CANADIENS TAKE DOWN BRUINS IN DOUBLE OVERTIME
CAUGHT IN A WEB Reboot’s sequel barely gets by on charm and moxie
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Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014
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Cyclists peddling new strategy BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
BIKE LANES
Cycling enthusiasts are not giving up the fight to turn Red Deer into a bike-friendly city. The Red Deer Association for Bicycle Commuting plan to pitch a new strategy to city council that would allow cyclists to pedal in direct routes throughout the city.
Last month, council made its last move on the contentious and awardwinning Commuter Bike Lane Pilot, deciding to remove the painted lanes on 39th Street, east of 40th. The street will revert to two lanes in each direction, and a three-metre wide asphalt trail between Metcalf and Mitchell Av-
enue in Morrisroe will be installed. Bicycle association vice-president John Johnston said the group met this week to discuss the city’s surprise decision and to determine their next move. Johnston said they are floating around the idea of “cycle tracks� that would eliminate the need to reduce traffic lanes. The dedicated bicycle track would run beside the road and would allow cyclists to enter the intersection the same way as vehicles.
The driver and the cyclist would be separated by a curb that would disappear at the intersection so the cyclists become a part of the traffic. “There are different cycle tracks all over the world,� said Johnston. “This time we are designing it for ourselves in Red Deer.� The details are being sorted out.
Please see BIKE LANES on Page A2
HAPPY FLASH MOB
PONOKA
Liquor sales bylaw repealed BY JOSH ALDRICH ADVOCATE STAFF The Town of Ponoka took less than a year to decide that its new liquor sales bylaw didn’t work. Town council voted to repeal the bylaw at a recent meeting, despite statistics compiled by the RCMP that showed a drop in alcohol-related calls, especially downtown. The bylaw came into effect on July 7. It quickly became a controversial tipping point for some candidates in the October election, resulting in a near complete turnover of council. For Mayor Rick Bonnett, repealing the bylaw was akin to putting an openfor-business sign up. “From what I was hearing from the business side is that the reason they weren’t having issues downtown is because nobody was coming downtown either,� he said. “If you don’t have people in your downtown, then you’re not going to have businesses down there either.� The bylaw restricted the hours alcohol could be sold by liquor stores and hotel liquor off-sale (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and by delivery (ending at 10:30 p.m.). Rules have reverted back to Alberta Gaming Liquor Commission regulations that permits the sale of alcohol from any licensed establishment between 10 a.m. and 2 a.m. The bylaw was put into affect following a spike in impaired driving cases in the town, giving it the highest rate in the country in 2012. The rate of 1,181 impaired drivers per 100,000 population was 2.62 times the provincial rate of 450 per 100,000. Wetaskiwin enacted a similar liquor bylaw in 2010, pushing late liquor sales further south on Hwy 2 to Ponoka. In the first six months of the bylaw, RCMP saw a noticeable drop in statistics across the board.
Please see BYLAW on Page A2
60% Showers. High 7. Low 0.
FORECAST ON A2
Friday Forward your activity guide to Red Deer We’re moving Forward to put more fun in your life, and more useful information in your hands. For the past 23-plus years, the Red Deer Advocate has published Red Deer Life on Sunday. It’s time for a change — we’ve decided our readers would be better served by moving our Life forward to Friday, changing its focus and, hopefully, giving you a leg up on your weekend and the week to follow. So today we’re launching Friday Forward. It will be on your doorstep
this afternoon. We decided that the best way to make this package more compelling to readers is to make it more useful. So in great part it will become an activity guide to the next week in Red Deer, augmented by interesting local features and columns. Here’s a glimpse at some of what Friday Forward will have to offer: � Regular features on noteworthy people, groups and initiatives in the community.
Please see FORWARD on Page A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C4,C5 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D4-D8 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C7 Entertainment . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B5
Mary Lynn Rajskub stars in ‘24: Live Another Day,’ premiering Monday on Global
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WEATHER
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Kerstin Heuer, right, records as Bec Dent, left, and more than 100 other people broke out into dance in downtown Red Deer Thursday afternoon. With Pharrell Williams’ hit song Happy blasting out on Ross Street, Veterans Park became a very happy place indeed, with dancers young and old getting in on the fun. Heuer, the flash mob organizer, is holding a number of the events, including one more today at the Golden Circle at 1 p.m. A video compilation of the various flash mobs is expected to be released soon after the last mob is recorded. See related video at www.reddeeradvocate.com.