A project partnership between Bike to the Future (BttF), the Manitoba Cycling Association (MCA), and the City of Winnipeg was initiated in September to create a new Winnipeg cycling map for 2009.

The project team consists of

• Curt Hull (BttF Treasurer, Project Manager)
• Ron Brown (MCA Executive Director)
• Kevin Nixon (City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Co-ordinator)
• Beth McKechnie (Resource Conservation Manitoba, creator of the 1999 Cyclists' Map of Winnipeg)
• Gord McGonigal (VP of MCA Recreation & Transportation in 1999)
• Ted Mann (route checking)

All six of these team members are Bike to the Future members.

The new Winnipeg cycling map will be based on the City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Network (1.5MB PDF) map.

Route information needs to be verified before winter, so Ted is asking all BttF members and supporters to assist him with this task.

Beth will be at our Fall Forum with a list of routes that still need to be checked, and she will assign routes to anybody who is interested in helping with this task. Any routes left over will then be posted here. If you'd like to help, but can't attend the Fall Forum, please contact us.

Route checking criteria (what to look for):

• Existing infrastructure (cycling route signs, sharrows, diamond lane, multi-use pathway or sidewalk, etc)
• General sense of curb lane width (narrow, ample)
• Vehicle parking allowed (neither, one or both sides of street)
• Surface type (paved, gravel, cement)
• Obvious hazards, choke points, anomalies
• Gaps in continuity
• Difficult or dangerous crossings
• Whether a trail/path has lighting
• Suggestions for infrastructure improvement on that route
• Attributes/features (such as gas stations with an air hose, bike shops, public washrooms, public drinking water source, ice cream shops, or other sites of interest to commuting and recreational cyclists)

Also, if you use a route that you think is very good for cycling, but it's not on the City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Network (PDF) map, please contact us.

The Downtown BIZ wants to install bike racks downtown to make frequenting buildings and amenities easier for visitors, workers, and residents. They will subsidize 50 per cent of the cost, and also handle the installation. They are limited in the number of bike racks they can subsidize, so this is a first-come first-serve opportunity.

Info and Order Form (PDF)

A story about Anders Swanson (5 Local Eco Heroes: Biking for a better city) appears on page 35 of the Fall 2008 issue of Green Living magazine.

The story about Anders (PDF).

To read the entire Fall 2008 issue of Green Living magazine, click here.

The City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) has begun the input process for recommending projects to be undertaken in 2009. We already have an official map (that isn't perfect) and a long list of big projects to complete. However, we want to make sure we aren't overlooking simple fixes, leaving out an obvious priority, or focusing on long routes for way-finding, but then forgetting specific problem areas that are dangerous and could fixed right away.

We want your help.

We are looking for specific design issues that pose a danger to cyclists, or little things that, if designed well, would simply make life easier. The more accurately you describe the situation and your solution, the more likely it will become reality.

So, if you have an idea, please go to www.onegreencity.com, click on the area of the map that your idea pertains to, join the Google Group for that area of the city, and post your idea. Alternatively, you can send your idea to contact@biketothefuture.org, and we'll post it, but then you won't be able to see discussion about your idea (which hopefully generates other ideas).

The Globe and Mail -- Biking in the City

Want to make a difference for cyclists? Start a war

John Barber -- jbarber@globeandmail.com

September 9, 2008

One week last year, Janet Sadik-Khan, New York's new transportation commissioner, visited Copenhagen to study bikeways. Impressed by a system that gives cyclists their own lanes protected by wide buffers - lanes taken away from cars - she returned home determined to emulate it.

"Thirty days later they had it," activist Gil Penalosa told Toronto council's works committee yesterday. The city removed two lanes of parked and moving cars from Ninth Avenue in the Chelsea district, replacing them with one bicycle lane and a generous no-go buffer zone between it and the remaining motorized lanes. Just like that.

Last month, Ms. Sadik-Khan earned raves for another quick-and-dirty initiative that closed Park Avenue to motorized traffic, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, for three consecutive Sundays. At the same time, city crews are tearing up the entire length of Broadway, removing driving lanes and parking in favour of generous bike lanes protected by broad landscaped buffers.

Over the same period, Paris flooded its famous boulevards with a fleet of 24,000 bicycles for the use of any citizen with a euro in their pocket. Simply creating the stations to accommodate the fleet required the elimination of 7,000 parking spaces, according to Mr. Penalosa, director of the group Walk and Bike for Life.

