British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide

As part of the Province’s CleanBC plan to build a better future for all British Columbians, the British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide helps transform how we get around in a way that preserves dignity, reduces pollution and leads to better health outcomes, while making communities cleaner and more liveable. The Design Guide is the first of its kind to be adopted by a provincial government in Canada.
The Design Guide is a comprehensive set of planning and engineering guidelines offering recommendations for the planning, selection, design, implementation, and maintenance of active transportation facilities for communities of all sizes. It brings together engineering principles and best practices from the municipal, provincial, national, and international levels.

The Design Guide incorporates theory, recent research, design concepts, best practices, new methodologies, and innovations to maximize the benefits of investing in active transportation infrastructure. Universal access is included as the fundamental design criteria for all active transportation infrastructure design, ensuring that any facility intended for walking, cycling or other human-powered transport can be accessed by individuals of all ages and abilities.

The goals of the Design Guide are to:
• provide a reference that is useful for communities of all types, sizes, and contexts;
• create consistency in the design of active transportation facilities throughout the province;
• provide a widely available resource to increase the quality of the design of active transportation facilities throughout B.C. and beyond; and
• support provincial active transportation grant program with design guidance specific to B.C. to clarify the provincial government’s expectations for the design of active transportation facilities.

Training on the British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide for design professionals, community groups and elected officials is ongoing. Over 300 participants are expected to attend these sessions.The course will equip participants to:
• apply the Design Guide effectively to plan, design, implement and manage active transportation facilities;
• promote active transportation and the role of active transportation in the broader transportation system; and
• use GBA+ principles to consider the unique needs and issues of various types of people walking and cycling when designing.