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Green Action Centre job posting - Active and Safe Routes to School Project Coordinator
by Beth McKechnie 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

** Please share with anyone you know who may be interested. Many thanks! ** *Green Action Centre seeks a dynamic individual to join our Active and Safe Routes to School Program* We are looking for an independent, energetic, flexible and organized individual to fill a position within our Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) team. Working collaboratively with other Active and Safe Routes to School and Green Action Centre staff, the Coordinator will perform duties to organize for and promote children’s mobility in Manitoba. Apply by Friday, February 13th. Find the full job posting here <http://greenactioncentre.ca/about/jobs/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/program/asrts/>

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Do our cities still work?
by Dave Elmore 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

Worth the 19 minutes to watch. Spoiler alert! No, but we can fix that! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQfC6mKTErg <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQfC6mKTErg&feature=youtu.be> &feature=youtu.be

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WFP: From why Winterpeg to why not? Follow Edmonton's lead and capitalize on frigid reputation (Jan.19'15)
by Beth McKechnie 20 Jan '15

20 Jan '15

>From why Winterpeg to why not?Follow Edmonton's lead and capitalize on frigid reputation ON ARCHITECTUREBy: Brent Bellamy http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/from-why-winterpeg-to-w… It is mid-January, and through hard crusts of frozen breath on their tightly wrapped scarves, Winnipeggers across the city can be heard muttering to themselves "Why do I live here?" Winnipeg doesn't have many things that can truly be described as world-class, but winter is certainly one of them. For a major city (with a population over 500,000) our January average temperatures are the fourth-coldest on Earth, rivalling cities in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. In response, over the last 40 years, we have worked to build a city that turns its back on winter. We defend ourselves from it like it's an enemy invader. Our climate-controlled networks sever us from the outside. Portage Avenue was for a century a bustling 12-month, outdoor shopping strip, the retail heart of the city. Then we decided to move to indoor malls, and today we zig-zag in our cars across massive parking lots from one big-box store to the next. We pushed people at our landmark intersection underground, and our sidewalks were emptied by skywalks. The default reaction to everything from segregated bike lanes to active pedestrian sidewalks and great public spaces seems to always be "It's too cold to do that in Winnipeg." We have all heard someone from outside the province call our city Winterpeg and laugh a derogatory giggle. Imagine if we could transform that word into a badge of honour. It is difficult for a city to reach its full potential as a smart, vibrant, livable place with a resigned attitude we must endure the winter months. If Winnipeg is to be globally competitive, attracting investment, tourism and immigration, we can't simply accept a lower quality of life for half the year. Winter is part of who we are, it defines us. It can be an asset, if we make it one. To begin changing our perception of the coldest months, Winnipeg might learn from our friends in Edmonton who have begun taking significant steps toward a long-term cultural shift in their collective perception of winter, beginning to leverage its potential as a social and economic asset that can set them apart in the world. Last year, the city took the bold step of adopting as official policy a Winter City Strategic Plan called For the Love of Winter and have drafted a clear implementation document that is now being executed. Edmonton's Winter City plan was created through an extensive public consultation process that established four key pillars: Winter Life, Winter Design, Winter Economy and Our Winter Story. Each pillar categorizes a set of strategic goals. *-- Winter Life: *The goals of this pillar are to improve winter transportation for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users as well as to simply make it easier to go outside. Strategies to implement these goals include: constructing commercial warming kiosks in public parks and plazas; creating regulations for use of fire in outdoor public spaces; encouraging neighbourhood-scale winter carnivals; constructing heated transit shelters and separated bike lanes; and prioritizing snow clearing for cyclist and pedestrian pathways. *-- Winter Design: *This pillar focuses on creating a set of enforceable design guidelines that prescribe architectural and urban-planning elements to create more livable outdoor environments. These design standards focus on creating microclimates that maximize outdoor comfort by incorporating such ideas as protective wind shelter, outdoor heat sources and increased access to sunlight. Colour, public art and creative lighting elements are also encouraged. *-- Winter Economy: *The economic impact of creating a vibrant winter city is seen as a multi-layered opportunity, from tourism and commercial growth to bigger picture issues such as attracting and retaining investment and young people by improving the quality of civic life year-round. Initiatives to achieve this include developing outdoor winter markets, changing zoning and alcohol bylaws to encourage a winter restaurant patio culture, supporting civic-scale festivals and public events as well as establishing educational, business and research centres that focus on winter-related industry and technology. *-- Our Winter Story:* The final pillar hopes to champion awareness for the winter-city plan within Edmonton and abroad. The goal is to establish local contests, marketing and public-engagement initiatives as well as international branding and tourism campaigns that celebrate Edmonton as a world winter capital. Over the past few years, Winnipeg has begun to informally embrace many of the ideals Edmonton has made official policy. If our city were to initiate a similar plan, there would be a strong base from which to build. Festival du Voyageur is the largest winter carnival in Western Canada, attracting approximately 100,000 visitors. Several years ago, the well-publicized battle between The Forks and Ottawa's Rideau Canal for the title of World's Longest Skating Rink raised awareness for winter activity along the rivers. Since then, the warming huts international design competition has become famous worldwide and has spawned the RAW:almond pop-up restaurant, which will again provide the experience of fine dining on the frozen Red River. A competition was held for a new restaurant design this year, won by U.K. architectural firm OS31, which proposed a dramatic tent structure currently under construction. A great opportunity exists to follow Edmonton's lead by building on these initiatives and establishing a formal plan to transform Winnipeg's winter into an asset that makes us a global model for winter-city living and a world leader in cold-weather design. To most of the world, our frigid isolation is as exotic as any tropical island or rainforest. There is a tourism experience here that can be found in few places in the world. Through good design, we can build a city that embraces what makes it unique, improving our own quality of life and attracting visitors wanting the Winnipeg experience. Winnipeg explodes with activities in the summer, from the Fringe and Folk festivals to the St. Norbert Farmers' Market and patios of Corydon Avenue. Edmonton is demonstrating with planning and smart design, some level of this can happen in the winter, as well. Setting goals and outlining ways to achieve them in formal policy could transform our perceptions of Winterpeg and make people instead ask themselves, "Why don't I live there?" Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group bbellamy(a)numberten.com Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 19, 2015 B6