Over the same period in Toronto, however, local bureaucrats struggled to persuade suburban councillors to accept bicycle lanes on a handful of obscure routes. While great cities around the world compete with bold strokes to reclaim their streets for pedestrians and cyclists - as parks commissioner of Bogota in the 1990s, Mr. Penalosa helped create 320 kilometres of separate bikeways - Toronto quails at the challenge of painting new stripes on Annette Street.

Yesterday's debate, dominated by doubters to whom the so-called bicycle advocates happily deferred, was enough to dash recent hope that Toronto's torpor was over. Under the fresh leadership of Councillor Adrian Heaps, and with the help of new fast-track rules, council's cycling committee had promised big changes. But yesterday, Mr. Heaps's only role was to encourage the indefinite deferral of long-planned bike lanes for Horner Avenue in southern Etobicoke.

What we need is a big gesture, a thorough makeover of a major street with unapologetic impacts on drivers. The current strategy, which aims to remake the city without risking actual change, is an absurdity.

Consider the bureaucrats' assurance that none of the proposals before committee yesterday would have "significant impact" on existing traffic. But if Toronto's ambitious bike plan is to succeed, noted Ron Fletcher of the Toronto Bicycle Network, by definition it must have significant impact on traffic. Otherwise, what's the point?

What we need more than anything, of course, is the kind of leadership that such figures as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë have displayed in their forthright campaigns to de-motorize their cities.

"We need doers," Mr. Penalosa emphasized repeatedly. "We need people doing things." Consensus is impossible, he added, and compromise often worse than doing nothing. "We don't have time to think," he insisted. "We have to do."

Suburban councillors decry what they call city hall's "war against the car." If only! In truth, this is a phony war, with hesitating bureaucrats filling in for absent generals while a fearful mayor shirks in the rear.

What we need is a real war to make it clear where we all stand.

All of these workshops are free (or by donation), and held at the Bike Dump.

They are all drop-in (no registration required), except for the workshop on September 17th. To register for that one, please contact us.

• Wednesday September 17th at 6:30 PM
  Wheel truing & wheel building
• Wednesday October 15th at 7:00 PM
  Gears & derailleurs
• Wednesday October 22nd at 7:00 PM
  Winter cycling: Bike, clothes, and skillz
• Wednesday November 19th at 7:00 PM
  Coaster hubs

Montreal Bike Trade Show popularity tied to sales activity

Canada's bike industry is booming. In the first half of 2008, bike (unit) sales were up 6%, and dollar sales rose 8.5% over 2007 figures. One category - the lower priced rigid mountain bikes - skyrocketed by 600%, while the commuter oriented road bikes are up nearly 10%.

These numbers indicate that Canada is heading in a more bike-friendly direction. Janet O'Connell, Executive Director of the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada (BTAC), attributes the rising tide to a range of factors - an increasingly eco-conscious public, more bike routes and trails, rising fuel prices, and a provincial tax holiday on bike and bike safety related equipment in Ontario.

"It is exciting to see so many people embracing both their bikes and a healthy lifestyle. Whether you buy a bike to commute or use it for recreation, cycling is inexpensive, healthy and energy efficient." Janet O'Connell made these observations in Montreal where she is assisting with setup for ExpoCycle 2008, BTAC's annual trade show.

ExpoCycle 2008 features 90,000 square feet of trade show display space and attracts 2,500 manufacturers, retailers and suppliers from around the world. O'Connell notes that "the Canadian consumers' love affair with bicycles is also motivating the cycling industry. Pre-registration for ExpoCycle 2008 has already broken records, exceeding last years numbers by 20%.

*The Bicycle Trade Association of Canada's mission is to change Canadian culture by positioning cycling as the pre-eminent form of transportation and recreation in Canada. A not-for-profit trade association whose members come from the retail and supplier sectors of Canada's bicycle industry BTAC is the national voice for cycling BTAC actively advocates on critical issues with government at all levels and builds partnerships throughout the cycling community in Canada. BTAC programs include Market Research, Cycling Advocacy, ExpoCycle (Canada's Bike Trade Show) and many cost saving benefits to members.*

Bike to the Future has been contacted by a number of people since July 18th about cyclists being ticketed for riding on the sidewalk.

A few have been along Portage Avenue and other streets, but the majority are from the Osborne Street Bridge, which is a longstanding favorite place for the police to target because of the large number of pedestrians who walk over the bridge between Osborne Village and the Downtown.

