Letters, Jan. 7

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This article was published 07/01/2025 (306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Speed law limitations

Re: Motorized bike, scooter speed limits? (Jan. 6)

It was good to see the article by Nicole Buffie in the Jan. 6 Free Press, since it keeps discussion on this important issue active.

While using portions of the multi-use paths as both a pedestrian and a cyclist, I have had several close calls with e-vehicles and the occasional motorbike that were going, in my opinion, excessively fast. I typically cycle at around 20 km/h, so a 25 km/h limit seems reasonable for recreational use. However, I wonder if the 32 km/h maximum speed for e-vehicles is correct, since I observed one vehicle on the pathway alongside Abinojii Mikanah keeping up with traffic that was going around 65 km/h.

Hopefully some resolution on both speed and enforcement can be reached to ensure users are safe when using these paths for their enjoyment.

Peter Zahradka

Winnipeg

What a fascinating dichotomy. The city is looking at other jurisdictions for guidance on how to create safe active transportation paths with the possibility of reducing maximum speed levels for e-bikes and scooters. A number of other cities have indeed created maximum speed zones on their bike/pedestrian paths. Yet when it comes to implementing lower speed limits on city streets, city politicians are reluctant to do so with some mistakenly claiming that despite what other cities have done there is no evidence that lower speed limits enhance safety on our roads. This is decidedly false.

I have had the opportunity over the last few years to both drive and cycle in cities both in Canada and the United States — Hamilton, Calgary, and Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz. There are numerous roads in these cities with driving speed limits of 30 or 40 km/h. In Calgary the bike paths have speed limits of 20 km/h in many areas.

Finally, it would be wise to ban e-bikes and scooters totally from our active transportation network, all of which were developed to allow non-motorized bikes and pedestrians to share the same paths safely. I can attest to the fact that are too many e-bike and scooter users who are flagrantly exceeding safe speeds on the paths with total disregard for others on the paths.

Irwin Corobow

Winnipeg

It seems ridiculous to me to apply speed limits for electric bikes on pedestrian trails. Let’s be realistic, everyone knows such an ordinance would never be enforced. Is the Winnipeg Police Service prepared to start monitoring electric bikes on pedestrian trails? Of course not. So what is the point of setting a speed limit when there is not even a remote possibility of enforcement?

I live near the Harte Trail in Charleswood and I (and my properly leashed dog) have been startled and almost run over a few times by riders of these vehicles. They are capable of doing 40 km/hr and they often dart onto the Harte Trail from side trails so that you have no advance warning or opportunity to avoid them. Right at the start of the Harte Trail, at all street crossings, there is a sign that states “motorized vehicles prohibited.” It is my opinion that this should include electric bikes. Are they not motorized vehicles? And this ordinance is easily enforced. All an officer would have to do is spot an electric bike rider in order to provide them a ticket or at least a friendly reminder that they are not allowed on pedestrian trails.

This would protect pedestrians and permit them the carefree walk they deserve without any time or public expenditure required to establish a new speed limit law.

Just for once, could we do the sensible thing?

Steve Oetting

Winnipeg

Adjusting attitudes toward speed

Any attempt to curb speeding in Winnipeg by simply lowering speed limits is likely to fail.

Drivers already exceed speed limits by a great margin throughout the city, flouting existing speed limits. I routinely see vehicles travelling at least 30 km/h above the speed limit on Westwood Drive, and the number of accidents at our corner (Sansome Avenue) has jumped sharply. I believe this behaviour can be found throughout the city.

Carelessness and speeding are notable even in parking lots, while there is no recognition of the fragility of pedestrians by giving them right-of-way at uncontrolled crosswalks. Poor attitudes and human behaviour drive these phenomena. My feeling is that nothing will change until there is effective prevention through mobile photo radar at rotating locations throughout the city. This should be made a priority for 2025. The carnage does not need to continue.

Clifford Clark

Winnipeg

COVID’s consequences

Re: ‘Worst holiday season I’ve ever seen,’ doc says (Jan. 4)

It’s no secret that the lack of health-care staff in our acute-care hospitals has created a condition of ongoing crisis.

Yes, this situation “is not just a blip caused by seasonal flu, holiday get-togethers and winter hazards”; and yes, the aging population definitely contributes to health-care usage. But this article neglects to mention something crucial.

We are also now facing the long-term consequences of the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the shockingly lengthy list of sequelae that may occur months to years post-infection. These include damage to the immune system (which increases susceptibility to every type of viral, bacterial, and fungal infection, and is even suspected to fuel cancer growth), the neurological system (including earlier onset of dementia), the cardiovascular system (heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots), the endocrine system (increasing diabetes rates) and the skeletal system (causing damage to bone tissue in a subset of people).

And this is not, by any means, an exhaustive list.

We should ask why, in 2025, one encounters health-care providers who do not consistently wear N95 masks. We should also ask — loudly and persistently — what our political leaders intend to do to stop the population-wide health damage and clogged hospital hallways that COVID-19 is still causing on their watch.

Kristen Hardy

Winnipeg

Focus on violence reduction

Re: Manitoba’s machete law may prove of little use (Editorial, Jan. 4)

We need to stop focusing on the tools. Legislation around specific weapons like machetes may seem like a proactive solution but the reality is that it is a symbolic step.

Someone intent on causing harm will use whatever is available — be it a kitchen knife, a screwdriver or even a piece of broken glass. Most weapons are weapons of opportunity. If an offender can’t get a machete they might use a hammer. The key to reducing violence is addressing the underlying causes: poverty, mental health issues, substance abuse, gang activity, and social isolation.

Rather than focusing solely on the weapon being used, we need to invest in community programs, mental health services and early intervention strategies to address the root causes of violence. This requires the investment of real money and a real plan with measurable outcomes.

Programs that promote violence reduction would be far more effective than targeting specific weapons, especially those that are rarely used in crimes.

Marc Robichaud

Winnipeg