Curb extensions (or a widening of the boulevard), which narrow travel lanes, are a traffic calming technique used in residential areas.

Curb extensions improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists by:

-Reducing vehicle speeds

-Providing improved sight lines for cyclists by defining parking bays and preventing cars from parking too close to an intersection

-Reducing crossing distance for pedestrians

-Increasing pedestrian visibility

Curb extensions were designed on Fleet to be the same width as a parked car to allow for the above.

Cyclists ride approximately 1 meter off of parked cars / the parking lane, thus no weaving is required in the presence of a curb extension.

It is unfortunate that the attempts made to engage the community prior to construction, including Canada Post mail out to all Ward residents north of the CNR tracks, hand delivered letters to houses four in from the Bike Boulevards, numerous community paper ads, emails and three open houses was not successful in engaging the community.

I was shocked that no notification was also provided to the neighbourhood warning them about the upcoming construction. That was not acceptable and I twas able to at least get a commitment to put up signage along the routes providing some basic information and contact information.

Please help me communicate with you by signing up (www.orlikow.ca) for Community Connections bulletins that will be sent to you when issues or news occurs in your neighbourhood.

The City of Winnipeg is developing an active transportation bike boulevard on Grosvenor which entails implementing traffic calming measures and bike lanes to slow down vehicles and create a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

The width of the roadway is not being reduced, however with the addition of curb extensions at certain intersections the driver will perceive that the road is narrower. The effect will be a speed reduction for vehicles and a shorter distance for pedestrians to cross the road.

On-street parking will be removed from the north side of a section of Grosvenor (west of Cambridge) as it is underutilized the majority of the time; the street is wide enough east of Cambridge to accommodate lanes for parking, vehicles and cyclists.

The addition of a traffic calming circles on Grosvenor will also decrease vehicle speeds on Grosvenor, which should increase pedestrian safety. Traffic counts for this street indicate it is within the limit for fully functional traffic calming circles. Traffic calming circles, used at the proper frequency, can actually reduce the overall speed of the roadway by 10%.

Grosvenor is an important east-west connection for cyclists due to its continuity and the controlled crossings at major intersections. Adding bike lanes and traffic calming measures on to Grosvenor creates a safer cycling environment while still allowing full vehicle access to the street.

The Richardson International Airport, The City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba have various by-laws and processes to ensure that noise from planes landing and taking off is addressed.

If you are concerned about the amount of the noise caused by planes in your neighbourhood then please call the Winnipeg Airport Authority at 987-9403 or contact our office.

The only way to determine if a property is affected by a buffer zone is by calling 311.

There is no online capability for doing so.

While Kingsway is also a good route, it does not have a facilitated crossing at Harrow and is discontinuous at Harrow.

Its connection as an AT route to Wellington Crescent is also made difficult due to its proximity to Academy and queuing traffic at the lights there.

As well, part of the future plan for Grosvenor is to extend it westward to Lockwood across the old rail right-of-way by constructing a multi-use pathway.

The City of Winnipeg will cut the boulevard for those people that are unable to due to medical reasons.

There is an application and interview required to be eligible.

To apply for this service please contact 311 to have an application sent to you.

The Winnipeg Police Service has a web site that is one way that the Police Service uses to communicate with the public.

The web site has a lot of useful information such as recent break and enters and car thefts in your neighbourhood,Licence plates of possible stolen vehicles and valualble crime prevention information and tips.

Please visit the web page at www.winnipeg.ca/police

You can go to The City of Winnipeg's assessment website

www.winnipegassessment.com

You can enter into "self service" at the top menu bar and then hit "property search".

Once in you can type in your address.

After entering in the appropriate information you can see your 2009 value (based on 2003 reference year), and the 2010 value (based on April 1, 2008).

This info can also be mapped, and they can see the 2009 and 2010 values of other properties by hitting the "Value Map" box in this area.

This information will allow you to selectively determine by area how much property values have increased.

If the value has increased more then 70% it is likely you will be paying more property taxes even through the City of Winnipeg did not increase the mill rate.

Grosvenor – West Leg

Q: How does the Boulevard connect to Kenaston and has Kenaston pedestrian over-pass been accounted for?

A: The Grosvenor Bike Boulevard ends at Lockwood after crossing the former CN rail right-of-way by a 3.5 metre multi-use pathway. Via Lockwood, cyclists can cross Kenaston at the traffic signals at either Tuxedo or Lockston.

Tuxedo currently has a cyclist activated button to give cyclists a priority green light ahead of the traffic on Tuxedo on the west of Kenaston.

As part of the Route 90 widening project a bike path has been proposed for two-way cyclist travel on the west boulevard of Kenaston.

The Grosvenor Bike Boulevard via Tuxedo and Lockston would connect to this future bike path. In addition Tuxedo to the west of Kenaston is currently on the City of Winnipeg Active Transportation (AT) Network map as a future AT route that would connect to Grosvenor.

