Tom Hinderks

Do you feel comfortable/safe riding on the road with traffic? Other than major road ways yes.

4. What about your family? As above.

5. How do you celebrate Bike Month (June) in Edmonton? I do not, June is extremely busy for me in other areas.

6. The number of cyclists in this city grew over 150% between 1994 and 2005, with over 25,000 trips made daily by bicycle, and we’ve seen even more rapid growth since 2005. Last year, City Council moved to earmark 5% of the Transportation Capital Budget toward Active Transportation Projects. This falls short of the 10% required to complete the bicycle and sidewalk strategies, and delays their completion for 25-50 years. What are your spending priorities in relation to active transportation?

To be honest I feel the allocation is appropriate at this time, but how can we work partnerships with the bicycling community to create a shared funding model to move faster?

7. The 10-year Bicycle Transportation Plan calls for bikeways to be constructed across the city, making safe paths within neighbourhoods and connecting them to a City-wide network of bike corridors. Nearly 500 km of bikeways, covering the entire city, can be built for less than the cost of a single overpass. Given that cycling reduces the use of single-occupant vehicles, easing congestion and freeing parking spaces, and builds stronger, healthier communities, and is extremely cost-effective: would you commit to fully-funding the Bicycle Transportation Plan (BTP) if elected?

To be honest I would not, there are other priorities that will get greater usage by the residents of my area at this time. I also think we need to be realistic about each area’s commuting habits. Ward 2 has a very high volume of residents that need to commute large distances to their employment unfortunately making cycling impractical. Which is why bringing quality employment back into the Ward is so important. Once we are able to achieve that objective then the bicycling master plan becomes a much higher priority.

8. Which specific departments and branches do you feel have a say in cycling issues? Who needs to be at the table to coordinate an effective strategy? Excellent question!

Transportation obviously, but also Community Development and Edmonton Economic Development and the Edmonton Police Service and of course the Cycling community.
9. Edmonton Zoning Bylaw #12800 includes requirements for bicycle parking. Unfortunately, this requirement is minimal, only applies to developments since 2001, and isn’t always enforced, leaving the city with inadequate bike parking. Secure parking facilities are critical for cyclists, as bicycles are easy targets for thieves. About 10 bicycles can be parked in the space of a single car-parking stall. What is your opinion on car & bicycle parking requirements, especially in the downtown and also in new, mid- and high-density redevelopments? To start with the obvious we should be enforcing current requirements. Beyond that area specific needs have to be addressed, some areas are going to have a higher need for Bicycle parking (downtown) and should be treated differently than areas with lower needs (Ward 2). I don’t believe a blanket approach will address, fairly, the needs of the areas or cyclists. How can your organization help collect the information that will lead to right requirements for each area?

10. Most cities our size have a municipal education program to help residents, businesses and institutions choose healthy, active modes of transportation. Despite a visible increase in the number of cyclists in Edmonton, the City Transportation branch currently has no education programs for cyclists. How would you (or the administration) encourage more people to choose a bike over a private automobile? Key to my platform in Ward 2 is reducing the need to commute for employment and that to me is key to starting to educate people to make better choices, smaller vehicles, Transit use, Bicycles and of course walking. Working with related groups such as yours in helping educate employers to locate closer to residential communities and encouraging commuting reductions is the first step. Once that is achieved using existing programs such as Good Neighbours and other resources through Community Development in conjunction with advocates such as yourself we can make headway on changes current habits and providing the infrastructure to make those choices viable.

11.Do you have a recent photo of yourself riding your bicycle? Please send it to us digitally! No sorry I don’t.

of the city including the Southside…my neighbor as an example commutes 30km each way every day and a high percentage of Ward 2 is facing that.

That said I completely agree with you on education on both cycling and making better choices both for the environment and the pocket book.

” My question has to do with what you would do if and when the airport is gone. Do you have a vision for that land post airport? I don’t really care that much about the issue one way or the other, and I have no problem keeping it as an airport, but I don’t see that happening. My great fear is that we redevelop the area but fail to properly take advantage of the opportunity, and end up with more of the same, minus the airport.”

My vision for the area, with or without the airport (my choice is with) combines much of what you talk about in your question. Yes we can have an auto racing facility for 1-2 major events each year, plus a venue for cycling competitions, skiing and other uses on a scheduled basis. We can have a North end entertainment and outdoor sports/festival area. With an concentration on construction/fabrication and advanced technologies we can have an employment centre that economically fuels great change and maximizes the use of existing heavy transport infrastructure.

In addition with a restricted, but fully operating, airport we can cater to industries like Business Jet completions centres and service centres while sharing aerospace technology for use in Wind Turbine, Solar and other alternative developments.

As a residential community its just houses, maybe efficient green houses.

My vision is a place that creates employment to create infill development in Ward 2 and downtown protecting our schools with increased enrollment, short commutes with the option of high use LRT, cycling, walking to work reducing infrastructure loads and building community. A high employment, high technology centre that creates options of things to do and places to work that showcases what Edmonton can really do.

Thanks for the question

Tom Hinderks

do not disagree with the desires you are promoting, just the priority.

Putting jobs into the Ward, attracting families, affordable housing, increasing school enrollment, building community and reducing crime as well as cutting commute distances and promoting smarter choices in commuting are my top priorities.

That is an ambitious list for a three year term, but if enough advancement is made on those priorities I would be willing to revisit other projects.

So again, we don’t disagree on the ideas, just the order of priority.

Tom Hinderks

was not on my “bucket list”, but after giving serious thought to my concerns in Ward 2 I spent months talking with many dozens of residents through out the Ward about their concerns. To my surprise overwhelmingly they were the same as mine.

I then looked at what the known candidates prior to my announcement were addressing and again to my surprise few were addressing the common concerns shared by myself and those I had spoken with. This is what lead to my campaign platform which I consider my priorities if elected, you can view it on this thread.

http://www.connect2edmonton.ca/forum…290#post318290

post #36

No one brought bike paths up as a concern or issue in the Ward.

That said I do think beyond the current rather daunting list of priorities that bicycling and bike paths are part of the overall solution which I why I support the current initiatives and would not support reducing them, but based on the issues and priorities residents of the Ward have expressed I am not about to move your initiative up the priority list until the other objectives are reached.

If I am elected however I am open to discuss City of Edmonton and Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ Society partnerships:
1) To further education on cycling
2) To speed implementation of the bike paths you are promoting
3) Implement suggestions and ideas into new developments

So I am not closing the door on options, nor I am I in opposition to your goals but they are not in the top priorities at this time.

I hope this leads you to better understand of my point of view and how I have arrived at it…if it does not that is unfortunate.

Thank you for the questions and responses.

Tom Hinderks