You may have notice I haven’t posted much lately with just a few posts in the last month or so. Well that’s because I created a Facebook page called “Winnipeg Sidewalks Need Attention” two months ago and have been promoting my page ever since. I just have been thinking of how to schedule it: my thinking is do a blog post once or twice a week and Facebook post 4 to 6 posts a week. What do you, the readers think? Ultimately I want this blog to become something big so that’s why I decided to create “Winnipeg Sidewalk Need Attention” to bring in more people to wpgsidewalksneedattention.wordpress.com. My dream is to make this into a non-profit organization someday in the future but there’s only so much one blogger can do, For now I’m going to my best to spread my voice and other peoples voices of our concerns of sidewalks in the City of Winnipeg through this blog I started last June and it’s new Facebook page that started February 8th . You may wonder how I know so much about sidewalks? To begin with lets start with when growing up as a kid I became more aware of the importance of sidewalks because of becoming more and more depended of the use of a wheelchair. First it was using a scooter for long distances, and then not too long after that I was in a power wheelchair ever since. Continue reading
Topics
Narrow Sidewalk
Today i’m writing about narrow sidewalks. When it comes to the width of sidewalks it should be wide enough for at least one wheelchair and some but did you know the standard width is much wider than that. The standard width range is 1.5 to 1.8 meters.
“The City’s Universal Design Standards state that sidewalks should be a minimum width of 1.5 metres. Today, 93% of sidewalks in Winnipeg are at least 1.5 metres (or more) in width, however, approximately 7% of sidewalks (or 175 linear kilometres) are narrower than the 1.5 metre requirement. Most of these narrow sidewalks are located in Winnipeg’s older neighbourhoods“ – City of Winnipeg Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies 2014
Areas that I came across when traveling in my wheelchair:
Archibald Street by Tim Hortons – Pretty much had to go through the drive through to get around.
Archibald Street by Tim Hortons – Pretty much had to go through the drive through to get around
St. Mary’s Rd at Fifth Ave by Guay Park – Felt way too close for my comfort
St. Mary’s Rd at Enfield Crescent by Nelson McIntyre Collegiate – So close my foot rest was over hanging on the road when turning
Although some of this sidewalks are at the standard width but in some cases that’s not enough when the sidewalk is right beside the road like on St. Mary’s with vehicles zooming by at 60 km/h can be scary. Another thing is some sidewalks have bushes or trees that make a normal sidewalk width less then half the width.
St. Mary’s Road by Mager Dr
Story of Winter Troubles
Although spring is on it’s way and we didn’t get much snow this year but with just 20 centimetres of snow still creates problems for sidewalks. Winnipeg does get sidewalks cleared with-in 36 hours of each snowfall of 5 centimetres or more. I don’t believe that’s soon enough for people who need to get places like appointments or school even.
From section C of the Snow Clearing Policy on the City of Winnipeg website:
“Sidewalks on Priority I & II streets shall normally be maintained to a compacted snow surface. Plowing shall commence when an inspection, following a 5 cm snowfall accumulation or equivalent local drifting conditions, indicates a necessity for a clearing operation. The snow plowing operations shall be completed within thirty-six hours following the end of an average storm“
One time during high school I had to write my exam for one of my classes and my family had to shovel half a block of city sidewalk all the way to where the school bus picks me up. Since it snowed a lot that year the city pushed snow from the street back on to the sidewalk just before going to school.
Last winter was much worse… I was stuck inside for 4 months because of to much snow to deal with as well the record cold winter.
This year the only thing I have to complain is when they plowed the side streets, they pushed snow on Priority I & II sidewalks so that means people wheelchairs have to wait up to 36 hours before getting around anywhere
Snow covering sidewalk
Unfortunately winters are sometimes hard to deal with but things can be done differently to make it easier for pedestrians, Made it through this winter but next winter is another story.
Crosswalk Visibility
When going for a walk to work or school or just for enjoyment, chances are you’ll need a place to cross the street or road. Most likely you will pick a spot where drivers will see you the best like a crosswalk or intersection where is safe. Intersections may not be close enough to where you have to go so you cross at a crosswalk ( if one is their) but not all crosswalks are safe. When it comes to good crosswalk visibility, it should be well indicated with signage and painted lines. Crosswalks with not so good visibility doesn’t have any of the indicators. Below are some of the crosswalks i’ve crossed over the years, some are not so good and some are good…
Crosswalks with good visibility:
(Dakota St is the winner here)
Meadowbrook Rd at Lakewood Blvd
Dakota St at Jonathan Toews Community Centre
Meadowood Dr at Victor H L Wyatt School
Crosswalks with not so good visibility:
(Crosswalks I believe should be upgraded)
Royal Salinger Rd at Pebble Beach Rd
Farnham Rd at Beaverhill Blvd
Knightsbridge Dr at Meadowood Dr
Tyrone Bay at St Michael Rd
Jubilee Ave is a great example of a crosswalk with high visibility because of the wide strips like on the Beatles cover with a controlled flashing light system. This makes it very safe for pedestrians but there is a hidden unsafe factor for people who can’t reach or press the button. For instance when I cross at one of these crosswalks I can’t push the button so when I do try to cross I have to wait a longer time because drivers are expecting the lights to go on and not really watching for someone to cross. Luckily lots of people cross here so chances are I can just cross at the same time. If they had lower button I could just use my foot rest or part of my power wheelchair. One time on St. Mary’s Rd I was trying to cross at a controlled crosswalk and someone stopped for me so I’m thankful for that. Also I sometimes just wait 5 or 10 mins for someone that is also crossing but that doesn’t always work.
Jubilee Ave at Bridge Drive-in ( my favourite ice cream shop )
Crosswalks should be a safe and comfortable places to cross the roadway or street.
Related Topic: “Good use for sidewalks”
“I have been following the saga of how to make cycling in this city safer for bicycles, cars, and pedestrians, and to me, the solution could be simple. Hundreds of miles of sidewalks in Winnipeg are grossly underused, particularly in residential areas, and which we all pay for with our tax dollars, even if we don’t use them. I do use them when I ride my bike.”
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/good-use-for-sidewalks-263591311.html
What do you think, should pedestrians share sidewalks with bicycles? I’ll let you decide that well I give you an insight of my opinion of pedestrians and cyclists sharing the sidewalk. I like to think of myself as a cyclists and pedestrian at the same, not just because we all feel safer when separated from cars but because I face similar challenges of both party’s. I have to lookout for bikes and yield to pedestrians when driving my wheelchair and don’t mind if people ride on the sidewalk. As long as we are watching out for each other and not going to fast when passing by others. I know it’s illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk, but why is that? I would think it would be ok as long as your not riding badly and besides if more people are using the sidewalks more often the more people notice the conditions of sidewalks & crosswalks!
Winnipeg's Sidewalks & Crosswalks 