In one incident, a Village resident/cyclist who works downtown was accompanying a non-cyclist friend who had never ridden to work before. The friend was slowly riding his daughter's bike (24" wheels), so they took the sidewalk and were each nabbed for $107. The cyclist appeared in Small Claims Court on August 14th. Here's the story:

I managed to get off the ticket pleading guilty with an explanation:

• I commute to work everyday and ride on the road nearly all the time, respecting the rules of the road.

• The only time I ride on the sidewalk is when the roads are unfit to ride on safely.

• When I do ride on the sidewalk, I am respectful of pedestrians as I understand they have priority and ride at a safe speed. Although in this particular incident there were no pedestrians present, if there would have been, I would have given them warning and given them ample space by moving over to the grass when passing them.

• Even though I am well-aware that the law forbids cycling on the sidewalk, cyclists are often caught in a catch 22 situation. We are put in a position where we have to use our judgment with regards to our personal safety versus the law.

• I judged that given the personal risk of having to swerve around pot-hole ridden roads during rush-hour traffic I was justified in riding on the sidewalk for my personal safety and I feel that the average responsible and prudent citizen would have come to the same conclusion.

On a side note, as the magistrate was reading out my fine, she looked confused and surprised (I'm assuming because she has never come across such an infraction). She told me to take a seat because she had to "review my plea", and I then saw her walk back to get the Highway Traffic Act binder to look up the section that applies to cycling on sidewalks.

At our August Monthly Meeting we discussed this issue of the police targeting sidewalk-riding cyclists.

It is illegal to ride on the sidewalk in Winnipeg, and it's also dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians unless the cyclist is travelling at a very slow running speed or slower. Given the lack of bicycling infrastructure in this city, we understand why some cyclists are uneasy about riding on certain stretches of roadway. Unfortunately, the only safe and legal alternatives are to go somewhat out of your way to find a route that you're comfortable with, or walk your bike past the worst stretches of roadway.

To send a message to the City's Public Works Department (about this or any other "problem"), go to http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/ReportAProblem/default.asp.

A core group of Bike to the Future volunteers have worked tirelessly during the past two years to achieve our mission and vision. Some progress has been made, but much more needs to be done. We've got twice as many opportunities and potential initiatives as volunteers, so another alternative to riding on unsafe streets is to work towards getting them made safer by getting involved.

Bike to Work Day 2008 -- Final Report -- 3MB PDF file, 97 pages

If you are looking for secure bike parking downtown, a new bike corral is now open in the Civic Parkade across from Red River College's Princess Street campus. The corral uses a card reader for access (fun to use!), and currently has space for 50 bikes. The cost is $50 per year. Contact the Exchange District BIZ at 942-6716.

The bike corral is the result of a partnership between the Winnipeg Parking Authority, Red River College, Exchange District BIZ, and City Councilor Mike Pagtakhan. Spread the word! Let's show that safe bike parking is needed and will be well used.

Here is the Exchange District BIZ' media release:

Winnipeg, July 24, 2008 – The Exchange District BIZ, along with partners Red River College, the Red River College Students’ Association, the Winnipeg Parking Authority, and the City of Winnipeg will unveil a brand new Bike Corral in the Civic Parkade at 10:00 am on Monday, July 28.

Bike Corral launch itinerary

The Civic Parkade Bike Corral will feature space for fifty bicycles, 24-hour security and 24- hour access with a personal electronic passcard.

“This is the Fort Knox of Bike Corrals,” jokes Brian Timmerman, Director of Operations with the Exchange District BIZ, “At $50 for a yearly pass, you get to store your bicycle in a safe, weather-protected corral with 24-hour security monitoring. It’s great to see more and more people seeking out alternate modes of transportation, and projects like this one really help to support those healthy, and environmentally-friendly decisions”

“Choosing to use your bike for work, or as an alternate mode of transportation offers riders many health, financial, and environmental benefits, and having a safe, secure and accessible location to park your bike is a definite consideration when choosing to bike to work for many,” says Councillor Mike Pagtakhan. “The Civic Parkade Bike Corral was a great project to support, as it will provide dozens of bike riders with the peace of mind that their bike is in a safe place with 24/7 monitoring.”

