Abstract Manager

The County of Essex is Canada’s southernmost region and is home to over 200,000 residents living in seven local urban and rural municipalities. It is known for its temperate climate, abundant agriculture and stunning shorelines, but in recent years Essex County has also defined itself as one of Ontario’s premiere destinations for active transportation (AT). Since the creation and adoption of the County-Wide Active Transportation System (CWATS) Master Plan in 2012, the County and its municipal partners have installed more than 500km of new active transportation infrastructure consistent with the recommended phasing strategy in the 2012 Plan. The County and its partners’ goal is to support a culture of healthy, active living and to improve conditions for walking, cycling and active travel. The growing AT network combined with social marketing, has resulted in significant progress in achieving this goal by way of more residents using the network to get to local destinations, by visitors exploring the County’s many tourism destinations and by temporary agricultural workers having greater access to the community destination and services.

The success of the CWATS program is built on strong partnerships – the County, the Essex Region Conservation Authority, the Windsor Essex County Health Unit and all seven of the local municipalities all play a role in building both physical and social infrastructure to make active transportation more accessible. The growing network of cycling facilities, sidewalks and multi-use trails are being supported by new community programs, including education and outreach strategies that provide easy ways for residents to get involved in active transportation in their own backyard.

The presentation will focus on the 2023 update to the CWATS Master Plan which incorporates best practices in planning and design for AT and micromobility in small to medium municipalities and rural counties:

• Developing an AT network linking rural communities and providing transportation options, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations;
• Building capacity and relationships across different levels of government and multiple municipalities;
• Implementing incrementally and identifying quick wins;
• Identifying funding opportunities and costsharing strategies between upper and lower-tier municipalities;
• Applying spatial analysis to understand AT potential through socioeconomic distributions and trends, mode shares, equity and access to AT and transit infrastructure;
• Engaging the public and stakeholders in rural municipalities through bike tours, public open houses, online surveys and Annual CWATS Celebration events; and
• Updating the municipal maintenance strategy, including roles, responsibilities, and costs.