Misogyny /  by Grey Gallinger

Matt Gemmell:

Ultimately, it comes down to each of us opening our eyes and becoming aware of the sea of subtly sexist constructs and attitudes in which we exist, and of our own contributions to that negative state of affairs. We must rein in any casual sexism we might be guilty of, and we must do whatever we can to repair the damage by ensuring that women are enfranchised, included, and at liberty to determine their own roles.

I find it endlessly disturbing how often I hear casual sexist remarks that go uncontested, particularly when said remarks are being made by women. I couldn't agree more with Matt and commend him for articulating misogyny to an audience that is unlikely to hear about it from anyone else without immediately dismissing them.

Osborne Bridge rehabilitation and bike lanes /  by Grey Gallinger

Osborne Bridge Approved Roadview lg

As many of you already know the Osborne Bridge is approximately halfway in to a rehabilitation project. The plans illustrate wider sidewalks, three Southbound lanes, two Northbound lanes, and bike lanes going both directions. When complete the City boasts that:

A team of artists was hired to work side-by-side with the engineers and landscape architects on the design team to provide a bridge that truly fits with the two very distinct neighbourhoods on the north and south side of the Assiniboine River. Special handrails with accent lighting together with a patterned sidewalk on the bridge will celebrate local neighbourhood history, locations, events, and other local heritage elements.

The plans do not however make mention of how the new design will accommodate cyclists, other than the included illustration of painted on bicycle lanes.

Personally I'm skeptical that the new design will make travel across the bridge any safer for cyclists. Painted on bike lanes can easily be ignored, and do not offer any real protection from motorists, particularly when we already have diamond lanes for buses and cyclists that are often abused by impatient motorists who are unwilling to wait in rush hour traffic.

I would have liked to see dedicated bike lanes, preferably on the same side of the barrier as the sidewalks to create a real division between faster traffic.

It seems to me as though Winnipeg squandered an opportunity to present a new generation of bike lanes and set the standard for other areas. As it stands there is a lack of consistency in bike lane design across the City. Even in the Downtown core there are multiple bike lanes. Assiniboine Ave. has it's dedicated bike path, Fort and Garry St. have painted bike lanes, and Portage / Broadway have no accommodations for cyclists at all.

Cities designed to be relevant in the future must start designing infrastructure with equal consideration for all types of traffic and stop treating pedestrians and cyclists as an afterthought.

Waterparks for everyone! /  by Grey Gallinger

Tuesday the City Council voted in favour of building a waterpark at the site just north of the Forks. Now word on the street (or Global News) is that there are already plans to construct a reportedly larger waterpark near the future IKEA. If this is true I hope it means the end of the downtown waterpark. Hopefully a developer will come forth with plans to build a waterpark near IKEA with their own money.

Honestly I don’t see the appeal of a waterpark in Downtown Winnipeg. Do you really want to strip down to a swimsuit and splash around with a bunch of rowdy kids when it’s 40 below? Who is the target waterpark patron? I doubt the Downtown residents will show much interest, certainly not the Waterfront Dr. condo crowd. Business would rely on families from the suburbs, families visiting from rural Manitoba, and out of province tourists.

The City’s justification for its 7 million dollar investment is the $700,000 worth of free admission tickets it will be allowed to distribute to lower income families. Is that really the type of social program Winnipeg needs? Will a waterpark as it has been promised be "a tremendous benefit to the city"?

I can’t help but draw comparisons between Winnipeg and the cartoon absurdities of Springfield. As Gregory Taylor has suggested, perhaps Lyle Lanley has moved on from monorail development and is now in business with Canalta and the waterpark lobby.

What an absurd city we live in.

My hope is that the IKEA waterpark will prove to be a better plan and require no (or less) government subsidization, which will free up the proposed site for a hopefully more suitable project, and the 7 million dollars for a more worthy cause.

Accountable to no one. /  by Grey Gallinger

Bob Rae, via CBC News:

"Any company that made a mistake of this kind, that misled its shareholders, that misled the public, that put out a misleading prospectus, that published false figures and false documents to the tune of billions of dollars, any company that did those things would fire the CEO and replace the board of directors,"

That may be, but the Prime Minister is not a CEO and with a majority government he is much less accountable than his counterparts in the private sector.

Electoral fraud, mismanagement of Department of Defence funds, rigging the system to bypass environmental regulations in order to expedite controversial pipeline construction, what else can "the Harper Government" get away with?

Based on how little the general population seems to care, I'm willing to bet it could get a whole lot worse.