Everything Bicycles | Winnipeg

[StNorberter]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

BUt not until next May or June though right? Be honest.

Oh, so no more collector/classic cars or convertibles? You know, since those aren't driven until May or June.

[headhorse]

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[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by headhorse

^ honestly, I'm at the point where I'm not even sure cycling infrastructure can save is. winnipeg drivers are horrible and entitled and enforcement either needs to be dramatically increased or we need to make licensing testing more difficult and have mandatory re-testing every 5 years

I would like to see significantly more enforcement of vehicle standards . In recent years I have noticed so many more incidences of people driving around with burned out headlights or taillights, larger trucks missing mudflaps, plates invisible (esp. during winter), illegally modified vehicles, etc.

Mandatory re-testing of all drivers is overkill to me except for those whose driving records indicate a need to be concerned.

[headhorse]

this is a report from edmonton's downtown bike lane grid, but page 9 has some interesting statistics about drivers and their uh "knowledge" of rules of the road. pretty illuminating

https://www.edmonton.ca/transportati...rim_Report.pdf

seems that, at best, 60% of car drivers actually even know what the laws are.

[GlassCity]

First bit of public engagement going on for the Wolseley - Osborne Street bike route, which will connect from Omand's Creek to Osborne Street, the Assiniboine cycle track and beyond, via either Wolseley or Westminster, and Granite Way. Mostly high level questions based on people's priorities and early concerns and stuff, but if you're at all interested in this it's good to check out the early plans and voice your opinions.

https://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/...todowntown.stm

[Authentic_City]

Good article from Brent Bellamy in the Free Press about winter cycling.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/op...504307002.html

Winter cycling isn't extreme
Brent Bellamy By: Brent Bellamy
Posted: 01/14/2019 3:00 AM

The majority of people who are biking in the winter, they’re the extreme. They’re the extreme cyclists and I don’t see that changing."

Coun. Jeff Browaty made these comments last month at city hall, while questioning the value of clearing snow from Winnipeg bike lanes in the winter. His statement made headlines, but the sentiment that Winnipeg is too cold to support winter cycling is not seen as an extreme viewpoint.

We don’t label cross-country skiers "extreme." It is not extreme to let our children play in the schoolyard at lunchtime. A game of shinny on an outdoor rink isn’t extreme, and the only thing extreme about skating in the middle of Winnipeg’s frozen rivers is the lineup for skate rentals at The Forks. So, why is riding a bike in the winter seen as extreme?

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[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

Good article from Brent Bellamy in the Free Press about winter cycling.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/op...504307002.html

Winter cycling isn't extreme
Brent Bellamy By: Brent Bellamy
Posted: 01/14/2019 3:00 AM

The majority of people who are biking in the winter, they’re the extreme. They’re the extreme cyclists and I don’t see that changing."

Coun. Jeff Browaty made these comments last month at city hall, while questioning the value of clearing snow from Winnipeg bike lanes in the winter. His statement made headlines, but the sentiment that Winnipeg is too cold to support winter cycling is not seen as an extreme viewpoint.

We don’t label cross-country skiers "extreme." It is not extreme to let our children play in the schoolyard at lunchtime. A game of shinny on an outdoor rink isn’t extreme, and the only thing extreme about skating in the middle of Winnipeg’s frozen rivers is the lineup for skate rentals at The Forks. So, why is riding a bike in the winter seen as extreme?

...

Sorry but winter cycling in our climate is extreme and any other way you want to paint it defies common sense, I am usually in agreement with most Bellamy articles but he is out to lunch on this one!

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Sorry but winter cycling in our climate is extreme and any other way you want to paint it defies common sense, I am usually in agreement with most Bellamy articles but he is out to lunch on this one!

Whether or not you or Jeff Browaty think it's extreme, the point is that it's happening out there so there's no point in being in denial about it.

I'm sure that back before the days of routine snowplowing of roads, driving motor vehicles in the winter was regarded as extreme too, but we got used to the idea of doing that in the winter. It's the same thing with cycling.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by esquire

Whether or not you or Jeff Browaty think it's extreme, the point is that it's happening out there so there's no point in being in denial about it.

I'm sure that back before the days of routine snowplowing of roads, driving motor vehicles in the winter was regarded as extreme too, but we got used to the idea of doing that in the winter. It's the same thing with cycling.

Not too mention that bike technology is getting better.

Softer compound tires. Studded tires. Light/tougher component and frame construction. Lighter and warmer clothing. I could go on.

Back in the day cars ran on bias ply tires, had poor fuel and air delivery making them unreliable on cold days and the interior heating/defrost systems were poor and in Winnipeg often required frost shields. There was no traction control, no AWD and no ABS. Driving in the winter was extreme for motorists back then compared to now.

The only thing "extreme" about cycling in the winter in Winnipeg is having to deal with the ignorant motorists.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by esquire

Whether or not you or Jeff Browaty think it's extreme, the point is that it's happening out there so there's no point in being in denial about it.

I'm sure that back before the days of routine snowplowing of roads, driving motor vehicles in the winter was regarded as extreme too, but we got used to the idea of doing that in the winter. It's the same thing with cycling.

