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October 28, 1999

To: Policy and Finance Committee

From: City Clerk

Subject: Sustainable Transportation Workgroup Final Report

Recommendation:

The Environmental Task Force recommends that the Final Report dated October 20, 1999 from the Sustainable Transportation Workgroup be adopted.

Background:

The Environmental Task Force at its meeting held on October 20, 1999 had before it the Sustainable Transportation Workgroup Final Report dated October 20, 1999.

Toronto City Council formed the Environmental Task Force (ETF) in March of 1998. A major activity of the Task Force is to recommend an Environmental Plan for the City of Toronto. Early in the process, the ETF recognized the importance of transportation and land use to the city's ecology, economy, and quality of life. The ETF requested that a chapter be prepared for the Environmental Plan on Sustainable Transportation.

To carry out this work, a Sustainable Transportation Working Group (STWG) was formed and formulated this report as a basis for the Environmental Plan chapter.

The development of this report comes at a significant time in Toronto's evolution as a city. On the one hand, with the region's population projected to double over the next twenty years, we are faced with an unprecedented challenge in addressing the growing congestion, smog, health, and other impacts of our increasing transportation activity.

On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that cities that invest in sustainable transportation and land use are coming out ahead, not only environmentally, but also in terms of economic health and quality of life.

By North American standards, the City of Toronto has long enjoyed a strong foundation of sustainable transportation and land use policies and practices. But we are now at a turning point as a changing city within a growing, changing region.

Over the coming year we will see the development of the new City's new Official Plan and Strategic Plan, the co-ordination of a regional transportation plan by the Greater Toronto Services Board, and a range of other key processes and decisions which will affect the future of transportation in Toronto. The directions we set now in evolving our transportation and land use to meet our evolving and emerging needs will influence the shape of our city and our region for some time to come.

The purpose of this report is to:

(1) Demonstrate the immediate importance of sustainable transportation to the future of our city and the growing region - environmentally, socially, and economically;

(2) Offer a preliminary vision and outline key steps to evolving a leading edge sustainable transportation system for the new Toronto as we enter the new millennium;

(3) Stimulate the development of a coordinated plan or mechanism and ongoing function at the City of Toronto as leading sustainable transportation city with the purpose of :

(a) bringing together and building on the successes of existing City of Toronto sustainable transportation and land use policies and programs;

(b) providing a coordinated framework for addressing emerging transportation and land use challenges and opportunities as the city and region grow and change;

(c) identifying and implementing new policies, programs, processes and partnerships for sustainable transportation infrastructure;

(d) reducing the significant and growing environmental, health, social, and economic impacts of transportation in Toronto;

(e) supporting Toronto's growing sustainable transportation business sector; and

(f) making the provision of transportation in Toronto more cost effective.

This report represents one sustainable step towards addressing the looming challenges we face and reaping the many benefits of becoming a leading sustainable transportation city.

City Clerk

Frank Baldassini

Item No. 2

Attachment

c: Councillor Jack Layton , Chair, Environmental Task Force

Ms. Carol Mee, Project Manager, Environmental Task Force

(Report dated October 20, 1999, addressed to the

Environmental Task Force from the

Sustainable Transportation Workgroup.)

THE CITY OF TORONTO

ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

WORKGROUP

FINAL REPORT

October 20, 1999

IN DIVERSITY OUR STRENGTH: NEW MOBILITY FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

REPORT OF THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE

1. EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

3. BACKGROUND

4. WORKING GROUP PROCESS

5. WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION (S.T.) AND WHY DO WE URGENTLY NEED IT?

5.1 WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION?

5.2 WHY DO WE NEED IT?

A) Because Transportation Has Significant Impacts: Environmental, Social, Economic

B) But We Can't Do Without It: Transportation is Important to Our Lives and Our City / Region

C) Because Toronto is Facing New Challenges: Rapid Regional Growth and Demographic Shifts

D) And the Transportation Lead Time is Long

E) Because Toronto is Poised for Growing Opportunities

i. Sustatainable Transportation Solutions are Win-Win

ii. Best & Brightest are Going Sustainable

iii. New Trends in Moving /Not Moving People and Goods

iv. Toronto Can Build on Successes: Window of Opportunity

6. DEVELOPING A VISION AND A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION:

6.1 TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (TAC)

VISION AS A GUIDE

6.2 TAC ACTION FRAMEWORK AS A GUIDE

6.3 CURRENT AND EMERGING OPTIONS: BORROWING FROM

THE BEST

6.4 IMAGINING THE SCENARIOS: DOOR TO DOOR

7. MAKING IT HAPPEN:

TORONTO AS LEADING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION CITY

7.1 PRELIMINARY GOALS FOR THE NEW TORONTO

7.2 KEY STEPS IN TORONTO'S CONTEXT:

A) INFORMATION: The First Step To Action

B) INFRASTRUCTURE: The Foundation

i. Sustainable Land Use

ii. Sustainable Transportation Modes and Networks

iii. Telecommunications: The Emerging Virtual Transportation Infrastructure

D) INTEGRATION: For Efficiency, Cost-effectiveness, and Convenience

i. Modes and Systems

ii. Governance (City within a Region)

iii. City Departments Related to Transportation

iv. Other Issues and Sectors

E) INVOLVEMENT: Of Users and Providers

F) INVESTMENT

· Public Funding

· Innovative Financing and Partnerships

· Sector Development: Attracting Investment to Sustainable Transportation

I) IMPLEMENTATION: Beyond Policies and Principles

J) INNOVATION: For Emerging Needs and Markets

K) INDICATORS OF PROGRESS: To Inform Future Action

8. IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP FOR THE CITY OF TORONTO:

A CONCERTED, CO-ORDINATED EFFORT

12. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY

APPENDICES

1. TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS: Environmental; Health; Social; Economic; Ecological Footprint

2. CURRENT POLICY CONTEXT

3. TARGETS AND INDICATORS

4. TAC ACTION CHECKLIST

5. BORROWING FROM THE BEST

6. DOOR TO DOOR / DAY IN THE LIFE SCENARIOS

7. INTEGRATED MOBILITY SYSTEMS GRAPHIC

8. SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP

ATTACHMENTS

· DIRECTORY OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION IN TORONTO

· TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS GRAPHICS

· INTEGRATED MOBILITY SYSTEMS GRAPHIC

EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

To carry out this work, a Sustainable Transportation Working Group (STWG) was formed and formulated this report as a basis for the Environmental Plan chapter.

