Abstract Manager

Small and rural communities across Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Ontario are increasingly prioritizing walking, rolling, and cycling to improve safety, health, and community connections, yet often face unique constraints that include limited staff capacity, long distances, and infrastructure controlled by other agencies. In rural Nova Scotia, for example, implementation frequently requires collaboration with provincial partners and neighbouring municipalities to deliver network connections and move priority projects forward.

This presentation summarizes lessons from active transportation planning projects Urban Systems has developed for smaller and rural communties including the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, the Municipality of the County of Colchester, Altona, Neepawa, Steinbach, Dauphin, Kenora, and several First Nation communmites in NorthWest Ontario.  

Key issues that will be addressed in this session include jurisdictional complexity (e.g., provincial road ownership and “Blue Route” priorities), year-round maintenance expectations, and the need to embed equity and accessibility considerations in communities with diverse demographics and mobility needs.

Our methodology follows a phased approach: background research and plan/policy review; community and demographic analysis; inventory of existing facilities; broad engagement (“casting the net wide” through surveys, mapping tools, workshops, and interest holder/council interviews); network gap and opportunity analysis; development of a long-term network concept; and a practical implementation package including prioritization tools, design guidance, and monitoring frameworks to support consistent decision-making and capital planning. Conclusions higlight that rural success depends on clearly linking routes to key destinations, designing for realistic agency roles and capacity, and producing “funding-ready” priorities and partnerships that translate plans into on-the-ground projects.