Transportation Association of Canada Best Practices for the Technical Delivery of Long-Term Planning Studies in Canada Final Report October 2008 DISCLAIMER The material presented in this text was carefully researched and presented. However, no warranty expressed or implied is made on the accuracy of the contents or their extraction from reference to publications; nor shall the fact of distribution constitute responsibility by TAC or any researchers or contributors for omissions, errors or pos- sible misrepresentations that may result from use of interpretation of the material con- tained herein. Copyright 2008 by Transportation Association of Canada 2323 St. Laurent Blvd. Ottawa, ON K1G 4J8 Tel. (613) 736-1350 ~ Fax (613) 736-1395 www.tac-atc.ca ISBN 978-1-55187-261-7 Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Long-Term Transportation Planning Studies in Canada – Final Report ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Long-Term Transportation Planning Studies in Canada was made possible by funding provided by numerous agencies. TAC gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors for their contributions to this project: Alberta Transportation City of Burlington Ville de Gatineau Regional Municipality of Peel Ministère des Transports du Québec Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure City of Surrey Regional Municipality of Waterloo Production of this report has also been made possible through a financial contribution from Infrastructure Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Government of Canada. PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE This report was developed under the supervision of a project steering committee. The effort and participation of the project steering committee members was integral in the development of the report: David Durant, Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Chair) Jaime Boan, City of Surrey James Der, Alberta Transportation Tom Eichenbaum and Kerry Davren, City of Burlington Wayne Gienow and Miranda Carlberg, Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure Carol Hébert and Paul-André Roy, Ville de Gatineau Murray McLeod and Brian Lakeman, Regional Municipality of Peel Pierre Tremblay, Ministère des Transports du Québec J. Allen Stewart, Royal Military College (technical advisor) October 2008 i Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Long-Term Transportation Planning Studies in Canada – Final Report CONSULTANT TEAM iTRANS Consulting: David Kriger Elizabeth Szymanski Allison Clavelle Rhys Wolff October 2008 ii Best Practices for the Technical Delivery of Long-Term Planning Studies in Canada – Final Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Introduction The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), along with a number of sponsors, commissioned iTRANS Consulting Inc. to conduct the research project, Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Long-Term Transportation Planning Studies in Canada. This report describes the findings of the research. The research focused on the analytical tools and associated data that support long-term transportation planning practices of small- and medium-sized communities in Canada. The resultant report is intended to be a guide for municipalities having between 10,000 and 250,000 residents, although – as can be seen from the ensuing text – the results clearly are equally applicable to larger communities; and much of the research in best practices reflects these larger communities. In addition, it is important to note that the research has considered two types of small- and medium-sized communities: self-standing communities, and those that are part of a larger urban region. This is important, because the needs of the two types may differ. The research drew from the literature of best practices in Canada, the United States and overseas; and from an internet survey of Canadian government and municipal agencies. The consultant completed this research under the guidance of the Project Steering Committee (PSC), comprised of municipal, regional and provincial governments from across Canada. B. The Process of Transportation Planning Building a Long-term Transportation Planning Study Framework For the purposes of this study, a long-term transportation plan is a document that identifies the needs for transportation infrastructure, services or programmes for an urban area, commonly over a horizon of 10+ years or even longer. The document identifies priorities and costs magnitude, and typically is the product of an estimation of forecasted traffic or travel, the identification of resultant shortfalls in transportation capacity or services, the generation of alternate scenarios to meet these needs, and the selection of a recommended plan according to an established set of evaluation criteria. The document may be based upon a statement of some desired future condition (vision), and typically is linked with other community attributes and goals (e.g., sustainability, affordability, quality of life or economic development). The document may serve as a guideline, or it may become a legally-binding policy if it is adopted by the relevant authority. There are a number of long-term transportation plan types that a community should consider in building a transportation planning framework. The major plans cited in this report are: Transportation master plans or strategies, including bicycle and pedestrian transportation master plans Sub-area or neighbourhood transportation plans October 2008 iii Best Practices for the Technical Delivery of Long-Term Planning Studies in Canada – Final Report Corridor planning studies Transportation capital programmes / budgets Development charge studies Transit service or operational plans Policy or research / background studies (e.g. funding) Travel demand management studies Air quality / congestion management studies Freight / goods movement plans or strategies Environmental assessment studies Some of these types are triggered by regulatory requirements. Others are initiated to meet a specific identified need. Functionally the different study types are related. Moreover, some communities may link their planning studies via a top-down process, while others may use a bottom-up procedure. A top-down approach might start with a community plan and TMP, then proceed to implementation studies and, according to priorities agreed through the TMP process, to specific area or facility studies. Special studies, such as a pricing policy, might be developed to support the TMP. A bottom-up approach might start with a corridor planning study. That study might result in an environmental assessment but under this organizational scheme, the likely need also to address capital budgeting in turn would identify the need for a coordinating, big-picture statement; that is, for a TMP. Making Choices and Setting and Measuring Goals: Performance Indicators, Evaluation Measures, and Prioritization Strategies Performance indicators and evaluation measures work together to give municipalities tools to evaluate the system and identify preferred options, as well as to communicate progress and choices to the public. As described in the introductory chapter, performance indicators describe an attribute of a transportation system’s performance while an evaluation measure is the means used to quantify or qualify the indicator and provide an assessment of that attribute. Communities must develop a system of indicators and evaluation measures that are consistent with their goals, while being measurable and understandable by the public and politicians. C. Best Practices in Application of Transportation Planning Tools As a context to the survey, the study described demand forecasting methods. The description focused on the components of the four-stage model and how they work together, while also outlining other forecasting methods such as activity-based modelling and trends analysis. It summarized the responses to the survey in the area of forecasting methods and tools, October 2008 iv Best Practices for the Technical Delivery of Long-Term Planning Studies in Canada – Final Report describing how approaches to modelling, from the decision whether or not to use a model to the modes looked at and the tools used to simulate them, varies by size and type of municipality or organization. The study also described the challenges and opportunities that surveyed small- and medium-sized municipalities are experiencing or have experienced in attempting to carry out these methods. It also presented a comparative inventory of the commonly used travel demand and micro-simulation modelling tools. Small- and medium-sized municipalities often have well-developed models or in the case of the smallest (less than 50,000) access to such models; however, they are very limited in simulation of any modes beyond private vehicles and constrained by lack of resources, funding and expertise. There is an identifiable difference between the small municipalities and those “medium-sized” examples between 50,000 and 250,000 in terms of model ownership and software use, although there is less difference in the variety of modes modelled. In the software selection field, EMME (a Canadian travel demand forecasting software) and Synchro (a traffic operations software) are the clear favourites at present, a choice that transcends organization type and size. D. Best Practice in Transportation Planning Data Methods The availability of good, recent data for long-term transportation planning is a significant concern for many of the organizations surveyed. The collection of ‘basic’