Cancellation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategy
The decision by the City to cancel the contract to develop a bicycle and pedestrian strategy undermines all the efforts to improve bicycling and pedestrian facilities in Winnipeg. Cutting the development of a strategy in favour of an ad hoc approach flies in the face of the City’s recently completed transportation plan.
Winnipeg’s Transportation Master Plan calls for the city to develop a bicycle strategy
It’s like deciding to build a house and then firing the architect to save money, or building a boat but saving money by not buying a rudder. We have a general plan, but how will we implement it? The strategy study would have told us. It would have involved the public, including cyclists, pedestrians, businesses, communities and neighbourhoods in the development of such a strategy and it would have collected and organized the necessary information to answer the outstanding questions. What are the priorities? What do city residents and businesses think about the various options? How are we going to put the plan into effect? How will neighbourhoods be affected? Without the strategy all these decisions and more will be ad hoc, and the public, including cyclists and pedestrians and others, will not have reasonable input into the process. The City spends more than $1 million per year on bicycle and pedestrian paths; devoting the resources required to plan how best to spend this budget is both necessary and prudent.
Moreover, the sudden decision to cancel the contract came out of the blue – there was no consultation with the public or with interested groups and the credibility of the City’s planning process is undermined. Instead of proceeding systematically towards an improved transportation system that incorporates active transportation, the City seems to be lurching from decision to decision without any roadmap or rationale. It makes us all wonder whether there is really a commitment from above to go anywhere at all.
Jeremy Hull
Co-chair, Bike Winnipeg
Media stories on Cancellation of Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategies
Winnipeg Sun – City suspends active transportation plan
Global News – City scraps bike path study
Winnipeg Free Press – We’re a city without a plan for path to future
CBC – Winnipeg mayor defends nixing active transportation study
It is tragic that the City cancelled this contract.
Will Bike Winnipeg be providing a list of cities that have already adopted official “bike plans” so that we can all see what real bike plans look like, and how far behind the City of Winnipeg is in this area?
Winnipeggers need to know that there is an alternative to the (just cancelled) City’s bike contract. Anyone interested in biking in Winnipeg should carefully study the plans at http://www.rivercitywpg.ca . This now becomes the de facto “go to” bike plan for the City of Winnipeg. Time to get City councillors on board!
Has Bike Winnipeg commented on rivercitywpg.ca plans?
Thanks for the comments, Tom. I will work on getting a resource set up listing cycling and pedestrian strategies from other Canadian City’s.
Cancellation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategy This now becomes the de facto “go to” bike plan for the City of Winnipeg.and information to share.https://thepolicytimes.com where my articles published.