For information about the Civic Parkade Bike Corral, please contact:
Jarrett Storey
Communications Coordinator
Exchange District BIZ
(204) 942-6716
jarrett.storey@exchangedistrict.org
www.exchangedistrict.org

Spring Bicycle Traffic Counts, 2008 -- 14 page PDF report

Bicycling groups in Copenhagen hosted David Suzuki and a film crew from the CBC. www.copenhagenize.com/2008/07/david-suzuki-got-copenhagenized.html

Thanks to all cyclists who participated in the 1st Annual Bike to Work Day Winnipeg on June 20th. Some highlights:

• 2177 cyclists registered prior to, or on the day of, the event
• 2543 cyclists were counted participating in the event
  
  • Bicycle traffic counts were done in 12 locations throughout the city, and showed a bicycle traffic increase of 64% on the day of the event over previous 2008 counts (increases ranged from 13% to 145% depending on the location)
  • 11,241 estimated total cyclists on Bike to Work Day (based on 2006 Census of cyclist commuters (5.760) x the increase in 2008 over 2007 (1.19) x the increased traffic on Bike to Work Day Winnipeg (1.64)
• 400 participant and 70 volunteer “Bike to Work Day” t-shirts were given away
• 280 cyclists received a free pancake breakfast at the Forks
• All of the waste from the pancake breakfast was composted
• 8 groups were involved in organizing the event, including:
  
  • Bike to the Future
  • City of Winnipeg
  • Climate Change Connection
  • Downtown Winnipeg BIZ
  • Manitoba Cycling Association
  • Marr Consulting Services
  • Resource Conservation Manitoba
  • Winnipeg Trails Association
• The event was organized in a little over two months
• 52 companies, groups, and organizations supported the event with financial or in-kind contributions
• Financial contributions exceeded $27,600
• 70 volunteers helped at The Forks and at 15 Energy Stations all over the city

Special kudos to the 20% of you who were first-time riders to work –- awesome!

The registration survey found that cycling infrastructure was the number one thing that would get more people out cycling. Bike to the Future is a voluntary, inclusive group of concerned citizens working to make cycling in Winnipeg a safe, enjoyable, accessible and convenient transportation choice year-round. Please visit our website for more information or to get involved.

Bike to Work Day Winnipeg 2009 will be held on Friday, June 19th, 2009. We hope you'll participate.

Event photos will be posted on the Bike to Work Day website in the near future. If you have any great event photos, please send them to melanie@marrcc.com .

Thank you once again for your participation in Bike to Work Day Winnipeg 2008. See you next year!

You may have noticed that the City of Winnipeg has introduced new cycling pavement markings known as “sharrows” to promote cycling on routes that have wider curb lanes and are part of the City’s commuter cycling network. Streets that currently have sharrows include Dakota/Dunkirk, Higgins, Regent West, and Plessis.

Bike to the Future has produced an information sheet (PDF) with facts and FAQs about the City's Sharrows program.

The City's Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) released its 2008 action plan on Friday April 25th.

http://www.winnipeg.ca/clkdmis/ViewPdf.asp?SectionId=197117 (huge PDF file)

The City will spend more than $3 million this year to create 70 kilometres of new bike-and-pedestrian paths and bike lanes. (See the Free Press story about it.)

Many Bike to the Future members contributed to this 2008 action plan by expending countless hours compiling ideas, doing research, and/or attending numerous ATAC meetings. These members, many of whom represent our partner organizations, include Gareth Simons (Bike to the Future), Philip Roadley (Manitoba Cycling Association), Anders Swanson (One Green City, Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee), Janice Lukes (Winnipeg Trails Association), Beth McKechnie (Resource Conservation Manitoba), Kevin Nixon (City of Winnipeg's AT Coordinator) and many of our City Committee members. Their efforts are paying dividends.

For for info about City of Winnipeg Active Transportation, please see our Advocacy Resources pages.

The City of Winnipeg is holding three Open Houses to discuss the rehabilitation project for the Disraeli Bridge & Overpass. This is a chance to express your views about the three proposed options; they have varying benefits for cyclists and pedestrians.

Page B7 of the Thursday April 24th Free Press contains a full page ad that has info and diagrams of the proposed designs. You can see the same information on the City's Disraeli rehab website page. That page lists the dates and locations of the Open Houses. It also contains an April 2008 newsletter -- PDF that contains lots of info and diagrams, and has contact info on the last page for expressing your opinions (if you are unable to attend one of the Open Houses).

The City's website page for the Chief Peguis Trail project has extensive information, including proposed amenities for cyclists and a Survey and Comments form.

The Bike Shorts Film Festival is an event/fundraising opportunity. It originates from Dustin Anderson, the Purple Pirate. You would have met him if you were at our Fall Forum last October.