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AT Webinar: Level of Service for Peds and Cyclists, Wed, Jan 21, 2-3pm, EcoCentre
by Beth McKechnie 19 Jan '15

19 Jan '15

Green Action Centre and Bike Winnipeg invite you to join us for a local viewing of the following APBP webinar: *Level of Service for Pedestrians and Cyclists. * This webinar viewing takes place in the EcoCentre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> boardroom (3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave) and will be followed by group discussion of local applications. RSVPs appreciated but not necessary. Hope to see you then! cheers, Beth * * * * * Level of Service for Pedestrians and Cyclists *Wednesday, January 21st, 2-3 p.m., EcoCentre Boardroom* Learn about Level of Service and its relationship to bicycling and walking, with specific reference to the Highway Capacity Manual. Presenters describe the performance measures that transportation engineers and planners use related to signalized and unsignalized intersections; identify points where multimodal travel can be more effectively incorporated into traditional measures; explain emerging measures that are being considered in the update the Highway Capacity Manual by researchers; and discuss specific treatments that should be considered. *Presenters* - Nick Foster, Senior Planner, Kittelson and Associates - Peter Koonce, Signals and Street Lighting Manager, Portland Bureau of Transportation

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Reminder: AT-Policies in Canada - WEBINAR
by Jackie Avent 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

Good Afternoon, Green Action Centre will be hosting this upcoming webinar from 12 - 1 pm on Tuesday January 20th at the Manitoba Eco-Centre (3rd Floor, 303 Portage Avenue), followed by a brief discussion. Hope you can bring your lunch and join us! Jackie [image: Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar] Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar What: Webinar When: January 20, 2015 Time: 12:00 PM CDT Active Transportation Policy Case Studies and Maps Webinar The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer will host a one-hour webinar on January 20th from 12:00pm-1:00pm CDT. By attending you'll learn about our active transportation policy resources and how they can be applied to your work: - Active Transportation Policy Case Studies <http://www.cancerview.ca/policycasestudies> - Active Transportation Policy Case Study Summary Sheets - Canadian Municipal Active Transportation Policy Map <http://www.cancerview.ca/cv/portal/Home/PreventionAndScreening/PSProfession…> - Provincial/Territorial Active Transportation Policy Maps <http://www.cancerview.ca/cv/portal/Home/PreventionAndScreening/PSProfession…> **Note: This webinar will only be offered in English.* -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(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/>

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Videos from BC Transit
by Jackie Avent 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

Here are a couple of videos from BC Transit that are worth checking out quickly... Apparently, there'll be a couple more made too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYx94ia4Ts - One More Lap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLRrgCjE2po - Uphill -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(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/>

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Winter Bike to Work Day - Friday, February 13th - Commit Today
by Anders Swanson 14 Jan '15

