Transportation and land use planning must be coordinated and consider the community’s unique context.
Compact complete land use patterns create opportunities for low-emission transportation choices because travel destinations are closer to one another.
Compact development decreases trip lengths, increases mode choice, and decreases the need for vehicle ownership. When new development is infill or contiguous with a high density mixed area the vehicle distances traveled are shorter and present opportunities for alternate modes.
Strategies that help achieve various transportation planning objectives, rather than just energy conservation and emission reductions, represent true sustainable transportation.
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The planning process for an Official Community Plan [1] can intertwine sustainable transportation and land uses. Coordination opportunities include:
Small communities can concentrate key services in a transportation hub area, for connectivity and access by multiple modes of transportation. The layout of streets, Transportation Demand Management [4], and street design (see Complete Streets) to accommodate multiple modes can be influential in shifting transportation modes to those that are more active, like biking and walking.
A multi-modal transportation network plan can protect and improve walking and cycling infrastructure, which can be strongly supported by a smaller population. Several communities have invested in successful transit service plans, notably Quesnel [5] and Canmore. Transportation Demand Management planning [6] for vanpools and telecommuting may also be viable emission reduction strategies for commuting.
Transportation cost analysis [7] can justify keeping schools and community services in smaller communities, and avoid centralized services that impose a mounting travel cost burden that can shut out people who need these services.
Find more information on Rural Transport Management on the Victoria Transport Institute website: http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm87.htm [8]
Three types of sustainable transportation plans are outlined below. These planning efforts yield long-term emission reductions. How to begin and where to focus efforts depends on the opportunities, interest and unique context of your community.
Strategic Transportation Plans
Concentrate on a strategic transportation opportunity or area of focus. Identify options, strategies, targets and implementation measures for emission-reduction transportation strategies.
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Focus on how to develop and improve a particular transportation mode with facilities, infrastructure, promotion. Specific modes focuses could be pedestrian routes, cycling routes, or transit plans.
Examples:
Cycle network planning requires more than just creating bike lanes. It is important to consider road signage, parking, safety strategies, education for both drivers and cyclists. Cost benefit analysis that factors in health, tourism, and decreases in vehicular infrastructure costs can determine help make clear case for allocating budget to cycling infrastructure. Cycling tools on this site are outlined here. [47]
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The ultimate goal of transportation is to maximize accessibility, defined as people’s ability to reach desired goods, services and activities. Accessibility – optimized with multi-modal transportation and more compact, mixed-use, walkable communities – reduces the amount of travel required to reach destinations.
Conventional measurement of transportation system performance, such as roadway Level of Service and traffic speeds, focus on vehicle travel. Balanced transportation system performance can be assessed with multi-modal level of service indicators, and checklists for ‘walkability’, ‘bikeability’ [49], accessibility, and transit service. Resources: Victoria Transport Policy Institute [7], Measuring Up the North [50]
Sources
[1] David Kriger, ITrans Consulting, 2008, Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Transportation Planning Studies
Links
[1] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/tool/official-community-plan
[2] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/tool/transportation-plan#mmt
[3] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/tool/transportation-plan#mft
[4] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/resource/transportation-demand-management-small-and-mid-sized-communities-toolkit
[5] http://www.busonline.ca/corporate/resources/pdf/res-other-44.pdf
[6] http://www4.uwm.edu/cuts/2050/smalcom.pdf
[7] http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm76.htm
[8] http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm87.htm
[9] http://www.surrey.ca/files/TransportationStrategicPlan2008.pdf
[10] http://www.ubcm.ca/assets/Funding~Programs/LGPS/BuiltEnvironment/RecipientReports/beat-nelson-report.pdf
[11] https://www.regionaldistrict.com/your-services/air-quality-program/safe-routes-4-schools.aspx
[12] http://vancouver.ca/docs/sefc/policy-statement-1999.pdf
[13] http://www.physicalactivitystrategy.ca/pdfs/Invermere_Active_Transportation_Plan.pdf
[14] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/sites/default/files/2008-03-28%20-%20Parks%20Trails%20%20Greenspace%20Plan%20-%20FINAL.pdf
[15] http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/transportation-2040-plan.pdf
[16] http://www.terrace.ca/documents/planning-development/Terrace-Active-Transportation-Plan-Final.pdf
[17] http://www.physicalactivitystrategy.ca/pdfs/BEAT/TPlans/City%20Armstrong_Active%20Transportation%20Plan.pdf
[18] https://barriere.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentDisplay.aspx?Id=2029
[19] http://www.northcowichan.ca/files/%7BE464456A-FC72-4C77-B90A-D56B9CB89BD4%7DBackground%20Report_Oct28-09.pdf
[20] http://www.rdn.bc.ca/cms/wpattachments/wpID1749atID2840.pdf
[21] http://www.nelson.ca/documentcenter/view/357
[22] http://www.northcowichan.ca/EN/main/departments/planning-development/community-planning/active-transportation.html
[23] https://princegeorge.ca/City%20Services/Pages/Roads%20and%20Transportation/ActiveTransportation.aspx
[24] http://www.physicalactivitystrategy.ca/pdfs/BEAT/TPlans/City%20Revelstoke_Active%20Transportation%20Plan.pdf
[25] http://www.rossland.ca/sites/default/files/city-hall_report_active-transportation-plan_2009-01-10.pdf
[26] http://data.tc.gc.ca/archive/eng/programs/environment-utsp-activetransportationprogram-1059.htm
[27] http://www.terrace.ca/sites/default/files/docs/business-development/planning-document/terrace-active-transportation-plan-final.pdf
[28] http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/4789.aspx
[29] http://www.ubcm.ca/assets/Funding~Programs/LGPS/BuiltEnvironment/RecipientReports/beat-wells-report.pdf
[30] http://www.cachecreekvillage.com/content/parks-recreation
[31] https://www.crd.bc.ca/project/pedestrian-cycling-master-plan
[32] http://kimberley.ca/community/things-do/recreation-and-parks/trail-information#North Star Rails to Trails
[33] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/success-story/grand-forks-cycling-its-way-lower-ghg-emissions-0
[34] https://www.kelowna.ca/roads-transportation/active-transportation/walking
[35] http://www.newwestcity.ca/database/rte/114135.pdf
[36] http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/8388.aspx
[37] https://bctransit.com/kamloops/schedules-and-maps/health-connections
[38] https://bctransit.com/servlet/documents/1403640763492
[39] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/success-story/public-transit-saltspring-island
[40] http://bctransit.com/regions/ver/news/newsreleases/pdf/ver-nr1105.pdf
[41] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/sites/default/files/CITYDOCS-%231158888-v1-PDF_LUAEDSCM_NOV_28_11_-_BIKE_PARKING_TEXT_AMENDMENT.PDF
[42] http://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/biking-and-cyclists.aspx
[43] http://www.ladysmith.ca/docs/reports/ladysmith-bicycle-plan.pdf
[44] https://princegeorge.ca/City%20Services/Pages/Roads%20and%20Transportation/CyclingRoutesandBikeways.aspx
[45] http://www.qualicumbeach.com/cms.asp?wpID=387
[46] http://www.physicalactivitystrategy.ca/pdfs/BEAT/TPlans/Distric%20Wells_Bike%20Route%20Feasibility%20Study.pdf
[47] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/News/Cycle-Planning-Resources-Toolkit
[48] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/Resource/Active-Transportation-Planning-BC-Local-Government-Success-Stories
[49] http://www.toolkit.bc.ca/resource/bikeability-checklist
[50] https://planh.ca/resources/links/measuring-north