Bike Winnipeg has told Manitoba Government budget consultations to set aside the image of bicycles as toys for leisure, and think of them as tools for building a sustainable economy.
We said:
- Spending on more and better roads is a vicious circle that leads to more cars on those roads, more miles driven, and more demand expensive improvements.
- Reliance on cars & trucks for personal transport is unhealthy; driving up health costs by some 20 cents per kilometer driven.
- Our survey showed that 45% of Winnipeggers would cycle daily or a few times a week if conditions were safer, and 47% of Winnipeggers thought there should be more protected bike lanes downtown.
- The city is delaying many bike lane projects for lack of money.
- The Province should cost-share more AT projects, and leverage federal green infrastructure money.
- Creating an environment where families can own one less vehicle each would eliminate a huge drain on their budgets, municipal budgets, and the provincial budget.
See full letter