Live at King's Head - City Hall, the Bike Lobby and 'Rapid' Transit; reel-to-reel & 80's Winnipeg VHS tapes wanted; special guests

Thanks to the wonders of our Facebook group, a live edition of TGCTS broke out at the King's Head on Wednesday night and was it fun (if perhaps recorded at a too-quiet setting, live and learn ) !

Notwithstanding the absence of a wireless signal, a fast-paced and wide-ranging discussion ensued with shout-outs to all sorts of Twitterists, guest commentators including Graham Hnatiuk of Progressive Winnipeg, and a rave review of Dr Pepper Barbeque sauce is but a fraction of the fun.


Oh, and the answer to the question from our last Podcast - how many callers did I hang up on at Kick-FM?

Lots of opinions, information, naming names galore (Rosemary Vodrey??), and discussion about Winnipeg past and present, and especially plugging Jim Jaworski's work to preserve historic video of this city (lil_zebra@truwinnipeg.org if you have any to contribute), at http://www.youtube.com/user/jaworskij

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE LIVE ON LOCATION PODCAST: http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/11/10/live-at-kings-head-city-hall-the-bike-lobby-and-rapid-transit-reel-to-reel-80s-vhs-wanted/

PS - If you would like to book a live edition of The Great Canadian Talk Show to generate discussion with your group or organization, as a fundraiser, or for your own entertainment, we'd be happy to oblige.

REMEMBER THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM.

Corydon-Osborne Open House showed "public consultation" still failing

(This editorial is republished with permission of Bob Axford's Neighborhood Living community newsletter, now on stands in Robins, Smitty's, Perkins and other fine establishments across Winnipeg)

Do the voters need to teach City Hall a lesson in civics again?

Last year, everyone thought City Council was turning over a new leaf when it came to including everyone in our town in planning for our future.

Active Transportation project organizers failed, in the development phases, to include many of the residents and businesses neighborhoods targeted for "improvements" in discussions. Rushing the projects because there was federal government infrastructure money to spend on the demands of the bike lobby was the priority. (Those pesky deadlines).

Outrage across the city against bike paths and other changes to streets and roadways, forced the issue of "public consultation" into the mainstream media right before the October election

Furor was heard from the north end to Berry Street to Grosvenor to Sherbrook and of course the gem of the mismanaged lot was Assiniboine Avenue. The stakeholder list there included bike lobbyists and groups from far and wide, but excluded business and property owners of South Broadway. They have taken their fight to court, where a judge refused a city ploy to toss the suit.

Oh sure, the city claimed they did their best, and shifted the blame: People don't want to come to meetings. It was in winter. It was in summer. It's not a roundabout, it's a traffic circle. Pledges by council incumbents to reform and make sure the voters and taxpayers and business owners were sought out and heard in future were at the forefront of election platforms.

Well, the new season of Open Houses kicked off with something called the Corydon-Osborne Neighborhood Plan at Gladstone School last Wednesday.

And nothing changed. In fact, it got worse. Not a single flier was distributed to homes about the session. Less than 100 citizens showed up over the 4 hour exhibition.

Oh, enthused Councillor Gerbasi, we ran an big ad in the Free Press and their area weeklies (that no one recalled seeing). Golly, we promoted it on a Facebook page (that had, as of the night before, only 33 followers plus 3 area politicians). Gee, Bike to the Future and local MLA Jennifer Howard sent out emails (which did nothing to inform those who are not from their camps).

Then there was the emails to the 'stakeholder list'. A list made up only of the people who went to the preliminary Design Workshops last month. In other words, if someone had to watch the cash register on those 2 days in May and could not make it, they are not considered stakeholders by the city now.

Although the city did a mail drop in Osborne Village for the May meetings, Councillor Gerbasi, city planners and communicators did NOTHING to make sure Osborne Village was made aware of the Open House that followed it. Major reforms were being discussed for Confusion Corner, the Corydon strip, and the new Rapid Transit station area which supporters pray will draw mixed use apartment towers. So who needed to hear from the neighbours ? Apparently not the City staff and consultants.

Nothing was sent to residents of Gertrude, Wardlaw, Stradbrook, or any other street. Nothing was provided to any of the Osborne Street enterprises that maybe, just maybe, might maybe want to know if a traffic circle, curb extension, or street direction change near their premises is being contemplated. Once again, public consultation is being guaranteed the bike lobby and others already plugged into the system, but not for those directly affected in the neighborhoods that special interest lobbyists want to see engineered and re-jigged to their convenience.

Wait a second. That wasn't supposed to happen again. Regardless of the excuses- the Village has its own Plan, there were posters inside the bus shelters, there's a postal strike - it wasn't supposed to happen.

Urban planner phraseology like "transformative areas" and “collective design process” registers a big zero on the 'what does it matter to me’ list. And that's the key. Those responsible for this failed methodology KNOW plain English works. But they don't use it in the ads and posters and so, people tune out.

Councillor Gerbasi said that when people see fliers from the City, they just chuck them in the garbage. The funny thing about fliers is, if it was headlined " Parking on your street may change ", " How about a parkade at the corner? ", " Is safety on your street a problem? ", the residents WOULD pay attention and get involved.

The fewer voices speaking up, the easier it is for the social engineers and lifestyle lobbyists who know their way around city hall to change our streetscape and land use and business environment, to suit their agenda.

A lot can change in a year. The way the city approaches development planning and Open Houses did not.

It can, starting now, if you step up and say, not again, it’s your job to get the word to the neighborhood about this process in an effective way. The Free Press is not the only paper in town people read, especially around cafes and patios. How about radio ads. OR - How about fliers written in plain English and sent to the people affected ?

You can call Councillor Jenny Gerbasi at 986-5636. It's worth a try, because claiming that the planning for Corydon-Osborne is adequate thus far, when maybe 200 people have had input and the folks from the Osborne Village were left out, is not Our Winnipeg, it’s someone else’s.

(If you’re concerned, The Plan Area boundaries and other information about the process is at

Www.winnipeg.ca/ppd/corydon)

PS- a reminder from last August, how the residents and businesses of Sherbrook were doublecrossed even with "public consultations", and how Coun. Harvey Smith called for the head of AT coordinator Kevin Nixon.

http://tgcts.blogspot.com/2010/07/this-week-more-exclusives-bike-lane-war.html

Discovered: Previous failed attempt to intimidate Red River College to silence TGCTS

Attempts to directly intimidate Red River College into silencing free speech and The Great Canadian Talk Show on 92.9 Kick-FM was not a tactic reserved for the Winnipeg Free Press.

