Making smart moves

First-of-its-kind Mobility Management Strategy highlights four traffic solutions, by Zoran Postic

MunicipalWorld.com
April 1, 2022

As cities continue to grow and evolve, members of council and city staff must work together on all fronts. Significant growth reflects a vibrant economy and a prosperous community, which is only built by innovative thinking from council and staff.

The City of Vaughan developed a holistic mobility management strategy to accelerate initiative implementation to help manage its rapid growth. The MoveSmart Mobility Management Strategy outlines recommendations and programs that form and direct the city’s vision: to provide a transportation system that is safe, efficient, and sustainable. Guided by extensive input from key stakeholders, MoveSmart has four key programs that provide tangible solutions to traffic concerns:

• Road safety – to increase road safety and raise public awareness
• Mobility management – to improve efficiency through innovation and technology
• Traffic data management – to assure accuracy and availability of traffic data
• Sustainable mobility – to support active and sustainable transportation

1. Road Safety Program

Road safety is key to any municipal commitment to ensure the safety and well-being of all citizens. The safety initiatives within this program adopt proven techniques and measures, build important partnerships with key stakeholders, encourage public awareness, and foster an overall road safety culture. The program takes a proactive approach to road safety by using data and proven statistical procedures, and identifying additional road safety opportunities to explore.

Based on a 2015 council directive, staff reviewed Vaughan’s street network to develop a speed limit policy that:

• addresses community safety;
• accounts for the increase in the number of pedestrians and cyclists; and
• ensures speed limits are consistent with future growth.

The direct relationship between speed and injury is critical for vulnerable road users, and it’s central to the Road Safety Program. Evidence suggests that lowering speed limits, especially in residential areas, can effectively reduce the risk of severe injury – or even death – from a road vehicle accident.

Approved by council in June 2021, the city introduced a new Speed Limit Policy that sets and adjusts appropriate speed limits throughout the city’s street network to ensure a safe community for all road users and address growing urbanization. The policy is exclusive to municipal roads and focuses on four areas within Vaughan’s road network: rural roadways, built-up/urban areas (including school zones), public laneways, and select neighbourhoods.

In September 2021, as the first week of classes was approaching, an extension of the Speed Limit Policy was launched in all school zones across the city. This was in tandem with its School Zone Safety program – a joint priority with the City of Vaughan and York Regional Police, York Region, York Region District School Board, and York Catholic District School Board – which educates and informs crossing guards, drivers, cyclists, parents, and children on various safety precautions in place in all school zone areas in Vaughan. Speed limits in school zone areas, including surrounding parks, walkways, and open spaces, were decreased from 50 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour, and new signage was installed.

Building on that momentum, speed limits on all public laneways were decreased in December 2021 to 30 kilometres per hour from 50 kilometres per hour. The next step is to reduce speed limits in select neighbourhood areas throughout the city from 50 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour by Fall 2022.

In 2021, in line with the Speed Limit Policy, a couple of traffic mitigation, operational, and road safety reviews were conducted in the village of Kleinburg and the Athabasca community to identify and inform appropriate traffic mitigation and calming measures for implementation.

Residents were empowered to spread the word through a new, interactive campaign:
#SlowDownVaughan. The campaign invites residents to post a #SlowDownVaughan sign on their lawn, in their windows, or on social media to encourage the public to slow down while driving on city roads. The lawn signs are available at select public libraries and community centres, and residents can download print-at-home window signs or social media graphics at vaughan.ca/SlowDownVaughan.

To further combat speeding, the city also introduced 15 additional speed boards and is having preliminary discussions with York Region to begin implementing automated speed enforcement once available. The team is also developing a Road Safety Strategic Plan, in partnership with York Region, which will create a holistic approach to road safety in our communities.

2. Mobility Management Program

Mobility data initiatives allow for evidence-based decision making and the quick and efficient collection of data. The city’s Mobility Management Program:

• improves efficiency through innovation and technology;
• modernizes the city’s traffic signal system, providing more efficient traffic flow and links to existing and future technologies; and
• ensures pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle traffic continue to move safely and efficiently.

Under this mobility umbrella, several new traffic and road projects are launching this year. A Road Flexi Sign program is underway, which incorporates flexi signs as a traffic-calming measure to create narrower roadways and encourage drivers to slow down. Additionally, the city has piloted enhancements to pavement markings across Vaughan and used special stencilling in school zones that spell out the newly reduced speed limits – such as “slow down 40” – to remind road users to go easy on the gas pedal.

LED lights have played a huge role so far. The city has changed approximately 20,000 streetlights from high-pressure sodium to LED technology through the city-wide LED Streetlight Retrofit Program. Not only do LED lights reduce cost and energy consumption, they are also long-lasting and emit brighter light. This is just one example of many investments in better visibility for drivers. Coming soon, 20 new LED traffic signal lights and reflective backboards will be installed throughout the city, adding to the 25 that were installed last year.

3. Traffic Data Management Program

Traffic management initiatives arm the city with the tools and systems needed for nimble responses. This program:
assures accurate and accessible traffic data;

• modernizes traffic data management with up-to-date information to support data-driven and evidence-based decision making; and
• allows for ongoing tracking of the transportation system performance over time.

City staff are in the process of developing the framework for obtaining a new Traffic Engineering Software to support a traffic signal control system upgrade and the new traffic data management centre. The centre will act as a full control room to monitor traffic flow, collisions, and will give the city the ability to respond more precisely and efficiently to traffic concerns.
The software will feed into the region’s police software and collect their data, and vice versa, allowing staff to be more interconnected and tuned-in to traffic in the broader region. This holistic data system will help the city manage the transportation network more efficiently and meet current and future traffic management needs.

4. Sustainable Mobility Program

The Sustainable Mobility Program supports the planning and development of environmentally friendly modes of transportation identified through city-led projects and initiatives. These include walking as well as existing and emerging micro-mobility options, such as e-bicycles and motorcycles. The program ensures that these options focus on the safety of all road users and support the growth of the pedestrian and cycling network. It also examines safety around Vaughan’s many schools and neighbourhoods.

A new Active School Travel pilot project will be launching this year, in collaboration with York Region school boards – representing all five of the city’s wards. It involves piloting traffic-calming measures along with a toolkit of initiatives, such as way-finding signage, winter walk days, bike-to-school days, hopscotch during spring and fall seasons, and different activities to engage and encourage children to stay active. The intention for this pilot project is to:

• help manage congestion in school zones;
• improve students’ physical and mental health;
• promote the adoption of lifelong habits that foster active lifestyles and rely less on vehicles;
• enhance road safety in school areas; and
• create public awareness on active and sustainable travel.

Innovative Initiatives Require the Right Talent

To build the momentum to run effective projects like this – and help set up for continued success – you need the right people in the right jobs. A five-year capital and operational plan of this magnitude requires significant project management, so the city hired its first-ever

MoveSmart Manager (under the leadership of the Director of Transportation and Fleet Management Services). Creating the new manager position and accelerating the implementation of the strategy means reprioritizing and repurposing existing positions and budgets.

One year into this strategy, the city has a roadmap, the foundation, and the best team possible. MoveSmart has started to foster a community where people can have a better and safer tomorrow.

Zoran Postic is the Deputy City Manager of Public Works with the City of Vaughan.