Abstract Manager

There has been significant progress through planning, design, implementation, and funding for advancing active transportation (AT) across Canada.  However, there is a wide range of experiences and lessons learned from undertaking and working on AT Studies for small size municipalities and communities.  

The main and primary purpose of this presentation is to share experiences undertaking AT Studies for small municipalities and rural areas, including challenges, success, and opportunities.  Challenges starts with luck or no guidelines for need and process/strategy to do AT studies and master plans for small sizes communities. 

The focus of my presentation will be to share recent experience working on number of AT and Transportation Master Plans/Studies (that includes AT plans) for small rural municipalities (population 13000 to 25000 including Port Colborne, Township of Severn, Town of Lincoln, Town of Leamington, County of Renfrew) across Ontario.  Many of these rural areas (towns, counties, townships) have small population but cover geographically large areas that are challenged to encourage active transportation, secure fundings for AT infrastructure, and achieve their goals for growth and development while maintaining/ preserving their distinctive rural character.  All these communities are tourist and recreational destination that attracts large number of visitors and sessional cyclist to their trail network.  

What we did for Township of Severn is developed-proposed AT network in conjunction with the broader context of the AT plans of its neighbouring, also small municipalities, with the opportunities to address network gaps and better integrate the several communities through cycling loops.  

For ongoing Port Colborne AT Master plan study, we are working with local “Share the Road Cycling Coalition” to focus on five elements, or five Es, of developing the Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFS), including Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation and Planning.  Our team plans to build on the Coalition’s proven, Ontario-based BFC approach by incorporating two more Es, Equity and Engagement.  In addition, presentation will share lessons learned how some rural decision-makers manage and succeed with a resource for balancing competing goals, invest in active and multi modal while creating more vibrant, sustainable communities in the rural context.

In case of AT study for Town of Leamington, small community of nearly 25,000 people that welcome every year 5 to 6 thousand migrant workers walking and cycling are important highly utilized travel modes as their primary mode of transportation.  We built on their well developed AT network to enhance, address/educate about unsafe crossing practices, as well as focus on engagement and educational campaigns that focus on the availability and safe use of existing and future AT facilities and programs that increases safe non-auto movement of people of all ages and abilities.

Some other specific examples of lessons learned is by developing AT Master Plans small municipalities can be future ready for regional and provincial growth plans and have opportunity to integrate AT into municipal policies and develop an implementable action plan, with recommended capital projects and/or initiatives for AT infrastructures.

We also learned that AT Master Plans and Studies provides the unique opportunity for proactive thinking, anticipating community needs, and preparing for emerging trends in transportation solutions (shared mobility/ride sharing and micro-mobility (e-bikes/e-scooters- have yet to be adopted in rural environments), while enhancing sense of place and quality of life for the future.