awards

sustainable urban transportation Award

Subject Area and Award Eligibility

TAC has established a Sustainable Urban Transportation Award to recognize exemplary contributions by a TAC member in the area of sustainable urban transportation. The award is open to all members of TAC and their respective staff including all individual members, private companies, public sector agencies, academic institutions and related transportation organizations. Members who have made a contribution to the development and enhancement of sustainable urban transportation and who have been particularly innovative in their approach to moving sustainable urban transportation forward would be eligible for the award.

This award was established in memory of TAC staff member John Hartman, who passed away in August 1999. John Hartman, who was the association’s director of transportation forums, played a key role in the formation of the Urban Transportation Council in 1991 and the development of TAC’s 1993 landmark New Vision for Urban Transportation in Canada. He was also passionate about the topic of sustainable transportation.

The award acts to promote sustainable urban transportation and projects or activities which support TAC’s New Vision for Urban Transportation. The new vision identified key strategies to help create cities which will be more efficient, environmentally friendly and desirable to live in. The implementation of the strategies is considered critical in reducing the overall economic, social and environmental costs which have been associated with past urban development and transportation trends.

Key components of the New Vision for Urban Transportation include:

  • more compact, mixed use urban form to reduce the need for travel and enhance travel options.
  • less dependence on single occupant autos through more choice and opportunities for walking, cycling, transit and high occupancy vehicles.
  • new financing methods, based on the user pay principle, with revenues dedicated to transportation system improvements.

Nomination Requirements

A representative of any TAC member may make a nomination by submitting a one-page abstract electronically to Sarah Wells at swells@tac-atc.ca by January 25, 2013.

This is a required first step of the submission process. The abstract should demonstrate how the full submission will address the Sustainable Urban Transportation Award evaluation criteria outlined below. The abstract should be 1 page in length, 12 point font, single spaced.

If the nominee's abstract is approved, the nominating individual will be contacted by February 18 and invited to make a full submission to TAC prior to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 22, 2013.

This submission should be no longer than seven (7) pages of text on 8.5" x 11" sheets with size 12 font. Supporting photos and diagrams are not to be included in the seven-page limit and should be attached as an appendix (maximum 5 pages).

Submissions should:

(1) identify the organization or person being nominated;

(2) outline what activity or initiative was undertaken and how it contributes to the development and enhancement of sustainable urban transportation;

(3) describe how the project demonstrates innovation in terms of process, technical characteristics and/or financing;

(4) illustrate how the approach, outcome and/or findings of the project are transferable to other Canadian communities; and

(5) describe performance results to date, wherever possible.

Nominations could involve a program, project or new process that address sustainable urban transportation. Ideally, submissions should detail an initiative carried out or implemented during 2012. Submissions should address all four evaluation criteria discussed in the section below.

Your March 22 submission must consist of an electronic file in PDF format. The submission, with appendices if applicable, should be e-mailed to:

Katarina Cvetkovic
Program Manager
E-mail: kcvetkovic@tac-atc.ca

Review Procedures and Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be reviewed and judged by a panel selected by the TAC Sustainable Transportation Standing Committee. Eligible projects will be judged according to the four criteria described below. Submissions that clearly demonstrate how a project succeeds under each criterion will receive top marks.

1) DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION (18 POINTS):

Projects that enhance the sustainability of urban transportation through social, economic, and environmental components will receive top marks. Evaluators will use the Centre for Sustainable Transportation's definition of a sustainable transportation system:

  • Social - Allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations.
  • Economic - Is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy.
  • Environmental - Limits emissions and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise.

2) DEGREE OF INNOVATION (18 POINTS)

Innovation in this case is national in scope and should be viewed through a "cross-Canada" lens. Innovation will be considered related to technical, process (e.g. performance monitoring, consultation) and financial components. Projects which are innovative in all three areas will achieve top marks.

3) TRANSFERABILITY TO OTHER CANADIAN COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS (18 POINTS)

Projects that have successfully addressed an issue of broad concern relevant to other cities and organizations in Canada, and can be applied with local modifications to other areas of Canada will get top marks.

4) ADDED VALUE (6 POINTS)

This criterion will reward projects for any contributions not included in the other three criteria. Activities meriting added value could include communication and promotional activities and partnerships created or supported by the project.

Deadlines for the Sustainable Urban Transportation Award

  • Abstracts to be submitted to TAC: January 25
  • Review Panel to complete screening of abstracts: February 12
  • Screening results to be communicated to nominees: February 18
  • Full submissions to be delivered to TAC: March 22 (prior to 12:00 pm EST)
  • Selected nominees to be invited to present at the TAC Conference: April 26
  • Results to be communicated to nominees: June 19

Award Presentation

The award is normally given annually based on the recommendation of the Evaluation Panel and endorsement of TAC's Urban Transportation Council, and will be presented at the TAC Conference.

As a means of promoting sustainable urban transportation, nominees are expected to present their respective projects at the TAC 2013 Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 22-25. Accordinly, these presentations will be included in the TAC 2013 conference proceedings. The award recipient(s) will be featured in an upcoming edition of TAC News.