TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT: FINAL ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK PLAN

FINAL ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK PLAN

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Active Transportation Network Plan be received for information.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to (1) summarize the changes that have been made to the Active Transportation Network Plan (the “ATNP”) that was discussed with Council during the April 18, 2023 regular Council meeting, (2) provide Council with a narrative on ‘next steps’ as part of the project prioritization and detail design processes, and (3) present the Final ATNP for receipt.

TIME CRITICAL:

The deadline to receive the Provincial Active Transportation Planning grant is May 31, 2023.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The ATNP is a high level document meant to identify gaps and show needs. Council is not bound by its priority plan or concept designs as a result. Staff will rely on the guidance of Council on project priorities and design options as part of future deliberations.

At the April 18, 2023 regular Council meeting, Council directed staff to make 15 revisions to the draft ATNP. These have been incorporated into the Final ATNP (Appendix A).

In addition to this, Council provided additional discussion points on Active Transportation in general that should be considered during the budget / project deliberations and detail design phases of future projects. As a result, the purpose of this Council report is to function as the cover memo to the ATNP to ensure that these comments are brought forward for future budget, project, and detail design deliberations.

BACKGROUND:

At the April 18, 2023 regular Council meeting, Council directed staff to make 15 revisions to the draft ATNP: eight of these revisions (consolidated from 11 comments) were items that staff were already committed to accommodating prior to the April 18 meeting. An additional five revisions were accommodated as part of the April 18th meeting deliberations. These revisions are summarized in Appendix A of this report.

One of the revisions involved consolidating the pedestrian project priorities map. This is included in Appendix B of this report.

Many of the other comments from Council (presented at the April 18, 2023 Council meeting) are either detail design or initiative based. As a result, these comments will be referenced and responded to by staff during the budget deliberation and detail design phases of future projects.

MOVING FORWARD:

Council is not bound by the priority plan or the concept designs identified in the ATNP. The ATNP is a high level document that is meant to identify gaps and show needs. Staff expect that the level of service, project priority and choice of design options be guided by Council as part of future budget and project deliberations.

Moving forward, staff will be relying on future Councils to:

• Identify projects that Council deems to be a priority, and to approve and identify these projects as part of the annual budget deliberation process. Council may use the ATNP as a guide, but they are by no means bound to the recommendations identified in the document.
• Provide staff with future direction in providing additional details that may aid in Council’s prioritization strategy.
• Provide staff with direction on alternative options for consideration in specific active transportation projects. This could be done when Council wishes to seek alternative options to vary scope, cost or design.
• Provide staff with direction on which design option to pursue.

Staff will be referring and responding to the remaining Council comments during the budget deliberation and detail design phases of future projects. Staff have organized this into a comments tracking list for future reference. This list is available in the Town’s April 18, 2023 Active Transportation Network Plan staff report under “Appendix A – Responses to Council’s Comments”.

Further public engagement will be conducted as part of the detail design process. While the level of engagement may vary from project-to-project, it is expected that significant engagement would be required for projects that see a significant improvement in active transportation assets. Council may also direct staff on the level of engagement during the budget deliberation process.

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

The ATNP is a guide to improving active transportation within the Town of View Royal. With the guidance of Council in (1) prioritizing projects as part of budget deliberations and (2) making key decisions in the detail design phases of future projects, the improvements will help in meeting mode share and climate targets as indicated in the ATNP.

CONCLUSION:

With Council’s comments from the April 18, 2023 regular Council meeting being addressed in the Final ATNP, and the cover memo informing future readers of Council’s ability to guide the priority project and design process, staff recommend receipt of the Final ATNP.

ATTACHMENTS:

Final Active Transportation Network Plan Appendix A: Revisions made from Draft ATNP (Council Requests) Appendix B: Priority Short and Long Term Pedestrian Improvements Map