April 16, 1998

 To:Special Committee to Review the Transition Team's Final Report

From:Interim Functional Lead, Transportation

Interim Functional Lead, Planning

Subject:Staffing Levels and Resources to Support Cycling and Pedestrian Programs

Recommendation:

It is recommended that:

 (1)existing cycling programs be maintained with existing staff resources during 1998;

 (2)the Interim Functional Leads for Transportation and Planning identify future staff resources to support an expanded cycling program for consideration in the 1999 Budget through the preparation of a comprehensive Cycling Plan for the City of Toronto; and

 (3)should Council approve the creation of a separate Toronto Pedestrian Committee, the Interim Functional Leads for Transportation and Planning report to the Budget Committee on the necessary budget increases estimated to be in the order of $ 300,000.00 annually.

Purpose:

This report identifies the current staffing levels and other resources in place to support the Metropolitan Cycling and Pedestrian Committee and the City of Toronto Cycling Committee, and discusses future resources required to support separate cycling and pedestrian committees.

Background:

At its meeting of January 12, 1998 the Urban Environment and Development Committee adopted among other recommendations a request that the Interim Functional Leads for Transportation and Planning submit a joint report to the Special Committee to Review the Transition Team's Final Report on the staffing level and other resources previously in place to support the Metropolitan Cycling and Pedestrian Committee and the City of Toronto Cycling Committee, including the adequacy thereof.

The Urban Environment and Development Committee also recommended to the Special Committee to Review the Transition Team's Final Report that two separate committees be established: one to deal with cycling issues and one to deal with pedestrian issues.

In 1996 the terms of reference of the Metro Cycling Committee were expanded to include a Pedestrian Issues Sub-Committee. At their meeting of February 2, 1998, the Metro Cycling and Pedestrian Committee endorsed the establishment of a separate and distinct Toronto Pedestrian Committee which would provide similar programs, similar levels of detailed review and comments, and similar profile as the previous City of Toronto Cycling Committee and Metro Cycling Committee provided for bicycle issues.

Discussion:

Cycling Programs and infrastructure make an important contribution towards achieving Official Plan transportation objectives to encourage bicycle use and to make efficient use of existing transportation infrastructure. With approximately 25,000 daily bicycle commuter trips in the Central Area and thousands of recreational cyclists using the many waterfront and park trails, cycling has become a very popular activity across the City. Efforts to improve bicycle safety and to increase bicycle use support the City's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The single largest group of transportation infrastructure users are pedestrians. There is a broad range of issues which are of interest and concern to the existing Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee and other pedestrian interest groups such as Feet On The Street, the Older Women's Network, Scarborough Safety VINE, and AProtect Established Neighbourhoods@ in Etobicoke. Of major concern recently is the high frequency of pedestrian fatalities occurring on roads throughout the City of Toronto. For example, an average of 41 pedestrians have died each year on roadways within the amalgamated City of Toronto from 1995 to 1997 inclusive, compared to an annual average of 4 cyclist fatalities over the same period.

 (1)Four Key Ingredients For Successful Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs

 The United States' Federal Highway Administration's 1994 National Walking and Bicycling Study concluded that there are four essential components needed to support strong, sustainable bicycle and pedestrian programs:

 citizen involvement,

dedicated program staff,

supportive elected officials and municipal staff, and

program funding.

In order to ensure effective bicycle and pedestrian programs in the new City, all four key ingredients need to be present. The presence of these key ingredients for the former City of Toronto's cycling program led to the City being recognized internationally as the best city for cycling in North America, based on a poll of 124 large cities conducted by "Bicycling" magazine.

(a)Citizen Involvement:

 The major contributions which have been made in Toronto by citizen volunteers are a very valuable and cost-effective resource. The Toronto City Cycling Committee and Metro Cycling and Pedestrian Committee have played a vital role in helping to develop, sustain, and operate bicycle programs and have provided an effective forum for cyclists and pedestrians to bring issues to Council's attention.

 (b)Program Staff:

 The role of dedicated cycling and pedestrian staff is to act as an expert resource for citizen committees and other municipal staff, to develop new programs, and to ensure the integration of bicycle and pedestrian considerations at all levels of planning and decision-making. Staff dedicated exclusively to bicycle and pedestrian issues also provide the continuity and consistency needed to develop and implement cycling and pedestrian policies and to monitor change. Without dedicated staff in this coordinating role, it is very easy for bicycle and pedestrian issues to be overlooked. There are currently three dedicated cycling staff located within Urban Planning and Development Services. There are currently no staff dedicated to pedestrian issues.

 8Supportive Elected Officials and Municipal Staff:

 Staff specifically assigned to bicycle and pedestrian programs working in cooperation with a volunteer citizen committee can accomplish a great deal. Effective implementation, however, requires political and staff support across many program areas to ensure that cycling and walking are routinely considered at all levels of policy creation and decision-making. Developing policies, plans and programs will be a particularly important task during the transition period to ensure bicycle and pedestrian interests in all parts of the City are addressed in an efficient and effective manner.

 (d) Program Funding:

 Inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian considerations in annual operating and capital budgets is necessary to ensure stable funding for the construction and maintenance of facilities, promotion, injury prevention programs, community and economic development initiatives, and the day-to-day operations of program staff.

 (2)Staffing Levels and Resources to Support the Cycling Program

 Cycling in the seven former municipalities was dealt with in varying degrees both at an administrative level and at a citizen participation level. The former City of Toronto had the most extensive cycling program with its City Cycling Committee supported by three full-time staff in Urban Development Services dedicated exclusively to cycling programs. In addition several staff in City Works Services and Community Services were involved in implementing cycling infrastructure, including on-street bicycle lanes and routes, bicycle parking racks, bicycle training programs for staff, and off-street trails as a part of their overall responsibilities. At Metropolitan Toronto, the Metropolitan Cycling and Pedestrian Committee was supported by staff from the Clerks, Planning, Parks and Transportation Departments as part of their overall responsibilities.