The pedestrian overpass proposed as part of the Route 90 widening project at Lockston then Grosvenor would link to this via Lockwood.

Q: Has the parking for Westworth United church been addressed?

A: The parking lane along the north side of Grosvenor is under-utilized the majority of the time. In order to provide for a safe bicycle corridor this space is required; it is recommended that parking be shifted to Beaverbrook and Lanark. Alternatives for this current proposal is as follows:

· End bike corridor at Lanark and revert to a shared roadway for cyclist traffic.

· Look at constructing bump-ins to accommodate Church patrons and park users. However, this would be a drastic measure as mature trees would have to be removed and property would have to be acquired. As well, with the construction of bump-ins for parking, the sidewalk would have to be reconstructed further north.

Q: Is it wise to remove four way stops?

A: Yes, The addition of a traffic calming circle on Grosvenor will decrease vehicle speeds on Grosvenor, which should increase pedestrian safety.

Traffic Calming Circles are known to calm traffic. Used at the proper frequency they can actually reduce the overall speed of the roadway by 10%. They can be used at intersections that do not have existing stop signs or at intersections with two-way or four-way stops. When implemented they reduce conflict points and decrease collision rates by up to 70%. They have been used successfully in the United Kingdom since the mid 1970s and have caught on quite dramatically in North America in the last ten to fifteen years. Their purpose along bike corridor is to provide cyclist route continuity and to also to calm and potentially reduce traffic.

Q: Is there a concern about removing the four way stop at the Waverley and Grosvenor intersection due to high volume of traffic.

A: No, The traffic count for this intersection does not exceed 1000 vehicles per hour therefore the intersection is within the limit for a fully functional traffic calming circle.

Q: Is the street measurements accurate for the West Grosvenor?

A: Yes the street width has been confirmed by survey and is wide enough for 2 bike lanes and 2 travel lanes (with parking removed).

Grosvenor – East Leg

Q: Is road wide enough? (Cambridge to Stafford).

A: The roadway is approximately 11 meters, a “road” diet is implemented which will enhance the traffic calming of the street with narrow lanes for both the cyclist as well as the vehicles. A parking lane will be provided in this section.

Q: What options are available for a one lane bike boulevard from Lilac to Stafford? (The citizen proposal was: link the Boulevard to Wellington down Dorchester St. from Wellington to Lilac then down Lilac to Grosvenor. Then remove parking on one side down to Stafford where it connects to the west leg)

A: A one lane bike boulevard from Lilac to Stafford is not an option since parking is required on both sides of the street at Stafford and Grosvenor (for the businesses). There is a proposal to have permanent parking on Grosvenor (on both sides of Grosvenor from Stafford to Wellington) with curb extensions to calm traffic as well as have a wider travel lane for the vehicles and cyclists to share, this is still under investigation.

Fleet – West Leg

Q: Where does it connect to and can the $50 K from Active Transportation go to connect straight across and/or up old rail line to Juba park?

A: As part of this project the Fleet / Warsaw Bike Boulevard will end at Centennial. The City of Winnipeg Active Transportation Network map shows a future connection from here to Route 90 that the City would like to pursue in the future. Route 90 is also proposed to have a future bike path alongside it as part of the widening project. Unfortunately this connection cannot occur as part of this project due to budget restrictions, project timelines and property issues.

Q: Can a pedestrian bridge be build over the CPR tracks?

A: No, the construction of a bridge over the CPR would not be feasible as there is not enough property at the end of John Brebeuf to accommodate the structures’ descent to street level (to be accessible for cyclists and pedestrians with disabilities).

Q: How will snow plows deal with raised crosswalks?

A: The City of Winnipeg Public Works Maintenance is kept fully aware of all proposed changes on all active transportation routes. Every effort is made to ensure that any proposed changes to roadways such as traffic calming on bike boulevards would not impact snow clearing. The raised crosswalk would be very similar to speed humps that currently exist on several roads in the city.

Fleet – East Leg

Q: There is a lot of traffic going through the Nathaniel and Fleet intersection. Is there any plans to deal with this intersection?

A: Nathaniel and Fleet is a T-intersection with large trees in the boulevard, no treatment is proposed. The stop sign is for Nathaniel which allows the cyclists and pedestrians to get through the intersection safely on Fleet.

Q: Is there parking allowed on Fleet and Warsaw?

A: There is no plan to remove any parking on Fleet or Warsaw at this time.

Q: How are cars and bikes going to be separated from each other and to allow for bikers to safely turn onto Thurso?

A: The intersection of Fleet and Thurso is currently a four-way stop and this will not change. Bike and motor vehicle movements will remain the same with all users of the intersection taking their appropriate turn to travel straight through or to make a turn.

Q: Is there going to be any help for people getting across Harrow?

A: With the cross walk at Jessie and Harrow for the school as well as not enough boulevard width and mature trees, this crossing will not be aided.