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&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!

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.

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