We have learned the tactic was trail-blazed by an employee of Red River College, who claimed to be relaying the message from their former place of employment -- Winnipeg City Hall.

What the person did not apparently do, however, was disclose that they were also a member of a cycling lobby group -- RHCO (River Heights-Corydon-Osborne), and attended formal meetings with many members of Bike to the Future (BttF).

The double - agent was "concerned" that the relationship between the College and City Hall may be somehow affected due to our questioning of the actions of city officials and bike path consultants, and their connections with the Bike Lobby.

In an attempt to undermine our radio show, the message suggested all those associated with the station, including the College, could be sued if we persisted. The College's lawyer confirmed to Kick-FM and College officials there was no evidence of defamation being broadcast.

The timing is very telling.

The attempt to intimidate Red River College (the funder of the campus station) came one day after Councillor Jeff Browaty promised to demand answers, after the city 311 service diverted an email addressed to the City Auditor.

As heard on TGCTS all during the week RRC was pressured, blogger Graham Hnatiuk provided clear evidence that key stakeholders in South Broadway were never spoken to by the consultants, even though the contract required it as a pre-condition to rolling out the construction.

He questioned why payments to the Assiniboine Avenue bike path consultants were made, and asked the Auditor who was responsible for paying for costly revisions that were going to be necessary due to the mishandling of the file (and as are going on, to this very day).

The 311 service lied to Hnatiuk that the Auditor did not deal with public inquiries such as his, and sent his email instead to Active Transportation coordinator Kevin Nixon, whose job it was to supervise the consultants work in the first place.

Assiniboine was one of many projects, including Berry St. and Sherbrook, in which a pattern of neglect of the concerns and needs of residents and businesses of the community, in favour of Bike Lobby demands, was exposed on TGCTS.

In this case, a Red River College employee claimed to have received a complaint -- which was obviously from one of their friends -- but presented it as if came from a legitimate source.

The precedent has been set, that anyone who challenges the Bike Lobby and their friends at City Hall might find themselves blindsided by attacks from secret allies of those who are under scrutiny.

Such is the value of Freedom of Expression to members of the Bike Lobby, who will use their professional connections to waft veiled threats to funders, rather than put those "complaints" in writing, and respect the principles of due process and fairness.

TGCTS debut in Winnipeg Sun; Podcast on the way/Stadium deal commentaries

Quick notes to our listeners and readers, Freedom of Speech is clearly an important issue to you all. You Have The Power to hold those who silenced the voices of the community to account.

Firstly, our debut column in the Winnipeg Sun

City hall’s irrational love of bike lanes

"For the businesses and residents in the South Broadway area, this has provided a unique opportunity for the city to demonstrate utter bumbling and wasteful incompetence year-round, right on their own doorstep."

http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/2010/12/15/16563596.html

TO our new readers from the Sun, welcome!

Check out our archive using the search engine for our leading about terms like Assiniboine Avenue, bike lanes, bike counts, traffic circles, active transportation, and city officials like Jenny Gerbasi, Harvey Smith, Mayor Sam Katz, Kevin (whatever happened to him?) Nixon, and Bill Woroby.

A great compendium of all sort of original research and news stories, is at Graham Hnatiuk's blog
http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/search/label/Assiniboine%20Avenue

and his hub collection of a lot of Blog posts:

http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/09/assiniboine-avenue-bike-path-info-hub.html


* Thank you to all our readers, new and old, who hail from

- local organizations such as the Manitoba Pork Council, Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, Manitoba Public Insurance, and the Seven Oaks School Division;

- Canadian media such as National Post, Macleans, Globe and Mail, APTN, CBC, CTV, Sun Media, Vancouver Province, Global TV, and the Winnipeg Free Press,

- educational institutions such as Red River College, Sheridan College, Algonquin College, and NorthWest Community College; and the Universities of Winnipeg, Manitoba, British Columbia, Simon Fraser, Lethbridge, and Calgary;

- Canadian locations like Brandon, Morden, Dauphin, The Pas, Thompson, Beausejour, Selkirk, Pine Falls, Pinawa, Burnaby, Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, Prince George, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Cranbrook, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Hamilton, Sarnia, Barrie, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Kanata, Fredericton, Oromocto, Halifax, Whitehorse, and St John's;

- international locales like Tel Aviv, Israel; Frankfurt, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Scottsdale, Arizona; Battlebro, Vermont; Winchester, New Hampshire, New York, New York, and Washington DC.

** Some supporters, including RRC alumni, have now filed official complaints with the Red River College Board of Governors which is meeting tonight.

*** Official complaints have also been filed by concerned listeners with the CRTC about the operation of the non-profit Cre-Comm Inc, which has again designated 4 commercial radio station executives as "community members" of the Kick-FM Board of Directors. One of them, as chairman, declared they would not answer any questions or ask any of presenters at their stage-managed Annual General Meeting on December 9th.

*** Thank you to all who supported our first ever TGCTS Live edition. It was much easier technologically than I had expected, and the interaction with the audience was very beneficial.

- The podcast will be posted in 2 parts to ensure fewer server crashes etc, as it was a long presentation. Kenny advises Part 1 should be ready for this weekend.

- The audience was very impressed with the participation of eyewitnesses from Mynarski ward, who put the lie to the claims our reporting of the civic election was flawed.

- The presentation made clear to all, that the real story of the cancellation of TGCTS has nothing to do with "the best interests of students", and everything to do an attack on the style and substance that set TGCTS apart as the platform for the alternative media to become known to a broader Winnipeg audience and to journalism and radio students from RRC and other courses, and to raise awareness of otherwise untold news angles and stories;

See http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-arent-holding-gun-to-your-head-stop.html

***** As announced at the live event, a local radio commentary gig will be starting in January.

**************************

Speaking of the utterly disgusting, walk-on, scam-tastic, no-Asper-included Stadium payed for by YOU:

First of all, candidates in the October election, who on my show on Kick-FM swore they would never turn their back on the public when it came to public consultation, the 'it'll never happen again crowd" - Jenny Gerbasi and John Orlikow, step up - demonstrated why we need recall legislation in this city and province.

Notice how not one MSM reporter asked Jenny if her support for the stadium is tied to her beloved Leg 2 of rapid transit - has anyone heard a single reporter or talk show mention that yet? No ?, because it's just more added expense for you taxpayers they don't want you to be reminded of.

And Orlikow simply has no excuse. After what John went through in River Heights, and he said he learned his lesson? I think Orlikow could have stood up with Russ Wyatt and Harvey Smith for the people of this city, and not for Greg Selinger's re-election campaign.