Over the coming year we will see the development of the new City's new Official Plan and Strategic Plan, the co-ordination of a regional transportation plan by the Greater Toronto Services Board, and a range of other key processes and decisions which will affect the future of transportation in Toronto (see appendix 2). The directions we set now in evolving our transportation and land use to meet our evolving and emerging needs will influence the shape of our city and our region for some time to come.

The purpose of this report is to:

· Demonstrate the immediate importance of sustainable transportation to the future of our city and the growing region - environmentally, socially, and economically

· Offer a preliminary vision and outline key steps to evolving a leading edge sustainable transportation system for the new Toronto as we enter the new millennium

· Stimulate the development of a coordinated plan or mechanism and ongoing function at the City of Toronto as leading sustainable transportation city with the purpose of :

· bringing together and building on the successes of existing City of Toronto sustainable transportation and land use policies and programs

· providing a coordinated framework for addressing emerging transportation and land use challenges and opportunities as the city and region grow and change

· identifying and implementing new policies, programs, processes and partnerships for sustainable transportation infrastructure

· reducing the significant and growing environmental, health, social, and economic impacts of transportation in Toronto

· supporting Toronto's growing sustainable transportation business sector

· making the provision of transportation in Toronto more cost effective

This report represents one sustainable step towards addressing the looming challenges we face and reaping the many benefits of becoming a leading sustainable transportation city.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Environmental Task Force requests:

1. That Council recognize the immediate importance of sustainable transportation and land use to Toronto's future, and build on the successes of the former municipalities by adopting the following goals, to establish the new City of Toronto as a leading sustainable transportation city:

i) To provide all Toronto residents and visitors to Toronto with the widest range of sustainable transportation options that are seamlessly linked, safe, convenient, enjoyable, affordable, and economically competitive, and to apply the best available and emerging measures to significantly reduce the environmental, health, social, and economic impacts of personal transportation.

ii) To significantly reduce the congestion, pollution, danger, costs, and inefficiencies related to the movement of goods - the fastest growing segment of the transportation sector, with emerging consolidation systems, cleaner freight vehicles, local production and distribution, and intermodal approaches.

iii) To replace or reduce the need for transportation (of people or goods) where appropriate with emerging telecommunications technologies and advanced land use, development, and economic policies and practices

iv) To give priority in all transportation and land use decisions to sustainable transportation as described in this report, in policy, spending, programs, and partnerships

5. That the Commissioners of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works & Emergency Services report to their respective standing committees and the Sustainability Roundtable by June 2000 on staff and resource requirements for the co-ordination of a comprehensive, integrated plan or mechanism for achieving the goals of a leading sustainable transportation city, as outlined in (1) and described in this report, through the Transportation Implementation Plan of the Official Plan, and through the Strategic Plan, and through a multi-stakeholder and public involvement plan as identified, modeled after Vancouver's comprehensive transportation plan, and other appropriate mechanisms.

1.1 That the mechanism or plan for achieving the goals of a leading sustainable transportation city include the following:

a) An integrated framework / vision for the future of transportation and land use for Toronto as leading sustainable transportation city based on Toronto's context and available world bests (including detailed door to door scenarios for a wide range of key transportation users and transportation needs, and applying the City's advanced modeling expertise to these sustainable transportation scenarios and proposals)

b) Consultation and partnership with all relevant City Departments and agencies, key transportation industries and agencies across the region, all levels of government, the Toronto business community, citizens, labour, community, and environmental groups and agencies both in developing and implementing the plan

c) Short and long term goals and principles for sustainable transportation development

d) Ambitious targets (and related indicators) for 2021 and 2031 equal to or surpassing local and world bests in all areas identified in appendix 3 to establish a Toronto Sustainable Transportation Protocol

e) Assembly and where appropriate, City-wide implementation of all existing policies and initiatives related to sustainable transportation as described in this report, relating to movement of people, movement of goods, and not moving people and goods (including Anti-Smog Strategy Transportation Section; Cycling Master Plan; Sustainable Transportation and Land Use Elements of All Former Municipalities' Official Plans, and other identified policies and initiatives)

f) Assembly and where appropriate, implementation of proposed Sustainable Transportation policies and pilot initiatives included in current reports (Board of Trade Infrastructure Report, Pollution Probe Transit Action Plan, GTSB Transportation Plan, Coroner's report on Cycling Deaths, Federal Climate Change Table Recommendations

g) Establishment and application of an integrated mechanism for ongoing development of new policies, practices and pilot initiatives based on world bests related to eight key steps (see 4.2, p. 15) and all areas listed in the Transportation Association of Canada's "New Vision for Urban Transportation" adopted by City Council in the fall of 1999 (see Appendix 4)

h) Implementation schedules

i) Required resources, financial sources and mechanisms, and strategies for stimulating investment in the sustainable transportation sector (including current baseline of transportation related spending by all departments and agencies, by mode, system, and program)

j) Staffing requirements and mechanisms for ongoing co-ordination of sustainable transportation efforts

k) Ongoing mechanisms for establishing new and building on existing partnerships and public participation

l) A communications and public outreach plan

m) Recommendations to key agencies, other levels of government, businesses, institutions and community agencies

n) Detailed evaluation and monitoring mechanisms

15. Request that this Sustainable Transportation Working Group report be submitted for incorporation of relevant elements into the following planning processes with consultation with the Sustainable Transportation Working Group as required: Official Plan; Strategic Plan; Strategic Transportation Planning Group; Annual Budget Process; Economic Plan; Social Development Strategies; all other current and future planning processes that relate to any aspects of transportation and/or land use.

