motorvehicle collisions are the province’s fifth-leading cause of injury-related deaths. Clearly, action is required. Public awareness campaigns are one approach, to encourage safer driving practices and better awareness for motorists and pedestrians who use our streets and sidewalks. MPI’s “Save the 100” advertisements highlight individual responsibilities for making our roads safer, with emphasis on factors such as distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding. Actually making the most dangerous sections of road safer, however, is a stickier proposition. City Coun. Janice Lukes has pushed for a traffic safety initiative since 2016, aiming to get traffic fatalities down to zero. The initiative, Vision Zero, was developed in Sweden in 1997 and focuses on the design of infrastructure and how it is used, analyzing data to create safer spaces. And it’s working: Sweden has one of the lowest annual rates of road deaths in the world, at three per 100,000. Pedestrian fatalities there were reduced by half within five years. Other jurisdictions have adopted this outlook: in 2014, New York City launched a plan employing traffic data and improved engineering to get traffic deaths to zero within 10 years. Clearly, investing in our roads, walkways and other infrastructure with a view to safety is critical. Here’s another question: how do we pay for it? In this, the province has a role to play. The previous New Democratic government floated a proposal to devote funds from MPI to improve high-risk spots. That went nowhere, thanks to vocal opposition over the prospect of the insurer funding infrastructure upgrades rather than returning surplus funds to ratepayers. The fact that safer intersections reduce the risk of accidents and save lives must not have been enough justification for those opposed, but — if money is the issue — the additional knowledge that reducing the number of collisions also reduces the number of claims and thus lowers premiums should have been. It’s also worth noting that decreasing accident and injury numbers lessens the financial burden on the taxpayerfunded health-care system. Other jurisdictions have taken this approach. The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia partners with local government to pay for safetyrelated road improvements. A 2015 evaluation found that the initiative led to an average 24 per cent decrease in severe collisions over a threeyear period. Manitoba has taken a lot of flak for not devoting more money to road and highway repair. Yet, the much-criticized increase to the provincial sales tax under the NDP was intended to fund infrastructure, something the opposition Progressive Conservatives attacked at the time. Even if the Pallister government were not philosophically opposed to spending PST income on roads, the revenue loss created by its promised-anddelivered one percentage point PST cut (effective July 1) would make such an investment difficult to achieve. We use our roads, highways, sidewalks and intersections every day, and pointing fingers doesn’t make any of those routes safer. It’s time to take a long-term approach, as Sweden did, and learn from what other jurisdictions, such as B.C., are doing. Because as the various safety campaigns make clear, the only number of traffic deaths we can all live with is zero.

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Washington, DC creates protected bike lane barriers from downed trees
by Beth McKechnie 15 May '19

15 May '19

Hmmm, perhaps a good use for Winnipeg's downed elm trees? *WASHINGTON, DC CREATES CYCLE TRACK BARRIERS FROM DOWNED TREES* -> The AASHTO Journal reported the District Department of Transportation in Washington, DC, is testing whether "re-purposed timber" gathered from trees removed due to damage can be used to build cycle track barriers. This timber is much less expensive than concrete barricades, and DDOT can create and fabricate these barricades in house. See the brief video: http://bit.ly/2LH1lwP <https://pps.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2c803e70a8ad33c13a95a1ee6&id=…> -- Beth McKechnie* | *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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AT Webinar: Engaging Youth to Choose Car-free Mobility, May 22, 12-1pm
by Beth McKechnie 14 May '19

14 May '19

Please join Green Action Centre in the EcoCentre <https://greenactioncentre.ca/uncategorized/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-…> boardroom for a group viewing of the following webinar (or register here <https://trec.pdx.edu/events/professional-development/webinar-05-19> to watch it at your desk). *Engaging Youth to Choose Car-free Mobility* *Wed, May 22nd, 12-1pm* Today’s youth are tomorrow’s riders, bikers, walkers, voters, and transportation planners. As more transit agencies begin to offer free fare passes to public middle and high school students, it is important to have good communication strategy in place to encourage transit usage so they don't miss out on the potential to affect behavior change. Thus, transit agencies need to develop age-appropriate messaging strategies and tactics that promote youth car-free mobility. This webinar will present results from a NITC research project that sought to create and evaluate communication messaging that fosters more positive attitudes, intentions, and behaviors related to transit and other car-free transportation options among Portland youth. While there is no "one size fits all" approach, the Portland-based findings may yield insights that could be adapted for application in other regions. KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES - Understand the car-free mobility-related attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of teens in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area; - Identify communication channels and settings that could be most effective with youth in regards to transportation system information and promotion; - Study the data to learn how strategic themes promoting car-free mobility were perceived by Oregon youth.