Blogger plays the timeline game:
http://policyfrog.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/what-a-difference-a-year-makes/

Menno Zacharias should get a medal for this one:

Councillor Justin Swandel has characterized the move by Councillor Wyatt (to oppose the walk-on) and the other councillors as a childish stunt.

This prompts questions:

If the exercise of their rights by councillors is viewed as a stunt, then why not change the rules so that the Mayor and Councillor Swandel can walk anything onto the agenda at any time?

Why do the Mayor and Councillor Swandel view this attempt to promote transparency and accountability for public spending as a negative?

Has the obvious lack of due diligence, cost guesstimates and flawed decision-making not already created a large enough mess? The big hole in the ground at the University of Manitoba says that it has.

http://mennozacharias.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/stadium-funding-debate-sparks-gun-play/

Colin Craig of the Taxpayers Federation breaks down the REAL math:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/colin_craig/2010/12/14/16551841.html

Brian Kelcey asks all the smart questions:
http://www.stateofthecity.ca/front-page/2010/12/13/lingering-questions-on-winnipegs-stadium-deal-60.html

Another great post by John Dobbin:
The provincial NDP should fear the boot. Greg Selinger is showing little restraint and no matter how many times we hear that we need these projects, the question of how to control spending will not go away. So many worthy causes, none worth cutting leads to unimaginable deficits.

As far as city councillors and the mayor, they should fear the nightmare at Polo Park from their development plans and realize it is likely to cost them a lot more to fix traffic problems than they think. Fear the boot. Sam Katz should be particularly ashamed by the last minute walk on for a critical vote
http://johndobbin.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-stadium-walk-on-fear-boot.html

Tom Brodbeck looks into his crystal ball and correctly predicts the future for this boondoggle:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/columnists/tom_brodbeck/2010/12/15/16569916.html

--- And speaking of the boot, how come we NEVER hear of this provincial election projection from MSM outlets in Winnipeg ??

"With these poll numbers, the Progressive Conservatives would win a majority government with 32 MLAs, two fewer than my last Angus-Reid projection for Manitoba. The New Democrats have gained those two seats and would win 24 in total. The Liberals would win one seat."

http://threehundredeight.blogspot.com/2010/12/pcs-projected-majority-diminishing-in.html

Bike lobby smears AT safety concerns as " civic election hysteria", will "focus on celebrating bicycle culture" after federal deadline revoked

Minutes of the October meeting of Bike To The Future reveals a lobby group floundering after the unexpected backlash against their pet projects, resorting to propaganda campaigns and a shocking plan to divert attention from the dangerous traffic circles by smearing opponents as a "hysterical" minority:

"Were confident that the vast majority of Winnipeggers will support these projects once we get beyond the shock/hysteria from some local residents. Most Winnipeggers already support these projects. The Civic Election has definitely contributed to hysteria ..."

- Unable to secure funding for its lobbying efforts, defections from the Board has left the lobbying group shorthanded and burned out.

"Kevin is concerned that virtually nobody wants to do staff work for a volunteer salary, although we know virtually everybody wants to continue contributing to BttF in some way. ..

To do everything we want to do requires a staff person, but obtaining funding is very difficult. Someone suggested partnering with Manitoba Cycling Association, however it was explained why that can.t work ... Mark C will also continue on, but he wants a break from the major task of City Committee Chair. Vicky will also continue on, but as Secretary. According to our bylaws, this is a resignation as Director, and running for election as Secretary. .. Jackie and Rob are stepping down after one year of their two-year terms.

We need to recruit 4 new Directors, and if the new Board decides to maintain standing committees for City and Membership, we.ll need a director to chair them. The learning curve is one hurdle to attracting directors."

- Bike to the Future decided to duck those affected by the Nassau/Roslyn bike lane rather than defend it publicly, after resorting to a propaganda campaign against the outraged public - which found favor with the officials whose work is under scrutiny.

"Our strategy for the Roslyn/Nassau route hasn.t been implemented; we.re having second thoughts about it (engaging businesses and seniors)..."

Kevin, Curt, Mark C. and Gareth, plus Anders, Shannon, Charles, and Dave met 11 days ago (Friday October 1st) to discuss the negative media (late September) and what we could do to facilitate positive media (see October, and also see our Latest News items). We were fairly successful: lots of letters from members/supporters, a project. Engineer wrote us with thanks."

- BttF's tactics includes misrepresenting and smearing successful community opponents, claiming the science of AT safety is settled, and bragging about their role in dividing communities, although renaming city bike routes remains beyond their selfish grasp:

"The Sherbrook bike lane appears to have been put on-hold (despite the City Centre Committee endorsing it) after Mayor Katz met with the manager of the Ellice Street Cafe, who opposes the bike lane."

(In fact, Belinda Squance of Ellice Cafe has demanded a retraction of this smear, as she has repeatedly explained she does not oppose the Sherbrook bike lane, but a year-round loss of parking on the working-class east side of Sherbrook is not in the public interest -see below.)

"Support from emergency access vehicle operators would help to dispel the common misconception that new AT infrastructure creates barriers for emergency vehicles. "

"2011 will involve less advocacy of the City, and more focus on celebrating bicycle culture... but naming bike routes after cyclists is opening a can of worms."

- Minutes of the Oct. 20th BttF sucking-up meeting with Mayor Sam Katz confirmed that the city has accepted
A) the need for consultation on McDermot and
B) the compromise agreement achieved by Squance and the West End Biz for Sherbrook which was withheld from the Public Works hearing, and reversed the double-cross.

"... we thanked Mayor Katz for his leadership on AT. Mayor Katz is proud of what has been achieved so far..."

"Mayor Katz would like to hear some ideas about how to bridge the negative gap between cyclists and motorists..."

Although construction of the McDermot-Bannatyne Bikeway was put on hold, the City is moving forward by consulting with area stakeholders...a seasonal bike lane (April to October) will be painted on Sherbrook.

- The minutes also reveal that the claims of "USE IT OR LOSE IT" WAS A LIE.

" The March 31, 2011 deadline for the federal stimulus funding is not "carved in stone". Project work that doesn't finish this fall before snow arrives will be completed in the spring (i.e. after March 31, 2011)."
*********************

LIVE SUNDAY : You Have The Power Pre- Election Broadcast

For the first time, TGCTS will be going LIVE on a Sunday night.

On October 24th, we will preempt the first 3 hours of our very popular Sunday replay block to review the stories and candidates of the civic election thus far -- from Mayor Katz denying a bike lobby exists, to Coun. Gerbasi proclaiming the destruction of Assiniboine Avenue was 'payback' by cyclists for years of neglect, to the little old lady on Edmonton St. who said "let them bring their own mothers down here".

