Survey Aimed at Making City Walkable

Gina Sylvestre and her team at the University of Winnipeg are collecting information on the conditions of winter walkways in Winnipeg and they need your help.

You are invited to participate throughout this winter by completing a survey that asks you to assess your experiences as a pedestrian travelling about our city. You can report on your ability to traverse walkways and share your personal feats and struggles with sidewalk conditions.   You may do the survey several times and are encouraged to help your older family members complete the survey too.

“If you are having to drive your elderly parents more because the walking conditions are so poor, this is a good opportunity to give your parents a voice and for you to ask them ‘Were you able to get out today, what were the sidewalks like?” says Sylvestre, who holds a PhD and is an assistant professor in the geography department at the U of W.

You can do the survey with (your parents or older relatives) online or on paper to express their perceptions and capture their realities.

“The survey is about collecting data but also about raising awareness — what mobility means to other people. You and I might be able to get across the street but many seniors would not be able to” Sylvestre says.

“I would really like to see change. By making the world a better place for seniors we are making it better for everyone.

“In a winter city some people are shut in for half the winter because of conditions.

“I want to get to the point where the city understands how to do a better job. They need to have a policy that is separate from streets and specific to sidewalks.

“Currently policy for snow clearing is based on how much it snowed but they need to be looking at what’s the temperature now and what’s it going to go down to tonight,” Sylvestre continues.  “For example, -7 is an important temperature. That’s where ice starts to get hard and really slippery. That’s an example of when they need to start thinking about problems and ask ‘Should we be out sanding tonight?””

“My intent is really to make our cities more walkable,” Sylvestre says.

To access the online survey go to: geography.uwinnipeg.ca/winterwalk.htm and for a paper copy please call 204-982-1146

Canstar Community News – The Herald
By: Evan Comstock   Posted: 12/18/2015 10:56 AM

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