regional transportation planning

REGIONALTRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Henry DevosExpert Advisor,Senior Planning SpecialistCIMA+

Follow: @YXERegion #yxesummit

Regional Transportation Planning

OVERVIEW• Saskatchewan & Saskatoon– Expanding resource-based economy;– Leading growth in population/employment levels;– Expanding urban development; and– Increasing traffic volumes.

• Similarities with Alberta’s experience


OVERVIEW• Reference largely to the Alberta Experience– Successes,– Challenges,– Outstanding Issues?

• Consider Three Urban Regions– Edmonton Industrial/manufacturing– Calgary Business/financial– Fort McMurray Resource/economic driver

Regional Transportation PlanningDEFINE THE REGIONZones of Influence around a Major Urban Centre


PLANNING MANDATES• Provincial Level:– Inter-provincial, inter-regional, inter-city travel;

• Regional Level:– Inter-municipal travel, between adjoining

municipalities in a single region;– Multi-jurisdictional, requires oversight/coordinating

body.• Municipal Level:– Local travel, internal to jurisdiction.


PLANNING HORIZONS• Ultimate Stage Plan– Footprint accommodates full build-out based on a long-term

regional Population Horizon;– Issue: Many affected stakeholders are skeptical of planning

decades ahead.

• Interim or Stage 1 Plans– Planning for a shorter time frame to a specific design year can

be made with greater confidence.

• Growth Management Plans– Help establish consensus around the pace of the expanding

footprint to be served by the transportation network.


CORRIDOR IDENTIFICATION• Regional Transportation Infrastructure– Generally requires corridors with little flexibility;– Particularly as regional development progresses.

• Early, Long-Term, Planning– Mitigates community and environmental impacts,

reduces disruption;– Facilitates land use planning; E.g. Transit Oriented

Development (TOD) Nodes.• Regional Transportation Plan is Shared Blueprint– Simplifies the review and approval processes.


TRANSPORTATION MODES• At the Regional Level– Roads (autos, trucks, goods movement),– LRT/Transit,– Rail (goods movement), and– Air.

• Active Modes– Although connectivity across the region is desirable,

Active Modes generally remain a local planning activity.


SERVICE LEVELS• Define performance goals for the regional

transportation facilities;• A hierarchy of road (and transit) systems

providing different Levels-of-Service, Design Speeds and Access Management.– Freeways, expressways, collectors and local roads;– LRT, Bus Rapid Transit, Express Bus, local service.

• Facilities that increasingly accommodate local travel (short trips), tend to be less efficient, have shorter service lives


TECHNOLOGY• User Fees:– Mileage Based (Highway 407 passing Toronto)– Cordon Tolls (Vancouver Area Bridges)– Time of Day or Congestion Based– Impact on mode choice, route choice, time-of-day

• Emerging Vehicle & System Technologies– Autonomous Vehicles – Removing driver behaviour– Connected Vehicles – To smart corridors– Electric Vehicles

• Impact on long-term transportation plans and services will vary by location.

Regional Transportation PlanningTHE CAPITAL REGION

• 120 km east-west, Wabamun to Lamont• 100 km north-south, Redwater to Millet


CAPITAL REGION• Alberta’s Primary Industrial/Manufacturing Base– Supports the energy sector and Fort McMurray’s oil-sands;– Manufacturing/employment centres are spread

throughout the Capital Region.

• Employment Distribution – Past 10 years, 7% growth downtown, 20% in suburbs;– One new office tower downtown every decade.

• Capital Region Board (CRB) Established in 2008– Mandated by Province to oversee regional growth

management, macro-level transportation planning;– CRB represents 24 municipalities, comprising 5 cities, 5

counties, 11 towns, 3 villages, 1.2 M people

Regional Transportation PlanningEDMONTON RING ROAD

PROVINCE’SHIGHWAY 216Anthony Henday

Drive

Constructed in a“Transportation & Utility Corridor”

(500m – 800m wide corridor)


CAPITAL REGION NETWORK• Convergence of 10 Provincial Highways– Primary link is Highway 2 to Calgary;– Primary East-West link is Yellowhead Highway 16;– Provincial Ring Road, Anthony Henday Drive; and– Edmonton’s Inner Ring Road.

