Winnipeg | Exchange District | Developments & Discussions

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by joshlemer

Maybe some parts of Winnipeg's bike lanes are very piecemeal, but this recent drama headed up by Obby seems to be mainly about Bannatyne and McDermot which both have dedicated bike lanes all the way from Waterfront until HSC (on McDermot, even past HSC), so doesn't seem very piecemeal to me. I guess you could have a point about the one-block bike lane on Arthur though.

The McDermott route is great if you’re traveling from HSC to Main, but it’s not part of a planned network that extends across town. For example, there is no logical route for cyclists to commute from St James to Downtown. But there are a few bits here and there, but no safe or logical connection. That’s why it’s piecemeal.

Originally Posted by joshlemer

I think that on the bigger picture though, urbanists should not choose bike lanes in the exchange district as their hill to die on. There are just way bigger fish to fry. It's already pretty safe and comfortable for cyclists to bike through the exchange -- traffic is already slow and there are lights every block. More important would be getting dedicated bike lanes in more extremely hostile, car-dominant sections of the city (Kennaston, Portage, Main, the gaps in coverage on Pembina).

Lol. Pretty safe? Have you tried riding in the Exchange outside of the bike lanes? I would disagree.

I would agree that the city has to also develop safe bike lanes on major routes, but I have been told by my city counsellor that there is no plan to develop bike lanes ever on portage ave. They want cyclists diverted to other streets like St Mathews or Wolseley. This shows a complete lack of understanding of what cyclists actually want. Many regular cyclists want to travel quickly and efficiently from the suburbs downtown just like other commuters. Instead, the city thinks we want meandering leisurely paths along the river or on secondary roads.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by Hecate

I’m not really sold on the bike lane thing, I think it’s important to have active transport corridors but I think the city didn’t put enough thought into it. It’s winter for most of the year...

Lol. Really? Even timid cyclists and children can easily ride from April through October. Snow might be on the ground Nov to March but with modern clothing and bikes, there is no reason to stop cycling unless the weather is extreme. I see lots of winter cyclists. It’s fun, and people are really starting to embrace it. Should we get rid of sidewalks too because people walk less in Winter months?

Originally Posted by Hecate

...it doesn’t make sense, at least to me, to dedicate so much of our infrastructure to a few people on bikes. It’s really stupid when you think about it. When my ex had to leave Canada because his visa was denied we had to clean out his apartment on Assiniboine. The lack of parking and the bike lane made it a — nightmare. I couldn’t imagine owning a business in front of a bike lane and having to deal with that — every day. It would make deliveries and pick ups a constant hassle. Maybe they could have cleaned up some of the alleyways downtown, lit them up nice and use those as bike corridors, instead of closing down lanes and taking away parking and loading zones. Regardless, I think it would be neat to see the alleys in the exchange cleaned up and Made more pedestrian friendly. Might encourage business and restaurants to open up along them and create a more unique environment in the area.

Don’t blame cyclists for poor planning by the city. Pedestrians and cyclists both deserve safe infrastructure in all parts of the city. Just because you felt inconvenienced one time when loading your car is no reason to sacrifice the safety and comfort of cyclists.

Lol. Converting alleys to bike routes would just create more hassles for businesses. Bikes belong on front streets with cars and pedestrians. Car culture in Winnipeg needs to change.

[Hecate]

Car culture in Winnipeg will not change until there is proper effective accessible public transit. Very few people “embrace” winter cycling. If I had a small restaurant in front of a bike lane and needed product deliveries and had multiple take out pick ups on a daily basis I’d be looking for a new location. If I had a home design store and people needed space to load large pieces to their vehicles and a bike lane went in, I’d be looking for a new place for my business. It’s really that simple. This isn’t manhattan. You also suggest putting bike lanes along major thoroughfares, which is also ridiculous considering most of the thoroughfares have side streets that run parallel to them a block away. It would make more sense and be much safer to have the bike lanes run along these routes instead. For example instead of putting a bike lane along Henderson put it on brazier. And then connect to the pedestrian bridge at the Disraeli.

[Authentic_City]

If you own a business that depends on having a large loading area immediately out front, then you probably don’t belong downtown. Lots of industrial areas would be better. Also, if your business model depends on acres of free parking immediately out front, you shouldn’t locate in the Exchange. Blaming a bike lane on your misfortunes is just silly.
I’m sorry you can’t see folks embracing winter activities in Winnipeg. I live along a bike route and it’s well used all year. Lots of fat bikes out today. Try it, you might like it.
Why so dismissive of bike lanes on major routes? Have you seen how wide Portage is? No need to relegate bikes to back alleys and side streets when the main arteries in Winnipeg are so generously proportioned.