Bike to the Future's Events & Fundraising Committee Director position is currently vacant, so we're looking for a group of volunteers to take ownership of this event/fundraising opportunity, and organize a Winnipeg screening.

Dustin writes: "I want to invite you to use The Bike Shorts format and content to generate funds for your local cycle advocacy groups. The structure is pretty simple: Get films (done - you can have ours), find a venue, promote, enjoy. I will be happy to share with you my process to help you make it happen."

If you're interested in being a part of this, or if you need more info, please contact us at contact@biketothefuture.org.

For the second year, Bike to the Future is conducting spring counts of cyclists at selected locations in Winnipeg. Last year we focused on the downtown area. This year we will continue to look at the downtown, but we are also focusing on the University of Manitoba and the soon-to-be rebuilt Fort Garry Bridges. We also started earlier this year, so that our first counts took place in winter conditions.

So far we have had 6 volunteers who have 8 counts at 4 locations, with each count taking place during morning or afternoon rush hour. The counts took place at University Crescent, the Fort Garry Bridges, the Maryland Bridges, and the Louise Bridge at the beginning of March and again at the end of March / beginning of April. We plan to continue with counts at the beginning of May and again at the beginning of June. We would welcome additional volunteers who can spare a couple of hours on a weekday morning or afternoon at a suitable location of their choice.

The results will be summarized in a report, as they were last year. (See the report our Publications page.) These counts are valuable in documenting the current levels of cycling, and in establishing baseline information that can be compared to future years. Last year's counts showed that up to 5,000 cyclists were traveling in and out of the downtown area in good weather. With the increased advocacy and interest in cycling, we anticipate that these numbers will increase.

Anyone who wants to help out or would like more information can contact Jeremy Hull at prolog@mts.net.

One item in the 2008 Provincial Budget:
"This year, Manitoba will receive $17.9 million through the federal transit trust. We will work with Winnipeg to develop projects that will increase ridership, provide alternative active transportation options, including bicycle paths, and make progress towards its Rapid Transit Implementation Plan."

Bike to the Future has been working with a student from the University of Winnipeg to develop a Cycling Safety Course Survey.

The purpose of this survey is to collect information that will assist Bike to the Future in designing cycling safety courses. The survey will ask for information on demographics, cycling habits, opinions on cycling, and on potential participation in cycling safety educational courses. Completing this survey will take approximately 5 – 10 minutes. Please do not complete this survey more than once.

Any questions can be directed to contact(at)biketothefuture.org.

Bike to the Future, recently prepared a budget submission, "Cycling and the Future of Manitoba", and delivered it to Finance Minister Greg Selinger. Copies were also delivered to the leaders of the three parties and to other ministers and government MLA's. These documents can also be obtained from our web site.

The submission has two parts, a short statement of our recommendations and a longer document with detailed appendices in support of these recommendations. We believe that investments by the provincial government in the development of cycling will result in economic, health and environmental benefits to the people of Manitoba, such that these investments will more than pay for themselves.

Any questions or comments about these documents can be directed to province(at)biketothefuture.org.

Bike the the Future with Ray Yuen from the University of Winnipeg are conducting a survey regarding cycling in the city. All are welcome to respond to the survey and contribute to our research regarding cycling choices and behaviours. Feel free to extend this invitation beyond Bike to the Future as the more responses we receive the better data we can collect. Please complete the survey at http://www.biketothefuture.org/external/cycling_survey.htm

The report from the Bike to the Future fall forum From Imagination to Creation: The Future of Cycling in Winnipeg was delivered on Wednesday November 21st at City Hall. Councillor Jenny Gerbasi was there to receive the report on behalf of City Council and the Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee.

Here is the media release.

Download the report: From Imagination to Creation: The Future of Cycling in Winnipeg

Our Annual General Meeting is on Tuesday November 13th at 5:30 PM at the Eco-Centre, 3rd floor MEC building, 303 Portage Avenue. It will last approximately 30 minutes, and it will be immediately followed by our November Monthly Meeting.

The AGM agenda:

• Welcome and introductions.
• Approval of the minutes from our inaugural AGM on May 10th.
• Presentation of yearly financial statements. This is not applicable because our first year-end won't occur until March 31, 2008.
• Presentation of directors' annual reports.
• Election of a new Board of Directors. (See below.)

Anybody can attend, but only Bike to the Future members can participate in the election of a new Board of Directors because the Board represents all members.

Click here to see our organizational bylaws.

