Strathcona County Transit Transit Master Plan Project No. 10-013 December 2011 Final Report Transit Solutions GENIVAR Inc. 2800 Fourteenth Avenue, Suite 210, Markham, Ontario L3R 0E4 Telephone: 905.946.8900 Fax: 905.946.8966 www.genivar.com Contact: Dennis Fletcher, M.E.S. E-mail: [email protected] Strathcona County Transit Master Plan Final Report Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... I LIST OF EXHIBITS ............................................................................................................................... III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Needs and Opportunities...................................................................................................... 2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 4 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.1.1 The Transit Master Plan Process and Structure .......................................... 11 2. NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES .................................................................................................. 13 2.1 Summary of Needs and Opportunities ...................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Demographic Changes and Travel Behaviour ............................................. 13 2.1.2 Existing and Future Transit Services ........................................................... 14 2.1.3 Transportation and Land Use Linkages ....................................................... 16 2.1.4 Transportation Demand Management ......................................................... 16 2.2 Policy Background .................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 Strathcona County Strategic Plan ............................................................... 17 2.2.2 Capital Region Board .................................................................................. 21 2.3 Existing Service Review ............................................................................................ 22 2.3.1 Challenges and Opportunities for Existing Transit Services ........................ 22 2.3.2 Fixed-Route Service.................................................................................... 25 2.3.3 Specialized Transit ...................................................................................... 28 2.3.4 Fares .......................................................................................................... 29 2.4 Changing Travel Needs and Key Transit Markets ..................................................... 32 2.4.1 Demographics ............................................................................................. 32 2.4.2 Travel Patterns............................................................................................ 39 2.4.3 Land Development Objectives .................................................................... 43 2.5 Public Input ............................................................................................................... 47 2.5.1 Interviews and Public Open Houses ............................................................ 47 2.5.2 Visioning Process ....................................................................................... 49 2.5.3 Online Survey Results ................................................................................. 50 3. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................ 59 3.1 Public Review of Draft Recommendations ................................................................ 59 3.2 Vision for Transit Services ........................................................................................ 60 3.2.1 Role of Transit in the Community ................................................................ 60 3.2.2 Values ......................................................................................................... 60 3.2.3 Vision Statement ......................................................................................... 60 3.2.4 Mission Statement ...................................................................................... 61 3.2.5 Strategic Goals for Transit Services ............................................................ 61 3.3 Fixed-route Transit .................................................................................................... 64 3.3.1 Intermunicipal Service Recommendations .................................................. 64 3.3.2 Local and Feeder Service Recommendations ............................................. 74 3.3.3 Park and Ride ............................................................................................. 86 3.3.4 Rural Service .............................................................................................. 88 3.3.5 Resource Requirements ............................................................................. 89 GENIVAR i Strathcona County Transit Master Plan Final Report 3.3.6 Transit Priority Measures and ITS ............................................................... 90 3.4 Specialized Transit.................................................................................................... 91 3.4.1 Background ................................................................................................. 92 3.4.2 2009 Strathcona Country Accessible Transit Review .................................. 92 3.4.3 Eligibility and Certification ........................................................................... 92 3.4.4 Service Areas.............................................................................................. 94 3.4.5 Fares .......................................................................................................... 94 3.4.6 Transportation Demand Management Strategies ........................................ 95 3.4.7 Accessible Website ..................................................................................... 99 3.4.8 Consumer Advisory Committee on Accessible Transportation .................. 100 3.5 Fare Strategy .......................................................................................................... 101 3.5.1 Balance Equity between Community Support and Users Fares ................ 101 3.5.2 Simplify the Fixed-Route Fare Structure.................................................... 101 3.5.3 Adopt Tiered Pricing for Fares and Parking ............................................... 101 3.5.4 Ensure Affordable Transit to all Low-Income Residents ............................ 102 3.5.5 Encourage Youth to Use Transit More Frequently ..................................... 102 3.5.6 Increase Customer Convenience .............................................................. 102 3.5.7 Review the Fare Reciprocity Agreement with ETS .................................... 103 3.5.8 Formalize a Fare Reciprocity Agreement with StAT .................................. 103 3.5.9 Specialized Transit Fares .......................................................................... 103 3.6 Transit Supportive Policies...................................................................................... 105 3.7 Continuous Improvement Process .......................................................................... 106 3.7.1 Performance Measures ............................................................................. 106 3.7.2 Planning Process ...................................................................................... 107 4. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 109 GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................................... 113 APPENDICES Appendix A – Consultation Schedule Appendix B – Detailed Responses to Online Survey Appendix C – Review Consultation Summary Appendix D – Detailed Route Network Evaluations Appendix E – Peer Review Appendix F – Service Standards and Planning Process GENIVAR ii Strathcona County Transit Master Plan Final Report List of Exhibits Exhibit E-1 – Summary of Strathcona County's Strategic Policy Framework ............................... 1 Exhibit E-2 – Proposed Strategic Goals for Transit ..................................................................... 5 Exhibit E-3 – Recommended Intermunicipal Transit System Concept ........................................ 6 Exhibit E-4 – Recommended Local System Concepts ................................................................. 6 Exhibit 1 – Summary of Strathcona County's Strategic Policy Framework................................. 11 Exhibit 2 – Social Sustainability Objectives for Transit .............................................................. 18 Exhibit 3 – Economic Sustainability Objectives for Transit......................................................... 19 Exhibit 4 – Environmental Sustainability