From: Kim the Traffic Reporter
To: talk@kick.fm
RE: Report on City Centre Community Committee meeting, Tuesday June 8th
The councillors in attendance were Harvey Smith, John Orlikow and Jenny Gerbasi, dealing with the Active Transportation proposed bike lane on Sherbrook from Ellice to Notre Dame.
There were several presenters against this bike lane including Belinda Squance from the Ellice Street Cafe as well as a representative from the West End Biz and an apartment owner on Sherbrook.
Also presenting were Mark Cohoe of Bike to the Future, Anders Swanson and Tim Hiebert who are in favour of this bike lane.
1) Belinda and Gloria (West End Biz) have requested more time to gather information regarding this bike lane. Both indicating that there has not been enough information for the residents and businesses in the area to have an informed opinion on this issue. Also stating that the consultation process has been somewhat lacking.
Though the West End Biz had been involved with putting up posters for the open houses, it was found that most people thought it was all about cycling and did not realize the impact it would have on their community. It wasn't until a second poster put out by the West End Biz was put up that the community realized what would happen to their neighbourhood.
Belinda said she spoke with community activist Nick Ternette who indicated he hadn't heard anything about this proposed lane or the effect it would have on the area residents and businesses.
Belinda asked if the city had done any bike counts or if there were numbers available of people from the Health Sciences Centre who had requested the bike lanes or number of people who would get out of their vehicles and onto a bike? Belinda further went on to say that even cyclists indicate that Winnipeg is a fairweather cycling city.
2) Time is being requested to look at other options and alternatives than to closing down the east side of Sherbrook, including perhaps using Furby or Langside as a possible route for the remaining two blocks to Cumberland. Another option being proposed is to use the east side as a bike lane during peak times instead of all day. More dialogue is being requested with the businesses of whom 25 would be affected by this change on Sherbrook, as well as with residents who were unaware of the impact this lane would have on their community.
3) Belinda stated that the Ellice Street Cafe doesn't stay open from just the community alone, but needs the people driving into the area from other parts of the city to fill up the Cafe. Belinda said "they come to the restaurant, go across the street to get their hair cut". So they are spending money in the area.
4) Belinda quoted from a radio broadcast an interview by Marty Gold on The Great Canadian Talk Show with Kevin Nixon the Active Transportation Coordinator for the City of Winnipeg. The interview aired on Feb. 1. The quote was Kevin Nixon saying he "wouldn't do anything in any councillors ward they weren't comfortable with".
Councillor Harvey Smith requested a repeat of the quote.
5) Gloria Cardwell-Hoeppner from the West End Biz is also requesting time to study this issue and the impact it will have on the community. Gloria did say that they (West End Biz) was not against a bike path nor against cyclists even planning to put in bike parking for the cyclists, but is asking to work with the bike groups to find a compromise.
6) Regarding parking, Gloria indicated that their own Biz patrol people can testify to the fact that parking on Sherbrook is full at any given time. Saying "if you remove one lane, where are the rest to go?" Gloria also indicated that other streets often have full volume now and wondered if it was really fair to the businesses and residents?
One option being presented is a rush hour commuter route for bikes, the rest of the day parking would be allowed. Or perhaps re-route commuter routes to quieter streets. Gloria indicated that when speaking with many cyclists, the cyclists wouldn't mind a quieter street as well. The West End Biz would like to work together to find something that works for the community, businesses, residents and cyclists.
Councillor Orlikow asked about the surface lots in the area, perhaps restaurants in the area who aren't open during the day, could look at using them. Gloria responded that the students attending the University of Winnipeg park on residential streets even with the restrictions and there isn't enough space for shared parking. Gloria further went on to say that the area is growing and more parking is going to be needed.
7) Another presenter, Leon Mueher who owns a 37 suite apartment building on Sherbrook stated that they "are the only apartment block that has any substantial parking". While this apartment building is not directly impacted, does impact other rental units in the area. Mr. Meuher informed the committee that there are 250 units in the area between Ellice and Sargent and that less than 15% of them have parking. That this area is one of the most densely populated areas. In the time Mueher has been on Sherbrook he had five cars in the lot, eight years later he has twenty. Mueher said "the neighbourhood is changing and already there is no parking" and that "don't take parking away from people".
8) Mark Cohoe of Bike to the Future bike lobby group (it is noted that Bike to the Future is well represented on the Active Transportation Advisory Committee) was a presenter in favour of the bike lane on Sherbrook. Cohoe did say that they want to "convince people to get out of their cars and onto a bike". One of the reasons why Bike to the Future is in favour of this lane is because it connects to other Active Transportation routes such as Alexander linking both Red River campuses, connecting to Bannatyne, McDermot as well as other routes leading out to St. James. Also connecting with the industial sections of Erin and Wall which according to Mark Cohoe bring lots of job opportunities.