2.1 That all relevant departments, agencies and planning processes report annually to the proposed Sustainability Roundtable or City Council, beginning in June of 2000, on progress to date and plans for the future, in all areas found in the Transportation Association of Canada New Urban Vision (see appendix 4) and related to all key steps outlined on page 15, to be submitted for promotion of successes in these areas through City and other communication channels

4. Request the Commissioners of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works and Emergency Services to work in partnership with the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) in consultation with relevant agencies and report back by February of 2000 on the feasibility and resource requirements for developing a two-tiered quick-start public outreach approach to sustainable transportation to include:

a) A sustainable transportation interactive web-site as part of the City of Toronto site, to provide up-to-the-minute detailed information on sustainable transportation options, schedules, fares, information, links to further information, and facts and tips about sustainable transportation and climate change and impacts of various forms of transportation etc, as well as links to more detailed information on leading edge City of Toronto sustainable transportation policies and initiatives, and other leading initiatives around the world

b) A one time only door to door information piece similar to the very successful Waste Watch and Water Watch (WES), to inform Toronto citizens of both the coming challenges of transportation in the growing region and the many new and improved options available for a healthier, more convenient transportation system, and to promote the launch of the City's sustainable transportation web-site

3. BACKGROUND

Toronto City Council formed the Environmental Task Force (ETF) in March of 1998. It is made up of City Councillors, City staff, and representatives from the business, labour, education, and environmental communities. A major activity of the Task Force is to recommend an Environmental Plan for the City of Toronto. Early in the process, the ETF recognized the importance of transportation and land use to the city's ecology, economy, and quality of life. The ETF requested that a chapter be prepared for the Environmental Plan on Sustainable Transportation.

To carry out this work, a Sustainable Transportation Working Group was formed involving key representatives from the transportation sector, business, government, and community in both the development and review process (see appendix 8 for contributors list). This workgroup report provides the basis for the Environmental Plan.

In addition to this report, contributions by Working Group members include:

· An updated Directory of Sustainable Transportation in Toronto, prepared in partnership with Detour Publications / Transportation Options. It offers an extensive and descriptive listing of Sustainable Transportation initiatives, groups, and events in the Toronto region. Since the first edition published in 1994, it has:

· doubled in size

· added a new category on City of Toronto Initiatives / Partnerships

· A broad range of relevant, comprehensive research papers prepared by students of Innis College, University of Toronto - see Environmental Task Force Web Site for annotated listing

4. WORKING GROUP PROCESS

The Sustainable Transportation Working Group, chaired by Councillor Jane Pitfield, first convened in January of 1999. After a large introductory meeting, four smaller bi-weekly meetings focussed on Moving People, Moving Goods, Not Moving People and Goods, and Moving Decision Makers, respectively. Each meeting opened with guest speakers relevant to the theme, then through the "homework" sheets and in smaller breakout groups, members worked together to report back on key messages, key actions, and indicators related to the particular meeting topic. Four additional, less structured meetings focussed on responding to various drafts of this report. A number of working group members who could not attend meetings opted to contribute regularly by email and telephone, and one member initiated a small strategic meeting related to regional and official plan issues. The Working Group coordinator has also met formally and informally with members of the Official Plan team, and presented a draft of the report to the Environmental Task Force and to TIE in July.

It should be noted that because transportation is a growing concern there has been a plethora of visioning and planning sessions and workshops for transportation experts and advocates to attend over the past year (see appendix 2 for policy context). Especially in this light, the high level and quality of involvement in the working group was commendable (see Working Group contributors list, appendix 8)

It should also be noted that because transportation is a well debated topic, the emphasis and process of the group was somewhat different from other groups which may have been tackling a newer topic or involving a less integrated community of advocates and experts. As such, the transportation group was able to zero in quickly on key, overarching gaps and themes rather than drawing up long lists of required actions or creating additional visions. Much of this visioning and list making work has already been done through various other processes and initiatives and is either included in the report or referenced in the appendices.

Nevertheless, a range of initiatives was proposed during the process, and many or most of them are included, in the understanding that eventually some suggestions may exclude others. In proposing that the City initiate a coordinated, comprehensive planning and implementation mechanism, it was intended that such discrepancies would be addressed.

In relation to setting targets, the group made recommendations beyond the traditional air quality and modal shift categories, in order to reflect the depth and interconnectedness of the transportation issue and the importance of positive constructive targets as well as reduction and impact targets. It is assumed that the Official Plan Transportation Implementation Team will set targets as part of its process, and will determine specific numbers for categories that have been proposed (see appendix 3)

Key themes identified by the group have formed the basis of this report, however the overarching message was that urgent and coordinated action is required at the City if we are to address the transportation challenges posed by the rapidly growing region and continue to lead the way and reap the very real and positive benefits of being a leading sustainable transportation city into the new millennium.

5. WHAT IS SUSTSAINABLE TRANSPORTATION AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

5.1 What is Sustainable Transportation (S.T.)?

In an ideal world, or perhaps at some time in Toronto's future, we wouldn't need to make a distinction between "sustainable" and "regular, run-of-the-mill" transportation. Meanwhile, sustainable transportation can be described as:

· Moving people and goods in cleaner, greener, healthier, safer, more equitable ways, and,

· Where appropriate, NOT moving people and goods

This short description, put forward by Moving the Economy, encompasses a wide range of applications, including:

· Telecommunications to reduce or replace travel, or to make it more efficient

· Cleaner and more efficient systems for moving (or not moving) goods

· Land use planning and green development to make cities more vibrant and efficient and reduce the need for travel

· Sustainable personal transportation modes, including transit, walking, cycling

· New approaches to automobile travel, including car sharing, car pooling, and cleaner, lighter cars and fuels

· All the policies and practices and financial incentives and disincentives which enable these approaches

The Centre for Sustainable Transportation describes a sustainable transportation system in more detail as one that:

· allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations

· is affordable, operates efficiently, offers more choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy

· limits emission and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise

5.2 SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION: WHY DO WE URGENTLY NEED IT?

5.2 A) Because Transportation Has Significant Impacts: Environmental, Social, and Economic

On an average day in Toronto, there are about 2,806,000 car trips, 248,101 truck trips, 1,108,000 transit journeys, 52,300 bike trips and 311,100 walking trips (Transportation Tomorrow Survey). To varying degrees, every one of these trips emits pollutants, takes up space, needs different equipment and infrastructure, happens at different speeds, carries different numbers of people and different things, and happens at peak times and slow times.