Spirited Kenny and Captain Audio will join Marty Gold in studio, along with calls from bloggers and you listeners of the show. Who know, maybe even a candidate or two might join in !

As an added bonus, we will debut our Cue to Call for exclusive TGCTS Winter gear, courtesy of Compustitch! Listen in on Sunday night for the very best in local election coverage.
*****************

Traffic circles continue to dominate the headlines after the crash yesterday at Grosvenor and Waverly. Ignoring all science, avid cyclist Bob "That's MISTER Publisher to you" Cox lectured todays Free Press readers that cops should hand out tickets to motorists who don't navigate the traffic circles to his satisfaction.

"As a River Heights resident, I have listened to traffic officials explain how safe the new circles are, and how simple they are to use.

So how do they explain the fact that I have been involved in three near collisions at traffic circles newly installed on Grosvenor Avenue?

Actually, there is a simple explanation -- traffic circles don't cause collisions; people cause collisions."

Cox would be well advised to educate himself, and there are many Free Press readers willing to do so, such as this comment online:

Why do some people conclude that traffic circles can't be bad, that there are only bad drivers. They completely ignore the fact that even in England, with many smaller sized vehicles than in Canada, the recommended design for the smallest circles have a diameter of 45 to 80 feet. We have streets about 25 feet wide and that is the rough diameter of these circles. When you have to make decisions while in motion coming into or within a very confined area, accidents will happen. They just will. And they are likely to be many more than when these relatively small intersections were controlled by stop signs.

My guess is that there are a lot of Active Transportation people, quite well organized, who want all the changes the city has made, and who are doing their best to keep up the message - just give it time!?

Meantime, we can probably expect more accidents.

Surely, the city owes us some meaningful public explanation as to why the change was seen as necessary, their purpose, etc what were ALL of the factors that went into the design, what were the design standards used in retrofitting, how does the retrofit compare to new construction design, what are the pros AND cons, what exactly fire departments, trucking companies, service vehicles etc had to say. How important is the view of the citizens living in the neighborhood? We don't need positions like, "we consulted, our traffic engineers have made a good decision and you will get used to it." It is time for transparency

Or Cox can read this blog:
http://anybody-want-a-peanut.blogspot.com/2010/10/about-roundabouts.html

Even the Director of Public Works was on TV saying that "people just need to get used to it".

Wrong wrong everybody is wrong. The problem is not that traffic circles are too hard to figure out. The problem is that they're poorly designed

Graham Hnatiuk did his own study into the faulty science of mini-circles:
http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/10/measurements-and-evidence-traffic.html

If you don't live around these things, you should feel sorry for anyone who does, and pray to God some people never have jobs again before it happens in YOUR neighbourhood. If you're any of the above, you should be calling Sam Katz, emailing him, calling your councillor, emailing your councillor, and emailing the acting CAO Mike Ruta: never, ever, ever let these consulting clowns get another contract in our city ever again.

And finally, John Dobbin, who has written extensively about the AT controversies in the River Heights neighbourhood where the accident happened yesterday, summed it all up this way:
http://johndobbin.blogspot.com/2010/10/river-heights-active-transportation_21.html

Sam Katz says people just have to learn how to use them.

Sam Katz, you are wrong. They are not safe. They are not proper roundabouts. Someone is going to end badly hurt and could die as a result of these things.

It is not safe for drivers, not safe for cyclists, not safe for pedestrians and not safe for homeowners nearby these mini-traffic circles.

Winnippeggers want safe roads. A traffic circle ought to be wide, have no possibility of turning the wrong way on it and have clearly marked yield signs to traffic and people with the right of way.

Sam Katz, tear down these structures.

And also, this explanation of why the circles don't register with drivers who need to turn, from a Red River College engineer:
Marty

When we are taught to drive we are taught to make a left turn to the left of the centre of the intersection.
As noted below a proper roundabout does not allow this but instead its use is quite intuitive. When I approach one of these moronic islands I want to go to the left of it when making a left turn. This is the normal action when driving. I’m sure there will be many accidents before these mistakes are removed.

******************

Today, more about the double cross by AT consultants with parking spots being stolen on Airlies due to a dangerous traffic circle, and an interview with River Heights/Fort Garry challenger Michael Kowalson.

Gerbasi: Buses running over sidewalks part of Assiniboine "traffic calming"; Points finger at Shiller for consultation failure

From: Kim the Traffic Reporter

On Wed. Oct. 6th Jenny Gerbasi, the area Councillor (Fort Rouge- East Fort Garry) had a meeting with the residents of a seniors building at 33 Edmonton. This was done at the request of the residents who had concerns about the changes occuring on Assiniboine and the effect it is having on their street and transit services.

Councillor Gerbasi gave a brief presentation on her background in politics, then took questions from the approximately 15 residents in attendance. Many of the questions ran in the same vein, the traffic issues, transit, concerns about snow clearing and how it will affect the sidewalks.

Some issues regarding traffic is the traffic congestion on their streets because of the lane changes, one resident said there is "more traffic now" and that "people were driving around over and over" because they couldn't find how to get where they were going or because they didn't realize there was no through traffic.

This lady asked Gerbasi for signage to be placed at Osborne, Kennedy at Broadway along with Carlton telling drivers there was no through traffic.
Gerbasi responded that signs would come in the next little while and that they were still doing construction. Gerbasi did say that the other end of Assiniboine was being paved and was temporarily a one-way. When that is area is done it will return to being a two-way again.

Gerbasi went on to say that "give a chance for people to adjust" and "take a breath" and that people should wait for construction to be completed. Gerbasi thinks Assiniboine residents will see a reduction in traffic.

{Marty's note: OK I have to interject which I have never done before in one of these reports.

Four times I asked Gerbasi in her last studio appearance, did you see a traffic impact study? She ducked the question each time. Now, maybe she is right! Maybe residents on Assiniboine ARE getting less traffic!

But it is indisputable that residents of Edmonton, like these senior citizens, are seeing a frightening increase in traffic of all sizes. This point seems lost on Gerbasi. That is why it keeps getting mentioned on the show. It's like Assiniboine Ave. is being catered to like it's Park Boulevard and Edmonton St. is getting the Magnus Avenue treatment.}

* Gerbasi stated that she had spoken with many residents who told her they "liked it" because of less traffic. Gerbasi then went on to tell these seniors that "one business likes the project" and that it was "one of the businesses suing".

* This brought up another question from a resident who said because of the government lots on Kennedy and at the Legislature traffic has increased along Edmonton which is the only exit to Broadway or Main.

This resident asked if enforcement could be put in place because of people blowing stop signs, traffic going the wrong way and angry people "flooring it", further saying people "can't cross the street".

