TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN – WHAT WE HEARD IN ENGAGEMENT #2

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated June 15, 2026 from the Director of Engineering titled “Transportation Master Plan – What We Heard in Engagement #2” be received for information.

PURPOSE:

To provide an executive summary to the Committee on the engagement findings, baseline conditions, and next steps for the Town’s Transportation Master Plan Project.

BACKGROUND:

Engagement #1 focused on obtaining an understanding of how View Royal road users travel, where they go, and what issues they see. The Transportation Management Plan team harnessed that data and developed a draft mission statement, goals and objectives to reflect what was previously heard. Therefore, engagement #2 focused on gathering feedback on these draft mission statement, goals and objectives.

FAQ	Response
Why is it important to obtain feedback on the mission statement, goals and objectives?	There are many ways to solve transportation problems. However, the right solution to the problem is recommended to be one that aligns with the values and needs of the community and Council. Adopting solutions that reflect these values and needs help improve buy in, therefore creating a strong, linear transportation program from start (planning) to finish (construction).
Why a mission statement instead of a vision statement?	A vision statement has already been created in the Official Community Plan (OCP), of which culminated 6 transportation and mobility objectives. As the vision legwork has already been completed (identifying the desired state), a mission statement is more meaningful for the Transportation Master Plan (identifying the “what and how” to reach the desired state).

Engagement #2 Summary

Details of what was heard is identified in the attached What We Heard Summary (Attachment 1).

A total of 143 survey responses were received. Promotions were done via engagement website, 11 social media posts, E-newsletters, email notifications, and physical ‘sandwich board’ notifications at key gathering areas.

Generally, staff heard a general consensus on the draft mission statement, goals and objectives, notably:

Mission Statement:

71% of respondents indicated that they were aligned / strongly aligned with the mission statement:

View Royal’s transportation network supports our growing community and region with a progressive, affordable, and equitable system that promotes safe, enjoyable multi-modal travel for people of all ages and abilities.

Noted concerns of the mission statement included:

Requests to clarify terms such as “progressive” and “safe modal travel”
Request to place more focus on traffic congestion and regional flow into the statement, emphasizing bottlenecks, through traffic, and prioritizing vehicle movement and roadway capacity
Mixed statements that the mission statement overemphasizes active transportation, while equally there have been statements supporting a greater shift towards more multi-modal or sustainable transportation options.

Staff recommend keeping the mission statement as written because (1) the mission statement received strong alignment from the community, and (2) the noted concerns is one of several structural components of the transportation master plan, and as a result are answered in the goals and objectives portion of this staff report, which is the more appropriate location for the concerns to be addressed than the mission statement.

Goals and Objectives:

The project team distilled the engagement #1 findings to three goals, each with four objectives. These were proposed for survey respondents to rank to seek their top priorities.

The survey findings identify the following objectives being the most meaningful to the respondents (most meaningful shown below are objectives receiving greater than 20% of respondents support, indicating it being a top priority. See Attachment 1 for full results of all objectives):

Goal 1: Manage Congestion and Improve Travel Reliability

Prioritize improvements that enhance reliability and reduce bottlenecks (46%)
Prioritize strategies that enhance active transportation and transit forms of transportation (40%)

Goal 2: Reduce Neighbourhood Impacts from Through Traffic

Protect neighbourhoods through route heirarchy and diversion strategies (43%)
Manage impacts of non-local traffic on residential streets while maintaining connectivity (34%)
Monitor, manage and prioritize mitigation measures near schools, parks and community facilities (32%)

Goal 3: Promot Local and Regional Public Transit

Advocate and plan for higher-capacity inter-municipal transit options, including light rail (69%)

Other Key Themes

Other valuable key themes that will drive Transportation strategy include:

Priority Action Items – 47% of respondents stated that strengthening connections to Regional Active Transportation Networks as the highest priority, followed by 38% of respondents stating local and regional public transit should be promoted
Current Transit Use – 44% of respondents noted that they do not use transit. However, given the interest in respondents to promote transit, it is clear that improving access and level of service of public transit is key
Congestion – 43% of respondents noted experiencing congestion as often as daily

Interesting themes that also arose in the open comments included:

Concerns that active transportation infrastructure may worsen congestion…
…while there were also concurrent comments in support for active transportation infrastructure improvements to offer people better travel choices than vehicular travel
Rail being identified as a preferred long-term solution to regional congestion
Calls for collaboration with neighbouring municipalities, CRD and other levels of government
Incorporation of green infrastructure into the road network.

Next Steps and How Will These Engagement Findings Will Be Used

By aligning with goals and objectives that are supported by Council and the public, the Town will refine the solutions down to a recommended list, for further review. Doing so promotes buy-in on transportation improvements from concept development to post construction.

A draft transportation master plan is now being developed, creating solutions that integrate quantitative guidance (data backed support) with qualitative guidance (engagement support). This will commence the final Engagement #3 phase, providing direct opportunities for both Council and the public to influence the final master plan.

Additionally, the transportation master plan “Baseline Conditions Report” is almost complete, and will be posted for public consumption soon. This report will set the qualitative (data backed) narrative on the issues identified in the transportation network.

ANALYSIS:

Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:

Impact Area	Description
Community Impact:	Public engagement has been an important aspect of the transportation master plan to ensure that the proposed solutions achieve buy-in support
Inter-governmental Relations Impact:	Neighbouring municipalities, MoTT, CRD and other interest groups identified in the stakeholder register will be engaged in engagement phase 3.

ALIGNMENT:

The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:

Guiding Document	Alignment
Strategic Plan:	Strategic Priority A, Goal 4: Enhance Livability – Update the Transportation Master Plan
Official Community Plan (DRAFT):	Aligns with the 6 transportation and mobility objectives identified in Section 7.2 of the draft OCP

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:

The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:

[ ] Inform [X] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower [ ] N/A

TIME CRITICAL: N/A

REVIEWED BY:	Initials
Director of Corporate Administration	N/A
Director of Finance & Technology	N/A
Director of Development Services	N/A
Director of Engineering	IL
Director of Protective Services	N/A

TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN – WHAT WE HEARD IN ENGAGEMENT #2

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT