Staff Report: CRD Transportation Governance Workbook

CRD TRANSPORTATION GOVERNANCE WORKBOOK

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT each member of Council complete the “Capital Regional District Transportation Governance Engagement Workbook” and return to staff for collating and presenting to the September 12, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with information that can be used to respond to the CRD’s Transportation Governance Workbook. The report identifies Town documents, strategies, plans and initiatives that may be relevant to Council when interpreting the questions presented in the workbook.

TIME CRITICAL:

The CRD’s timeline to return the questionnaire is September 29, 2023. However, the CRD is amenable to extending the submission date given the Town’s Council schedule.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Responses to the questionnaire are informed by many relevant Town documents including the Strategic Plan (2019-2022), Active Transportation Network Plan and ATNP Baseline Conditions Report (2023), and the Transportation Network Plan Technical Update (2016). Staff also consider BC Transit and MoTI plans and initiatives as important in creating the View Royal context.

Appendix B provides Council with a primer on the questionnaire, of which can be used to inform on Council’s responses. Once each member of Council has responded to the questionnaire, it is recommended that staff collate the results and present at the September 12, 2023 Committee of the Whole meeting for deliberation and resolution.

BACKGROUND:

The Capital Regional District (the “CRD”) recognizes that coordinated and active efforts from all parties is required to achieve local, regional and provincial climate action and transportation targets. As a result, the CRD announced in June 2023 the commencement of regional engagement to gather input on transportation governance. The CRD noted that:

…A collaborative approach will help identify any changes needed to optimize our governance model and enhance the overall transportation experience across all modes. The information will help inform decisions around future transportation governance that will best enable the region to meet its transportation mode share and greenhouse gas reduction targets.¹

In July 2023, the CRD presented their transportation governance workbook package to local governments, electoral areas, the province (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Transit), and relevant partner agencies (Island Corridor Foundation, Victoria Airport, BC Ferry Services). The CRD presented background information to Council as a petition and delegation at the September 5, 2023 regular Council meeting. The CRD requests each organization complete the workbook questionnaire, complete with their respective Council resolutions, by Friday, September 29, 2023.

The CRD’s goal is to gather valuable insight into the challenges, expectations, and aspirations for transportation governance within the capital region. The CRD’s intent is to collect the findings of this engagement period to inform them on potential changes that could help achieve shared transportation mode share and greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The workbook is divided into three (3) sections:

1. Introduction and background - an explanation of the CRD’s current transportation planning model and examples of what transportation governance can look like;
2. Questionnaire - identifying key trade-offs, challenges and opportunities in regional transportation governance, and determining level of support;
3. Glossary.

A full copy of the Workbook is appended as Appendix A of this report.

DISCUSSION:

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with information on relevant Town documents, plans, and initiatives that could aid Council in making informed decisions with respect to the CRD’s questionnaire. Staff have provided input into how these Town documents can impact the responses to the questionnaire.

Questionnaire: Staff Interpretation

The questionnaire covers a wide range of transportation related issues and opportunities. Thought and attention is required of Council to:

1. Consider the trade-offs in prioritizing local versus regional transportation improvements: Which focus would have the greatest impact on improving mobility for View Royal residents?
2. Consider what types of actions a regional governance structure should take to improve mobility for View Royal residents: Should a new governance structure strike a balance between regional and local priorities or should this structure place more emphasis on improving regional priorities?
3. Consider how a regional governance structure can create new opportunities and challenges: What matters most to the Town of View Royal?

Staff identifies the following documents, plans and initiatives as integrally relevant to the matters of the CRD’s questionnaire:

• Strategic Plan (2019-2022) – specifically in shifting the primary mode within View Royal away from vehicles to walking, cycling and transit (Priority A, Goal 1);
• Financial Plan (2023-2027) – specifically, the capital planning of Town transportation projects for the next five years;
• BC Transit Esquimalt-View Royal Local Area Transit Plan – BC Transit’s document outlining the future of transit within View Royal;
• ATNP Baseline Conditions Report (2023) – A supplemental document to the Active Transportation Network Plan. The report provides key metrics on how View Royal residents and the surrounding community utilize the Town’s transportation corridors;
• Active Transportation Network Plan (2023) – the most up to date document on active travel in the Town of View Royal. The report inherently incorporates the above noted plans and strategies to provide a holistic, prioritized plan to improve the Town’s transportation infrastructure;
• Transportation Master Plan Technical Update (2016) – while the active travel portion of the report is superseded by the Active Transportation Network Plan, there are elements pertaining to traffic levels, especially vehicles, that are still relevant today.

[Diagram: Figure 1: View Royal Context. A central yellow circle labeled "Staff Input & Context" is surrounded by six grey boxes with arrows pointing toward the center. The surrounding boxes are: Active Transportation Network Plan (2023), ATNP Baseline Conditions Report (2023), Strategic Plan (2019-2022), Financial Plan (2023-2027), Transportation Master Plan Technical Update (2016), and Other (BC Transit & MoTI projects and Plans, etc).]

Figure 1: View Royal Context

Staff’s interpretation of the questionnaire within the context of the above noted documents is included in Appendix B of this report. It should be noted that many elements of the questionnaire require an opinion from the Town’s decision-makers, especially pertaining to levels of service. Staff were unable to provide comment to those questionnaire elements as a result.

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

There are no direct sustainability or climate change impacts that would result from Council decisions pertaining to regional transportation governance. However, there may be indirect impacts: the spirit of the CRD’s exercise is to determine the level of support for regional transportation governance that could positively benefit in achieving transportation mode share and greenhouse gas reduction targets. Additional information will be required of the CRD to determine the magnitude of this indirect impact.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

There are no direct financial implications that would result from Council decisions pertaining to regional transportation governance. However, there may be indirect impacts with respect to the funding / grant funding of projects that are “regionally beneficial” versus “locally beneficial”. While many of the Town’s active transportation priorities lie within the CRD’s Regional Multi-Model Network, it is unknown how high of a priority these projects are within the region. Additional information will be required of the CRD to determine the magnitude of this indirect impact.

CONCLUSION:

The CRD has released its transportation governance workbook package to the region, to (1) obtain information on what the level of support is for regional transportation governance, and (2) gather feedback from the region regarding opinions on trade offs, challenges and opportunities in regional transportation governance. The CRD requests that the questionnaire be completed by Council, complete with resolution, by Friday September 29, 2023.

Staff identified documents, strategies, plans and initiatives that may be relevant to Council when interpreting the questions presented in the workbook (Appendix B). Staff acknowledge that some responses require an opinion on level of service from decision-makers: staff were not able to comment on these questions as a result.

To endeavor to meet CRD timelines, staff recommend that each member of Council respond to the questionnaire and return to staff for the purposes of collating results and re-presenting for further deliberation / resolution at the September 12, 2023 Committee of the Whole Meeting. The CRD has acknowledges that an extension from the September 29, 2023 may be granted, given that the next Council Meeting for the Town is October 3, 2023.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A: Correspondence from Ted Robbins, CAO, Capital Regional District RE: CRD Transportation Governance Workbook Package (to be completed by Council)

Appendix B: Staff input on the CRD Transportation Governance Questionnaire (for Council information)

¹ Capital Regional District (2023, June 14). CRD to gather input on regional transportation governance. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.crd.bc.ca/about/news/article/2023/06/14/crd-to-gather-input-on-regional-transportation-governance