Take your last trip as an example. Was it a 15 kilometer subway ride or a 7 kilometer bike ride or a 55 kilometer car ride? Were you driving a truck full of chickens? Or were you taking a short walk? Could your trip have been eliminated altogether? Multiplying the effects of your trip by several million represents the scale of effects - positive or negative - that shifting transportation choices could have over the course of an hour, let alone over the course of a decade. In fact, current trends include:

· Rapidly increasing congestion levels related to increased reliance on single occupancy vehicles

· Rapidly increasing congestion levels related to increased truck volumes (projected to double across the region in the next ten years)

· Increasing urban sprawl, directly affecting costs and efficiencies of providing services and producing food

· Declining air quality and water quality directly and indirectly related to transportation activity (transportation is the largest and fastest growing source of CO2 emissions)

· Increasing sickness and death and associated health costs directly and indirectly related to transportation activity

· Decreasing oil supply globally (International Energy Agency)

· Increasing costs of using and providing transportation (Canadians spend more on transportation than they do on food)

· Shifting demographics leading to exacerbated health, social, and financial impacts for a growing aging population, as well as youths, homeless people, and the unemployed.

(Appendix 1 details specific transportation impacts - environmental, health, social, economic, as well as Toronto's transportation estimated footprint).

5.2 B) … But We Can't Do Without It: Transportation is Important to our Lives and our City.

It is an integral part of how, where, and with whom we live, love, work and play - on a daily basis. So much more than getting from a to b, it figures prominently in some of our deepest personal memories and in some of our greatest historical moments. It is one of the fundamental determinants of the character and quality of life and community - and our own place in that community.

It is this deeply entrenched and multifaceted quality of transportation that makes it so interesting and yet so challenging just to think about it - let alone to affect it or evolve it. Especially in a big city, with the sheer volume and teaming complexity of modes and systems and people and places and needs and desires, it can be hard to get your head around getting people and things around. When a city gets bigger and that city is within the fastest growing region in the country, the complexity and all its effects (positive or negative) are multiplied and magnified.

5.2 C) Toronto Faces Urgent Challenges:

Unprecedented and Rapid Regional Growth and Demographic Shifts

In the first two decades of the new millennium, our population is projected to increase by 40% across the Toronto region, and will be represented by a growing seniors population. These trends are occurring within a context of declining public investment in transit and other forms of sustainable transportation by senior levels of government.

Even though the City of Toronto is committed to and internationally recognized for its leading edge sustainable transportation and land use policies and practices, such rapid growth across a region over which we do not have jurisdiction will have significant repercussions if current transportation trends are left unchecked.

There is mounting awareness that as an economic and cultural hub of the region, the City of Toronto will increasingly need to fortify its current efforts and set the tone towards more ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable transportation and land use not only in our city but in conjunction with the entire region.

5.2 D) The Transportation Lead Time is Long

As for most things but especially for transportation, being aware of the problem and affecting the solutions are two different things. Transportation, in all its complexity, is a bit like an ocean liner. If you want to be going in a different direction tonight, you'd better start turning around this afternoon. Improved transportation infrastructure and new land use patterns are not as easily or as quickly implemented as, for example, a blue box program.

Whatsmore, from a regional perspective, key changes and decisions will occur in the next twelve to eighteen months. In order to contribute fully to an integrated regional planning process, it is essential for each participating municipality - including the City of Toronto -- to have formulated its own co-ordinated vision and plan.

Hence we must start today, not only with short-term measures that will immediately benefit us, but also with far reaching approaches, so that our children may reap the full and integrated benefits of our foresight and vision.

And it will require vision. A long lead-time also means that we must anticipate and plan for emerging trends rather than using old tools to meet the needs and desires of past generations. At this turning point in Toronto, we are being challenged to adapt our tools and approaches to our emerging and changing needs, desires and means.

According to the Honourable Tony Clement, Ontario's Environment Minister and past Transport Minister:

… we are on a new frontier in transportation that demands a new set of assumptions. In the boom times of the 1960's and 70's there were few fiscal constraints. That's not the case today. We can't spend our way out, nor can we build our way out in terms of roads. We've got to explore new strategies, and this means not only looking at the strategy of supply management but also at demand management. We've got to employ a broader range of tools, new technologies, for instance to help us meet that demand as never before. Maximizing facility efficiency and reducing the need for expansions. We've got to challenge traditional models and approaches based on increased partnerships between the private and public sectors, and updated roles and responsibilities in the distribution of costs and benefits…(from his speech to the Moving the Economy Conference, July 1998)

4.2 E) TORONTO IS POISED FOR GROWING OPPORTUNITIES

i. Sustainble Solutions are Win-Win

Sustainable transportation doesn't have to be a threat to our economy - it can offer new opportunities.

The Honourable David Collenette, Federal Minister of Transport and the GTA, (from his speech to the Moving the Economy Conference, July, 1998)

The good news is that solutions do exist, and just as the negative effects of our transportation choices are compounded with growth, so too are the beneficial effects of our positive actions and decisions. All over the world, sustainable transportation systems and initiatives - whether they are tried and true or new and innovative - are resulting not only in better air quality, but also in a better quality of life and local economic vitality.

A 1998 World Bank study found that the cities that invest and innovate in sustainable transportation infrastructure (including for the present, Toronto) are coming out ahead. It concluded that the world's wealthiest and most livable cities:

· have the most sophisticated sustainable transportation systems

· are highly transit oriented with strong regional passenger rail networks

· have (mixed), compact urban and suburban development with densities that support viable public transit and active transportation

· have developed highly integrated transportation systems that make efficient use of all transportation modes

· facilitate face to face economic communication, an essential requirement for global competitiveness of city regions

· spend the least per capita on transportation

Whatsmore, the sustainable transportation economic sector is growing worldwide, innovating and developing a wider and more integrated range of transportation choices for citizens and businesses - enhancing efficiency, safety, accessibility, convenience, enjoyment, and affordability, and providing new opportunities for business spin-offs, cost savings, job creation, and local economic revitalization (Moving the Economy, 1998)

viii. Best and Brightest Are Going Sustainable

Since time began, humans have tried to tweak or even overhaul systems of our society so that they work better for us. From the invention of the wheel to the moon launch, we've been envisioning and at times actually creating transportation options or systems that are - for the time - cleaner, more impressive, more affordable, faster, more efficient, more democratic.

