Abstract Manager

The City of Port Moody, in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, has long experienced development pressures as a suburban community of Vancouver. With a population of about 35,000, and growth potential further activated by completion of the Millennium Line Evergreen Extension SkyTrain service in 2016, City staff regularly review development proposals for sites ranging from single lot subdivisions up to large comprehensive developments of more than 1,000 units.

Development transportation impact assessments (TIAs) in Port Moody is, like many Canadian municipalities, generally provided by specialized consultants working with the private sector. TIAs in Port Moody review overall transportation demand, recommend impact mitigation measures, sometimes propose a transportation demand management strategy, and review parking demand. After approving a Climate Action Plan in 2020, City Council requested staff to update the transportation demand management strategies required of new developments to help reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, it was realized the overall TIA process was heavily focused on the analysis of traffic, with little to no analysis of the sustainable modes and land use changes that are a significant focus of the City’s Climate Action Plan and Master Transportation Plan (MTP). In short, while the City’s policies are heavily oriented towards sustainable transportation, TIAs are largely silent on this topic. Rather than review transportation demand management measures, it was recommended to review the overall TIA process.

The Project Team reviewed two potential approaches: either enhance the existing TIA process to comprehensively assess sustainable modes, or adopt a “goals-oriented” process that would reframe TIAs to examine land use and how a proposed development might meet MTP goals for sustainable transportation. Although both approaches showed potential, the Project Team recommended the latter approach as more congruent with the City’s goals and less effort for the City’s small transportation team to evaluate. At the time of writing, this new approach has not yet been approved by Council or used in an active development, so the presentation aims to focus on issues identified in the overall TIA process, comments from engagement with the development industry, and City hopes for this new process going forward.