Board of Directors

Our Founding General Meeting was on May 10th, but we had decided that all AGMs will be in the fall because of the date of our fiscal year-end and other provisions in our organizational bylaws. All directors elected on May 10th retain their positions, but two of them have resigned, which means there are two vacancies on the Board. Also, three directors have changed positions:

• Molly McCracken -- from Events & Fundraising Director to Director at Large.
• Karin Kliewer -- from Director At Large to Membership Co-Director.
• Cory Bellhouse -- from Director At Large to Membership Co-Director.

Therefore, the Board vacancies are Secretary and Events & Fundraising Director. Our bylaws state that we must have a Secretary, but Events & Fundraising Director could go unfilled in favour of another Director At Large or another position that the Board approves.

We are seeking nominations for these two positions. All nominations must have a seconder, and both the nominator and seconder must be Bike to the Future members. You should nominate yourself if you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors.

Please submit nominations (or any questions) to biketothefuture@gmail.com . Receipt of the nomination will be confirmed. We have already received a nomination for Secretary.

Please click here.

Our fall forum on Thursday October 11th from 7:00 to 9:30 PM at the UofW Bulman Centre, From Imagination to Creation: The Future of Cycling in Winnipeg, was attended by 150 cyclists and a few politicians and media people. The speakers, video, maps, info tables, and discussion groups were a huge success. The ideas from the discussion groups will be compiled into a report and delivered by bike to The City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Coordinator, the Mayor and City Councilors, and the Government of Manitoba. The date, time, and location of the delivery will be announced on our e-mail list and posted here before the end of October.

In order to increase our lobbying voice and our ability to achieve the goals of the many cycling advocacy needs in Winnipeg, Bike to the Future is introducing our 2007 Membership Drive! As an advocacy-based organization, our voice is only as strong as our membership.

Running from now until the Bike to the Future Forum and AGM on Thursday October 11 at the U of Winnipeg Bulman Centre, any new member will be entered to win a $165 prize package donated by Mountain Equipment Coop. Any member who recruits a new member will also be entered to win* (put your name on the membership form you give your friend).

The MEC prize package includes: World Tour panniers, Fitzer multi-tool, Planet Bike combo light set, Air Zond horn, Pro Patch kit, MEC rear rack, MEC Bio-Cycle cleaner, MEC chain cleaner tool, and MEC wet lube.

MEC Urban Sustainability Grant

Bike to the Future is the current recipient of the MEC Urban Sustainability Grant (for every bag not used, 5 cents is donated to Bike to the Future). We are also being supported through their Community Partnership Program.

Ride your bike to City Hall on July 24 to show support for cycling infrastructure in Winnipeg!

Why: The Manitoba Medical Association will be holding a press conference at which the Mayor has committed to attend.

What: The Manitoba Medical Association will identify active transportation as a medical issue, thank the Mayor for recent progress on AT, present him with a bicycle helmet, and advise that they will be monitoring the City's progress on the Active Transportation Study implementation plan. The MMA may also present results of an Omnibus Survey they are conducting to see if Manitobans support more money being spent on projects that encourage individuals to use active transportation.

Purpose: To keep the Mayor and Council on their toes, knowing that Winnipeggers support cycling infrastructure and will be watching/expecting progress.

When: Tuesday, July 24, 1:00 p.m.

Where: City Hall (lobby or steps - weather dependent)

RSVP: Let us know if you're able to be there on your bike so we can ensure a good showing of cyclists - send a quick reply to jackie@resourceconservation.mb.ca

Thanks & hope to see you there!

What can make your cycling safer in Winnipeg?

Bike to the Future - Safety Jam this Saturday, June 2 at the Forks

Come with questions + Ride away with answers

Where will it be?: North Atrium of the Forks Market. (This is one of the glassed rooms off the east corridor overlooking the plaza.)

When will it happen?: 1:00 pm Saturday, June 2

What's happening?: Every rider makes their own decisions as to what they feel is safe in any given situation. Howard Skrypnyk, a CAN-Bike instructor, will give a 1/2 hour presentation of the 5 Key Principles that will help you make those decisions on the road. After the presentation, Howard and the audience will discuss some real-world situations and come up with some ideas for handling them safely.

After that what?: At about 2:00 pm, Gord's Cycle and Ski will lead a ride from the Oodena Circle (near the Children's Museum), followed by musical entertainment:

• 3:00 pm - Irish Ceili Band
• 3:20 pm - International folk dancers
• 3:40 pm - Irish set dancers
• 4:00 pm - Audience participation dancing