COORDINATION OF TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE PLANNING A CASE STUDY OF GREATER VANCOUVER by REGINALD PAUL FAUBERT A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (PLANNING) in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDrES School of Community and Regional Planning We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October 1990 ® Reginald Paul Faubert, 1990 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at The University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. School of Community and Regional Planning The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date: October 1990 ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to examine the coordination between transportation and other aspects of land use planning. This purpose is achieved through studying transportation planning and decision making in light of general overall metropolitan planning. Transportation planning is defined as a process for addressing societal concerns while attempting to meet the demands for transport made by the populace. Decision making is the final result of this process. In developing a model of the interrelationships between transportation and land use, this thesis examines theoretical literature and international examples. This examination illustrates benefits of transportation / land use coordination, such as the mutual support they can provide one another when pursuing similar policy objectives. The literature studied highlighted these relationships while acknowledging the unknown nature of causalities. In relation to the coordination of transportation and land use policy, planning and decision making, only the technical aspects should be achieved through disciplinary isolation. A two-example case study of transportation planning and decision making within Greater Vancouver is introduced with a discussion of the past thirty years of regional transportation planning and with a look at the Livable Region Program. This provides the context within which transportation planners of today must work. The case study utilizes interviews with planning staff members from agencies and municipalities with interest in the two major transportation facilities examined. The first example is the Alex Fraser .Bridge over the Fraser River which was opened to automobile traffic in September of 1986. The second example is the possible future extension of rapid transit into Coquitlam, a facility which the provincial government has not yet committed itself to building. It is concluded that the Alex Fraser Bridge example does not support the policies of the Livable Region Program while the Coquitlam rapid transit example does. Furthermore, neither example supports the notion that the Livable Region Program is coordinated with transportation planning in Greater Vancouver. The final conclusion is that no coordination is apparent between the planning and implementation of regional transportation facilities and regional planning goals within Greater Vancouver. The transportation decisions analyzed in this thesis have been imposed upon the region by the provincial government. Promotion of regional goals by these transportation facilities is seen to result from similar objectives within different agencies rather than from coordination of planning between those agencies. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables v List of Figures vi List of Acronyms vii Acknowledgement viii I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Purpose 2 B. Background 2 C. Importance of Research 3 D. Method 3 E. Scope 4 F. Organization 5 II. LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 7 A. Transportation Planning 8 B. Land Use 12 C. Changes In Transportation Planning 12 D. General Relationships 17 1. Physical Relationships 19 2. Models of Transportation / Land Use 25 E. Examples of Relationships 30 1. Unknowns 30 2. Goal of Automobile Reduction 32 3. Transit Promoting Automobile Usage 34 4. Examples of Transportation / Land Use Coordination 36 F. Conclusion 41 III. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IN VANCOUVER: HISTORY 43 A. Regional Transportation Planning 43 B. The 1956 -- 1959 Plan 45 1. Context 45 2. The Plan 49 3. Transportation Policy 50 C. Evolution -- 1959 To 1989 51 1. The Livable Region Program 52 2. The Regional Transportation Planning Function 52 3. From Highways to Transit 53 D. The 1989 "Freedom To Move" Report 54 1. Context 54 2. The Report 56 3. Transportation Policy 58 iii E. Conclusion 60 IV. THE LIVABLE REGION PROGRAM 62 A. LRP As Response 62 B. What Is Livability? 63 C. The Livable Region Program 65 D. The Five Strategies of the LRP 68 1. Achieving Residential Growth Targets 69 2. Promoting a Balance of Jobs to Population 70 3. Creation of Regional Town Centres 71 4. Provision of a Transit Oriented Transportation System 72 5. Protecting and Developing Regional Open Spaces 72 E. Conclusion 73 V. GREATER VANCOUVER TRANSPORTATION CASE STUDY 74 A. The Case Study Examples 75 1. The Alex Fraser Bridge 75 2. The Coquitlam Rapid Transit Extension 77 B. Interviews 80 1. Questions 1 Through 8 82 2. Questions 9 Through 14 87 C. Analysis 93 1. Relationships With LRP Strategies 93 2. Coordination With LRP Goals 101 D. Conclusion 103 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 104 A. Summary 104 B. Conclusion 105 Bibliography 106 Appendix 1: Livable Region Recommendations 113 Appendix 2: Case Study Interview Questions 119 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: 1987 Sector To Sector Modal Split (Percentage Using Transit) 23 Table 2: Comparative Transit Data 40 Table 3: Chronology Of Transportation Events 47 Table 4: Population Forecast 1955 To 1 976 48 Table 5:'.Committed Capital Projects In 1989 58 Table 6: Summary Of Interview Responses 92 Table 7: Development Around Transit 96 V LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Space Occupied By Automobiles And Transit...15 Figure 2: Land Use Transport Interaction 27 Figure 3: Interrelationships Between Transportation And Other Aspects of Land Use Planning 28 Figure 4: Aerial View of Development Around Yonge Street Subway Line Stations In Toronto 37 Figure 5: Proposed Freeway Network -- 1959 49 Figure 6: Interaction of LRP Strategies 67 Figure 7: The Annacis System Highway Development 76 Figure 8: Route Options For Coquitlam Rapid Transit...78 Figure 9: Coquitlam Town Centre Design 81 Figure 10: Percentage Change In Total Municipal Office Space 97 vi LIST OF ACRONYMS ACT = Australian Capital Territory AFB = Alex Fraser Bridge ALRT = Automated Light Rapid Transit BART = Bay Area Rapid Transit BTS = Bureau of Transit Services CRTE = Coquitlam Rapid Transit Extension CBD = Central Business District EIA = Environmental Impact Assessment GVRD = Greater Vancouver Regional District GVTTF = Greater Vancouver Transportation Task Force LRP = Livable Region Program LRPAC = Livable Region Program Advisory Committee LRT = Light Rapid Transit MOTH = Ministry of Transportation and Highways MSA = Metropolitan Statistical Area RTAC = Roads and Transportation Association of Canada TAC = Technical Advisory Committee TCMHP = Technical Committee for Metropolitan Highway Planning TTC = Toronto Transit Commission VRTS = Vancouver Regional Transit System vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my advisors, Setty Pendakur and Peter Boothroyd, for their support and guidance throughout the thesis writing process. I would also like to thank my fellow students in the planning school for their friendship and support. I could not have made it through without such wonderful people around. Thanks. viii I. INTRODUCTION Transportation planning and decision making play an important role in urban development since the spatial extent of metropolitan areas is governed by transportation linkages. When personal transportation was limited to animal power, cities were normalty quite compact. Following the industrial revolution and the advent of the streetcar, cities began to expand with suburbs appearing along streetcar routes. The automobile age then led to the urban sprawl apparent in the Western cities of today. Unprecedented levels of personal mobility bring numerous problems to many metropolitan areas. Problems such as air and noise pollution and traffic congestion, as well as the problems associated with urban sprawl, have ramifications beyond the scope of transportation planning. The metropolitan transportation system can thus be viewed as "a basic component of an urban area's social, economic, and physical structure" (Meyer & Miller, 1984). This suggests that planning within a metropolitan area should recognize the interconnections between transportation and other aspects of planning. The problems associated with transportation planning can then be viewed not in a purely technical manner but as "an inescapable consequence of the manner in which we choose to live and the way we have organized our metropolitan areas" (Orski, 1989). This thesis studies transportation planning and decision making in the context of an agreed general metropolitan plan. 1 INTRODUCTION / 2 A. PURPOSE The purpose of this thesis is to examine the coordination between transportation and other aspects of land use planning. Coordination refers to planning agencies working together