Back at the beginning of the twentieth century for example, the futurists and planners of the age envisioned and created an option that offered more convenience, comfort, freedom, and status for more people. It also provided a cleaner alternative to streets dominated by the particular form of pollution of the horse-drawn age. It was the automobile -- and it worked for a while.

But since then the role of the private automobile has changed - especially in cities. Cars offer less convenience and freedom than they once did when there weren't quite so many of them and when they didn't take up quite so much space. We are increasingly realizing that they are no longer a clean alternative. More and more we are finding them (and their infrastructure) to be less affordable on a personal and societal level. And when communities are designed so that everyone needs one to get around, even the status perk begins to wear thin.

As we move into the new millennium, we have new patterns of life, and the transportation system that was envisioned at the turn of the last century and very much expanded during the fifties and beyond does not promise to address these new patterns adequately.

So then, where are the best and brightest of this age heading?

It seems that the world's leading cities (including Toronto) are on the threshold of a new age of sustainable transportation that is also about offering more convenience, choice, comfort, freedom, and status for more people but in a way that will also protect and enrich future generations. From the car companies to the economists, from government agencies to environmental and labour leaders, from the telecommunications gurus to the growing cadre of green developers, sustainable transportation is beginning to be understood as a win-win solution, and the only way to go in our rapidly growing cities.

Of course it is only the beginning, and in order to reap the benefits, policies must be translated into investment and action. As outlined in a 1999 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) summary paper on sustainable transportation:

Access to people, goods, and services and the mobility it often engenders is essential for ensuring broad societal welfare. However, as transport-related environmental impacts continue to mount, it is increasingly clear that innovative solutions that go beyond "business as usual" must be sought and implemented.

Not surprisingly, the evolution of transportation systems around the world very much mirrors the evolution of other new and emerging systems and technologies. Just as we moved from the typewriter into the networked and multifaceted computer age without completely rejecting the typewriter, our transportation systems are evolving from an automobile-oriented mono-culture to become:

· lighter, cleaner, more compact

· capable of offering a much wider range of options

· networked, connected, integrated

· flexible, personalized, customized

· service oriented versus product oriented

· convenient, universally accessible

· convivial, humane

· swift

· safe

· comfortable

· cost-effective and affordable

· knowledge oriented, systems oriented, smart

· elegant, sophisticated

· sustainable

According to Dr. Robin Murray, former Director of Industry with the Greater London Council:

The new transportation system will have the economy of transit and the flexibility of the automobile. (from his speech to Moving the Economy, July 1998).

Dr. Peter Newman, in his book "Sustainability and Cities" compares the evolution of cities (and their transport systems) to ecological evolution:

In ecological terms, it should come as no revelation that as cities grow and become more complex and diverse, they begin to create more efficiencies. Ecosystems grow from simple systems with a few pioneering species to more mature ecosystems with diversity and interconnection. Thus, after a fire or flood or some other disturbance, a cleared piece of land will begin developing the structure of its ecosystem with an emphasis on rapid and simple growth. After a period it becomes more diverse and more efficient as it establishes a more complex network of interactions (In his book Sustainability and Cities)

iii. New Trends in Moving and Not Moving People and Goods

More efficient and complex approaches to Moving People include sophisticated car-sharing schemes, integrated mobility products, advanced transit approaches, trip information and mobility centres, innovations in bicycle infrastructure and provision, advanced electrified urban rail networks, and more. A number of these innovations are being explored and applied in the City of Toronto, including Auto Share's successful car sharing business, and Integrated Mobility Systems, an electronic pass which links a whole range of transportation options and systems. (see Appendix 7)

New approaches to Moving Goods address the entire goods mobility chain through city logistics, joint distribution centres, bundling of freight transport, cleaner freight vehicles, fuels and green fleets, local production and distribution, and human powered goods movement. Goods movement is becoming a key urban issue as cities grow and as "just in time" manufacturing systems increase transportation of products. A number of these innovations are being explored or applied in Toronto, including, through the City's green fleets initiative, an advanced route optimization system for fleets; the Community Bicycle Network's Clean Air Cargo which is innovating human powered delivery and freight options; and Greenest City's food miles and local production and distribution projects.

Sophisticated approaches to Not Moving People or Goods include advances in telework and telecommunications applications as well as progressive zoning and growth management policies, mixed use community centres and development around transit stations, carfree housing options, and more. The City of Toronto has instituted innovative zoning approaches to revitalize downtown industrial and potential live-work areas, and has also explored a range of telecommuting options among other initiatives.

These trends - here and around the world -- paint a picture of our emerging priorities in cities - not only of how we get around, but also of how we want getting around to relate to other parts of our lives (and our children's lives).

iv. Toronto Can Build On Success: A Window of Opportunity

Here in Toronto we enjoy the foundations for some of the best transit and bicycle systems in North America, and because of our relatively high quality of life and community, we have been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the best cities in which to live and do business. According to the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) we are also ahead of the game internationally in our efforts to combat CO2 emissions (former City of Toronto).

Many of the benefits we reap today in terms of people and businesses choosing to locate and stay in Toronto can be credited to wise transportation thinkers and providers and informed and involved citizens of the past. We are blessed with a very strong base from which to evolve and innovate solutions and systems for the new millennium. How will we build on this base?

23 DEVELOPING A VISION AND A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION:

To begin to develop and apply a comprehensive, integrated approach for Toronto as leading sustainable transportation city, we need to start with:

· A preliminary vision and action framework

· Preliminary directions for the new Toronto

· A sense of the available and emerging options, from here and around the world

· An understanding of our current context and our emerging opportunities

Then we need to involve a wider range of transportation users and providers in

· Refining the vision / framework

· Developing a detailed action plan to achieve the vision

· Partnering on an ongoing basis to carry out the evolving plan

6.1 TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (TAC) VISION AS A GUIDE

The Transportation Association of Canada has put forward a generic vision for Urban Transportation in 2023. It could serve as a jumping off point for Toronto's process. By 2023:

· A long-term urban development plan has been approved. It emphasizes multi-use town centres and high density, mixed use along connecting corridors. Transit has funding and operating priority in those corridors.