 At the other former local municipalities, citizen participation committees were started in Etobicoke and North York with limited staff support from the Works and Transportation Departments. In East York, Scarborough and York, no formal cycling committees were formed, however staff from the Planning and Parks Departments worked on cycling issues in these municipalities.

 The Clerk's Department provides administrative services to both the Metro Cycling and Pedestrian Committee and the Toronto City Cycling Committee, which are holding joint meetings until a new cycling committee is established by City Council. In the other former local municipalities no administrative resources were formally assigned to the local cycling committees.

 To provide the same level of support for cycling programs and infrastructure across the new City as found in the former City of Toronto would require increased staff and other resources. Recognizing the severe resource restraints facing the City, it is recommended that the existing levels of staffing and resources allocated to cycling programs be maintained in 1998. For now, efforts should be concentrated on identifying suitable policies, plans and programs for the new city so that funding and staffing levels can be reviewed as part of the 1999 budget process.

 The first step in establishing an appropriate level of support for cycling is to develop a Comprehensive Cycling Plan for the new City. During 1998, staff and members of the combined cycling committees will be working together to review all existing cycling policies and programs, develop new goals for cycling, recommend Official Plan policies, operating practices, programs, capital projects and the resources required to achieve the plan's goals. This work will ensure that the varying levels of staffing and budget support, and the different policies and practices in the former municipalities are successfully integrated to provide the most efficient and effective cycling programs across the City.

   At its meeting of January 12, 1998 the Urban Environment and Development Committee requested reports on a complete system of bicycle lanes, education programs, and how the proposed committees dealing with cycling and pedestrian issues will apply to all areas of the new City. These issues will be addressed in our report to Urban Environment and Development Committee on the Comprehensive Cycling Plan.

 (3)Staffing Levels and Resources to Support the Proposed Pedestrian Committee

 At present there is minimal staff support of the Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee. The former Planning Department at Metro Hall maintains a mailing list, provides monthly mailings, and administers a call-in line and voice mail. This translates into approximately one person day of effort every month. The Clerks's Department in Metro Hall provides formal minute-taking, agendas, and Council/Committee referral activity to the Metro Cycling and Pedestrian Committee as a whole, and the Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee component represents approximately one half-a-person day of activity per month.

 Transportation staff at Metro Hall provides technical feed-back and attends the monthly and other meetings of the Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee. This represents approximately one half-a-person day of effort every month.

 There are no other committees within the amalgamated City of Toronto whose primary focus is pedestrian transportation issues.

 The range and complexity of pedestrian-related issues is at least as broad as bicycle issues, and the Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee is receiving referrals from Council and its committees as well as generating a significant number of issues itself. The Sub-committee is comprised of volunteers and does not have the necessary resources to respond to these matters.

 In order to support a Toronto Pedestrian Committee or a properly functioning Pedestrian Issues Sub-Committee, dedicated staff are required similar to the support provided to the Toronto Cycling Committee. If a separate Pedestrian Committee is established, resources would have to be identified in the Clerk's Department to undertake the variety of logistical tasks (e.g. minutes, agendas, referrals, mailings etc.). Also at least three full-time dedicated staff would be required in order to establish activities such as analytical, reporting, educational and research tasks, attendance at a variety of meetings, and the provision of support and guidance to the Toronto Pedestrian Committee or a Pedestrian Issues Sub-Committee. These three positions could reside within the Transportation and Planning units (i.e. two in one and one in the other).

 Even though staff of the Planning and Transportation units presently take pedestrian issues under consideration during their normal work duties, the level of effort required to perform the above-referenced tasks for a separate Toronto Pedestrian Committee are beyond present resources. Therefore dedicated funding would need to be incorporated in the annual Operating Budget for this purpose. The minimum annual commitment would be approximately $300,000.00.

 Conclusions:

 The City should seek to maintain its international reputation as the best city for cycling in North America. A Comprehensive Cycling Plan is needed to maintain this leadership position and to respond to the diverse range of needs and opportunities across the City in an efficient and effective manner. Strong cycling policies, plans and programs will provide environmental, economic and social benefits for the residents and businesses of the City, consistent with the current Metro and local Official Plan objectives. Given the severe budget restraints facing the city, existing programs and projects should be maintained in 1998 while an overall plan is developed for 1999 and beyond. Future staff and resource requirements for an integrated city-wide cycling program can only be properly evaluated in this broader context.

 In order to support a separate Toronto Pedestrian Committee, or the proper functioning and higher profile activities of the existing Pedestrian Issues Sub-committee, dedicated staff and funding resources have to be identified in the Planning and Transportation units within the City.

 In order for the cycling and pedestrian programs to be effective, they must include the four key ingredients described in this report: community representation on a citizen advisory committee; dedicated program staff to advise, assist and provide continuity in addressing cycling and pedestrian issues and implementing programs; supportive Council and other civic staff to ensure that cycling and pedestrian issues are routinely considered at all levels; and annual operating and capital budgets for implementing policies, plans and programs.

  Contact Names and Telephone Numbers:

 Tom MulliganDaniel Egan

Works and Emergency ServicesUrban Planning and Development Services

Metro Hall OfficeCity Hall Office

(416) 392-8329(416) 392-1143

  Peter K. Hillier, Senior Manager

Traffic Regions

(416) 392-5348

      D. P. FloydLorne Ross

Interim Functional Lead for TransportationInterim Functional Lead for Planning

Reviewed by Barry H. GutteridgeReviewed by Virginia West

CommissionerCommissioner

Works and Emergency ServicesUrban Planning and Development Services