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February, 2010                          www.wintercities.com

Greetings to members and friends of Winter Cities. As the hours of daylight grow longer here in Anchorage, it has been encouraging to see the interest in  the Winter Cites Institute grow as well. 

This update will provide an overview of the activities of the Winter Cities Institute, as well as information from members and friends.  We welcome submissions of information about what is happening in your community, questions, comments and ideas to make the Institute better. 

Email me at pcoleman@wintercities.com.

Anchorage skaters enjoy a superb mid-winter day

News and happenings from the

Winter Cities Institute

Volume 1, Issue 2

Welcome New Members

The City of Bozeman, Montana, USA

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada

The City of Houghton, Michigan, USA

The Town Of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada

Bill Sanders, ASLA, Landscape Architect, Marquette, Michigan, USA

Lachlan Hicks, Architect, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The City of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories,  Canada

Beth McKechnie, Workplace TDM Coordinator,  Resource  Conservation Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

The Economic Development Corporation of North Pole, Alaska, USA

George Paul, Community Solutions, Inc. Nanaimo,  British      Columbia, Canada

The City of Traverse City, Michigan, USA

 

 

 

 

Questions or Comments?

Send an email to pcoleman@wintercities.com

 

 

“Thank you for all the information you have compiled under the  Winter Cities Resources section of your website. It has been particularly useful to me to be able to find Master Plans from communities facing the same winter issues as we have  in Palmer, Alaska, all in one place.  I always find something worthwhile when I go to the site”

 

Sandra Garley, Director of Community Development, Palmer, Alaska

The January-February issue of The Review, the official magazine of the Michigan Municipal League, had the theme of winter cities and highlighted communities that  are taking a positive approach to the winter season.  Member Houghton, Michigan was spotlighted in the feature article.  The Winter Cities Institute  was consulted on the magazine concept and contributed an article and photos.  A link to the full magazine can be found at www.wintercities.com.  

Michigan Municipal League focuses

on Winter Cities

 “We’re working hard to make winter desirable.  Winter is our niche”

Scott MacInnes, Houghton City Manager

Friendly Snowplows

Everyone has experienced the frustration of having cleaned out their driveway after a snow event, only to have the snowplow fill the end with a large berm of snow. 

Residents of Prince George, BC and Anchorage, Alaska don’t have this problem.  Gates at the end of grader plows are lowered at each driveway opening to hold the snow  until the plow has passed the driveway.  In Prince George, loaders are also used to clear the windrow from driveways where truck-mounted snowplows are used to clear the streets.

What a wonderful solution to improve resident satisfaction and reduce inconvenience.  We are interested to learn about other considerate snow  management  innovations.

Fairbanks, AK cold temps and dry snow

allow sidewalk snow removal using a….leaf blower?  Why not?

A pilot snow grooming program for existing bike and pedestrian trails is being implemented in the City of Marquette, Michigan this winter.  Based on the multi-use trail system in Anchorage, Alaska, people can now ski, bike, walk, run or snowshoe on the trail.  Previously, the city plowed the snow off the trail for walkers and officials predict maintenance costs will be less for packing/grooming the snow than plowing.

The idea for the multi-use winter pathway was suggested by the city’s 2004 Master Plan, which included a chapter on “winter city considerations”.  This section of the plan is posted on  www.wintercities.com.

 

The pilot project has  received extensive community support from tourism and trail groups, the parks and recreation commission and other civic organizations. 

Marquette, MI Implements Multi-use Winter Trail

The multi-use urban trail system in Anchorage, AK is used for skiing, biking and walking in winter

The Winter Cities Institute web-based resources library continues to grow!  Many documents previously unavailable have been scanned and uploaded to the members’ resource page.  This collection includes literally hundreds of articles and research papers dating back to the mid-1980’s. 

These documents cover many topics of interest, including urban planning and design, parks/recreation, transportation, economic development, city management, tourism development and more.  Interested to learn what winter cities around the world have implemented to improve their communities and to take better advantage of the winter season?  Check it out!

 

 

Website Update

Not a member yet?

Consider joining the growing network of the Winter Cities Institute.  Members  have access to our library of resource materials and the discussion board found on the website.  News, opportunities for networking and learning what other cities are doing to improve winter livability are just some of the benefits.  Credit cards are accepted via PayPal, or you can request an invoice.

Winter Cities on the BBC

Recent cold and snowy weather in London and around the UK resulted in a flurry of phone calls and emails to the Winter Cities Institute from the BBC World News Program.   A live interview with Institute CEO Patrick Coleman was aired by the BBC on January 6, 2010. 

The snow and cold had totally paralyzed life in the UK and they wanted to know how it was possible for other northern cities to cope with such “disasters”.  Listeners were amazed to learn that the winter weather they were experiencing was a matter of course for many northern cities and that such weather was, in fact, celebrated by many.