Gerbasi replied that they'd "watch the situation" and that this behaviour was a "reaction to the adjustments" and that "over time people will adjust".

** A question was raised about consultation with one lady saying "nobody was given a heads-up" about consultation, though this resident noted that the cyclists had been notified.

Gerbasi responded that it was a "difficult question" saying that people were notified citing ads placed in the Winnipeg Free Press, though one resident noted that not everybody reads the Free Press.

** Gerbasi did admit that not everybody was sent a letter and that notices were put on doors.

** Then she said "the communications person was let go in March" (Ed Shiller) and that the communication was not done well, Gerbasi also said it was "not worded well".

*** Gerbasi continued that there were meetings and discussions with individual buildings on Hargrave -- citing the input from these people for the basis of the changes in that area.

(Marty's note: Gerbasi was refering to the change of Hargrave to a 2 way street, supposedly for Handi-Transit access. The city has refused for 2 weeks to reply to our request to asl questions of the city staffer responsible for the decision.

Meanwhile, the city is now put in the position of saying they consulted with some buildings, that requested a change, but didn't consult with neighbouring businesses who would be affected by it. The laws of natural justice would seem to differ.

And to make it worse, the City defends this biased process in petitioning the court that the Assiniboine lawsuit has no basis because the City wasn't required to speak to anybody beforehand. But now Gerbasi seems to imply the city staff actually spoke to a select few when they wanted to -- although a sceptic might say, when it served their purpose. )

** Gerbasi said there was "no point in pointing fingers" when talking about the lack of consultation.

* One lady raised the issue of bus service, asking Councillor Gerbasi to look into having the route of the Spirit buses changed so that they would come down Carlton to Edmonton back to Broadway to Garry Assiniboine back up Fort. This saying one resident would not cost Transit anything to make that change and would allow access for the seniors to The Forks, Exchange District and Downtown.

Gerbasi replied that she was prepared to speak to Transit, but people weren't using the Spirit buses as much as they should. She would look at it, speak with the Downtown Biz who might help "make it better." Gerbasi repeated she would look at it then equated Transit with Active Transportation as it was good for the environment if people reduced car use.

* Questions were raised about snow clearing with some residents asking if snow will be piled on the sidewalk from the bikelane. Their were several questions about snow clearing, where the snow would go, would the sidewalks be plugged, how it would be done.

*** Buses are having a hard time getting through now. One resident saying the new jutting curbs are causing the buses to ride up the curbs and that because of poor engineering and planning, there is more traffic up Edmonton.

Gerbasi said about jutting curbs was newer to Winnipeg but had been done for years, that when construction was done it would be safer for pedestrians to cross the street because the street had traffic calming.

Gerbasi she had spoken with Transit and that a manager from Transit Operations tested the bus, finding no problem for the buses to get through without damage.

*** When pressed about buses running over sidewalks because of the turn Gerbasi said it "slows traffic" and that "it's been done in other cities".

Gerbasi also said that "they can train drivers", meaning the ones who had to make the turn without running over the sidewalk.

Gerbasi did admit she was aware of a coach bus having been stuck, but it's a change and the fact is it has been voted through engineers, passed through the Mayor, the money has been spent having been supported by all 3 levels of government.

** Gerbasi further went on to say it's been done in other cities and that "it's in place let's give it a chance", though she did admit that if it's a failure they could take it out.

At the end of the meeting some of the residents like what Jenny Gerbasi had to say about working with the people and hopefully getting the Spirit bus to change it's route. Another point they liked was the bike paths, just not the way it was done. While others were quite upset, didn't think they got any answers and in fact one elderly gentleman who was quite irate stormed out of the meeting. Was it a successful day for Jenny? Oct. 27th is drawing nigh.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim's Thoughts

Exactly what did we hear from Jenny Gerbasi? Did she give any definitive answers? And doesn't it seem as if I've seen some of those words before? Like maybe a certain member of the print media? You know "pointing fingers" and all.

Correct my memory but haven't we been told that Council didn't vote on each project individually but that it went through community committee meetings, then public works meetings? But not the full Council, meaning roads that have to be changed, permanent structures (such as traffic islands) placed in a lane of traffic, moving rush hour zones. Shouldn't that HAVE to be passed through the full Council and not just committees?

That doesn't even mention that nobody knows for sure exactly what plans are going to be used for any one area. Plans have changed so much for some of them it's hard to keep up. I know what I saw at the Sherbrook Open House isn't what is currently planned. The same for Assiniboine. Then there's Nassau and you know I'm still confused over that one little street.

All I can say is some responses sounded very "electionish", I have to wonder what the situation would be like if it wasn't an election year. I'm guessing though that for those who thought they could get some P.R. mileage out of Active Transportation, it might have turned around and bit them on the butt.

***********************
Thursday on TGCTS:

- TeamBuy.ca got a Dragon's Den deal last week on CBC-TV, and we have CEO Ghassan Halazon ready to discuss the details with myself and Barrett Fraser at 4.10 PM;

- We have had more witnesses contact TGCTS, alleging they heard Mynarski candidate Ross Eadie admit the NDP was financially supporting his campaign, despite new finance laws banning the practice;

- Another council candidate- Daniel MacIntyre hopeful John Cardosa at 4.50 PM;

On Friday, a special replay of our interview with Mayor Sam Katz

The root cause of Bike Lobby sense of entitlement: Decades of unchecked abuse of Wellington Crescent residents

From: Kim the Traffic Reporter

I was contacted by a resident on the west end of Wellington Cres. which is by the Academy/Kenaston entrance. This resident (who for obvious reasons does not wish to be identified) revealed what the real story is behind the barricades being "vandalized". I shall refer to this person as "MS" (my source).

*****************************

MS has lived on Wellington Cres. off and on for many, many years, including prior to the bike path being installed.

The story begins at the time of the inception of the bike path on Wellington Cres., this was done sometime in the 1970's, MS does not recall the exact year.

The City approached the residents asking to put in this path, which would include the closure of the street to vehicles on Sundays and holidays, the residents agreed but with conditions.

The conditions were simple, all the residents wanted was to have access for themselves and their visitors, a gap the width of a vehicle was to be left for the residents to enter their neighbourhood.

The City agreed to the conditions and put in the bike path. According to this resident, that is when the problems began.

MS informed me that since the establishment of the bike path the "residents have had verbal set to's with cyclists".

I was told the cyclists began yelling at the residents who would be driving to and from their homes, this escalated to some of the cyclists slapping the cars.

According to MS this has been very intimidating for the seniors who live in this area and this type of behaviour continues to this day.

