General Road and Highway Discussion

[Pheidippides]

Having had a chance to read the Moving Forward plan I am disappointed in it; it is clearly a, "don't rock the boat before the election" document.

I understand that just because a municipal election is coming the government can't just cease to function, but I feel like something this big and long-term should not be approved 5 months before an election. Especially when over in the Administration and Finance agenda for next week there is a report about the rules and procedures for when the lame duck period begins (July 27).


Basically they:
1) consulted
"Moving Forward was developed in consultation with a wide variety of the general public and agency stakeholders, reached through surveys, public consultation centres, online consultation, and panel discussions, heard that a more balanced approach to transportation was needed"

2) had some findings that certain swaths of the electorate wouldn't like
 "... findings of surveys of the general public that found strong interest in public transit, walking and cycling..."

3) couldn't decide on the best approach to handle that input (even when the none of the common themes that came out of the consultation material focused on personal vehicle travel)
"After evaluating Scenarios 1 and 2 ... the PSC could find no clear “winner” because each scenario performed well in different aspects..."
(Scenario 3  (Invest in a “New Mobility” Future with Advanced Transportation Technologies) was eliminated "...because there is too much uncertainty surrounding emerging transportation technologies")

4) and deferred to maintaining the 2010 plan's approach
"After evaluating Scenarios 1 (Continue and Extend the 2010 RTMP) and 2 (Invest More Heavily in Transit and Active Transportation) with a framework based on the four goals, the PSC could find no clear “winner” because each scenario performed well in different aspects. The PSC selected Scenario 1 (i.e. extending the 2010 RTMP)"
"...it does not present significant new costs to the Region. A significant portion of the identified costs for the 2018–2031 period have already been planned for and reflected in the approved 2018–2027 Transportation and Transit Capital Plans."

Random thoughts:
I found the scoring criteria for comparing the scenarios very strange.

Apparently induced demand is a novel concept:
"Roads: The recommendations for Regional roads are organized around a principle of "building a transportation network that supports all modes of travel", and include a strategic road expansion program targeted at relieving traffic congestion and/or enabling development."

The statement below, for me, is at the root of a lot of the problems with our transportation planning, there is no attention to detail or cooridination:
"Transportation Master Plans generally do not include minor projects or those that will not affect the long-term direction of trends in transportation. In other words, road reconstructions, intersection improvements, locations of new bus stops, and local trail connections were not reviewed in detail as part of this update."

Yes it is a macro level plan, we don't need to know the curb cut spacings down to the millimetre of every single project in the next 23 years, but failing to include thinking about trail locations and bus stops as part of the macro picture and how all the big pieces fit together is a macro level problem.

"While growth in the number of commuters by public transit and cycling has outpaced growth in the number by private car, driving a car remains, by far, the dominant mode for commuting to work."
Yes, and choosing to sustain that model for the foreseeable future isn't going to change that outcome much either.

"the PSC recommends consideration of the following lane reduction projects to implement separated cycling facilities:
• Erb Street East and Bridgeport Road East, from Highway 85 to Caroline Street
• Frederick Street/Benton Street, from Lancaster Street to Courtland Avenue
• Some sections of Victoria Street following completion of the new Highway 7"

So why then is Erb St currently being rebuilt with painted line on-road cycling lanes between Menno and Caroline. This is an example of what I was talking about above; it is uncoordinated and wasted effort.