Tag: Walking

Get it Done: Winnipeg Transportation Master Plan 2050


I don’t plan on ever getting a car or a driver’s license. Once I recover, I will hop back on my bicycle and take Winnipeg Transit to get around. Past Winnipeg transportation plans have been collecting dust while failing to attempt sustainable and equitable transportation before our city is expected to reach a million people before 2035. However, the new Transportation Master Plan 2050 (TMP50 for short) offers a chance for once; we may get a transportation plan developed in our lifetime.

Winnipeg Transit XBlue Bus by Taylor Woolston via Wikipedia/Creative Commons

In a nutshell, TMP50 is Winnipeg’s transportation network plan for the next thirty years for roads, bridges, public and active transportation, sidewalks, rivers, and walkways. The report addresses four key issues Winnipeggers’ concerns about, including climate change, traffic congestion, city finances, and public safety.

The report came out with several directions, including providing more active transportation options, connecting the city with better transit, safe mobility options, and rejuvenating our road network.

My overall impression from the town hall and numerous seminars the city put on was TMP50 has lots of potential in making our town’s transportation system sustainable, efficient, and financially viable. However, it will be a grind to see the plan through from start to finish.

Winnipeg, after all, is a city like many of its North American counterparts, loves the automobile.

Consider in 2016, 78% of all trips were completed by car, 14% by transit, and 7 % by cycling and walking, creating a real challenge in hitting our climate targets.

Half of Winnipeg’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from transportation. TMP50 is calling for 55% of all Winnipeg’s transportation modes by 2050 come from sustainable modes (transit, car share, cycling, walking) and an 80% decline of 2011 GHG emission transportation levels. Meanwhile, the city wants cycling and walking to make up 14% of all trips made by 2030.

However, our combined active transportation infrastructure (388km, the lowest among all major Canadian cities) and transit routes (2,188km) are only one-third of the total roads network (8,300 km) and fails to address the 14% active transportation target.

Add to the mix safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists (Winnipeg is last in cycling and pedestrian safety in Canada), and improving social equity only adds to moving the TMP50 vital to Winnipeg.

Personally, during the seminars, I did appreciate some of the suggestions by city planners and officials to make our future transportation more sustainable, safe, and equitable.

The planners proposed a complete street framework that involves re-thinking our streets to include safe and sustainable transportation options for everyone. A comprehensive streets framework may involve redesigning a road with six vehicle lanes, two for parking. This would change to a sidewalk, protected bike lane, bus stops on concrete islands, one lane for on-street parking, two travel vehicle lanes, and a flexible lane. Currently, Sherbrook Street offers Winnipeg’s best example.

Other suggestions included:

– Bike share programs

– Car sharing

– Bike parking at transit stops

– Road safety programs

– Factor social equity in public transit decisions

– Winter maintenance of active transportation infrastructure

– Bicycle lanes on significant corridors (re: Portage Avenue, Henderson Highway).

While city planners and officials did provide some good ideas, others were questionable. These included Michigan Lefts (not a political term, but a glorified U-turn), connecting roadways in new developments, and more roundabouts?

While I appreciate what city planners were thinking about on the roadside, most participants felt that we could go beyond just adding more roads. Ideas participants would like to see include:

  • Old bridges transformed for active transportation use
  • Improving transit fare schemes making it more accessible for lower-income citizens, cyclists, etc.
  • Reducing bicycle theft
  • Improve downtown cycling safety downtown

These ideas will enhance TMP50 more than Michigan lefts in making our cities’ transportation system.

We can’t keep building new roads for building roads as it’s not either financially or environmentally sustainable. Sure, this plan has problems, including the need to rely less on road development and lengthy targets in switching to more sustainable transportation modes. However, TMP50 seems like an actual start in transforming our lacklustre transportation system into a modern, climate-resistant, socially equitable one.

And guess what? Winnipeggers want to change when given better ways to move around. Did you know that 66.7% of respondents said they want to go to more sustainable and active transportation options. Meanwhile, 45% of respondents to a Bike Winnipeg /CAA Manitoba 2018 poll said they would be willing to cycle more if conditions were right. Why? Because they know it’s good for their finances, health, and the environment. They WANT to change. People realize the current way we get around here is not working. As the city continues to grow, The need to rely less on motor vehicle use will become clear as we prioritize its citizens’ needs.

There will be a lot of work to complete this and make sure it’s not just another report that collects dust. Ongoing education by city officials, planners, and the public is critical going through phase two and the following discussion phase next year. Engaging our city councillors and potential mayoral candidates heading into next year’s municipal election is vital to let them know we want this done within the next 5-10 years, NOT 30. Wildcards including a change provincial government, higher interest rates, and a possible 2031 Pan Am Games bid could impact the plan.