· Short-medium term community / neighbourhood plans have been approved. They emphasize compact, mixed use communities based on pedestrian, cycling and transit-friendly design

· Transit, highways, arterials, parking and truck routes are planned and coordinated across the urban area

· The percentages of trips made by walking, cycling, transit and high occupancy automobiles are all increasing; the percentage of trips made by single occupant automobiles is decreasing

· The average distance and time for peak hour commuter travel is decreasing

· An area wide parking strategy is in place and enforced

· There are very few places which still require on-street goods transfer

· The physically challenged enjoy universal access to public transport facilities and services

· Roads and bridges are in a good state of repair

· Air pollution from motor vehicle sources is declining

· Urban transportation infrastructure and services are adequately funded from stable and sustainable revenues

· Political leaders have the support of a well-informed public when making decisions on urban development and transportation systems to serve the area.

6.2 TAC ACTION FRAMEWORK AS A GUIDE

There is currently no lack of excellent "to do" lists related to sustainable transportation. A comprehensive action checklist, also developed by the Transportation Association of Canada, is included in appendix 4 as one of the most concise and best sets of action guidelines available. It has been endorsed by a range of agencies and municipalities including, recently, the new City of Toronto. Sustainable Transportation Working Group members have identified specific areas that should be changed or elaborated, and as such it should be used as a guide for planning and not as a prescription.

6.4 CURRENT AND EMERGING OPTIONS: BORROWING FROM THE BEST

Why reinvent the wheel? While solutions can be context-specific, living examples from elsewhere can serve to inform and inspire possibilities for adaptation here in Toronto, and solutions applied in one part of Toronto could also be applied in other parts of Toronto or the region. Appendix 5 provides a sampling of living, working examples of local and international sustainable transportation successes. It is drawn from a range of sources including the Sustainable Transportation Working Group discussions and Moving the Economy. Additional examples and more details can be found on the Moving the Economy web-site, at <city.toronto.on.ca/mte>

6.5 IMAGINING THE SCENARIOS

In all its complexity, decision making related to transportation can tend towards oversimplification - a futile search for the single (often technical) fix, or the "silver bullet". Alternatively, transportation planning and implementation can be diluted and diffused by the process of making long lists of options and ideas without setting clear and practical priorities and frameworks. In either case we risk investing in solutions which do not relate to our current and emerging needs and priorities, and which ignore or neglect key links in the transportation chain.

Recent international approaches to transportation planning have successfully combined a backcasting methodology based on clear goals and timelines and detailed, door-to-door scenario setting for a range of transportation needs.

Bringing sustainable transportation home to practical reality in this way has a few advantages:

· it gives a general picture of how a system or innovation will work and feel

· it places a vision of transportation within a larger vision of how we want to live

· it brings important details to the fore, useful to the planning and implementing process

· it focuses on the user - an emerging approach to transportation planning now being studied by the TTC and other progressive transportation marketing departments

Appendix 6 offers some preliminary door to door scenarios for moving (and not moving) people and goods. An international example of transportation scenario-setting can be found on the website for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development . This approach could benefit from the evolving advanced transportation modeling systems available at the City.

7. MAKING IT HAPPEN: TORONTO AS LEADING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION CITY

7.1 PRELIMINARY GOALS FOR THE NEW TORONTO

A sustainable transportation framework must start with clear aims. Goals specific to Toronto might include:

· Provide all Toronto citizens and visitors to Toronto with the widest range of sustainable transportation options that are seamlessly linked, safe, convenient, enjoyable, affordable, and economically competitive, and apply the best available measures to significantly reduce the environmental, social and economic impacts of personal transportation

· Significantly reduce the congestion, pollution, danger, costs, and inefficiencies related to the movement of goods - the fastest growing segment of the transportation sector, with emerging consolidation systems, cleaner freight vehicles, local production and distribution, and intermodal approaches.

· Replace or reduce the need for transportation (of people or goods) where appropriate with emerging telecommunications technologies and stringent land use and development policies and practices

· Give priority in all transportation and land use decisions to sustainable transportation as described in this report, in policy, spending, programs, and partnership

· Other, to be added and refined by a wide range of transportation providers and users through Toronto's ongoing transportation planning process

7.2 KEY STEPS IN TORONTO 'S CONTEXT

How we put our visions, goals, and available options into practice is very much grounded in our current context. Eight key factors were identified by the Sustainable Transportation Working Group as essential to a leading sustainable transportation infrastructure. The following pages briefly describe the City of Toronto's current context and suggest areas of opportunity for immediate and ongoing action.

The eight factors are:

A) Information: The First Step to Action

B) Infrastructure: The Foundation

· Sustainable Land Use

· Sustainable Transportation Modes and Networks

· Telecommunications: The Emerging Virtual Transportation Network

F) Integration: For Greater Efficiency

· Modes and Systems

· Governance Structures and Responsibilities (City within a Region)

· City Departments Related to Transportation

· Other Issues and Sectors

K) Involvement: Of Users and Providers

L) Investment

· Public Funding

· Innovative Financing and Partnerships

· Sector Development: Attracting Investment to Sustainable Transportation

P) Implementation: Beyond Policies and Principles

Q) Innovation: For emerging needs and markets

R) Indicators of Progress: To Inform Future Action

For each key step there is a brief overview of Toronto's context and a summary of our present opportunity for action.

A) INFORMATION (Awareness and Understanding): The First Step to Action

There is a reason why Toronto is one of the better cities to live in and get around. Some of the North America's leading transportation experts and visionaries were born here or chose to relocate here. As a result, in terms of information, expertise, and understanding of the issues, we are fairly well placed.

