Welcome from the ExecutiveThe millions of Canadians who live in urban areas need sustainable, multimodal travel choices. To support this goal, the Urban Transportation Council addresses transit, active transportation, new mobility services, climate change, tools for better planning, and more. Meetings of the Council are open to all TAC members, and we especially encourage young professionals to get involved. Our next gathering will be on Sunday, April 7 in Ottawa at TAC’s Spring Technical Meetings. Council Chair: Sabbir Saiyed, Region of Peel |
The Urban Transportation Council met in Saskatoon on Sunday, September 30. Attendees included 20 members and 14 friends. The Council received two special presentations: one from Alta Planning + Design on the U.S. FHWA’s new Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity guidebook, and another from the Ministère des Transports du Québec on the province’s new Sustainable Mobility Policy. The Council also received updates from its three standing committees:
During the meeting, the Council debated and recommended amendments to the Terms of Reference of TAC’s new Connected and Automated Vehicles Task Force. The Council also identified and discussed a number of other key issues including Vision Zero, pedestrian strategies, rapid transit, congestion, and shared and electric vehicles.
The Council’s standing committees organized many technical sessions at the TAC Conference in Saskatoon, including the three summarized below. You can stream recordings of these and other conference sessions (audio and PowerPoint decks) at the TAC Online Learning Centre.
On Tuesday, October 2 the Transportation Planning and Research Standing Committee organized a session that addressed a range of planning case studies. Speakers represented LEA Consulting, WSP, MORR Transportation Consulting, CIMA+, HDR Corporation and the City of Saskatoon. Their topics included laneway design, interchange reconstruction, pedestrian counts, transportation master planning, and bus rapid transit. View the presentations
On Tuesday, October 2 the Sustainable Transportation Standing Committee organized a panel discussion on the integration of new mobility options into the public transit ecosystem. Speakers from the Canadian Urban Transit Association, the City of Montréal, Arup, and Pacific Western Transportation addressed autonomous and electric vehicle technologies, ride-hailing, bike sharing, mobility as a service, and other emerging opportunities. View the presentations
On Monday, October 1 the Transportation Finance Standing Committee organized a panel discussion on innovative pricing approaches to generate revenue and manage travel demand. Two speakers from Montréal’s Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) addressed the use of development charges to pay for transit infrastructure, and a planner from TransLink in Vancouver talked about new approaches to road and transit pricing. View the presentations
TAC continues to seek funding partners for these pooled-fund projects.
This series of TAC projects tracks transportation trends in Canadian urban areas. This sixth iteration will use data from Canada’s 35 census metropolitan areas and the 2016 Canadian Census to build on previous surveys from 1995, 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2013. It will develop an electronic database and a comprehensive report with time-series analyses. The project has an estimated funding requirement of $225,000, with one committed funding partner to date. More details
This project will examine Canadian experiences with public-private partnerships for the construction and operation of major transit projects. It will identify critical opportunities and challenges for public agencies, and lessons learned from transit P3s with respect to risk management, project delivery, financing and project outcomes. The project has an estimated funding requirement of $145,000, which has been 50% met to date by five committed funding partners. More details
This project is exploring current practices, identifying gaps, and recommending ways to strengthen health considerations in transportation planning, design and decision making. Project consultants Urban Design 4 Health and Alta Planning + Design will present their recommendations at the 2019 Spring Technical Meetings in Ottawa, and publication of the final report will follow. More details
This project is developing learning materials to raise awareness among industry and government about the significance of goods movement for transportation and the economy, and about issues faced by the industry. The project consultant WSP will present its final deliverables at the 2019 Spring Technical Meetings in Ottawa, and learning events delivered by TAC will follow. More details
This project, now in its early stages, will examine performance-based evaluation, optimization and decision-making processes and techniques, and will recommend tools to support goals such as cross-asset optimization. Final deliverables are expected in 2021. More details
This volunteer project is developing a compendium of ways that Canadian legislation and regulations are enabling the implementation and operation of modern bikeway facilities. More details
Based on a survey of TAC members, this volunteer project will identify pressing issues, constraints and opportunities related to supporting transit, active transportation and transportation demand management initiatives through better engagement with the public and key stakeholders. More details
This volunteer project, initiated at the TAC Fall Technical Meetings in Saskatoon, will identify different approaches to quantifying the future demand for proposed walking and cycling facilities. More details
Deadline – February 22
Help us recognize TAC volunteers who have made a real difference! Check out TAC’s new awards for 2019, including the Leadership Award, Individual Contribution Award, and Committee Excellence Award. They join our Distinguished Service Award, which remains TAC’s highest honour. Get more information or nominate a colleague or committee by February 22
2018 TAC Sustainable Urban Transportation Award
At TAC’s conference in 2018, the City of Montréal took home this prestigious award for its transformation of an elevated expressway to an at-grade boulevard with comfortable active transportation facilities and attractive public spaces. More details
TAC webinar – February 19
This webinar will introduce the BC Community Road Safety Toolkit, which was designed to transfer best practices to cities and towns across the province; its three modules offer effective strategies and tools to enhance municipal road safety programs. The webinar will also profile the small community of Chilliwack, BC, which has shown how setting goals, building relationships and fostering engagement can yield big road safety rewards, even when resources are limited. Register for this webinar (FREE for TAC members and students, $20 for others)
TAC seminar – May 7 (Vancouver) & May 9 (Toronto)
This one-day seminar will provide planners and designers with an overview of complete street design based on TAC’s 2017 Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads. It will focus on multimodal street design in urban environment with an emphasis on determining modal priority, identifying and making design trade-offs, and applying these approaches to concrete examples. Get more information or register for this seminar
TAC seminar – February 11-12 (Edmonton), February 14-15 (Calgary), February 25-26 (GTA East), February 28-March 1 (GTA West), April 8-9 (Vancouver), April 11-12 (Victoria), April 29-30 (Winnipeg), May 2-3 (Saskatoon)
This two-day seminar for experienced road designers will address nine real-world geometric design challenges for Canadian road. Participants will be expected to participate actively in assessing and shaping potential design solutions, and in discussing actual final designs from the standpoint of practicality, potential user challenges, and general risks and cost-effectiveness. Get more information or register for this seminar
Watch these and other recorded webinars on demand at the TAC Online Learning Centre.
TAC webinar – December 4, 2018
This webinar examined challenges faced by complete street projects. Speakers addressed the Argyle & Grafton Shared Streetscape Project in Halifax, the Main Street Renewal project in Ottawa, and the art of making trade-offs when designing complete streets. View the webinar (FREE for TAC members and students, $15 for others)
TAC webinar – November 20, 2018
This webinar provided an overview of bicycle highway planning, design and implementation, with speakers from British Columbia and London, UK. View the webinar (FREE for TAC members and students, $15 for others)
TAC webinar – November 6, 2018
This webinar highlighted the use of flood risk and traffic microsimulation models to predict the evacuation-related impacts of different flooding scenarios for the Halifax Peninsula, and discussed issues related to natural disasters, vulnerable populations and ethics. View the webinar (FREE for TAC members and students, $15 for others)
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