Speakers furious after city delays hearing from public on bike-safety measures

Dozens of delegates who signed up to speak on active transportation safety at City Hall Thursday were not heard, following a rare, last-minute vote to cancel their time.

About 30 people planned to weigh in on a delayed report on making bike travel safer on Wellington Crescent. Instead, their presentations were suddenly pre-empted by the public works committee decision.

“I’d like to suspend the rules to not hear any delegations today on that item because we’re laying it over. We’re going to be hearing all the details on July 3,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, the committee’s chairwoman, at the start of the meeting.

Lukes noted staff had asked for a one-month extension to return with a safety plan for this year.

The announcement was met with a few surprised laughs, at least one “boo” and some impolite language from people in the council chambers to were hoping to speak.

Committee members asked security officers to step in after someone yelled out “bulls—t!”

Couns. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski) joined Lukes to vote in favour of the change, while the committee’s third member, Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) was absent during the vote.

Linda van de Laar, a nurse who planned to speak, yelled out that she had taken a day off to be there.

Afterward, van de Laar said she isn’t able to return on July 3 because of work, and expressed concern the vote will set a precedent.

“I wish that our city councillors would be doing this job because they want to represent residents. It seems like they don’t…. They just silenced (us) and it isn’t even the first time that they’ve silenced delegations,” she said.

In March, council voted to reduce the time each public delegate can speak at hearings, committee meetings and council sessions to five minutes from 10, a move the city said would shorten meetings that sometimes start at 9:30 a.m. and drag on late into the night.

Those who lost their chance to speak Thursday have been pushing for changes to Wellington Crescent since cyclist Rob Jenner was killed in a crash with a speeding driver in the area on June 6 last year.

The group has called on council to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on Wellington from River Avenue to the western end of Academy Road, which was rejected last year.

Council instead ordered a staff report on options to make the streets safer for cyclists this year, which was first expected in April but has been delayed since that time.

Lukes said Thursday’s decision was not the first time a standing policy committee opted not to hear delegates, though she did not offer other examples.

She said delaying feedback to the next meeting makes sense, since a new proposal to make cycling safer isn’t available yet.

“I thought people would be wasting their time,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

The councillor said she’s received 35 to 40 emails and phone calls on the topic over the last few days, which included some “non-repeatable” comments, so feedback is still being heard.

“I’m disappointed in some of the things that have been said to me and to the committee members…. (The delegates are) disappointed that we don’t have a plan in place,” said Lukes.

She expects city staff will ultimately recommend creating a protected bike lane and reducing the street’s speed limit but stressed more time is needed for consultations.

Another councillor said she was left with questions after witnessing the vote.

“I’m going to listen to the rationale because I honestly couldn’t hear for the yelling, but, generally, when people take time off and the standing policy committee is there to hear, you hear them. I think it’s really important when people take time out for democracy to understand that that costs them time, it costs them money,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

In an email, city spokeswoman Julie Dooley said members of the public are welcome to speak to each report “when it actually appears on” a committee agenda.

“As the report itself was not being presented today, the committee moved to not hear from registered delegates. This is not unprecedented,” Dooley wrote in an email.

Committees that made similar decisions have typically done so verbally in the past, so staff can’t search for specific examples or provide the number of times the practice has previously taken place, the city later added.

An active transportation advocate who regularly speaks at city hall said this is the first time she’s been unable to speak due to such a vote.

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“It seems very heavy-handed, and it seems a bit aggressive towards the community who has been patiently waiting for this report…. (You) take the day off work, or you get leave from work, you get child care. It is a big step to come down,” said Mel Marginet, a member of the Green Action Centre’s sustainable transportation team.

Marginet said she’s concerned the decision could set a precedent.

“It is important for our democracy that people are allowed to come out and voice their support or opposition to things before city council,” she said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.