Letters, June 15

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/06/2023 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rethink this city

Re: Congested roads and the economy (Think Tank, June 14)

Michel Durand-Wood’s analysis of the faulty economic reasoning used by supporters of expanding Kenaston is bang on. The city’s own traffic projections show how futile laying more pavement is in reducing driving times.

And yet there is a legitimate problem here. More and more people are choosing to live in the suburbs. It’s their right to do so. It’s their preferred lifestyle. The homes are newer and bigger. There’s less poverty and crime. Less noise. And the roads are in better condition.

On the downside, there are few jobs in the suburbs, which forces families to own multiple cars so mom, pop and the kids can each drive to their respective jobs or schools. We can’t demand they all carpool, and public transit is horrible unless one likes spending up to two hours in a cramped bus each morning and afternoon. So, there will be more and more cars on the roads every year, with corresponding increased congestion.

It’s obvious we’ve created an unsustainable city. We can’t build more roads forever. We can’t even afford to fix the ones we have. And just wait until all those roads in the suburbs need repairing.

It’s time to rethink our city. Time to figure out how to make the downtown safe and attractive to families so they don’t feel compelled to move to the burbs. Time to figure out how to have more jobs where people live so they don’t have to travel vast distances. Time to figure out how to build apartment complexes that one can call a home — something more than a cramped box where one puts in time saving for a home in the burbs. Time to give families viable public alternatives to purchasing two, three or more cars — especially important as the average price of a new car in Canada is now about $45,000 according to ScotiaBank.

We don’t live in the 1950s anymore. Why should we design our cities as if we do?

Rachel Morgan

Winnipeg

Congrats to the Knights

Congratulations to the Vegas Golden Knights on their 2023 Stanley Cup victory,

The three Manitoba-born players and Manitoba-structured management team deserve credit for their efforts. However, a question of the NHL hierarchy — does a winning team, like Tampa Bay Lightning and now Vegas, have to be over the cap space to have an opportunity to “hoist the cup” or is that an anomaly?

Wayne Ruff

Winnipeg

Questions on stolen bike recovery

Re: City moves forward on revamped bike registry report (June 13)

In response to Mayor Scott Gillingham’s argument regarding improved recovery rates of stolen bikes, I have a couple questions for the mayor namely:

How many Winnipeg city police officers are currently assigned to community policing?

What are the consequences for a thief convicted of bike theft?

What are the consequences of a purchaser knowingly buying a stolen bike?

Who gets the proceeds of stolen bikes sold at public auction?

Serial numbers are easily filed out of existence; bicycle locks are easily broken by thieves. I just lost two e-bikes stolen out of a locked garage, valued at $5,000 each. That is hardly petty theft. One was recovered by its owner who had a hidden air tag attached to his bike (with the help of the police). Within minutes of receiving the information that his bike was stolen, my friend called up the air tag on his iPhone and got an instant response, displaying the exact address of the location of his bike. The police used the iPhone to verify the address and found a shed full of stolen bikes.

The mayor’s suggestion of free bike registration may have some merit, but it’s largely window dressing. The mayor fails to understand that we have a pandemic of bike thefts and it’s time to assign some serious resources to the issue.

The province stopped car thefts with free anti-theft devices. They stopped liquor thefts by implementing an aggressive anti-theft measure. There are lots of ways to curb the thefts and improve recovery.

Get with it.

Robert K. Froese

Winnipeg

My bike was stolen last spring and I thought it was gone for good.

In September I received a phone call and was told my bike had been recovered and to come and pick it up.

When I got there I asked how this was possible. I forgot that I had registered my bike a few years ago. They had my address and phone number.

I’ve registered all our bikes now — it’s worthwhile.

Paul Forest

Winnipeg

Importance of a test

Re: Avoiding PSA test wasn’t worth it (Think Tank, June 13)

Let me begin by wishing the author, Deveryn Ross, the very best in his battle with prostate cancer.

I say this having experienced this cancer, seven years ago, at the age of 64. I was fortunate to have a family doctor who monitored my PSA, yearly. He noticed that there was a slowly rising level and consequently, began checking it every three months. It continued to rise.

By the way, I had no family history of this disease. I was sent for a biopsy and was diagnosed with a high grade of cancer, a Gleason score of nine out of 10. I was scheduled for a radical prostatectomy which was undertaken on 30 June 2016. I have been cancer free since the surgery.

Prior to retiring from chiropractic practice last August after 44 years, I encouraged my male patients over the age of 40, to ensure that their yearly physical included the PSA test. While not totally accurate, it is the best test that we have at the moment.

My message to them was loud and clear… “Just remember, the life you save may be your own!”

Brian E. Lecker D.C., C.A.F.C.I. (Ret’d.)

Winnipeg

Notes on e-bikes

Re: Slow down speedy cycles (Letters, June 13)

As a senior, I have used my e-bike to ride most of the bike trails and routes in St. James-Assiniboia and Charleswood and, like Mr. Oetting, I agree that cyclists who speed by people, whether walking or biking, without verbal or audible signals are careless, inconsiderate individuals who can cause injury to others.

I must disagree with him on a couple points, one is the speed of e-bikes. In order to be sold as an e-bike in Canada, the bike cannot exceed 32 km/h, not 45 km/h as he stated, and cannot have a motor larger than 500 watts. If the bike exceeds these restrictions, then it is considered an electric vehicle and cannot go onto the Hart Trail or other trails, legally.

The other point I would like to contest is his comment that the majority of speeding bikes are e-bikes. From observation, I will say about 90 per cent of bikes in Winnipeg are standard bikes, leaving 10 per cent e-bikes. Of that 10 per cent, about 90 per cent are owned by seniors, leaving 10 per cent owned by younger adults. According to his logic, one per cent of all bikes in Winnipeg are causing 90 per cent of the problems. If the bikes are going as fast as he claims, how can he determine what type of bike it is?

Bikes are like cars, if the driver/rider is irresponsible it doesn’t matter what type they are driving/riding they will put others at risk. Look at the bike’s rider as the problem, not the type of bike that is being ridden.

Arthur Matthews

Winnipeg