• Edmonton’s LRT network will become regional• Edmonton International Airport– Proposed ‘Port Alberta’, similar to Regina’s Global

Transportation Hub.• CN and CP Inter-Modal Yards

Regional Transportation PlanningCAPITAL REGION NETWORK - ROADS


RING ROAD RATIONALERationale for construction of Alberta’s two almost complete Provincial Ring Roads:

1. To restore inter-regional mobility passing the two urban regions;

2. To support travel into and out of the two major urban regions as a destination for long-distance travel; and

3. To assist the two urban regions in restoring efficient transportation systems, i.e. to help them grow.

Regional Transportation PlanningALBERTA RING ROADSPOPULATION HORIZONS

Year

Years Elapsed

Capital Region Population

Calgary Region Population

Ring Road ActivityScoping

Planning

Property Acquisition

Design & Construction

40

375,000

310,000

530,000

460,000

685,000

650,000

775,000

2015

785,000

910,000

1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

50

1,030,000

1,100,000

1,270,000

0 10 20 30

Scoping began when populations levels passed 300,000. Construction began when population levels reached 750,000. Nearing completion when population levels passed 1,200,000.

Regional Transportation PlanningCITY OF EDMONTON LRT


EDMONTON LRT• Recent route planning studies selected corridors

through established Edmonton communities– Seen as intrusive in the short-term, controversial;

– Transformational in the long-term; new ‘highest & best land uses’ will evolve (TOD).

• Classic Hub and Spoke design– Good service to/from downtown and university;

– Perhaps less effective for the regional employment centres.

• Potential to ultimately extend LRT to several outlying municipalities

Regional Transportation PlanningCAPITAL REGION PLAN - TRANSIT


Approximately:• 520 km north-south• 240 km east-west

REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF WOOD BUFFALO(Fort McMurray)


FORT McMURRAY• Achieved city status in 1980;• Amalgamated with the surrounding

Improvement District in 1995• Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB)

is largest municipality in Alberta• 7-8% annual growth for last 10+ years– Has challenged the municipality’s ability to keep

pace with infrastructure, including transportation

Regional Transportation PlanningATHABASCAOIL SANDS

AREA & PROJECTS

Approximately300 km by 200 km


FORT McMURRAY

(URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUB-REGION)

Centered on the confluence of Athabasca and

Clearwater Rivers


FORT McMURRAY – HIGHWAY 63• Highway 63 is the municipality’s only North-

South corridor• Passes through entire length of Fort McMurray • Connects all neighbourhoods and resource

industries• Queues and congestion have been legend at the

region’s only river crossing in downtown Fort McMurray

• Province is upgrading the highway to urban freeway standards


FORT McMURRAY - INDUSTRY• To reduce auto dependency/mitigate congestion,

Industry:– Established bus services to the mine sites– Continues to build camps/ lodges near the mine sites,

housing 1000’s of staff– Established airfields near the plant sites, flying staff in

and out from around the country• Fort McMurray airport is undergoing major

expansion• Highly mobile labour force for the high-value

resource industries


FORT McMURRAY - PARTNERING• Province and RMWB are developing a corridor

management plan for Highway 63 through UDSR• To Support the Expanding Bus Services:– Province is passing legislation permitting designation of

special use lanes, Bus/HOV lanes, Bus-on-Shoulder operations, etc.

• Province’s Transportation Coordinating Committee includes RMWB and industry representatives

• Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plan (CRISP) jointly developed by provincial agencies, industry and the RMWB


Comprehensive Regional

Infrastructure Systems Plan (CRISP)

(Long-Term)

CONCEPTUAL Athabasca Oil

Sands AreaREGIONAL NETWORK


CLOSINGThe Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, from a Globe & Mail article, September 26/13:

Commuting by car is not easy, and it takes so much time. Why do we not have a public

transportation system, which goes ahead of where we’re planning to have new communities?

THANK YOU

regional transportation planning

Education

urban regions

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goods movement

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