14 Jan '15

Dear Winnipeg, It is not often that an event developed here takes over the world. The website for the 3rd annual international Winter Bike to Work Day <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/> is now live, and it has real-time results (in the form a cool world map) <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/#map> for the first time ever. Any business, organization or person can plan a fun celebratory event <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/#plan> (its pretty darn easy). the only thing you have to do though is commit to ride <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/commit> and get out there on the 13th. For the love of all things holy, just make sure that Oulu or Trondheim (....or Saskatoon or Brandon for that matter) don't make us look too bad. ;) This is our event after all. Cheers, Anders Part of the organizing team... *Winter Bike to Work Day* <http://winterbiketoworkday.org/> *Friday, February 13th, 2015* Twitter <https://twitter.com/WinterBike2Work> | Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/WinterBikeToWorkDay>

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Survey on cyclist behaviour
by Jackie Avent 13 Jan '15

13 Jan '15

There is a survey being done by the University of Denver about why cyclists tend to break traffic laws. They are trying to understand the psychology behind the actions - and whether it's because cyclists do it for visibility and to feel and/or be safer on the roads. The direct link to the survey is here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1885930/bikingbad, and there's an article offering background with a link to the survey as well here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/09/lets-talk-seriou… Jackie -- *Jackie Avent* | Active and Safe Routes to School Green Action Centre <http://greenactioncentre.ca/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Avenue* | *(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/>

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Seattle dog rides bus by herself to dog park
by Beth McKechnie 13 Jan '15

13 Jan '15

A little smile for a nippy Tuesday afternoon. I wonder if they have a special rate for dogs? http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Seattle-dogs-rush-hour-ride-on-the-bus-b…

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WFP: Who has the white stuff? (Jan.10'15)
by Beth McKechnie 11 Jan '15