MS has even been followed home by cyclists and was harassed in the driveway by them for daring to drive a vehicle along the bike route.

After the altercations and confrontations began, MS told me one resident Dr. Noel Hurley (now deceased) who was the Provincial Epidemiologist at the time rallied the residents and forced the City to put up signs reminding cyclists that residents and their visitors had a right to use the roadway.

I was told that the signs "tend to disappear". Someone has been removing these signs. The residents themselves have been putting up signs on their properties and on the barricades, nicely and politely asking cyclists to share the roadway.

On Sundays the City comes along, puts up the barricades MS and other area residents have watched the City placing them, MS told me they always leave a gap wide enough for a vehicle to pass through. However, somehow the barricades get moved to cover the entire roadway, which is not even legal as according to MS (who has experience in these matters) "no street in the City can be barricaded from curb to curb unless there is an emergency". There are exceptions when permits are issued by the City for street closures.

This resident, along with other area residents have watched the cyclists move the barricades to close down the entire street. And this is where the vandalism comes in. Not long after the bike path was established, barricades put up, the cyclists began to move those barricades to completely close the street to vehicular traffic.

MS's father had a severe respiratory ailment which meant that he was unable to perform even light physical tasks. MS's father in order to get home would have to move those barricades out of the way causing this man to wheeze, trying to breathe after moving those barricades.

Since that time MS told me that whenever they came across the street completely barricaded "a couple of times a year", MS would take the barricade (which is located right at the curb at the corner of Academy and Wellington), walk it straight to the river, and drop it over the side of the bank.

In order for anyone to retrieve the barricade, they would have to hike down the riverbank, the area has very long grass and the barricades can't be seen from the path. I was also assured that the barricades never actually went into the river.

MS reasoned that if there weren't enough barricades, the cyclists wouldn't be able to completely block access to the street and their (the residents) homes. MS did say only one section was removed, though this person did admit there must a good collection of them by now.

I was told that the residents are very angry and at their wits end about the situation, that the original agreement is constantly being broken and that cyclists seem to feel they have all the rights on the street when the residents at the time didn't have to agree to allow this bike path through at all.

There are now few left who originally lived in the area at the time and many have passed on, however MS is attempting to locate a copy of the agreement, though somewhere the City should have copies.

The residents of Wellington Cres. agreed to share their neighbourhood with the cyclists, the residents don't want confrontations with the cyclists and are willing to co-exist with them, all they ask is the cyclists respect the fact that they will be sharing the roadway with vehicles and that residents along with their visitors be allowed access to their homes. MS doesn't believe they are asking to much. This is why the barricades have been vanishing all these years.

The people of this community allowed strangers to pass through, they didn't ask for the world, just to be let into their homes. Yet their neighbourhood was taken over, the people intimidated by those who felt they had a right to dictate to the residents who allowed them entry in the first place. It would appear Wellington Cres. set the stage for current events happening all over this City, streets and communities such as Berry, Sherbrook, Assiniboine and others.

It does seem as though a wealthy neighbourhood hasn't been spared the greed, selfishness and dictates of the bike groups.

So to the City of Winnipeg Public Works, now you know where to go find your missing barricades. Though you might want to bring some rope.

**************

Kim's thoughts: Perhaps a solution would be to put fewer barricades out so that the street can't be completely blocked altogether. Or is it going to have to come down to the residents fighting to remove this bike lane because of the abuses suffered by the cyclists? What will happen if the residents decide to fight back? There certainly is enough influence on those streets to maybe..maybe get it done.

This has been the story of a resident who is fed up with the behaviour of a group of people who want, want, want and even when given what they want don't appreciate it. Certainly not all of the cyclists are to blame. Many are respectful and greatly enjoy the area. But a few bad apples always spoil the barrel.

This resident decided long ago to take action to have free access to their home.

So a couple of times a year the City loses a few barricades, but at least the residents are able to get home.

Tomorrow in your FP: chasing 2 TGCTS stories-- what you won't learn in the MSM versions

Avowed cycling enthusiast, and Winnipeg Free Press editor Margo Goodhand, had a double-doozy in her Editor's Bulletin this afternoon. Make that a triple.

1) Her intrepid reporters were waiting to ambush Sam Katz at a policy announcement today, to get his reaction to his slide in their recent poll.

We didn't ambush him, he walked into our studio yesterday and COMPLIMENTED the alternative media for asking smart, tough questions. And you know what, NOT ONE question was about the poll, or ANY polls. We talked to the Mayor about ISSUES.

And in the process, here's what you won't read in tomorrow's MSM scribblings:

A) The Sherbrook bike lane from Ellice to Cumberland is on hold while interim COA Michael Ruta meets with residents and the West End Biz.

B) Berry Street work proceeded yesterday on the authority of Ruta, even though the Mayor admitted he saw that the residents have NEVER seen a final version of the undulating mess, only the fantasy version of 2 straight pavement roadways rammed over their grass and manhole covers.

C) Katz admitted he never knew about the planned direction change for McDermot Avenue by his ballpark until we emailed him about it, but that it wasn't him who froze the project, Ruta did it.

2) "Bart Kives is also looking at River Heights, the city’s most politically engaged ward, which is up in arms over bike-and-pedestrian upgrades."

Weeks ago we broke the story about the Fleet curb extensions, and this week we led in breaking the Parking Authority targeting the Grosvenor bike lane and issuing Westworth United Church members parking tickets after being assured the city would arrange for an exemption; today we had the exclusive details about the terror tactics of cyclists against Wellington Crescent residents.

City Hall reporter Kives, who skipped the Open Houses as irrelevant and did not develop contacts on the ground in the 'politically engaged' ward as a result, is now chasing the alternative media on a daily basis.

3) "Lindsey Wiebe explores traffic ‘calming’ measures like mini-circles and curb extensions. They’ve been around for decades in North America, and are known to boost safety."

Firstly, perhaps Margo meant "mini-roundabouts"; as Spirited Kenny remarked, what she said sounds like a Homer Simpson-ism for 'mini-doughnuts'.

Secondly, the evidence on what is known about the safety record of traffic circles may prove an inconvenient truth to Margo's assertions.

So, just in case there is NO reference in Wiebe's story to the international study first revealed on our show last week by Andrew Allentuck, allow us to provide a link:

http://www.teachamerica.com/rab08/RAB08_Papers/RAB08S8CDaniels.pdf

Page 12: The best estimate for the overall effect of roundabouts on injury crashes involving bicyclists on or nearby the roundabout is an increase of 27%. The best estimate for the effect on crashes involving fatal and serious injuries is an increase of 42-44%, depending on the applied dispersion-value k.
The number of injury crashes at roundabouts with cycle lanes turns out to increase significantly (+93%, C.I. [+38%;+169%]).


