Aligning transportation and land use - Mode shift

NRU
Sept. 21, 2016
By Leah Wong

With its population growing the City of Burlington has shifted its planning paradigm from a traditional suburban perspective focused on growing out to a more urban focus on growing up. However, its transportation policy has not kept pace.

“This is clearly a city that was built for a car,” Mayor Rick Goldring said at committee of the whole yesterday. “But more and more people want to have [mobility] options.”

Yesterday committee of the whole discussed a new transportation vision and policy directions, which will inform the creation of a new transportation plan for Burlington, one that shift s the focus from driving to walking, cycling and transit. The draft was developed in collaboration with TODERIAN UrbanWORKS principal Brent Toderian.

“The way we have been moving, primarily through auto, is not sustainable or affordable in the long run,” Burlington transportation director Vito Tolone told committee. Recognizing that the city is working to align its transportation and land use planning to improve mobility as the city intensifies.

Toderian told committee that building more roads and adding new lanes will not reduce congestion as the city intensifies. Instead this additional road capacity will encourage more people to drive.

But the draft policy directions require shift s in thinking if the city is to achieve a mode shift, making it more pedestrian and cyclist friendly and limiting additional street capacity for cars.

Several councillors highlighted challenges involved in encouraging residents to shift modes, such as the lack of walkable retail and the distances people travel to get to work.

For example, Ward 1 councillor Rick Craven said that there is limited retail on the city’s main streets causing residents to drive to stores that are further away rather than walking to nearby businesses.

Ward 2 councillor Marianne Meed Ward added that residents tend to prefer the transportation mode that makes their jobs most accessible.

“The reason a lot of people use cars … is because they live in one place and work in another,” Meed Ward told committee. “Until we fix that piece, building prettier streets or bike lanes won’t get me to work in Niagara if I live in Burlington.”

Staff will refi ne the draft vision and policy directions before launching a public consultation in the new year.