To provide more space for Winnipeggers to get outside and more safely walk and cycle while respecting physical distancing this summer, the City of Winnipeg opened a total of 10 streets from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week, while restricting vehicles to one block on those specific routes. At this time, the City plans to end Open Streets on September 7th. But they want to hear what you think.
How was your experience with the Open Streets? Would you like to see an extension or see more of them? Or perhaps a different schedule? Now is the time to share your thoughts as the City’s survey also closes September 7th.
Green Action Centre thinks the 2020 Open Streets program has been a positive step forward during the pandemic and an improvement that should continue, especially with more people driving now due to COVID-19. We loved seeing the tons of people on the Open Streets and the number of families with little ones enjoying the chance to bike or pedal their scooter down a quiet street. Let’s keep Open Streets going!
In fact, we’d like to see Open Streets:
- in more neighbourhoods, especially in those where residents have to continue to go to work in spite of COVID-19;
- more connected to each other and/or the AT network; and
- include more routes that can be used for commuting.
I do not like the current policy of open streets seven days a week…we are supposed to be concerned about the environment but not all of us are fortunate enough to live within walking distance of a city park and in order to get there we like to take the most direct route which in some cases means driving through CLOSED open streets…my tax dollar paid for the construction, paving and maintenance of all streets and yet I am not permitted to use them but what would happen if I refused to pay my portion of street maintenance taxes…the concept of open streets is a terrible idea…what road safety lessons is it teaching youngsters who take to the streets on their bicycles or scooters or skateboards…they don’t have to obey rules of the road and as a result develop bad habits like riding bikes at will, disregarding stop signs because the roads are closed to vehicular traffic…I hear excuses that there isn’t room for social distancing when people have to stay on sidewalks…what about the 99.9 per cent of the city where streets are shared between motorists and cyclists and people HAVE TO WALK ON SIDEWALKS…we have to manage to get past other pedestrians with whom we must share sidewalks…we have members of city council who are using the social distancing argument as a reason to extend the period of time for keeping “open streets” CLOSED to motorists and they are making those arguments out of pure personal greed…
Hi Jim – thanks for sharing your thoughts. It seems you have two points of concern: 1) that it’s not environmentally sound to have drivers go a block or two around an Open Street to reach a city park, and 2) that it’s financially unfair to designate certain roads as Open Streets due to a shared tax bill for users.
For context, the City of Winnipeg, as of 2018, has just over 7,300 km of road space and most of it prioritizes the convenience of personal vehicle traffic ahead the comfort and safety of those travelling on foot, by bike and via public transportation. This summer, the Open Street project limited personal vehicle traffic to one block (vehicles were still permitted), but the streets gave those walking, biking and rolling priority. The Open Streets totaled 23.2 km, or 0.31% of the road network. We’re waiting for the numbers from the City of Winnipeg’s counts, but by these measurements it would be difficult to argue that the Open Streets created an environmental burden. I can understand that, as one respondent to the Open Streets project stated in June, it “wasn’t always convenient” as a driver in the area, I would point out that on the over 7,300 km of road infrastructure in our city, for the vast majority of that road space, it certainly isn’t convenient to walk, bus and bike. I think the 0.31% of space given to the Open Streets project was a very small percentage for such a large amount of children, seniors and families who had a safe space to recreate during the pandemic.
On that note, the argument that drivers are being given a financial shift by not having primacy of place on the Open Streets is, again, a hard to make. Our roads and their maintenance are paid by property taxes, regardless of how the household travels. Currently Winnipeg has a 78% driving mode share and, to meet our Climate Action goals, the City of Winnipeg has stated it must have only 50% of Winnipeggers traveling via personal vehicle by 2030. And yet, by reviewing our city budget each year, a vast majority of our spending (on new infrastructure and maintenance) is given to projects that benefit those who drive primarily, with some projects here and there for transit, pedestrians and bikes. If you break the numbers down further, into the cost of a trip via various modes, we see how much the City of Winnipeg is subsidizing trips via personal vehicle, while those who walk, bike and bus are paying more than their fare share.
I’m not a city Councillor, but I know the Councillors who have been working hard to make their neighbourhood streets safer and more accessible for their citizens who walk, bike and bus face tremendous push-back. They do not financially gain in any way.
The City of Winnipeg has measured the use of these streets, and they have completed a survey calling for feedback from citizens. While we’ve heard from drivers that the Open Streets weren’t always convenient for them, we also heard from families whose children were able to improve their biking skills on a safer streets, seniors who were able to walk and talk with their neighbours during an otherwise lonely time, and teens who got to hang out with friends while walking and biking when all of their other activities were put on hold. At the end of the day, our city streets are public space, and they should always be evaluated to ensure the space is allocated fairly, and contributes to the City of Winnipeg being a healthy and happy city for everyone.