11 Jan '15

Who has the white stuff?We look at the snow-clearing policies of six Canadian cities to see how they measure up By: Mia Rabson http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/who-has-the-white-stuff-288134561.ht… OTTAWA -- It's early January in the nation's capital and the city is digging out from just the second storm of the year. On Saturday, Jan. 3, Ottawa had to deal with an 18-centimetre dump of snow, followed the next day by 11 millimetres of rain and freezing rain. But by Sunday night, just over 24 hours after the storm began, most streets were clear, residential sidewalks had been plowed and cars and people were moving around the city without much trouble. [image: Sean Kilpatrick/ THE CANADIAN PRESS] <http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/800*577/6460839.jpg> Enlarge Image <http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/800*577/6460839.jpg> Sean Kilpatrick/ THE CANADIAN PRESS (CP) SNOW REMOVAL BUDGETS *2014 budget breakdown per centimetre of snow* *MONTREAL* $151.5 million (annual budget) for 184.2 cm of snow $822,475.57 per cm *TORONTO* $85 million for 139.6 cm $608,882.53 per cm *EDMONTON* $60 million for 102.9 cm $583,090.38 per cm *OTTAWA* $58 million for 166.6 cm $348,139.26 per cm *WINNIPEG* $40.6 million for 118.4 cm $342,905.40 per cm *HALIFAX** $24.2 million for 287.5 cm $84,173.92 per cm * Halifax budget and snowfall was done on fiscal year 2013-14, not calendar year 2014 More than 2,000 kilometres away in Winnipeg, things weren't so rosy. After 16 cm of snow fell on Jan. 1 and 2, new Mayor Brian Bowman was steamed about the quality of snow clearing. He said he's looking at whether more of the work should be given to city crews rather than private contractors and investigating whether private contractors are meeting their required service standards. He told reporters Wednesday more sand should have been put down and more effort made to remove ruts. Slippery streets and the buildup of ruts last winter led to a huge outcry from Winnipeg drivers and contributed to an increase in accidents that compelled Manitoba Public Insurance to ask for a rate increase to cover the added claims. Snow clearing and winter street maintenance are major headaches in almost every city east of British Columbia. Unpredictable weather and high expectations of residents mean even in small snowstorms, the phones ring off the hook with complaints. "It's a very visible public service that really impacts everyone," said Darrin Natolino, superintendent of winter works for the Halifax Regional Municipality. If you want the gold standard of snow clearing, one must look to Quebec, where Montreal spent more on snow clearing last year than Winnipeg has in the last five years. With a budget of $155 million this year, the city will deploy 370 road and sidewalk salting trucks, and 1,000 snowplows, graders, front-end loaders and sidewalk plows, to clear more than 10,000 km of roads and sidewalks of snow and ice. As soon as 2.5 cm of snow is on the ground, the city goes into clearing mode and doesn't stop until the city is clear, usually within five days unless it's a major storm. Montreal also removes most of the snowbanks, spending as much as 70 per cent of its snow-clearing budget on snow removal. In 2013-14, Montreal spent nearly $840,000 for every centimetre of snow that fell. Snowfall is so unpredictable, all cities find it hard to budget. In November and December 2013, Halifax had to clear away 83 cm of snow. A year later, only seven cm fell in those months. Last year, Winnipeg blew its yearly snow-clearing budget by the end of March. Ottawa and Toronto were well over budget before the end of February. All cities classify streets as different priority levels; most clear expressways and main arteries to the pavement but leave a little snowpack on residential streets. But that is about where the similarities end. Each city has different methods of clearing. Some, like Winnipeg, use mostly private contractors. Others split the work between the two, while cities such as Edmonton use almost exclusively city crews to do the work. Toronto and Ottawa use monitoring stations around the city to keep track of surface temperatures and dew points, helping predict when ice is forming and keeping notes on when precipitation begins. It helps those cities deploy crews as soon as possible. Most clear sidewalks, although Halifax just started doing that, Toronto doesn't do it on residential streets downtown and Edmonton doesn't do it on residential streets at all. Toronto and Winnipeg will clear part of the windrows left in front of residential driveways but the rest generally leave that to residents. Edmonton recycles most of the sand it uses. Before a storm ever begins, crews in Ottawa and Montreal hit the ground with salters and de-icers, laying down a brine liquid to pre-treat roads and prevent snow from adhering to the pavement, which makes it much easier to clear. Ottawa then sends out its plows to the main roads as soon as the snow starts to fall, while most other cities wait for at least two or three centimetres to accumulate. "We get out there as soon as we can to prevent that bond (to the pavement)," said Luc Gagné, manager of road services in Ottawa. Cities such as Winnipeg and Edmonton are at a disadvantage here because it's usually too cold for salt or pre-treat brine liquid to work. Ottawa also aims to have main roads cleared within four hours of the end of a storm, and residential streets are to be done within 10 hours. Winnipeg and Edmonton aim to clear the main roads within 36 hours and residential roads not for five days. It's hard to compare costs directly, because different climates, different amounts of snowfall, and different city sizes all affect what is done. And standards generally go out the window when a major storm hits, because even the cities with budgets like Montreal's can't keep up. On Jan. 5, people returned to work and school in that city following a weekend storm that delivered 20 cm of snow and 30 mm of rain that left the ground so icy some people strapped on skates instead of boots to traverse the sidewalks. Toronto knows this problem all too well. Trevor Tenn, acting director of transportation services in Toronto, says as soon as someone outside the city starts asking about snow clearing, he knows 1999 is going to come up. More than 118 cm of snow fell on the city in just two weeks, prompting mayor Mel Lastman to call in the army to help dig out the country's largest metropolis. "We'll never live that one down," said Tenn. Here's the breakdown: *Amount of snowfall required before crews hit freeways, main arteries with plows* Ottawa: as soon as snowfall begins Montreal: 2.5 cm Halifax: 2 cm Toronto: 2 cm for expressways, 5 cm for major and minor arterials and collector streets Edmonton: 3 cm Winnipeg: 3 cm *Time expected to clear freeways and main arteries from the end of a storm* Ottawa: 2-4 hours Toronto: 2-3 hours for expressways, 6-14 hours for other main roads. Halifax: 12 hours Montreal: less than five days if less than 20 cm, greater than five days if more than 30 cm (this applies to the entire city not just the main streets) Edmonton: 36 hours Winnipeg: 36 hours *Snowfall amount required before residential streets are cleared* Montreal: 2.5 cm Ottawa: 7 cm Toronto: 8 cm Edmonton: 10 cm (clearing doesn't begin until after main streets are cleared) Winnipeg: 10 cm (clearing doesn't begin until after main streets are cleared) Halifax: 10 cm *Time expected to clear residential roads of snow* Ottawa: 10 hours Toronto: 14-16 hours Halifax: 36 hours Montreal: within five days (Unless more than 30 cm of snow falls, then it can be longer) Winnipeg: five days Edmonton: five days *Kilometres of roads to plow* Toronto: 5,600 km Ottawa: 5,700 km Montreal: 5,600 km Edmonton: 4,700 km Winnipeg: 4,400 km Halifax: 3,800 km *Amount of salt, sand, pre-treat liquid used* Ottawa: 180,000 tonnes salt, 4.5 million litres of pretreat liquid Montreal: 140,000 tonnes salt Toronto: 130,000 tonnes salt, 2.3 million litres of pretreat liquid Winnipeg: 70,000 tonnes sand, 20,000 tonnes salt Edmonton: 18,800 tonnes salt, 97,691 tonnes of street sand, 34,354 tonnes of rock chips, 143,981 litres of pretreat liquid Halifax: n/a mia.rabson(a)freepress.mb.ca Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 10, 2015 A6

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