Cohoe indicated that cyclists need to feel safe and comfortable on a bike route to use it as well as keeping the riders off the sidewalks. Also creating a route that is direct is important, to achieve this an exclusive space for cyclists where the riders are safe and that there are controlled crossings at intersections. Cohoe indicated that the budget for this project is $228 000.00, there is not enough money to add additional traffic devices if the project is moved to another location. Cohoe indicated that bike routes need to be direct in distance and time and that cyclists "can't be stopping, starting, stopping, starting, stopping and starting" meaning along these routes which does not allow for directness of travel.
9) Mark Cohoe provided traffic counts for a variety of locations regarding Sherbrook, though he did not indicate from where he received these counts. The counts are:
At Broadway and Sherbrook: 22 500
Sherbrook and Portage: 53 500
Sherbrook and Ellice: 18 800
Sargent west of Maryland: 17 700
Sargent east of Sherbrook: 12 300
Cumberland and Sherbrook: 15 000
Notre Dame and Sherbrook: 41 400
Notre Dame west of Maryland: 31 300
(please note I will discover other traffic numbers by the end of the report)
10) Cohoe did say that "parking is probably a significant issue", that there may be an ability for shared parking as there are lots of surface parking lots and perhaps an option of sharing nightime and daytime parking. Regarding the issue of loading zones in the bike lane Cohoe indicated one option is to restrict the hours for off loading which could be a short term solution and that a more long term solution may be pushing the loading zone into the boulevard which would only take out one immature tree.
11) Cohoe then contradicted himself, saying he didn't "feel there is much of a parking issue" and that "parking is available on side streets". Cohoe offered this option of perhaps having a cut through walkway from the side streets to Sherbrook. Cohoe said that "we put a priority on free parking in this city, there is not such thing as free parking whether it's in front of your house or parking in front of your business. It's paid for, there's a cost. Everybody ends up paying for parking whether they are using it or not". One alternative parking options Mark Cohoe put forth was shared parking. Cohoe indicated that many apartments tend to be empty during the day and that perhaps the spots could be shared.
12) Cohoe indicated that this bike lane would give an opportunity for people in other parts of the city to come into the Sherbrook area. Visiting the West End Cultural Centre, Ellice Cafe and safeway. Cohoe indicated that people would come into the community and spend money in the shops of the area. That making the bike lanes comfortable for people will give them the opportunity to live car free. Which will bring more money into the community as that income won't be spent on gas for their cars.
13) Councillor Harvey Smith asked "you talk about not having enough resources, there are other projects throughout the city, could savings from other projects be used?" Cohoe replied "there are 37 projects so there isn't flexibility to move from one project to another project".
14) Councillor Gerbasi suggested the idea during peak times the lane becomes a commuter lane. Cohoe indicated he'd had no chance to look at that option, that he has no numbers available and that Sherbrook is still an important commuter route for HSC.
15) Another presenter was Anders Swanson who is a member of Bike to the Future, the Active Transportation Advisory Committee, the Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee and is with One Green City. Swanson was presenting on behalf of One Green City stating that this organization is a "volunteer project helps support any and all community organizations that agrees with the mandate which is to create a network of safe direct cycling routes throughout the city as soon as possible".
Swanson indicated that in 2008 it was pinpointed as to what kind of cycling infrastructure was needed in the West End area by the people in that area. Swanson did say he "feels strongly" that the network on Sherbrook should proceed and that it doesn't make any sense to move the planned bike path. One reason why moving the path would be a mistake is because of budgetary reasons.
16) Swanson stated that "in principle every road in Winnipeg is an Active Transportation route" Swanson wants people to very aware of that. According to Swanson, the idea is to make sure the cyclists can travel from place to place safely. The reasons for people travelling via bicycle even if they don't feel safe on the road, according to Swanson are for economic reasons, health reasons and ethical reasons. Swanson brought up the plight of the Polar Bears which have been inthe news recently and that the bears would be gone in 30 years. Swanson went on to say that the "simplest thing to do what we can to get people on bikes cause it's fun, it has benefits for the entire city including people who drive". Swanson said "certain compromises need to be made in order to implement cycling infrastructure".
Swanson also indicated that for the last 50 years infrastructure has been designed exclusively for cars and that it is "prohibitive" for people who want to travel under their own power. Swanson went on to indicate that only 25% of the road budget is used to maintain the road, 75% is used to build new roads, because of parking and transit corridors don't have a bicycle oriented culture.
