On the sunny day of Aug. 16, the Northeast Local Bike Group (NE LBG) held a group ride through various parts of the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward. Just under 20 people, including three Elmwood-East Kildonan City Council by-election candidates, showed up to the ride.
The ride, starting just outside the Elmwood-East Kildonan Active Living Centre, covered large swaths of the ward. This included Poplar Avenue, Riverton Avenue, the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, Herbert Avenue, McCalman Avenue, Fleming Avenue, and Harbison Avenue among other streets and paths.
Council candidates Abel Josè Gutierrez, Emma Durand-Wood, and Zekaria Selahadin participated in the ride. Fellow by-election candidate Kyle Roche attempted to participate, but was unable to make the rendezvous point before the ride commenced.
Photo by Dylon Martin
From left: Northeast Local Bike Group chair Adam Johnston, Zekaria Selahadin, Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe, Abel Josè Gutierrez, and Emma Durand-Wood at an Aug. 16 group ride organized by the NE LBG.
“I found the ride quite interesting. Got to see a couple places I don’t normally get to see driving in a car. It’s good to see what (bike riders) see,” Gutierrez said.
Elmwood resident and NE LBG chair Adam Johnston noted that it was important to have candidates out on the ride.
“I’m very happy that they (showed up) and very appreciative that they learned a lot about our community, where the positives of the active transportation network within Elmwood are and the challenges that need to be addressed,” Johnston added.
Gaps the LBG chair identified included intersections and crossings along the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, including at Talbot Avenue, and incorporation of the area around Beach and Manhattan Avenue into the active transportation network. Longer term, “the dream would be to have protected bike lanes on Munroe and Watt,” Johnston said.
Durand-Wood notes that “there’s really small things that could be done with temporary, low-cost infrastructure” to make biking more accessible in the ward. These include traffic curves, shortening intersections and making them easier to cross, and trimming brush around path entry points.
The NE LBG is a subcommittee of Bike Winnipeg that identifies and advocates on neighbourhood active transportation priorities in Elmwood, East Kildonan, Transcona, and North Kildonan. Working with Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), the LBG managed to get the City of Winnipeg to clear the active transportation path behind Elmwood High School in the winter.
The candidates found the ride a positive and informative experience.
“We should take away that biking is an important part of the community. It’s an integral part,” Selahadin emphasized.
The NE LBG meets monthly. Those interested in joining can email NorthEast.LBG@bikewinnipeg.ca for more details.
Dylon Martin
Elmwood community correspondent
Dylon Martin is a community correspondent for Elmwood.
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