Both at the City of Toronto and through Toronto's very active transportation community, we gather and share wide ranging information on sustainable transportation on an ongoing basis. This information and outreach includes (but is not limited to):

· City of Toronto efforts, ranging from advanced GIS and statistical analysis and mapping systems to the successful promotion and education programs of the Toronto Cycling Committee to the Pedestrian working group to Anti-smog Strategy outreach related to transportation.

· Moving the Economy On-Line, an expandable, searchable electronic database of local and international economic success stories in sustainable transportation, placing Toronto as an international hub of economic best practices in sustainable transportation.

· Detour Publications, the world's only on-line mail-order catalogue of books and resources on sustainable transportation and urban ecology <Detour@web.net>

· Toronto's Directory of Sustainable Transportation Groups, Projects, and Events produced by the Environmental Task Force

· A range of useful information and outreach on sustainable transportation produced by the Toronto Environmental Alliance, the Toronto Board of Trade, Pollution Probe, IBI Hemson, The Centre for Sustainable Transportation, Environmentalists Plan Transportation, Transportation Options, the Community Bicycle Network, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists, Greenest City, and a range of other institutions and organizations.

· The Green Tourism Association, which provides sustainable transportation information to serve a growing proportion of Toronto's 21 million annual visitors

· A progressive, well informed City Council

· A number of well versed Toronto journalists who cover transportation and related urban issues regularly

Both because of the current context, and because of this strong and growing information infrastructure, the risks of inaction and the urgency of the transportation situation are becoming more apparent to business and industry, all levels of government, organized labour, local communities, and concerned citizens. Business is beginning to see transportation-related lost productivity on their ledgers. Government is facing increasing health costs and a whole range of other social costs. Organized labour is feeling the effects of transportation inefficiencies on workers. And communities are suffering the effects of increasing local transportation and air quality problems. In short, smog, congestion, transportation and climate change are no longer reserved for slow media days.

On an institutional level, the past few years have seen a stepping up of awareness and dialogue by all levels of government and business. Since the early transportation efforts of the various Round Tables on Environment and Economy, there has been a plethora of policy and outreach discussion (see Appendix 2 for Policy Context listing).

Recently there has been growing awareness of urban transportation issues at the federal and international Levels. Through the Climate Change process related to meeting Kyoto targets, a substantial investment has been made to inform Canadian decision-makers (individuals, politicians, and business) of the issues. In a similar vein, various international agencies, such as The United Nations, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the European Union, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and others are making concerted ongoing efforts to explore and promote sustainable transportation issues and options.

However, gaps and challenges do remain when it comes to information and understanding of sustainable transportation at the City of Toronto and beyond:

· Our information on the impacts of current transportation trends outweighs and outstrips our information on the positive benefits related to sustainable transportation options and solutions. Because transportation is so much a part of our daily lives, doom and gloom can have a numbing and paralyzing effect if not presented in conjunction with options for action - both related to our own travel behaviour, and to being part of a larger solution in our communities, businesses, and governments. Recognition of such positive action could also be expanded.

· Our understanding of transportation and of sustainable transportation can be fragmented and limited by our particular perspective or role. This allows us to neglect important pieces of the transportation puzzle - goods movement, telecommunications, social equity, community, for example. We may focus too much on technical issues, or on economic issues, without linking it to the big picture, which then limits the tools we use for creating and implementing the solutions. There is a saying: "To a man with a hammer, all problems look like nails".

· Proposed solutions to transportation problems are often presented as single, simple fixes, or alternatively, long lists of options that are difficult to understand or prioritize. Without painting door to door scenarios of how a user will experience the particular innovation or system, it is difficult to understand and deliver an integrated package of more sustainable options and their benefits.

· While efforts have been made (particularly by the cycling community) to reach out to diverse communities on transportation issues, our efforts to inform and involve all ethnic communities and communities of interest could be improved in the context of such a diverse and multicultural city

· While information and promotional support from senior levels of government has increased in relation to Kyoto targets and other environmental mandates, there are still gaps in support for communicating about the impacts and opportunities of sustainable transportation.

· Toronto exists within a North American culture which still holds the automobile as a symbol of success and a key to freedom. The private automobile -- our most polluting urban transportation mode -- is the one machine for which we will gladly forfeit our organs in advance in the event that we die as a result of its use.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to communicate more widely, effectively and compellingly with Toronto citizens, media, politicians, bureaucrats, and the business community, not only about the full range of problems and issues related to current transportation trends, but also about the options and benefits related to sustainable transportation. Our communication challenge is not only to underscore the significant risks of the status quo, but also to shift the mindset from one of fear, denial, and paralysis in this context of massive change, to one of opportunity, options, wealth, and sexiness.

B) INFRASTRUCTURE: The Foundation

Our transportation infrastructure can be divided into at least three different areas:

i. Land Use

ii. Transportation Modes and Networks

iii. Telecommunications: The Virtual Transportation Infrastructure

i. Land Use

Our land is the basis for our transportation infrastructure. The way we choose to use and organize our land is one of the key determinants of the efficiency and cost effectiveness of our transportation system and other services, and in turn, the extent and effects of urban sprawl. It also very much affects how our communities feel and function.

Currently about 40% of our land is dedicated to automobile transportation in the form of roads, parking lots, drive throughs, gas stations, etc. Movement by car demands at least 70 times more road space to move each person than is required when we walk.

Land devoted to automobiles means land not devoted to greenspace, commercial and retail operations, food production, and housing, not to mention walking, cycling, and transit. Using land for automobiles not only takes space from other transportation modes, it can also decrease the feasibility and efficiency of other modes. Appropriate densities and zoning in the appropriate nodes and areas are required for transit, cycling and pedestrian options to work to their optimal benefit.

Smart land use and zoning can vastly increase the number of people and the amount of industry and economy that can comfortably take place in a given space. It has been estimated that with thoughtful zoning, brownfield development, live-work arrangements, industry clustering and other land use and development approaches (supported by an efficient transportation network), the City of Toronto could comfortably accommodate at least another million people within its boundaries over the next ten years.

