Resident sees holes in summer bike route survey

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This article was published 01/12/2022 (755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg is being accused of steering responses to an enhanced summer bike route survey to those that favour making the routes permanent.

Ray Hignell, who opposes the Wolseley Avenue route near his home, said he recently filled out a city survey about the routes, which were originally known as “open streets.”

Hignell noted residents could note they were satisfied or dissatisfied. However, one question asked the person being surveyed to choose a statement “that best reflects your feelings about the future of this particular route” did not offer an option to outright reject it.

“They are intentionally skewing the information to get the results that they want… It’s terrible. Then they can honestly say, ‘Oh, nobody was against it,’” said Hignell.

The possible responses listed for that question for the Wolseley Avenue route included: I think the program should continue on this route as it did in 2022; I don’t think the program should continue on this route until it is possible to conduct a more in-depth study at this location; and unsure/I have no preference for this street.

Hignell deemed it unfair folks have no option to say they don’t want the route at all, at any point. “They are trying to make it look like the whole neighbourhood, or at least the vast majority of it, wants this.”

Hignell said he opposes the route over concerns it slows down drivers.

In their 2022 version, the enhanced summer bike routes aimed to make travel easier for cyclists by reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h from May to October. Additional traffic calming measures varied by route, including signs, barricades directing drivers off-route at key locations and/or turning restrictions.

Since council has directed each route in the 2022 program be added to the city’s pedestrian and cycling strategies, this means each will offer some type of bike infrastructure in the future, the city survey notes.

A city spokeswoman said the survey wasn’t meant to gauge whether the public wanted the routes or not.

“(It) was not designed to determine support for or against the routes. Its intent is to determine whether the routes served their purpose and what we could do to improve them in the future… We deliberately are not seeking input on the potential of outright discontinuing a route, as this is not an option at this time,” Julie Horbal Dooley said in an emailed statement.

However, council’s public works chairwoman said she’d like to ensure all direct answers are possible in such surveys, such as allowing folks to declare if they don’t want the routes at all, even after council has made a decision.

“On any survey we do, we really should try to be all-encompassing to people’s perspectives… Active transportation can be very polarizing so we need to recognize that and give people the (full) opportunity to be heard,” said Coun. Janice Lukes.

Meanwhile, a Winnipegger who supports the enhanced summer bike routes said she’s anxious for the rounds of public consultation to give way to permanently implementing the bike routes.

“For me, it shouldn’t really be up for debate. Of course, we have to do these things to make it easier to walk and bike in the city. Our climate action plan… (says) we need to have a more walkable, bikeable city,” said Emma Durand-Wood.

Durand-Wood said she considered the enhanced bike routes so far as a “baby step” toward a more thoroughly integrated active transportation network.

The city’s online survey on the 15 routes will accept responses until Dec. 8.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga