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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-12-016 - Draft Transportation Master PlanREPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: June 18, 2012 SUBMITTED BY: John McBride, Director Transportation Services, 741-2374 PREPARED BY: John McBride, Director Transportation Services, 741-2374 WARD INVOLVED: All Wards DATE OF REPORT: June 7, 2012 REPORT NO.: INS-12-016 SUBJECT: DRAFT TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS: That the Draft Transportation Master Plan prepared by IBI Group, dated May 2012 be received and released to the public for review and to provide comments and input to the City; and further, That staff be directed to report back to a future Community and Infrastructure Services Committee meeting in the fall of 2012 to report on the results of the public consultation and seek final approval of the study. BACKGROUND: The City has never had its own Transportation Master Plan (TMP). We have until now relied on direction from the Province and Region to help define the manner in which transportation choices and direction are made in Kitchener. Previous Official Plans have incorporated some transportation policies, but until now there has never been an all-encompassing plan that will integrate the various components that make up the transportation network and support a complete and healthy Kitchener. The purpose of the Transportation Master Plan is to define and prioritize a transportation network that is supportive of all modes of travel. Options have been developed for improved walking, cycling and transit, while maintaining and improving the efficiency of trips related to the movement of people and goods, thereby reducing dependency on single occupant vehicle trips. This will be accomplished in conjunction with Regional initiatives that support intensification efforts in a sustainable manner. ïï ó ï The Transportation Master Plan will define policy and direction for future transportation projects and planned growth. It will serve as a component of the new City Official Plan (OP), which is scheduled for completion later this year. The TMP has followed the provincially approved planning process for Master Plans. REPORT: The IBI Group was retained to assist the City in developing the TMP. Key components of their tasks were to: Develop a Transportation Master Plan that will provide a comprehensive, fully integrated and sustainable transportation network, Develop policies that will form the basis of programs and transportation initiatives for the 5, 10 and 20 year time frame, Provide the framework for measurable and positive changes that will help to shift greater emphasis towards the use of pedestrian, cycling and transit facilities, Recognize and provide support for higher order transit (LRT, VIA, GO) and the fundamental changes in the way that the City grows in response to these alternate transportation choices. Our approach has been a very collaborative one, with numerous meetings with various stakeholders to try and clearly define issues and opportunities to be addressed in the development of the TMP. Our Current Transportation Network It is expected that with the short list of capacity enhancement and selected intersection improvements recommended in this Transportation Master Plan (TMP), the City of Kitchener will be well positioned to accommodate forecasted local traffic growth and travel demands over the next 20 years. In fact Kitchener’s street network provides a number of advantages compared to many other similar sized cities, the most important being: Most of the busiest high volume arterial streets in Kitchener are Regional Roads provided by the Region of Waterloo, and the Region has its own updated plan to maintain the capacity and operating capability of these major roads to serve autos, transit, goods movement and active transportation; Kitchener’s street network is based on an irregular grid of continuous travel corridors with few gaps created by topography, land use or major natural features such as rivers and valley lands; and The Kitchener street network has the advantage of including internal freeway corridors (Highway 7, 8, 7/8 and 85) which divert high volumes of internal and through traffic off surrounding regional and City streets. ïï ó î Our Future Direction Even with these advantages, existing travel in and through Kitchener continues to be auto dominated. Furthermore, travel forecasts in Kitchener show that any continuation of “business as usual” in current local travel behaviour will have significant impacts on the City overall, and more specifically on the ability to travel about the City safely, conveniently and at an acceptable level-of-service. In some cases business as usual will require up to a doubling of infrastructure investment by the City to maintain this level of transportation service, compared to the more transit-oriented future envisioned by the City and Region over the next 20 years. The City has confirmed through this TMP that continued dependence on private auto use over the next 20 years is not sustainable from either a community or financial perspective. Therefore, the TMP has set a goal to reduce this auto dependence by 2031. To support this overall goal, the TMP includes implementation measures designed to meet the objectives of: updating transportation policies where required; providing enhanced alternative modes of transportation for walking, cycling and the support of transit; supporting the integration of both conventional and rapid transit operations in the City; building a city form that requires less reliance on cars; and supporting growth intensification initiatives in a sustainable manner. Needed Infrastructure Improvements Kitchener’s network of local and regional streets is almost complete to serve travel needs over the next 20 years. The only major network gaps first include a River Road extension linking River Road at King Street with Bleams Road at Manitou Drive, thereby creating a new continuous east-west street corridor extending from Trussler Road to Victoria Street via Bleams Road and River Road. The Region is currently preparing a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) to confirm the most sensitive alignment possible for this extension in the vicinity of the Hidden Valley Forest. The second network gap is located in Southwest Kitchener where the extension of Strasburg Road south to New Dundee Road is needed to serve increased traffic demand associated with planned growth in this part of Kitchener. The third and final gap to be addressed is completion of the Block Line Road extension between Homer Watson Blvd and Courtland Avenue which the City will be constructing in 2012 – 2013. All