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Vancouver passes motion on 30km/h limit pilot project
by Beth McKechnie 14 May '19

14 May '19

A Vancouver City councillor’s motion for a pilot project on reducing the speed limit <https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-city-speed-limits-side-streets-bc…> on the city’s side streets and residential areas to 30 km/h passed unanimously on Tuesday. https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-30km-h-speed-limit-side-streets-r… -- Beth McKechnie* | *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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How We Talk About Drivers Hitting Cyclists
by Beth McKechnie 14 May '19

14 May '19

*How We Talk About Drivers Hitting Cyclists * *What the media gets wrong, and why, says a lot about how our society views vulnerable road users* Hardly a week goes by without an article about a crash in which a driver hits and kills a rider... Almost as troubling as the rise in deaths is the media coverage of these crashes... News stories often play a key role in shaping public understanding of traffic safety. And when news stories victim-blame or fail to convey the larger context in which these crashes take place, they do deep injustice to the victims and the conversation about road safety in general. Two new studies on inaccuracy and subtle bias in mainstream-media reporting about driver-cyclist crashes highlight the extent of these issues. What they show make clear just how deeply rooted the problem is—and how difficult it will be to fix. Full article: https://www.outsideonline.com/2392955/lets-talk-about-drivers-hitting-cycli… -- Beth McKechnie* | *Green Action Centre <http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> 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/> <http://www.gomanitoba.ca>

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CanStar (The Lance): Exciting active transportation improvements (May13'19)
by Beth McKechnie 14 May '19

14 May '19

Exciting active transportation improvements https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/correspondent/Excit… The new pedestrian and cyclist tunnel beneath Fermor Avenue, east of St. Anne’s Road, is now visible — and light can be seen from the other end. As well, several other exciting new pieces of active transportation infrastructure in Old St. Vital are complete or are about to be completed. The new tunnel will form the linchpin of an active transportation corridor reaching from Southdale, Royalwood and other southeast neighbourhoods up through Old St. Vital into St. Boniface and ultimately the core. "The tunnel creates a connection from the southeast across Niakwa footbridge to Des Meurons — it is a major improvement for cycling in St. Vital," says Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital). The tunnel will link the southern end of Des Meurons Street with the Niakwa Place and Alpine Place neighbourhoods. For walkers and cyclists, these communities, the most densely populated areas in St. Vital, are presently only connected to their northern neighbours via a detour to St Anne’s Road. The newly rehabilitated St. Anne’s and Fermor intersection features two high-quality bicycle lights and pathways through the signalized section. There are also new, elevated speed-table-style safe crossings over yield lanes for pedestrians and cyclists. A new, at-grade, bridge-level multi-use pathway across the Fermor bridge is also now operational. It provides an alternative route across the Seine River in the event —as is true at the time of writing — the trail to Niakwa Park is flooded. The City of Winnipeg’s active transportation strategy identifies several north-south routes through the Southdale area, as well as a north-south corridor along St. George Street, Worthington Avenue and then Grey Street to the Bishop Grandin Greenway. Passing, as it does, by St. George School, this project could represent a tremendous opportunity to calm traffic in front of the school. Speed tables, a narrowed road, and improved sidewalk would not only provide a safe north-south bike route for St. Vital but a safer and more pleasant experience for parents at that school. To the north, given that St. Anne’s and St. Mary’s roads are narrow and in great demand for both rush-hour vehicle traffic and day and evening parking, Des Meurons Street through Glenwood and then Norwood seems the logical place to continue a safe and pleasant bicycle pathway into St. Boniface and the core. These projects and future visions represent an amazing leap forward for St. Vital. *Ryan Palmquist is a community correspondent for St. Vital. *

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