What’s new with TAC’s Mobility Council

Thursday, November 24, 2022

This is one in a series of six articles on TAC’s Fall Technical Meetings that were held in Edmonton on October 1 and 2, 2022. Each article will profile one council and its committees.

TAC’s Mobility Council held a varied and productive meeting in Edmonton, with 30 attendees.

Technical projects

Council Chair Brian Hollingworth shared the good news that a pooled-fund project on shared micromobility services in Canadian communities, which the Council endorsed in April 2022, had quickly met its funding target and would launch this fall with 15 funding partners.

An eight-member Transportation Finance Committee working group presented a volunteer project report, “The Importance of Transportation Funding: Framing the Issues.” Group leader David Kriger said the report identifies major funding challenges facing transportation agencies, presents opportunities and potential approaches, and suggests areas for further work by TAC and its volunteers. The committee will use the report as a tool to build awareness of funding issues with other TAC councils and committees.

Invited speakers

The Council heard a presentation by guest Olga Messinis of Toole Design Group on “Transforming Transportation in Edmonton.” She reviewed a decade-long timeline of transportation policy and infrastructure developments.

It also heard from guest Prof. Eric Miller of the University of Toronto about “Transportation in an Age of Disruption: A Speculative Discussion.” Reflecting on the concept of cities as complex systems, he explored the short- and long-term impacts of major disruptive forces including COVID-19, new vehicle technologies, and climate change impacts.

Committee updates

The Mobility Council is supported by four committees that had met previously.

The Active Transportation Integrated Committee (ATIC) had 47 participants at its meeting, including 11 first-time attendees. Lui Greco of CNIB presented practical considerations for helping pedestrians with sight loss navigate streets and sidewalks, and Nathan Smith of City of Edmonton discussed the rapid implementation of Edmonton’s 2020 Bike Plan. ATIC discussed its ongoing “active transportation snapshot” volunteer project, and its work toward updating several aspects of TAC’s design guidance.

The Mobility Management Committee (MMC) meeting welcomed 15 people who heard a presentation by Naz Capano on City of Toronto initiatives to address on-street EV charging, e‑cargo bikes, delivery vehicle parking permits, and mini logistics hubs. MMC is actively considering the issue of EV charging through a possible technical project and future conference sessions. Other current interests include mobility service data and shared micromobility services, as well as transportation demand management which was the subject of a recent lunch-and-learn event.

The Transportation Finance Committee (TFC) meeting included eight attendees who approved a volunteer project report “The Importance of Transportation Funding: Framing the Issues” and heard about the work of TAC’s Vision Zero & Safe System Subcommittee. The committee discussed a possible project on lessons learned from public-private partnership (P3) projects in transportation, and generated ideas for TAC’s new online training program including a course on project business case development.

The Transportation Planning Committee (TPC) meeting attracted 35 people, who heard Prof. Eric Miller talk about the use of mobile data for travel demand analysis and modelling. The TPC discussed creating a user group for transportation modelling staff from TAC member organizations and plans to continue its successful series of lunch-and-learn events. A volunteer working group is considering an update to TAC’s 2014 publication Changing Practices in Data Collection on the Movement of People.


Mobility Council Executive volunteers

  • Chair – Brian Hollingworth (City of Hamilton)
  • Vice-Chair – David MacIsaac (Halifax Regional Municipality)
  • Chair, Active Transportation Integrated Committee – Elizabeth Pugh (Nova Scotia Public Works)
  • Chair, Mobility Management Committee – Rob Poapst (City of Winnipeg)
  • Chair, Transportation Finance Committee – Jacquelyn Hayward (City of Toronto)
  • Chair, Transportation Planning Committee – Mehemed Delibasic (McIntosh Perry)
  • Past Chair – Lisa Salsberg (Access Planning)
  • Board Liaison – Michael Thompson (City of Calgary)

Contact Romaine Morrison for more information on the Mobility Council and its committees.

 

 


Thank you to our Premier Sponsors