Yes - to reiterate Beth - while this may not seem exciting . . . . it is critical that active transportation folks either attend the open house / learn and comment - or just do the online survey.
CASE IN POINT:
The entire Perimeter Hwy is being upgraded to support anticipated vehicular traffic's access to CentrePort Canada. Current traffic volumes on PTH 101 average ~ 15,000 / vehicles per day - PTH 101 is being upgraded to support 40,000 vehicles / per day (according to Provincial Hwy Director)
These upgrades are having a negative impact on active transportation and access in / out of Winnipeg to the Capital Region.
The upgrades are impacting trail / pedestrian access points:
- Harte Trail connection to Headingley Grand Trunk Trail
- Northeast Pioneers Greenway to town of Birds Hill trail system (although a pedestrian overpass has been promised by the Premier after much grassroots effort)
- Sidewalk access along Pembina Hwy into St. Norbert
- And more.
The upgrades are also interestingly eliminating vehicular access to and from businesses / communities in the Capital Region: ex:
- Town of Birds Hill
- Headingley
- Assiniboia Downs, MTS IcePlex, etc
Safe active transportation corridors TO and FROM Winnipeg are essential.
While many folks can't fathom riding a bike from somewhere in Winnipeg to Birds Hill or Beaudry Park - it's our responsibility to speak up in these formative 'active transportation times' and ensure SAFE CONNECTIONS are incorporated into short / long term planning AND budgets.
Almost $300M to improve roads to support CentrePort
$212 M to build CentrePort Canada Way - a road within CentrePort
$12 M - Trans Canada Hwy east
$75M - PTH 75
Etc. See details http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=today http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=today&item=8921 &item=8921
Is active transportation being considered in this $300M upgrade to roads ? and if not those roads specifically - to others to offset the negative impacts ?
Janice Lukes
From: at-network-bounces@lists.umanitoba.ca [mailto:at-network-bounces@lists.umanitoba.ca] On Behalf Of Beth McKechnie Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 3:18 PM To: AT network Subject: [At-network] Jan. 9th Open House - Capital Region Transportation Master Plan
Have your say on the Capital Region Transportation Master Plan http://www.manitobacapitalregion.ca/ !
Okay, it may not sound very exciting, but it could have a major impact on active transportation opportunities between and within communities surrounding Winnipeg. Please consider sharing with your networks and participating in the discussion.
http://www.manitobacapitalregion.ca/notices_detail.asp?notice_ID=196 Open House: Wed, Jan. 9th, from 4:30-7:30 pm, City Hall in the Mayor's Foyer (510 Main St)
Storyboards from the three open houses held to date can be found at: http://manitobacapitalregion.ca/_assets/downloads/story_boards.pdf
Can't make the Open House? Fill out the online survey instead: http://surveymonkey.com/s/CRTMP
Note that a workshop was also held in December in West St. Paul, which included representatives from the Province, various municipalities in the Capital Region, and a number of organizations and associations (including Janice Lukes from the Winnipeg Trails Association, Anders Swanson and Shoni Litinsky for Green Action Centre's Active & Safe Routes to School Program, Mark Cohoe from Bike to the Future, and Jason Carter representing the Manitoba Cycling Association).
For consideration, here are the main points that I focused on during group discussion at our table at this workshop:
* Ensure variety of transportation options - don't assume that, due to distances, people will only drive and will always drive * Make it feasible for residents to choose not to drive whether it's between communities or within their community * Ensure multi-modal options (residents able to combine bike and bus, regional connections, etc) * Need for regional transit strategy and collaboration between communities * Concerns around changes to Perimeter for increased and faster speeds of freight goods movement (CentrePort) - barrier that cuts off communities and makes it that much more challenging for AT users * Recognize the tourism opportunities in developing the plan - transit to Birds Hill Park and Grand Beach; cycle tourism in the area with popularity of cycling route to Lockport and to / within the provincial parks * Potential role that a Regional Transportation Authority could play * Potential tool - regional subscription to carpooling/ridematching service (e.g. RideShark, Pathway Intelligence, Carpool.ca)
cheers, Beth