*******************
Wednesday on TGCTS at 4 PM

-- More commentary and information from Allentuck about how AT "improvements" in River Heights have endangered cyclists, pedestrians and motorists;

-- The Mynarski ward NDP election finance scandal heats up - as more eyewitnesses to Ross Eadie's admission the NDP is illegally financing his campaign come forward;

-- We recap the $30,000 Elgin Bike Lane barricade rip-off; twice rejected by city council committees, the eyesore was still installed last week by the Public Works department without ANY political authorization, disrupting the Weston/Brooklands neighbourhood and hurting area seniors, residents and businesses.

September shatters all records as MSM chases our bike lane stories

A big thank you to all the old and new readers of this blog, many of whom are listening to our daily broadcasts. This blog has seen record numbers of visits and page views this month,

Eyes all over the world, from government, Crown corporations, industry, small business, the blogosphere, and academia, have followed our series about the now-admitted failure of Winnipeg's bike lane/path/trail/bikeway expansion (hey, whatever happened to that term "boulevard"?).

The voices of the people of Downtown, Fort Rouge, St James, the west end, Lord Roberts and Robertson neighborhood in the north end, have been heard -- finally --by politicians, mainstream media, and the other residents in this election year.

Today, at 4 PM; the finger-pointing starts between Mayor Katz and councillors; the blueprint for the bike lobby was printed in Vancouver- and we have the details; we'll have more about a brewing NDP election financing scandal that was first heard about on our show Wednesday; and one of the Mayoral candidates, Brad Gross, will call in and explain his platform at 4.40 PM.

And Mazel Tov to our friends from Teambuy.ca, who did what we didn't in 2007 (with our Power Pro Wrestling TV project); they scored a deal with the Dragons' Den last night on CBC. We'll be talking with them about it next Thursday on TGCTS.

Mayor Katz cries foul over bikeway near his ballpark: We have the inside story

The Free Press has reported on comments made by Mayor Sam Katz yesterday, as he moved to put a freeeze on the McDermot Bikeway.

"... the Bannatyne-McDermot project has now been shelved, leading Katz to criticize city staff about the project for the fourth time in six days.

"This city does not have to go the extra mile. It has to go the extra 10 miles in consultation," Katz told reporters after a mayoral-candidate forum at the Fort Garry Hotel. "When anything like this happens in the future, you will see consultation above and beyond."

Katz told reporters he did not personally vote in favour of the projects, which he said were approved by community committees. In fact, the mayor and 12 out of 15 councillors approved the active-transportation upgrade on Dec. 15, 2009, when council approved the 2010 capital budget.

And the project details merely came before community committees as information. Only the capital budget provides authority for the spending.

In a scrum with reporters, Katz accepted responsibility. "I am the mayor. No matter where you draw the line, the buck ends up at my table," he said.

Left unanswered by the mainstream media, is why did Katz suddenly wake up on the eve of construction to the issues with the McDermot project, and why did he act on this project and not on Assiniboine, Sherbrook or Berry St., when the public and area business pleas for consultation were ignored by former CAO Glen Laubenstein and his minions for months?

The answer lies in the old adage, and a foundation for the work of the alternative media, "everybody knows something". And the process took less than 96 hours.

1) A listener sent TGCTS an email last week.

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010, 4:16 PM
Marty,
Can you handle 'another' AT project that has slipped under the radar?

It's ... it's the " Bannatyne- Mcdermot Bike Boulevard" ! This is not shown on the City's web site but a consultant says "it will be put up right away."

"Consultations" took place last year. Never heard about this one, how about you?

Our reply:

Not shown?? I know about it but all it is, is paint on the road. What were you told they are doing?

Thursday, September 23, 2010 6:45 PM

Well, it seems that it may get the full treatment of "traffic calming" and that might mean "traffic circles, raised intersections, median refuge, close median or even flip stop signs " whatever the hell that all means. I was told this by a provincial rep who passed it all onto Stantec and their consultants for the City. Eh?

and then this follow-up:

Date: Friday, September 24, 2010, 2:18 PM

So the consultant kept his word and the 'plan' is now online.
You're right, it's mostly paint on the road stuff but they did eliminate a two-way street, Mcdermot, from Rory to Waterfront , and will make it one-way going East.
Just like Assiniboine I wouldn't doubt that this thing will also be 'tweaked' with on road parking platforms and whatever else they can dream up.
Later.

2) Presented with two suspicious circumstances, being A) the absence of the project from the city website and B) the unheard-of plan to change the stretch from Waterfront Drive to a one-way westbound, I got to thinking. What was the city defence to the South Broadway Stakeholders lawsuit?

"The need to consult occurs when a street is closed, but the city is not closing a street. Assiniboine Avenue had motor-vehicle and bicycle traffic and it will continue to do so,"

3) So, given C) the city's official position, D) the change of direction for McDermot never being publicly discussed, and E) the proximity of Canwest Global ballpark and Katz' Goldeyes offices to the project ( one street south on Lombard for those who are curious) , I emailed the Mayors' Office within 15 minutes:

question for Sam re downtown street direction change

Friday, September 24, 2010 2:34 PM

To: xxxxx@winnipeg.ca

xxxxx, I am really asking this of Sam in 2 respects, both as Mayor and as Goldeyes owner. Was Sam aware that as part of the city AT designs, that McDermot, from Rory to Waterfront, is being coverted to a one-way going East? I would also like to find out from you what process the city must follow in terms of public consultations with area businesses and stakeholders to effect this change, and what stage this is at. Marty

Based on the published comments in the Freep, it appears that Sam the businessman may have complained to Sam the politician, who ALSO didn't know about the planned direction restriction (or the loss of parking on the north side of McDermot where Goldeyes fans park and walk to the Fishbowl.)

Meanwhile, here's Steve West again, with the official position on why the McDermot project was be put on ice:

"During projects such as this, sometimes dialogue with the community results in improvements to the project through design change," city spokesman Steve West said in a statement. "With regard to the McDermot Bikeway, we have concluded that more dialogue will be beneficial."

Apparently when it comes to Berry, Sherbrook and Assiniboine, the city "concluded that more dialogue would (not) be beneficial".

We have not gotten a response to our inquiry, but luckily next Monday,
we'll have the chance to ask Sam the politician about why Sam the businessman gets his concerns about bike lanes affecting his enterprise heeded almost instantly, while the businesses, daycares, and emergency social services of Assiniboine Avenue were ignored and forced to file suit against Sam's government.

