Have your eyes glazed over already? I'm hoping not.

In fact, I hope you will consider sharing this with your networks or speaking up through your organization about the following:

*First – at a time when many of us are calling for an increase in City planning staff to work on AT issues, there are cuts instead. *

We are about to lose a transportation planner position at the City that serves as a bridge between the planning department and public works. Given the City's commitment to integrating land use and transportation planning through OurWinnipeg http://speakupwinnipeg.com/ourwinnipeg/, Complete Communitieshttp://speakupwinnipeg.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Complete-Communities.AAG_.8.24.11.pdfand the Transportation Master Plan http://transportation.speakupwinnipeg.com/, this is a serious blow. We need more people who understand Complete Streetshttp://greenactioncentre.ca/content/complete-streets/, not fewer. As Winnipeg Free Press columnist Dan Letthttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/blind-cuts-sign-of-cowardice-234188861.htmldescribed the staffing cuts at the City, it's like cutting off an appendage to lose weight.

*Second – the Osborne underpass, a serious gap left unaddressed in the first phase of the Southwest Rapid Transitway, is now being pushed back till 2019.*

It was previously in the budget for 2.5 million in 2015 and another 2.5 million 2017. It is now slated at 2.5 million for 2019. For more details on this and other aspects of the capital budget, please see Bike Winnipeg's written submissionhttp://bikewinnipeg.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Bike_Winnipeg_2014_City_Of_Winnipeg_Budget_Submission_2013_09_30.pdf .

Finally, on a related note, the U-Passhttp://www.umsu.ca/22-general/u-passfor students and transit is apparently not going ahead.

If you share these concerns, please contact City Councillors and the Mayor. (http://winnipeg.ca/council/contact.stm)

thanks, Beth