Abstract Manager

Communities throughout North America have identified active transportation as an important and growing form of transportation. Many communities have committed to making active transportation a safe, convenient, and attractive mobility choice for all residents and visitors.

In 2019, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure published the Active Transportation Design Guide to provide a detailed planning and engineering reference for practical design guidance and application information for active transportation infrastructure for jurisdictions of all sizes throughout the province.

Increasingly in rural parts of British Columbia, the First Nations, residents and regional districts have expressed a desire to plan, design, and implement active transportation infrastructure within Provincial rights-of-way. To accomplish this required the development of a clear and consistent planning, design and approval process between the Province and local governments to be able to secure funding, permitting requirements, liability concerns, as well as address operational and maintenance responsibilities.

Through discussions with the Regional Districts, the need for a clearer approach and process for Regional Districts to plan, design and construct new ATI located within Provincial right-of-way was identified as an opportunity to support planning and design as well as the operations and maintenance of new active transportation facilities within their communities. This includes the mechanisms in place to implement ATI, specially permits, Licenses’ of Occupation, and new development opportunities, were highlighted as the most common approaches. The mechanism for implementation is strongly influenced by several factors including, the facility type, project complexity, integration with Provincial infrastructure (location inside or outside right-of-way), and design standards.

In 2019, the ATI Project Planning and Approvals Guide for Provincial Highways was developed in collaboration with 5 Regional Districts involved in this project. The purpose of the guide was to:

• Provide clarity and strengthen collaboration between the Province and Regional Districts on Vancouver Island.
• Implement a clear and consistent process, with meaningful and early engagement.
• The Guide is intended to provide clarity on the overall framework for the planning of ATI, and to minimize challenges of obtaining approvals for design, operation, and maintenance of these facilities on provincial rights-of-way.
• Provide direction to MoTI staff to better support and guide the planning and design of ATI within provincial rights-of-way.

This presentation will provide an overview of the process and development of the guide that was produced.