[buzzg]

There is a 3-4 car loading zone 10 feet from Obby's delivery door, right in front of Lark/Cordova. Street parking everywhere else on his side of both streets he fronts. There's another 3-4 spot loading zone right across the street from him on Albert, beside where Hoopers used to be. There is plenty of space immediately around him for loading and the public to park. He has a location on Pembina with tons of free parking if that's what those customers want.

As someone who has worked and now owns a business) in the Exchange for 8 years, it is very clear to me that the bike lanes are not the issue. The issue here has been the disastrous construction schedule over the last two years. The bike lanes were part of it, but it was predominantly piecemeal road and curb/sidewalk repairs. Some were for bike lanes, some weren't. Last year the same patch of McDermot at Arthur (half in bike lane have in vehicular) was paved and ripped up THREE TIMES. This year they did that spot twice.

I agree with the above that a lot of this falls on the city for absolutely atrocious traffic and construction planning. It is not about the final design of the lanes/parking.

[morty]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Car culture in Winnipeg will not change until there is proper effective accessible public transit. Very few people “embrace” winter cycling. If I had a small restaurant in front of a bike lane and needed product deliveries and had multiple take out pick ups on a daily basis I’d be looking for a new location. If I had a home design store and people needed space to load large pieces to their vehicles and a bike lane went in, I’d be looking for a new place for my business. It’s really that simple. This isn’t manhattan. You also suggest putting bike lanes along major thoroughfares, which is also ridiculous considering most of the thoroughfares have side streets that run parallel to them a block away. It would make more sense and be much safer to have the bike lanes run along these routes instead. For example instead of putting a bike lane along Henderson put it on brazier. And then connect to the pedestrian bridge at the Disraeli.

People like to travel on main routes is because there's stuff to do along those routes. It's not just point A to point B. If all the bike infrastructure is on side roads, it makes it difficult for someone to stop in at the grocery store on their ride home from work. The argument that businesses will move if there isn't immediately adjacent loading zones and parking, but then suggesting cyclists can "just go a block over" doesn't make sense.

For what it's worth, I haven't commuted by bike in years. Too many close calls. But if I could safely bike and rely on transit, I'd sell my car in a heartbeat. What it comes down to is that there needs to be a balance between infrastructure modes and an understanding that cyclists and pedestrians are the more vulnerable road users and should take priority for safety. If a street truly doesn't have room for a dedicated bike lane, significant traffic calming measures can be put in place with the aim of a real shared street. The infrastructure needs to happen before any sort of a culture shift can take place.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by morty

People like to travel on main routes is because there's stuff to do along those routes. It's not just point A to point B. If all the bike infrastructure is on side roads, it makes it difficult for someone to stop in at the grocery store on their ride home from work. The argument that businesses will move if there isn't immediately adjacent loading zones and parking, but then suggesting cyclists can "just go a block over" doesn't make sense.

For what it's worth, I haven't commuted by bike in years. Too many close calls. But if I could safely bike and rely on transit, I'd sell my car in a heartbeat. What it comes down to is that there needs to be a balance between infrastructure modes and an understanding that cyclists and pedestrians are the more vulnerable road users and should take priority for safety. If a street truly doesn't have room for a dedicated bike lane, significant traffic calming measures can be put in place with the aim of a real shared street. The infrastructure needs to happen before any sort of a culture shift can take place.

Your argument doesn’t make sense. The bike lane can be a block over where it’s SAFER for cyclists. It’s safer because: a) there are lower speeds on residential streets, b) there is less vehicular traffic. It is no more or less convient for someone to bike on a designated lane a block over from the main thoroughfare. Most people when travelling generally go from point A, their home, to point B, their destination. They aren’t lazily cycling along hitting up every tchotchke dealer along the way. They can still bike on the main routes if they should choose to. For example, None of the businesses on Henderson would suddenly become inaccessible to cyclists simply because the bike lane was placed along brazier. In fact many of the businesses along Henderson would be easily accessible from the back, the sobeys for instance would be accessible from the bike lane.

[1ajs]

heres a coverd bike shelter from 1908 on Bannatyne Ave someone noticed it and posted this on the if you grew up in winnipeg and remember facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/154508147961200/?ref=nf_target&fref=nf

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Your argument doesn’t make sense. The bike lane can be a block over where it’s SAFER for cyclists. It’s safer because: a) there are lower speeds on residential streets, b) there is less vehicular traffic. It is no more or less convient for someone to bike on a designated lane a block over from the main thoroughfare. Most people when travelling generally go from point A, their home, to point B, their destination. They aren’t lazily cycling along hitting up every tchotchke dealer along the way. They can still bike on the main routes if they should choose to. For example, None of the businesses on Henderson would suddenly become inaccessible to cyclists simply because the bike lane was placed along brazier. In fact many of the businesses along Henderson would be easily accessible from the back, the sobeys for instance would be accessible from the bike lane.

