GMF - Encouraging sustainable transportation: Examples from GMF

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As Canadians in many municipalities know, getting around is increasingly time-consuming and costly, especially in private automobiles. While most of us think of transportation as something that involves movement, the concept of movement as a critical component of transportation is being rethought in light of newer notions of accessibility.

Accessibility refers to the ease of reaching desired goods, services, activities and destinations. Access is the ultimate goal of most transportation, apart from the small portion of travel in which movement is an end in itself, such as in cruising, historic train rides, horseback riding or jogging. This shift in perspective from movement to access expands the range of options for municipal transportation planning, programs and infrastructure. Thinking in terms of accessibility means considering mobility management programs, more accessible land use patterns, and mobility substitutes such as Internet services, to improve accessibility in ways that increase the overall efficiency of the transportation system. These solutions tend to support community sustainability because they help achieve a variety of planning objectives, such as reducing traffic congestion and collisions, lowering costs associated with roads and parking facilities, reducing consumer costs, conserving energy, reducing pollution, improving mobility for non-drivers, and improving public fitness and health.

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF) has helped several municipalities to develop more sustainable approaches to transportation. The final report for each of the following initiatives is available online in the GMF Approved Projects Database.

Transportation planning

Planning is a key element for sustainable transportation, and the critical foundation upon which all else is based. Two municipal governments — the Regional Municipality of York and the City of Kelowna — put planning front and centre and developed a comprehensive approach to public transit in their communities through these two initiatives.

Quick Start Transit Initiatives (GMEF 3329)
Regional Municipality of York, Ontario

Quick Start is the first phase of a comprehensive rapid transit plan based on the Regional Municipality of York’s Transportation Master Plan. It is designed to meet future transportation needs and help to achieve the three Ontario Smart Growth goals of economic vitality, healthy communities and a sustainable environment. The final report for this initiative outlines the elements of the Quick Start program, including its rapid transit vehicles, running ways, transit stops and terminals, park-and-ride facilities, intelligent transportation system, and fare collection system. It also describes the way in which the service will be supplied, the maintenance facility that will service it, the implementation plan, and the communications plan. Many elements have already been implemented. Visit the Viva York website for more information on this evolving project, including videos, descriptions and interactive photos of the buses and transit stops on the rapid transit line, lessons on how to use the fare machines, and more. Readers may also be interested in the region’s related Rapid Transit Feasibility Study (GMF 3302).

Central Okanagan Smart Transit Plan (GMEF 3736)
City of Kelowna, British Columbia

Central Okanagan, one of British Columbia’s fastest growing regions, developed a smart growth and smart transit plan — a land use plan that supports and encourages efficient modes of transportation such as transit, walking and cycling. The report for this initiative defines smart growth, provides a vision of a smart transit plan, and outlines an implementation plan for smart transit that extends to 2020. In addition to the Smart Transit Plan, the initiative resulted in the development of the Central Okanagan Smart Transit Plan Transit-Supportive Guidelines — a summary of initiatives that can be undertaken at the scale of the region, city, neighbourhood and locality. Transit-supportive initiatives limit urban sprawl, encourage transit-oriented development, ensure walkable streets, path networks and bicycle routes, and create pedestrian-friendly buildings.

Enhancing public transit

Many communities have seen a rise in demand for public transit services recently, an increase that is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. These GMF-supported initiatives demonstrate how municipalities have promoted transit in their communities.

Supporting the Deployment of Integrated Mobility Systems in the Greater Toronto Area (GMEF 2652)
City of Toronto, Ontario

The City of Toronto conducted a study to examine the use of Smart Cards as a way of making sustainable modes of transportation more convenient, available, affordable and appealing. A Smart Card is a card that links a range of sustainable transportation choices — such as local and regional transit, trains, ferries, electric bikes, car sharing, toll systems and preferential parking — to make them more convenient for those who use them or would like to use them. The goal of the study was to stimulate the use of multimodal transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, and to generate interest and enthusiasm for the concept in other cities across Canada.

The ComPASS: A Community Universal Transportation Pass (GMEF 2896)
City of Vancouver, British Columbia

The City of Vancouver studied the feasibility of implementing a ComPASS program in the neighbourhoods around the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. ComPASS (short for Community Pass) is an all-inclusive transportation pass for residents in a defined neighbourhood or area. A household ComPASS is significantly less expensive than the cost of monthly transit passes or transit tickets for members of the household. In addition to a full account of this study, the report describes the experience of three American communities that have implemented ComPASS programs, and identifies the kind of neighbourhood in which a ComPASS program works best.

Transportation demand management (TDM)

Transportation demand management (or TDM) is the use of policies, programs, services and products to influence how, why, when and where people travel. The City of Burnaby and the District of Saanich addressed two aspects of the how of travel, both related to parking: How much parking is needed in major urban areas when good transit is available nearby? How can a municipality encourage staff to commute to work using alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles?

Transit Station Precinct Parking Study (GMEF 5036)
City of Burnaby, British Columbia

The City of Burnaby and its partners reviewed the parking requirements for multi-family residential and office uses located near SkyTrain stations. Minimum parking requirements for residential developments in urban areas are typically applied equally throughout a municipality, without accounting for differences in access to alternative modes such as transit, biking or walking. Experience in communities throughout North American has shown that those living close to attractive rapid transit services may need less parking because of the availability of other travel options. The study examined actual parking demands and compared them to current minimum parking requirements in the city’s zoning bylaw. The resulting report recommended reducing parking requirements for low-rise and high-rise apartments as well as townhouses located in designated Town Centres. It also recommended that further parking reductions be considered on a case-by-case basis when measures (such as transit pass programs or car co-ops) were available.

Saanich TDM Plan (GMEF 5120)
District of Saanich, British Columbia

When accommodating employee demand for more parking proved challenging at municipal sites, the District of Saanich undertook a TDM study to examine the factors that motivated municipal employees to choose their mode of travel to work, and identify barriers to, and opportunities for, changing how staff commuted. With this knowledge in hand, the municipality developed a set of TDM strategies that included incentives promoting the use of alternative travel modes, as well as disincentives discouraging single-occupancy vehicles. The program was carried out for one year, after which it was reviewed in terms of its success, lessons learned, and recommended next steps. The study report includes information on the strategies that were used with staff, including a branding initiative (with a name and logo); changes to parking options; carpooling; incentives to encourage public transit use, cycling and walking; and long-term strategies, among others.