Bikes; a tool for sustainable development

Bike Winnipeg has told Manitoba Government budget consultations to set aside the image of bicycles as toys for leisure, and think of them as tools for building a sustainable economy.

We said:

• Spending on more and better roads is a vicious circle that leads to more cars on those roads, more miles driven, and more demand expensive improvements.
• Reliance on cars & trucks for personal transport is unhealthy; driving up health costs by some 20 cents per kilometer driven.
• Our survey showed that 45% of Winnipeggers would cycle daily or a few times a week if conditions were safer, and 47% of Winnipeggers thought there should be more protected bike lanes downtown.
• The city is delaying many bike lane projects for lack of money.
• The Province should cost-share more AT projects, and leverage federal green infrastructure money.
• Creating an environment where families can own one less vehicle each would eliminate a huge drain on their budgets, municipal budgets, and the provincial budget.

See full letter