three of these road gap projects are already recommended in the Regional TMP, along with 19 other regional road capacity and transit enhancements and four MTO highway improvements. Additional capacity enhancements are recommended in the Kitchener TMP on five (5) city street sections along with up to 16 city and city/region intersection improvements over the next 20 years. ïï ó í Other transportation infrastructure improvements in the Kitchener TMP focus on developing the planned network of multi-use pathways and trails, and the City and Region’s planned network of on and off-road bikeways and trails. Even with these infrastructure improvements, it is expected that some peak hour or peak period congestion will occur at key strategic locations in the network. Examples of this include in the downtown, near major employment and traffic generators and at some freeway entrances and exits. It is no longer reasonable, or financially sustainable, to provide maximum transportation capacity and level of service at all locations during all hours of the day. This is one of the key reasons why the public must be provided travel choices in the City to reduce reliance on the private auto as the only or best mode of transportation in Kitchener. Other Higher Level Transportation Initiatives In addition to implementation measures recommended for the City in the TMP, a number of supporting higher level initiatives by other levels of government also form an important part of the plan, most notably: planned LRT service in Waterloo Region starting in 2017 with Stage 1 service along the Central Transit Corridor in Kitchener and Waterloo; continuation of GO rail service between Kitchener and Toronto’s Union Station to be provided out of the planned Multi-Modal Transit Hub in downtown Kitchener; and provision of adequate access to and from Highway 401 for the City of Kitchener in support of local, regional and provincial goods movements in this area. Preparing for Future Challenges While the existing City of Kitchener transportation system is well positioned to serve current and short term local travel needs, new medium and long term challenges are expected that need to be addressed through the implementation, review and updating of the TMP: Travel behaviour shifts are expected with an aging population who will evolve into greater auto dependency, changing housing needs with less trip-making (i.e. less commuting through retirement) and increased use of mobility aids such as electric scooters. Other travel behaviour shifts are expected in response to the growing cost of transportation (i.e. fuel) and use of alternative forms of transportation including bicycles, electric bikes and scooters; Daily travel patterns are expected to adjust to major changes in the City form, most noticeably through closer home/work distances, intensified redevelopment along the Central Transit Corridor, active transportation opportunities, Southwest Kitchener growth and the introduction of more Transit-Oriented Development projects. More complex trip-making will grow in the City where the home-work trip expands into more multipurpose trip-making (called Trip Chaining i.e. home, work, recreation, shopping, home); and ïï ó ì Any growth in peak period congestion on key streets and intersections will first require enhancement of intersection capacity and operational capability as identified in the TMP. However, transit capacity will also require enhancement at these locations through increased transit infrastructure and service and increased priority to transit on City streets. This will include the introduction of LRT service along the Central Transit Corridor in Kitchener, with associated reductions in auto carrying capacity and turn restrictions at unsignalized intersections. The impacts of these changes on traffic diversion and potential neighbourhood traffic intrusion need to be carefully monitored and addressed by the Region and City. New Official Plan Policies As part of preparing the Kitchener TMP, the existing transportation section of the Official Plan was reviewed to identify subjects, objectives and policies which should be; 1) retained, 2) significantly revised, 3) removed and 4) augmented with new policies. The TMP will provide the basis for development of the new transportation section of the Official Plan to reflect the shift towards a more inclusive and sustainable choice of travel modes for the public. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: This initiative falls under a number of strategic directions including: Quality of Life, in that we will work with partners, including all orders of government, to create a culture of safety in our community; Community Engagement, in that we have consulted with numerous advisory committees and through public information centres to solicit input into the development of this TMP; Development, in that this TMP is based on direction from both the Province and Region in relation to growth management, the recognition of key quality of life indicators and the balanced approach to replacing or expanding infrastructure; and, Environment, in that the inclusion of the Transportation Demand Management Strategy and other efforts to reduce reliance on the single vehicle auto trips will have environmental benefits. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The financial requirements identified in the TMP are based on the existing approved capital budget and future projects identified in the TMP. Funding sources include the general tax levy, development charges and the parking enterprise. ïï ó ë COMMUNICATIONS: Extensive public and agency consultation has already taken place in an attempt to gather thoughts, concerns, issues and potential outcomes as input into the development of the TMP. Public notifications and consultation have included: Publication of Notice of Study Commencement Public information centre Website Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee Compass Kitchener Advisory Group Cycling Advisory Committee Mayors Advisory Council for Kitchener’s Seniors Downtown Advisory Committee Economic Development Advisory Committee Kitchener Youth Action Council Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee CONCLUSIONS: It is now intended to release the draft TMP for public input. It will be circulated to the various committees which were previously consulted as well as the development industry for their input. A second PIC will be held in September to gather input from the general public. The results of these consultations will be incorporated into the final report, which would then be brought back to Council in the fall of 2012. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO Infrastructure Services Department ïï ó ê