The City has initiated a Master Transportation Plan process, to be completed during 2012. This planning document will outline the transportation priorities for the City for the next decade and beyond, even including some LNG-term visioning to 2040, to coincide with Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy and TransLink’s longer-term regional transportation plan.
Back in March, 2011, the NWEP Transportation Group held a planning session to discuss what we saw as important Sustainability elements that should be included in the Master Transportation Plan. During that meeting we developed a list of 10 Guiding Principles, or discussion points to bring to the table.
We will include all 10 points here, in their fairly raw form, to act as discussion-starters. It is important to note that this list was generated before the UBE (United Boulevard Extension) decision was made, and before TransLink essentially pulled the plug on the NFPR. It is also worth noting that some of the ideas expressed here are already part of the City’s existing Transportation Plan from 1998, are included in the City’s OCP, the Pedestrian Charter, or other plans or policies the City has in place. Some are just good ideas that the City’s transportation staff have already been working on. This is in no way a comprehensive list of policies or guiding principles, just the starting point for the consultation process.
Guiding Principles 10 points
1. Transportation priorities should be in a hierarchy: Pedestrians > cyclists > rapid transit > bus service > goods movement > motor vehicles.
- This prioritization supports Translink’s Transport 2040 priorities (as we are good regional transportation partners!)
- This also supports previous Council directions towards supporting sustainable transportation (pedestrian charter, bicycle plan, etc.)
- This supports the liveability goals of the community, including health goals, noise reduction, pollution reduction, greenspace preservation, accommodation of aging population, etc.
- This will lead to a durable transport infrastructure, protected from the uncertainties of peak oil and energy crises.
- This will assist the City, the region, the Province, and the Country to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
- Ultimately, this will reduce the costs of transportation infrastructure building, and maintenance.
2. Mode Shift.
The proportion of sustainable-mode trips (walking, cycling, transit) in New Westminster is relatively high for the Lower Mainland, but could be improved. As part of the Master Transportation Plan, the City should set realistic but ambitious goals for sustainable mode shift, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years in to the future, and use these targets as impetus to develop their transportation network.
3. The City should have a zero-growth policy for automobile traffic.
The majority of automobile traffic in New Westminster neither initiates in the City nor stops in the City, and the benefits to the City are negligible. Continued accommodation of increased traffic encourages automobile-oriented development in other parts of the region, and supports neither the City’s goals, nor those of TransLink or the region. There are two ways to support this type of policy:
- Install a no-net-flow-increase policy, supported by metering traffic flow at major entrances to the City through traffic light timing, to push the constriction outside of the City where drivers have alternative route choices;
- Install a no-net-space-increase policy, where the City will no longer allow any increases in automobile space. Any traffic lane increases at one location must be offset by traffic lane reductions (through transfer to pedestrian- or cyclist-only space) at other areas.
4. Create progressive parking planning policy.
- Create a city-wide parking availability/use inventory, including residential and commercial spaces.
- Work towards zero growth of parking spaces in the City, and eventually towards the reduction of spaces per capita.
- Remove the Front Street Parkade when needs met elsewhere.
- Stop subsidizing the building of parking; start taxing parking space. Use property tax incentives to encourage commercial properties to reduce their employee parking needs.
5. Connectivity
Prioritize connections of currently disconnected communities with pedestrian-friendly greenways:
- Queensborough to the Quayside
- Quayside to Downtown
- Uptown to Downtown
- Sapperton Landing to the Pier Park
- Glenbrook Ravine to the CVG
6. Continue to support Pedestrian Charter.
- Introduce pedestrian-first planning for all new developments; limit or eliminate erosion of “pedestrian space” to accommodate development cost savings.
- Adjust signals/lights to better accommodate pedestrian flows, not traffic flows.
- Develop and enhance “Safe Routes to Schools” with real infrastructure improvements instead of lines on maps.
- Crosswalks: there is a distinct shortage of crosswalks in residential areas. Drivers are less aware of rights-of-way at corners, suggesting markings on pavement are needed.
- Advertising/education/enforcement campaign to promote pedestrian rights and motor vehicle code at intersections.
- Sidewalk completion in under-serviced areas; especially in Queensborough.
7. Cycling
- Work towards completion of cycling network.
- Review cycling route plan. Get away from “grid” pattern that does not accommodate cyclist needs (i.e. avoid step hills, cyclist-friendly intersections, avoid cyclist blindspots);
- Support and enhance end-of-trip infrastructure development.
- Work towards dedicated bike routes with separation from traffic on selected routes.
8. Transit: Improve connectedness within community.
- Increased bus shelters- stable funding to provide shelters with development.
- Lobby Translink for reduced-emission bus fleet.
- Consider “heritage icon” transportation project; cable car or creative way to connect uptown and downtown along City’s burgeoning “development spine” – 6th Ave.
- Connectivity between Uptown and Skytrain should be priority with aging uptown population.
- Continue to encourage transit-oriented development around City’s 5 Skytrain Stations.
9. Goods Movement: move the goods, reduce the impact.
- Emphasize efficient goods movement via modes that support other livability and GHG-reduction goals.
- Adjust industrial lands strategy to encourage industry that does not rely on intensive truck movement. Provide Property tax incentives to industrial and commercial land users that work to reduce GHG emissions and truck loads on City streets.
- Lobby governments and agencies to promote the use of rail, short-sea shipping, and other energy-efficient transportation alternatives for industrial lands.
10. Automobiles
- Continue traffic-calming measures to keep through-commuters on arterial roads.
- Move towards 30km/h speed limits in all non-arterial roads in residential areas, on roads lacking centre-lines, and on all bike routes.