And so in a city of 800K we plow bike lanes before key sidewalks in commercial areas so that less than a few hundred people can cycle commute on warm winter days...makes a whole lot of sense, now I can see why!

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

And so in a city of 800K we plow bike lanes before key sidewalks in commercial areas so that less than a few hundred people can cycle commute on warm winter days...makes a whole lot of sense, now I can see why!

Browaty posted a picture on twitter of a cleared bike lane in the Exchange District, but it's the Exchange District BIZ that handles that on its own dime. Not the City.

Maybe you and Browaty should be asking why the City does such a shitty job handling snow clearing on sidewalks.

[Authentic_City]

Here a trailer for new local documentary about winter cycling. I think it's available on Bell MTS TV or whatever it's called.

Winter cycling is fun. Just as fun as cross country skiing, tobogganing, skating, walking outside, etc. It's not any more extreme than those activities. It makes winter fun.

• Video Link

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by esquire

Browaty posted a picture on twitter of a cleared bike lane in the Exchange District, but it's the Exchange District BIZ that handles that on its own dime. Not the City.

Maybe you and Browaty should be asking why the City does such a shitty job handling snow clearing on sidewalks.

Bolded, that's a whole nother issue, so you still think keeping bike lanes clear of snow before roads and sidewalks should be a higher priority for so few which really borders on entitlement more than common sense and what's really in the best of the majority.

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

And so in a city of 800K we plow bike lanes before key sidewalks in commercial areas so that less than a few hundred people can cycle commute on warm winter days...makes a whole lot of sense, now I can see why!

Most people can easily walk on a sidewalk that has a few inches of snow on it. So it's not as big of a priority. Cycling in fresh snow is much more difficult. Because most people can still use a sidewalk with snow it doesn't matter as much when it gets cleared.

[StNorberter]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Bolded, that's a whole nother issue, so you still think keeping bike lanes clear of snow before roads and sidewalks should be a higher priority for so few which really borders on entitlement more than common sense and what's really in the best of the majority.

What are you even talking about????

Bike lanes get cleared by different equipment than roads.

The bike lanes that are cleared, get cleared the same time as the sidewalk beside them.

Do you really expect a sidewalk clearer to be used to clear roads?

Do you expect someone clearing a sidewalk to say "Nope, can't clear this bike path beside this, even though it will hardly take any time - there may be a residential sidewalk on the other side of the city that needs clearing first!"?

[rkspec]

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Bolded, that's a whole nother issue, so you still think keeping bike lanes clear of snow before roads and sidewalks should be a higher priority for so few which really borders on entitlement more than common sense and what's really in the best of the majority.

I don't know how to make this any clearer. The BIZ clears snow in the Exchange District. They do it because they know the City can take a while to get around to it, and doesn't always do a great job, which in turn drives away customers. So they make sure the sidewalks and yes, cycle paths are clear. Are you going to tell the BIZ how it should use its money to serve its members?

I mean, do you complain when people shovel their own driveways before they take their shovels and clear out the sidewalks along Portage Avenue first?

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by esquire

I don't know how to make this any clearer. The BIZ clears snow in the Exchange District. They do it because they know the City can take a while to get around to it, and doesn't always do a great job, which in turn drives away customers. So they make sure the sidewalks and yes, cycle paths are clear. Are you going to tell the BIZ how it should use its money to serve its members?

I mean, do you complain when people shovel their own driveways before they take their shovels and clear out the sidewalks along Portage Avenue first?

LOL! SSP winter biking in Winnipeg 1 - rrskylar 0

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

LOL! SSP winter biking in Winnipeg 1 - rrskylar 0

It's not your fault, I blame Browaty for attempting to foment discord on Twitter

[trueviking]

I can clarify the Browaty Fake News post that got so much attention.

He posted a photo of an exchange district sidewalk that had not been cleared and a bike lane that had been to prove that our priorities are wrong and to pit cyclists against pedestrians in the same way he put them against drivers at Portage and Main.

The bike lane was cleared by the exchange district biz, who for the first time this year decided they would help out their members and clear the area of snow as much as possible before the city gets there. The Exchange is a priority 2 area. They are lobbying to change this.

The reason the sidewalk wasnt clear was because there are a few sidewalks in the Exchange that are too narrow for the one machine the biz has to get down. Nobody plowed anytihng instead of the sidewalks.

In the bigger picture, there are sometimes bike lanes that will get cleared on priority 1 streets, as they clear those streets. Sherbrook is an example of this. It is cleared using the same machines as the street so it can all be done at once. The sidewalks take special machinery so they can be slower. This gives people the false impresion that the bike lanes are prioritized ahead of the sidewalks....this is not the case.

To put it all into perspective. The city currently has less than 10 kilometers of on-street protected bike lanes that need to be cleared. When the entire 25 year Cycling and Pedestrian Masterplan is built out, we will have 80 kilometers of lane.

The city currently has 3,000 kilometers of sidewalks and 7,000 kilometers of road that it clears of snow. The impact of clearing bike lanes is and always will be inconcequential and is a red herring for Browaty to look good to his voters.