17) Swanson did say that "any perceived or real threat to ones livelihood is to be taken seriously". Swanson did say he appreciated Belinda and Gloria are important to the community. That the West End has the highest load share in cycling and walking in the city and that there are job opportunities, theatre and commercial possibilities and that people can very easily not own a car which would save 17% of their income.
18) Swanson admitted that while about 50% of polls are inaccurate, he quoted one poll that said "70% of people in Canada are willing to cycle to work on dedicated cycling infrastructure that takes less than 30 minutes", this poll was done in 1998. Swanson also pointed out the cycling culture in such places as Copenhagen, Scandanavia, France and Germany and that you can "ask people whether they want to arrive at work with nice tight buns". Swanson also indicated that you can "arrive at work with a non-guilty conscience and can do it in a bike lane with a big smile on your face".
19) Regarding moving the bike lane to Furby, Swanson indicated that he uses this street a lot and understand why it is being presented as a possible option to Sherbrook, however according to Swanson, the cost could be $250 000.00 at every major intersection to get people through safely.
20) Swanson concluded his presentation by saying "certain compromises need to be made" and that he looks "forward to a solution coming forward that is local and that is cognizant of the fact we have to get people on bikes, have to get people on buses. This is very important to the West End". However, Swanson did indicate that it wouldn't be a good idea to motion to remove this section of the bike lane from Sherbrook, citing the loss of funding from the Federal Stimulus Package, saying it would "make a big jump forward as a city, that it's right to approve".
21) Katherine Thompson-Wieser was the next presenter who was also in favour of the bike lane on Sherbrook. Wieser who works at the Health Sciences Centre WRHA Capital Planning is an avid cyclist who is looking to dispose of her vehicle. However, Wieser indicates that she is not confident enough with the safety of the bike lanes to do so and would like to see the bike lane on Sherbrook and Maryland. Wieser indicates that she would like to cycle to Misericordia Hospital for meetings there, but doesn't feel safe on Sherbrook to do so. Wieser also indicated that she isn't "keen" on the idea of having to go around another two blocks and would prefer a more direct route.
22) Tim Hiebert also a presenter in favour of the bike lanes indicated that he has gotten rid of his vehicle and that he volunteers in the community at a co-op bike repair shop. Again, was very much in favour of the bike lane on Sherbrook.
23) Kevin Nixon the Active Transportation Coordinator for the City of Winnipeg was the next and final presenter.
Nixon briefly told the committee that the city made calls for direction changes in the last 10 years with Plan Winnipeg and Speak Up Winnipeg. Included was an Active Transportation study, increasing the load share of AT the goal being to increase the cycling and pedestrian population. Nixon did indicate that they were not trying to "replace the automobile", but instead wanted to give people the option if they want to use Active Transportation. Nixon indicated they had been working on this for the last three years.
Kevin Nixon stated that it "started with a comprehensive public consultation with people who were interested in cycling, trails, anyone else who would listen".
Nixon further went on to say that it had been "difficult to get the average person to pay attention".
24) Regarding Sherbrook/Maryland, Nixon told the committee that it was a key part of the network and that though they (AT) hadn't done a lot of actual bicycle counts, Bike to the Future has done a number of them. Nixon also pointed out the OTTO cycle program which put GPS units on cyclists which gave them an idea as to where the cyclists were going.
Nixon brought out a map that showed a variety of routes that had been covered by the OTTO cycle programs, showing Sherbrook/Maryland to have been a very busy route. The committee was told consultants agreed with the analysis of the bike activists and came to the same conclusion that IT HAD TO BE SHERBROOK/MARYLAND. Nixon indicated that Furby and Langside were not good candidates because of the traffic on the cross streets was too heavy.
25) Nixon further went on to say that "Sherbrook/Maryland is a key cog in the network". An analysis of Ellice determined this street was not a good candidate. Some of the reasons being parking issues as well as narrow streets and heavy traffic flow. This forced St. Matthews to be the next street in the network as it connected with Maryland which was needed to connect to the rest of the network throughout the city. The advisory committee is also looking at proposing a winter cycling network which would include Sherbrook/Maryland, Nixon stated indicated that it was shown to be needed.
26) Nixon told the committee that they had "done alot of public consultation on these projects, the amount of consultation is extensive, way beyond what any developer is forced to do". Nixon went on to say "it is in the same league as the Disraeli Bridge Project, those projects are $160 million, ours is $228 000.00, we're doing similar amounts of public consultation".
Nixon also said "obviously we don't have it done right yet".
Nixon indicated that he was encouraged by the compromises, but he "doesn't think there's any question it has to be these streets".
27) Councillor Gerbasi asked "what is the compromise you can support?" Nixon replied that a number of issues had been mentioned that he thought were "interesting".
