Bike For The Future – Southwest – Bridgwater

Bike Winnipeg and Safe Speeds Winnipeg presents: Bike for the Future – Building Community in Southwest Winnipeg 

Join our community as we advocate for safe spaces that enable our friends and families to commute sustainably. Active travel and public transportation must play a crucial role in our affordability crisis and our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 

When: September 9th, 10 am 

Where: Meeting at Albrin Park https://goo.gl/maps/vzyAvg9FanLtWtSU7 

Why? Because our climate is warming and owning a car is expensive!  

What is Bike for the Future?  

Bike for the Future was first held in August of 2021 in response to cuts to active transportation funding and the need to create safe speeds for active transportation users in our neighbourhoods.  

Our Bike for the Future ride is open to people of all ages and abilities.  The ride is marshalled by experienced riders and is planned along quiet streets and active transportation infrastructure.  We will be highlighting the network in the Waverly Heights, Bridgewater Forest, and Fairfield Park communities as well as the possibility for better connections between these communities. 

If you’re interested in advocating for better infrastructure in Southwest Winnipeg please come to the ride and introduce yourself or send us a message and we’ll see how we can help you get involved! 

We are advocating for the following: 

1) That the City of Winnipeg start making investments on par with need and non-budget public policy in our cycling and walking strategy. The United Nations has recommended that cities spend 20 percent of their transportation budget on active travel. – https://cyclingindustry.news/united-nations-call-for-at-least-20-of-transport-budgets-for-cycling-and-walking/   

2) The city and province need to work out how to lower the default speed limit to 30 km/h immediately.  City engineers can set higher speeds on collector and arterial routes where appropriate. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/speed-limit-reduce-winnipeg-30-km-1.5386329   

3) The city and province need to get a handle on bicycle theft by addressing the root causes of theft. There is an epidemic of bike thefts which discourage people from actively commuting. Providing better mental health supports, living wages and a universal basic income as well as installing more secure solutions for people on bikes could go a long way to reducing bike theft and encourage more people to actively commute. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/bike-winnipeg-theft-survey-1.6408326