TMP50 has its critics on both sides. Some will say this is too radical. Others say this does not go far enough (including myself). However, this is the best plan to get something done to improve our public and active transportation infrastructure. Too many studies and reports have collected dust, and we don’t have time to waste it. Let’s get it done.

SW Winnipeg Transit Corridor By Adam Johnston

The Carless lessons I have learned in my life


As I sit here on this World Car Free Day at work after making an approximately 17 km trek from Elmwood to St James, I reflect personally on this day on how we can move closer to a carless society.

For those who do not know, World Car Free Day has been around since September 22, 2000, thanks to Carbusters, coinciding with Europe’s Car Free Day. This day asks how we as citizens can get around without cars and use alternative methods, including cycling, walking, or public transportation.

For most, the idea of not moving around without an automobile is a no-go and a swear word, a sin. Well, you get the point. Car culture has seduced North Americans, and we and have accepted it as the status quo. At times, I have been considered an oddball by some I had met when I told them I commute all year round by bicycle. Others suggest I should get my driver’s license and get a small car.  Good luck with that.

While they have good intentions for me, I believe they do not get the significance of the car-free movement and address some of the critical issues we face.  I am now going to share my thoughts on why we should celebrate this day.

Most commutes can be done by getting around in sneakers or peddling

Let’s face it; most automotive trips are less than 10 km. Even nuttier is that 80% of Manitobans take their automobiles to work, while public transportation, cycling, and walking make up the rest of the transportation pie. There seems to be a growing movement for cycling in Winnipeg. However, I also believe there is still a lot of work to do in engaging Manitobans and Winnipeggers on the importance of choosing careless transportation methods. We often hear that it’s too cold and snowy to cycle to work and make necessary trips during winter. Yet, the increased popularity of fat bikes is slowly tearing this myth down, as fat bikes seem to be in hot demand. The best way to engage skeptical people in our city and province on the benefits of active transportation is by having those simple conversations related to its many benefits. For me, outside of environmental reasons, I appreciate going carless by cycling as my form of commuting. I get an efficient form of daily exercise while giving a reason to go somewhere. The reason to commute by bike 17km from St James to Elmwood in the evening provides excellent cardiovascular exercise to complement the resistance band training I do most days. If I can do 34 km of commuting many days, cycling 10km daily for basic tasks or even walking 5 km is a good start. So grab your bike or walking shoes and get a move on it.

We owe it to our children’s children and ourselves

I remember watching the 1992 animated movie Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. One of the lasting things that stuck out to me was the credits was “For our Children’s Children.” For some reason, this has stuck with me almost to this day, 30 years later. Fast forward to today, I believe this has even more significance to this day. Cycling, walking, or taking public transit is the most adult thing you can do if you have children (or even if you don’t have kids like me); as the IPCC recently said in their most recent report, the impacts of climate change continue to accelerate. We as humans need to draw down our carbon emissions use or face the worst effects as this century moves along. Even for myself, who does not plan to have kids, I owe it to myself to reduce my transportation emissions as much as I can by cycling, walking, and taking Winnipeg Transit when necessary for future generations and the developing world.

Going Carless Smashes Down Walls

One thing I have found by not driving a car is the freedom it can provide. When you don’t drive a car, you save money on gas which goes to the largest fossil fuel companies.  You save money on car payments that go to the large banks. By going carless, you keep that money in your pocket that you can save for other things in your life, including planning house repairs or planning to go to a major sporting event. Car freedom can break down the walls to new possibilities.

You Own It

Often I hear those who don’t own automobiles or drive are a societal misfit, meandering into nowhere. As mentioned earlier, I get occasionally asked if I own a car or buy one. To many’s (non)surprise, I told them I already had a vehicle: My bicycle. I always get a bewildered look from my answer. I don’t know why. When I say that my bicycle is my vehicle, I am making a clear statement that I choose to go carless, and it’s part of my civic duty to ensure we have open spaces for everyone to enjoy. By going carless, you own the idea there can be better and efficient ways to get around to work and in life. Own this issue and feel empowered.

Stop Wasting Time in Automotive Traffic

Recently, I heard on Hot 100.5 FM’s morning show with Mark & Dilly that the most significant time waster not involving technology is being stuck in traffic. According to TomTom, we spend an extra six minutes each morning and an additional 9 minutes in the evening in hour traffic. Yearly we lose 62 hours due to Rush hour traffic here in Winnipeg. So stop wasting time in traffic. Get up, walk to the corner store, dust off the bike and ride to work. As the motivational speaker, Eric Thomas said you owe it to yourself to stop making excuses.  Look at why you are stuck in traffic and start finding the most efficient use of your commuting time. Now is no better time than to start when possible active modes of transportation.

World Car Free Day may only be once a year, but you can make it more than once a year by just doing the little things daily that can make your world carless.

All Photos Courtesy of Adam Johnston