Unfortunately the city put the bike route on Roch St. which is two blocks east of Henderson (1 east of Brazier) which makes it a little more inconvenient for people to use it if they want to access the Henderson businesses.

Also in the winter Brazier gets priority snow clearing while Roch waits for the residential plowing. It's bad enough going down in a car after a storm I can just imagine what it would be like on a bike.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by cllew

Unfortunately the city put the bike route on Roch St. which is two blocks east of Henderson (1 east of Brazier) which makes it a little more inconvenient for people to use it if they want to access the Henderson businesses.

Also in the winter Brazier gets priority snow clearing while Roch waits for the residential plowing. It's bad enough going down in a car after a storm I can just imagine what it would be like on a bike.

Is there a connection (bike route) between Roch and the AT bridge beside the Disraeli bridge? Seems like a missing link in the network.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by cllew

Unfortunately the city put the bike route on Roch St. which is two blocks east of Henderson (1 east of Brazier) which makes it a little more inconvenient for people to use it if they want to access the Henderson businesses.

Also in the winter Brazier gets priority snow clearing while Roch waits for the residential plowing. It's bad enough going down in a car after a storm I can just imagine what it would be like on a bike.

And exactly how many people are foolish enough to ride their bike after a snowfall or in winter for that matter? Pretending that biking is an alternate form of transportation in a winter city is plain laughable!

[esquire]

^ If the streets are plowed it really isn't an issue...

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ If the streets are plowed it really isn't an issue...

Well all right then! (shakes head and then bangs head against desk)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Well all right then! (shakes head and then bangs head against desk)

Well I mean all streets are terrible in the middle of a blizzard. I suppose that it may not be ideal to ride your bike when there's heavy snow falling and six inches of snow in the bike lane. But how long does that last? Snow gets cleared pretty quickly in this city.

That said, I will be interested in seeing if the plows can clear the bike lanes without utterly ruining the curbs given the narrow dimensions of those lanes.

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

And exactly how many people are foolish enough to ride their bike after a snowfall or in winter for that matter? Pretending that biking is an alternate form of transportation in a winter city is plain laughable!

Oh give it a rest already
https://www.boredpanda.com/students-bicy...&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
Like have you never heard of dressing in layers? Or should we shut down the streets and sidewalks for the winter as well since snow and ice apparently makes it impossible for rubber tires to navigate? Surely driving in those conditions is crazy and unsafe!!! You need to open your mind a bit dude.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

Well I mean all streets are terrible in the middle of a blizzard. I suppose that it may not be ideal to ride your bike when there's heavy snow falling and six inches of snow in the bike lane. But how long does that last? Snow gets cleared pretty quickly in this city.

That said, I will be interested in seeing if the plows can clear the bike lanes without utterly ruining the curbs given the narrow dimensions of those lanes.

In the Exchange, the BIZ was the one clearing the lanes – and they seemed to do just fine. It's almost like people who have a vested interest in the area take some care and caution. Unlike the contractors who destroyed a lot of brand new curbs and planters on the sidewalk and road.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

Is there a connection (bike route) between Roch and the AT bridge beside the Disraeli bridge? Seems like a missing link in the network.

Yes is appears that the connection is from Roch is via Poplar, Brazier and thru Midwinter park.

I was just looking at the bike map on line and it shows that Brazier past Poplar is considered an informal "low stress" bike route so Hecate is correct in that people could use it to access the shops fronting on Henderson if they want to go one block out of their way.

[cllew]

Never mind the bikes with all the school bus traffic on Roch I'd be happy if was plowed better than it currently is.

Also the area around Miles Mac could be done better with the buses coming down, but that is a different topic at a different time.

[Authentic_City]

The bike lanes are in pretty good shape so far this winter. As of today, the McDermot bike lane was icy in sections between Arlington and Hargrave, and then mostly clear from there to Rorie. There was a lot of sand on the lane, so the city is doing something to ensure it is navigable even with the ice. On other hand, the Assiniboine bike lane was pretty much bare pavement all the way.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by cllew

Yes is appears that the connection is from Roch is via Poplar, Brazier and thru Midwinter park.

Thanks. It sure seems like Brazier would have been a simpler and more direct route.