Norwood Flats is bordered by St. Mary’s Road on the east and ringed by Lyndale Drive which runs alongside the Red River, where there’s a park and newly built AT path. Continuing a pandemic-era policy, the City has imposed summer restrictions on traffic that divert vehicles through narrow residential streets with schools, buses, parked cars, and kids. Sounds safe, eh?
Because the Flats isn’t laid out in a grid, some people can’t get to their houses any other way, yet get threatened with tickets by police. Meanwhile, homeowners get harassed by cyclists who mistakenly think the Drive is reserved for their personal use.
6.05 – “I want the barricades gone,” says Sophie Hildebrandt, and she’s not alone. With 186 people already signed, the St. Boniface Facebook groups were chattering.
Marty Gold asks her about the reasons she started a petition, the effect of traffic detoured past schools, and the confusion the anti-car rules cause for delivery vehicles and even Post Office drivers to find addresses on backlane-style bays that only connect to Lyndale. It’s so complicated even Google Maps aren’t accurate.
14.00 – Hear how a police officer declined to write up a $200 ticket on Sophie and on another neighbour “because he could tell I had no other way to get to my house.” That’s what led her to start the petition.
“Even the cops who the city are employing to patrol the neighborhood and pull over only the locals who use this road, think it’s redundant. They don’t understand why they’re there.”
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17.45 Part 2- Sophie was urged by her parents to take action because “I’ve been complaining about this since the second it was put into place… it’s still actively making our lives harder.”
“Right after I got pulled over, I said yes. So I called my city councilor, sent him an email, and started a petition.”
She explains how there was no meaningful notice to residents that the 2 year bike path experiment was being carried forward, because even though she took the survey, she was never notified of the results. You’ll hear her reaction to the actual percentages.
21.45- Just like the situation described in our Sun column of July 21 City tries to pull a fast one with Transportation 2050 plan – city bureaucrats had again suspiciously fallen short of the bike lane audit standards to use plain language, and failed to attract public interest in the 3200 residents in Norwood Flats. That 9.8% response rate ensured there was just a sufficient measure of interest among “those most interested in active transportation” to tip the scales.
24.20 – Here are illustrations of the survey topics discussed with Sophie:
1) The City ads did not warn ‘the restrictions on your street may become permanent.’ Instead they pitched, “your experience will help shape the program’s future.”
2. Among respondents that are in the neighborhood, a clear majority were somewhat or very dissatisfied.
3. A clear majority of neighborhood residents wanted Lyndale Drive re-opened and a study done before a closure was considered.
No wonder the City bureaucrats didn’t tell people those results.
4. As we explain, first they suppressed the appeal of the survey to affected residents and property owners in Norwood Flats. Then, they included the overwhelming project support of 70 cyclists- mathematically tipped the scales against the will of the community.
32.00- Sophie tells of the intimidation of families using their cars from the other road users- then a discussion about the flawed public consultation. That’s how Norwood Flats got rooked- after a rigged process made them 2nd class citizens and let 53 Lyndale Drive bike riders dictate road access for 3200 residents.
34.00 – Continuing a theme we heard from other Lyndale Drive residents, Sophie describes how Allard did not reply to her multiple calls and emails. She mentions that his empty promises to deliver new recreation facilities to replace the Norwood Pool are a sticking point in the area.
36.00 – She urges anyone interested to email her at [email protected] . (The petition is now at 246 supporters.) Now, Sophie can augment the petition with the City survey results- that Matt Allard himself didn’t understand – proving that the neighborhood wanted the street barriers removed and a new study done.
City Council has voted to do one – but won’t pony up the cash to pay for it.
“I’ve been trying to get in contact with the Mayor’s office… Here is proof there are hundreds of people who feel the same way I do.”
43.00 Part 3- We will be following up with more in-depth coverage of the Lyndale Drive dispute, and the answers sent by Coun. Allard and the Public Works department. Marty offers some easy solutions, instead of a biased system that earns points with the bike lobby but erodes respect for City Hall.
Here’s a peek at some of the comments we received while researching this issue:
“Closed AND 30km/hr is overkill for a street that goes nowhere.”
“We get dirty looks everytime we drive to our house. It’s maddening that we pay thousands in taxes to have people from other areas admonish us for trying to get home.”
“There has not been any community consultation other than a citywide initiative that did not lend itself to specific input from Norwood Flats residents.”
“Our Residents Association has made numerous attempts on behalf of Norwood Flats residents to suggest compromise solutions but it seems that a handful of proponents have the ear of our city counsellor and there is no appetite to consider a compromise position. “
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