And of course we'll ask other questions about taxation, crime, and your questions when we host Mayor Sam Katz, LIVE MONDAY AT 4PM on 92.9 Kick-FM.

*********************
Yesterday, city hall scrambled to contain the political fallout after being caught lying to the residents of Berry Street, and specifically to Colin and Patricia Knight, a retired couple who are devoted residents of their St.James neighborhood.

Denial after denial flew from the various players in the AT game to Councillor Scott Fielding, among others, that ANY trees were going to be removed to build the unwanted bikepath.

But since Fielding had said he would kaibosh the project if any streetlights were moved, the boulevard lanes had been designed to veer away from the metal poles and towards the homes on Berry, rather then be built parallel to the roadway as 'artists conceptions' in the official mailings to residents had portrayed.

At one spot on the west side of Berry, the pavement will be right beside a tree, ignoring city forestry rules that a meter of clearance around trees is required.

A few homes to the south, tell-tale pre-construction purple paint outlining the lanes clearly include the tree in front of the Knights' home.

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, MMM Consulting showed up, measuring and pacing off the area, re-assuring the Knights their tree was never, eeeeever, intended for removal. The red ribbon placed on it last week was just a marker so they "could find the tree later".

Presumably, as Patricia suggested, writing down the address of the house the tree was in front of, isn't in the professional consultants handbook.

It was 18 hours before the construction crews were going to start ripping up the boulevard grass - well, the grass still left after a summer of watermain installations - and the blueprint was still not finalized.

The Knights fought for 3 years to have that tree planted and then nurtured it for the last 4. The tree is important to the Knights and the neighbours.

When they saw the purple paint surround their tree after the red ribbon was tied around it, they knew they had been being lied to, and did something about it.

As we interviewed Colin and Patricia Knight, a call came into Colin's cellphone. It was Mayor Sam Katz, wanting to talk.

"Public Consultation" came very very late to the residents of Berry Street. And the TV cameras are out in force today to hear them complain about it.

***************

see also: http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/09/now-its-failure.html

Now It's Failure

It took a long time for anybody to admit consultation on the bike paths was a failure. That it was inept. That it wasn't good enough.

There's two people to point the finger to.

Kevin Nixon, Active Transportation Co-ordinator.

Bill Woroby, engineer at Public Works.

Both of these people knew it all along. They stated time after time after time after time that consultation was done, that it was fair and proper. They stuck notices to doors and sent out notification letters after public meetings were held. They invited bike groups and organizations like the Friends of Upper Fort Garry instead of area businesses....

Fed-up Residents ask: Are trees being chopped down for the Berry Street Bike path?

The alternative media influence in this city and on the civic election is being recognized by MSM. Two weeks after we showcased blogger Brian Kelcey and pointed to the criticism leveled by Policy Frog, the two former city hall insiders were quizzed in todays Free Press about their opinions. In fact, Froggies attack of not only the consultation process but the safety elements of the bike lane designs is believed to have been a turning point in the credibility of the stories our listeners have brought forward.

Graham Hnatiuk, whose attempt to alert the city auditor about the planned waste of taxpayers' dollars and dangerous conditions created in South Broadway was diverted to Assiniboine bike path honcho Kevin Nixon, furthered his coverage with pictures of a tour bus coming from the legislature, that was stranded on the new extended raised curbs at Kennedy St.

Another bus got stuck last Friday; we have reported that police were never consulted about how street direction changes could affect 911 response; and seniors on Edmonton St. are trapped in their homes by the high curbs and canceled transit route.

This weekend, Cherenkov discovered that the bike path on Archibald doubled as the sidewalk for Windsor Parks' second busiest bus stop at Elizabeth going south. Not only are pedestrians being endangered by design, but so are the cyclists. The 2.4 meter path is almost bisected by a giant thick metal pole. Why, you ask?

Well, to support the red light camera that produces the fewest tickets in the fleet, as in 1 per week. Still, as revenue trumps all, cyclists will be squeezed between the pole and the fence of the St. Boniface Golf Club.

All of these examples, brought to light by the work of the alternative media, demonstrate that there are many serious implications to altering our urban terrain, including the safety of pedestrians, the disabled, seniors -- many of the 3 aforementioned are also high-rise dwellers (another endangered group), and of course now we see, of the cyclists themselves. Plus adding to air pollution, gridlock, added business costs, and the admission by Coun. Gerbasi she'd be happy to spend money next year to fix the mistakes but let's build it wrong first.

It is like the city planners, coordinators, consultants and politicians, cannot see the forest for the trees.

Speaking of trees, the residents of Berry Street have had a fire lit under them after the purple paint on their boulevard, outlining the bike paths on the Portage to Ness stretch, included a couple of trees that logically would be chopped down and paved over.

The city has issued repeated denials today from the forestry office, bike lane czar Nixon, Marr Consulting, and the project engineer, that ANY trees are going to be removed. The residents don''t buy it.

The people of Berry fought to plant trees and cared for them.
They see the paint surrounding the trees.
Grass is being paved over for a bike lane.
A bike lane that they never asked for and that has changed shape and design is being forced on them.
They do not trust the officials or Councillor Scott Fielding.

The original letter in August was vague on the fate of the trees, and showed 2 straight pathways parallel to the road.



The second letter, dated Sept. 24th, gave them 4 days notice of their street being closed and torn up for the bike lane construction, says nothing about trees being lost or not, and does not have a pretty picture of the bike lanes so clean and straight, as the revised design would have to show a curving path that goes over manholes, across car driveways and right-of-way sidewalks to the roadside, and is forced to veer a specific distance away from light standards - and at one point on the west side of Berry, curves to run right beside the sidewalk directly in front of the gate of one homeowner. No wonder no one has ever seen a rendering of the final design.




The working class and retired homeowners of Berry Street have waited in vain for sidewalks to be repaired and replaced - let alone made level.

After being embarassed after learning that the boulevard water mains would break and require the bike lane be dug up, the city hurriedly tore up the water lines, leaving behind a half-block long patchwork of mudholes and mini-swamps on both sides of the street.

The residents see busted sidewalks, mud-pitted boulevards, and trees being outlined for demolition in front of their homes --- all for an unknown number of commuter cyclists to ride through in front of their doors.

BREAKING NEWS: FP got it first: KATZ TO HALT MCDERMOT/BANNATYNE BIKEWAY DUE TO POOR CONSULTATION;

(Co-incidentally, very close to the Goldeyes ballpark. It appears his awakening was spurred by our asking the Mayor last week via email, if he knew as either Mayor or Goldeyes owner that McDermot St. was being turned into a 1-way from Rorie to Waterfront.)