BRITISH COLUMBIA ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION DESIGN GUIDE 2020 TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF CANADA SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION AWARD APPLICATION 1: INTRODUCTION The Province of British Columbia recognizes the importance of taking bold, meaningful action in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and ensure a more prosperous, balanced, and sustainable future for all British Columbians. In 2018, the CleanBC plan was developed as a pathway to achieve the Province’s legislated climate targets of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% by the year 2030, 60% by 2040, and 80% by 2050, based on 2007 levels. CleanBC includes a suite of actions across a number of sectors, aiming to reduce GHG emissions from industry, technology, buildings, energy, waste, and transportation while supporting green job creation and training. A key component of the CleanBC action to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector the British Columbia Active Transportation Design is to prioritize cleaner and more active forms of Guide in conjunction with the Active Transportation transportation. CleanBC set the foundation for the Strategy. The Design Guide is a comprehensive set Province to develop Move Commute Connect: BC’s of planning and engineering guidelines offering Active Transportation Strategy. This innovative recommendations for the planning, selection, and action-oriented strategy aims to double the design, implementation, and maintenance of active percentage of trips taken with active transportation transportation infrastructure across the province. by 2030. The strategy was developed through The Design Guide was developed based on engagement with residents across the province national and international best practices and is one and supports the provincial government's three of the most comprehensive and innovative active key commitments to British Columbians: to make transportation planning and design documents life more affordable, to deliver the services people that has been developed to date anywhere in count on, and to build a strong, sustainable North America. economy. The Province is ensuring that this commitment is realized by providing incentives To proactively ensure its content is accessible and that encourage active transportation, helping well understood by practitioners, an on-going communities build integrated and accessible series of instructional Design Guide training transportation networks, and delivering universal workshops has also been provided across British design principles for active transportation Columbia. Between November 2019 and February infrastructure. 2020, 16 training workshops will have been held in all corners of the province, providing training In order to ensure consistent active transportation to nearly 500 professionals. The Design Guide has facility design across the province that is safe, also become a valuable and transferable resource comfortable, and accessible for people of all ages for communities beyond British Columbia, as the and abilities, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Design Guide has been downloaded over 8,000 Infrastructure (MOTI), in partnership with Urban times from communities across Canada and Systems, took the additional step of developing internationally. PAGE 1 | British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide | 2020 TAC Sustainable Urban Transportation Award Application The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure 2: DEVELOPMENT AND has also recently launched an Active Transportation ENHANCEMENT OF Infrastructure Grants Program to provide cost- sharing opportunities to communities of all sizes SUSTAINABLE URBAN across the province. The Ministry intends that TRANSPORTATION grant applications will be developed based on the recommendations of the Design Guide to ensure The Design Guide is one of the most communities are providing high quality active comprehensive active transportation infrastructure transportation facilities in a consistent manner resources developed to date and will play a critical across the province. role in promoting sustainable transportation, including active transportation as well as The BC Ministry of Transportation and integration with public transportation and new Infrastructure and Urban Systems are extremely forms of mobility. With a total of 39 chapters excited to submit this application for the covering a broad range of topics, the Design Guide Transportation Association of Canada’s 2020 provides an unmatched level of breadth while still Sustainable Urban Transportation Award for delivering the technical depth that practitioners the BC Active Transportation Design Guide. The require. following sections explain how this project satisfies the criteria for this award application, including The Design Guide brings together engineering this project’s commitment to developing and principles and current best practices from the enhancing sustainable transportation as well as the municipal, provincial, national, and international innovative and transferable elements that will help levels, serving as a ‘one stop shop’ for all active promote sustainable transportation across Canada. transportation needs. It was developed with In addition to this full application, we are pleased to input from a diverse range of stakeholders from provide letters of support from design guide users across British Columbia, including staff from and workshop participants in Appendix A. the provincial government, local and regional FIGURE 1 - PTROTEC ED INTERSECTION DESIGN RENDERING PAGE 2 | British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide | 2020 TAC Sustainable Urban Transportation Award Application governments, Indigenous communities, advocacy As an advocacy organization, good design groups, professional associations, and academics guides are crucial to our work to helping cities (see Appendix B for a full list of stakeholders that build the best bikeways. The BC AT Design Guide participated in the process). is among the best available and forms a core part The Design Guide can be downloaded for free, of our advocacy efforts for years to come. The in full or section by section, on the BC Ministry GVCC was involved through the drafting process of Transportation and Infrastructure website, as a stakeholder and was pleased with how making it accessible to all who have an interest in responsive both the Ministry of Transportation & sustainable transportation. The primary audience Infrastructure and Urban Systems were to taking for the Design Guide is design professionals in the feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and including non-governmental stakeholders like architecture fields, but it also serves as a valuable ourselves and research groups. resource for elected officials, community groups, – Corey Burger, Policy & Infrastructure Chair, Greater and the general public. Victoria Cycling Coalition The goals that the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure set for the Design Guide were: The Design Guide also goes beyond these forms • To provide a reference that is useful for of active transportation and considers safety and communities of all types, sizes, and contexts; connectivity for all modes. Designing high-quality end-of-trip facilities and seamless connections • To create consistency in the design of active transportation facilities throughout the to transit, ferries, airports, and other forms of province; transportation is a key focus of the Design Guide, enabling an integrated, multi-modal transportation • To provide a widely available resource to system serving the diverse needs of all road users. increase the quality of the design of active Furthermore, the Design Guide covers universal transportation facilities throughout B.C. and accessibility, wayfinding, lighting, maintenance, beyond; and monitoring, reporting, and how to celebrate and • To support provincial grant programs with launch new transportation facilities. design guidance specific to B.C. to clarify the provincial government’s expectations for the The Design Guide is a critical component of design of active transportation facilities. creating a sustainable transportation system across British Columbia, and it influences all the social, In terms of scope, the Design Guide addresses economic, and environmental components of all human-powered modes of transportation, sustainability. Investments in active transportation focusing primarily on walking, cycling, and rolling. can result in a more balanced transportation The Design Guide also discusses other innovative system that is accessible, environmentally friendly, emerging modes of transportation, including cost-effective, and more equitable in terms of a electric bicycles and other small, one-person community’s infrastructure investments. electric vehicles (e.g. e-scooters, segways, electric skateboards, and hoverboards). Furthermore, the Design Guide considers winter-based active SOCIAL modes (such as skiing, skating, kicksledding, and The Province of British Columbia is committed snowshoeing), water-based active modes (such as to Vision Zero in which no deaths or serious paddling, kayaking, and canoeing), and horseback injuries occur involving road traffic and the riding. Design Guide is a key contributor to this goal. When properly planned and implemented, active PAGE 3 | British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide | 2020 TAC Sustainable Urban Transportation Award Application transportation facilities can provide safe and with members