28) Councillor Smith asked "why don't you like Furby or Langside, why those are ruled out?" Nixon's response was about the heavy traffic that would have to be crossed, such as at Portage, Ellice and Sargent. Because crossings aren't at those streets and it would create a problem with traffic flow to add additional lights or pedestrian corridors so close to Sherbrook, would disrupt the system.
29) Councillor Smith asked about compromises that Kevin could come up with, Nixon responded that he was interested in a couple, such as a bike lane for part of the day which according to Nixon could be done. Another option would be to allow loading zone parking in the bike lane or to have the loading zone into the curb, though Nixon indicated it would have to be looked at as they "wouldn't want to mess with the trees".
29) At this point time was short and the committee meeting had to come to a halt. It was decided that a decision would not be made this day but instead would pass over to another committee meeting. Brad Sacher the Director of Public Works attended this meeting, but was unable to present due to lack of time.
I spoke briefly with Councillor Smith on Wednesday June 9th, he indicated that time was being given to look at some of the compromises and that on June 29th at a Public Works meeting more would be discussed, potentially looking at removing this section from the Active Transportation network.
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Kim's Thoughts:
I have many thoughts on this issue, some of which include parking. It was mentioned that there was plenty of parking available on the side streets..no there's not.
-- Even when the University of Winnipeg is not in session parking is still at a premium.
When the students return in the fall, parking becomes even worse well at least until they learn to move their cars. By forcing the residents and visitors on Sherbrook to park on these streets it's only going exacerbate an already over-crowded situation.
-- As for shared parking with apartment buildings in the area so most of the buildings are empty during the day..ok well unless for some reason you aren't out that day or are sick then what happens? Can't ticket the people in their paid for parking spot..you know the spot you pay in your rent? Where does the other vehicle park? Can't ticket them as private parking falls under an entirely different set of by-laws and the parking authority can't walk in to tag unless requested by the management of the building to do so. I see problems there.
-- I would really like to know where Mark Cohoe received his figures. The ones I came across don't quite match his. I looked at the 2008 average weekday daily traffic counts on regional streets, this is what I found:
Broadway at Sherbrook: 20 600 (between the Maryland bridge and Wolsely) the count is 22 000.
Headed down Broadway at Sherbrook the count is 19 900 (westbound)
Traffic going down Portage at Sherbrook is 50 200 (westbound)
Sherbrook at Ellice through to Sargent: 19 100
Sherbrook Sargent to Cumberland: 17 400
Westbound Sargent at Maryland: 16 900
Sherbrook north of Notre Dame: 16 400
Westbound Ellice at Sherbrook: 18 400
Westbound Sargent at Sherbrook: 12 800
Notre Dame at Sherbrook: 31 300
Westbound Notre Dame at Maryland: 41 400
Seems not all our numbers match and I found these numbers on a city webpage.
Yup let's lose a whole lane of parking for a few hundred cyclists versus a couple of thousand vehicles.
-- Mark Cohoe and Anders Swanson were quite clear on wanting everybody to get rid of their cars. Oh goody. I wonder if Mark and Anders have ever played hockey? I ask this because if they had kids who played and had to schlepp all that equipment on a bike, well I really wonder what they'd say then about getting rid of a car.
Really to tell people to get rid of their cars is rude as well as impractical. Ok bring up Cophenhagen or other places in Europe. First most people in Europe wouldn't travel 500 kilometers in a snow storm to see a hockey game..but we do. Am I going to do that on a bike..yeah that could happen. And when I see a sky blue pink with purple polkadot pig fly by my window then I'd change my tune. Not likely to happen. Oh wait secondly if I want to go to the beach I'd have to leave a couple of days early because well. .it's a big country with lots of long distances to travel. Will I do it by Greyhound Bus? NO!..Wait go back to the flying pig thing again.
-- Not everybody likes to cycle, not everybody can cycle. If we all got rid of our cars, who is going to take granny to the doctor? On a bike? Ok so all this is a little out there, but you get my point.
It's simply not going to happen and the bike lobbyists are just going to have to live with it.
Cars are here to stay, that's not going to change no matter how much they try to force the issue.
-- Personally I think it's selfish and greedy of the bike lobbyists to demand an entire neighbourhood should cave to their whims.
Close a business or two, ok, more people out of work. Like there isn't a recession now. Squeeze the folks parking on Furby and inconvenience hundreds on Sherbrook. Spend millions of tax dollars only the way they say. Good plan.
Well those are a few of my issues..have lots more but only so much room. Marty I'm quite sure you will raise plenty of issues. Guess we will have to wait and see what kind of compromises these groups can come up with and if the neighbourhood can live with them or will there be all-out rebellion?
Stay tuned for the answer, I know I will.
