Letters, Jan. 20

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/01/2024 (971 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thoughts on the bridge

I write to you about a concern I have with the closure of Arlington Street Bridge. We are all aware of the conversation about its closure and final result. I have a number of concerns about this process that point out how discrimination and class-ism work in our city, Winnipeg. First of all, the council was very concerned about the closure and the significant impact to people living in the north end. After that discussion, the city chose to close the bridge, cut off a potential walkway, and offer no other option to the people there. So now this population has to increase efforts to get around while offering no other means to them, other than what already exists.

The issue is defined as risk management for the city. The city engineer was in touch with me explaining why and how the bridge is unsafe. He stated that they are looking at options to address the problem. So, it’s not unsafe to the point of collapse (because if it was at that point, the bridge would have to be removed immediately), otherwise the risk to CN infrastructure would be high. Should something happen, the city would be liable.

The point here is that there is a risk of collapse with regular vehicle traffic. There is no danger to someone who is walking on the bridge. This should be obvious, since the average weight for a human is 200 pounds, as opposed to 2,500 pouds for a car, a person can walk across the bridge with far less risk than a vehicle. Yet, because the engineers have raised a safety issue, the council makes a decision — the bridge is closed completely, and the conversation ends.

Now people who are on foot have to walk an additional kilometre and a half just to get to another bridge. People who live on the Logan side of the tracks get much more support due to increased bus traffic. On the Dufferin side, little is being done. This is another example of those who are in a place of privilege making a decision based on the overarching reason of ‘risk.’

There are so many other options available to the city that could be done to protect against harm and these are not being talked about, which confirms the very point with which I started. If this was happening in the south end of the city, there would be such an outcry that the city would be forced to offer mitigating options.

Some possible solutions can be: the addition of public transit dedicated to this part of the city running on the north side of the track so the people who have to walk don’t freeze their feet while navigating a much longer distance; they could offer that the bridge can be opened during peak hours for people on foot.

When discussions around safety are raised before the privileged in society, the problem is defined according to perspectives coming from this group, and then everyone else is forced to comply to the standards set by them.

What is not understood is that hazard changes depending on one’s life circumstances. If someone is poor, they have far fewer options available to them. If they have to walk in freezing temperatures, distance will always dictate their choices. If someone can get to their destination in 500 steps or 5,000 steps, their choices are limited because they are on foot. In this case, one option is walking across CN property, and the other is sticking to the street. So now they have the choice of freezing with the 5,000 steps or risk getting hit by a train by opting for the shorter route.

Now tell me, which option is safer? Being in a place of privilege, I can drive, hire a taxi or Uber, order my stuff in, arrange for extra pickups, etc. If I was poor, those options would not be available to me. The only way that we can achieve equal opportunity is by ensuring that all people are afforded the same level of safety.

From the city’s perspective, they have addressed the risk management issue for infrastructure, yet exacerbated the safety issues for the people in that area. No one at City Hall is talking about options for those hugely impacted. Every politician knows that if they do not stand up for the people in their area, they will hear about it… except in poor areas. The choices instead seem to be: “Keep them focused on survival; force them to exert more effort to achieve the minimal amount safety (which is already available to those living on the other side of the tracks).” Then, when the next tragedy happens, we will see a whole lot of hand-wringing at the outcome. Will change come even then?

I know that we can do much better than this, and it requires that those in places of power take steps to understand and see the disparity within Winnipeg. We need to do more to make this city safer for everyone — not just the chosen few. The problems we are creating by our choices continue to highlight the inequality between the rich and the poor.

Brent Neumann

Winnipeg

Predicting the weather

Re: Jets back in the win column (Jan. 17)

Here is the NHL weather forecast for the Greater Winnipeg area:

Mainly Vilardi with the chance of cold Perfetti-like snow showers. The persistent ‘El Nino Niederreiter’ phenomenon will linger, Iafalloed by unusually strong highs and Lowrys. A powerful coastal outflow, teamed with several Alberta ‘Clippers’ may produce blustery game conditions, causing hats to blow onto the ice.

Bells could ring due to the power of Schmidt hitting a fan. Barron ice-coverage, assisted by El Nino’s overall net-effect, will bring a Bowness of clear skies with unlimited Vezinability that will only cease when Hellebuyck freezes over the crease.

Don Warkentin

Winnipeg

Car’s running fine

Re: Performance review (Letters, Jan. 19)

Thank you for asking about EV performance in winter in Winnipeg because I’m happy to share a positive experience with you.

You mentioned in your letter that recently some people in the U.S. have complained that EVs are not as efficient in the winter as they are in the summer. Some people complain that EVs don’t drive as far as fossil fuel burners (FFBs). Some people complain that EVs are more expensive than FFBs. Some people complain that EVs can’t do everything that an FFB can do. Some people will complain about anything.

Our family’s EV (Chevy Bolt) drives me to and from work daily and shuttles my three very busy children around to their activities. This is the fifth winter it has done this for us and we couldn’t be happier with the performance.

This EV doesn’t use coal-burned electricity. It never waits in line at charging stations (or gas stations). It is quiet, easy to drive, reliable and doesn’t pour noxious gases into our environment. When it’s really cold, we plug in nightly into a 120V plug (outside) at a cost that is so slight it is probably less than what my neighbors use to plug in their cars’ block heaters.

It has a range of 250 kms in the winter, less than the 450 kms during warmer weather. Funny thing is, as busy as we are, we don’t find ourselves driving 250 kms daily. If we did, we would have to find a way to charge more frequently, but isn’t that a minor inconvenience for helping to save the planet?

Jake Giesbrecht

Winnipeg