The City of Toronto, and in particular the former City of Toronto, has so far admirably taken advantage of its pre-automobile urban form to maintain and improve its walkable, bike friendly and transit friendly land use patterns through innovative zoning and land use policies and wise urban design. And a growing league of developers is seeing the economic benefits of sustainable transportation and land use development. However, the transportation challenges of the rapidly growing region could have significant effects on our land use patterns and related costs for both the city and the region. For example:

Research in 1995 for the Greater Toronto Area Task Force estimated that continued urban sprawl in the GTA over the next 25 years would cost $69 billion in new infrastructure (road, sewer, water) capital, operating and maintenance costs. But it was found that the same growth could be accommodated through more compact urban development for only $57 billion, a saving to tax payers of about $12 billion. When auto related costs of air pollution, health care, policing, congestion, and land acquisitions were factored in, the total annual savings approached $1 billion per year over the 25 year study period. (as quoted from the Golden Report in TAC briefing on Financing Urban Transportation)

The new City of Toronto is currently developing its new Official Plan. While the City has no jurisdiction over land use decisions of the region, growth management within the City boundaries can not only stem the effects of regional growth, it can also be beneficial to the efficiency and economy of the entire region. For example,

When Portland Oregon first adopted a growth management strategy 20 years ago, local and national opponents said it would choke the region's economic prosperity. They were proven wrong. Portland is booming, and many say that growth management policies deserve some of the credit for making the region a highly desirable place to live, which attracts new residents and new businesses - Jay Walljasper, YES

According to Elaine Wilkerson, Director of Growth Management Services for Metropolitan Portland, the region has grown by 24% over the last 20 years but only 13% in land area. Employment in the Portland downtown has nearly doubled. In addition, the average lot size for residential development has decreased by 50% over the last 20 years. This is due to a diversification of the housing market with land use initiatives to encourage a compact community. The region has adopted a 2040 Growth Concept that promotes minimal expansion of the existing Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), increased densities in centres and along transit corridors, multimodal accessibility, and protection of neighbourhoods, parks and green spaces. (from Proceedings of Moving the Economy, July 1998).

Our present opportunity lies in the quality and strength of our own land use policies, guidelines and by-laws, and our capacity to apply and implement them. It also lies in our capacity to influence regional and provincial land use directions both by example and by direct participation in regional transportation decisions.

ii. Transportation Modes and Networks: the Framework

As a sustainable transportation framework, Toronto has a foundation for some of the best regional and local transit systems in North America. It also has a growing bicycle infrastructure supported by innovative programs and support networks at the City and in the community. Bicycle transportation in the former City of Toronto has grown by over 75% in the past 8 - 10 years. Toronto is also a relatively walkable city, by large North American city standards, particularly in the core, where pre-automobile urban form and thoughtful urban design have combined in places to provide vibrant and safe places to walk, shop, and play. A recent decision to dismantle the Eastern portion of the Gardner Expressway for transformation into a livable, walkable urban space also serves to set a sustainable transportation tone.

However, with rapid regional growth, our current sustainable transportation framework will be challenged:

· Every new line or addition built by GO in the next ten years would immediately reach capacity - train bus ridership has increased by 300% in the past three years, and the demand for GO will increase by 90 - 170 % by 2031. However the GO system is currently focused on commuter travel to downtown, and provides limited hours and services over the course of the day or across the region. The challenge for GTA transit systems is to respond to increasing market demand for residential, commercial, and employment uses both within the city and across regional borders.

· While the fact that TTC derives 80% of its revenues through the fare box (highest in North America) is a testament to its success, this situation, with the remaining 20% derived from property taxes cannot be sustained under coming pressure of rapid population growth and shifting demographics. With service cuts and fare increases related to recent funding cuts, and with a dependence on fare box for operating capital, the capacity to keep current riders, let alone attract new (and more diverse) ones, is threatened. In addition, the TTC's funding situation is a disincentive to the kinds of innovations in marketing and service provision that could help to increase transit's modal share.

· Innovative and hybrid approaches to transit and sustainable transportation infrastructure based on international experience are in the early stages in Toronto. A range of innovative approaches, including jitney services, daytime use of school buses for transit and paratransit, pedicabs and tandem taxis, and car sharing linked with transit options have all been initiated in Toronto but have yet to be supported and marketed sufficiently and effectively.

· While bicycle transportation infrastructure is being expanded across the new City through a network of on-street bicycle routes and lanes as well as through a series of converted hydro and rail corridors, the appeal of cycling as a viable option will be challenged by the safety and pollution impacts posed by increasing car and truck traffic volumes. In cities where bicycle transportation - a vastly underrated active urban mode - has been consciously developed to increase year round modal share of up to 30% (in similar climates to Toronto's), these initiatives are supported by cycle friendly land use, legislation, and promotion as well as by physical infrastructure. The success of the former city of Toronto in supporting increased bicycle use risks dilution through inadequate funding and staffing resources, as well as transportation trends that run counter to safe, convenient bicycle use.

· Toronto's present, and certainly its future pedestrian environments and networks are challenged by increasing car and truck volumes, not only in terms of space devoted to sidewalks and civic spaces, but in terms of quality of interaction and exchange. Increasing levels of pollution and noise impinge on the social and economic benefits of lively pedestrian environments.

· Toronto's remaining rail lines and corridors risk disappearing entirely unless reclaimed and reconnected into an integrated network of sustainable transportation options. There is still great potential for these remaining lines to offer a cost-effective, innovative opportunity for revitalization as a connected "orbital" framework for commuter travel, goods movement, and recreation that could provide a region-wide alternative to auto use on Highways 401 and 407 including multiple connections through radial transit services to Toronto's Central Business District. Much depends on land use decisions, development practices, and partnership building for network development and co-ordination.

· A road and highway system that is in a state of good repair can be a support to a sustainable transportation system. Highway and road innovations including HOV lanes, truck only lanes, transit routes on highways and road tolling can improve the efficiency of existing roads and highways, and reduce the need for additional road construction and expense. The Toronto region's only toll highway was beginning to achieve financial success before being recently sold by the Province. Rapid regional growth risks unbridled road building and expansion in the absence of a strong regional transit infrastructure.

· Air and marine networks are seldom addressed in urban transportation planning. Per capita, air travel has even greater environmental impact than private automobile transportation. By contrast, marine travel can offer ecologically and economically efficient alternatives to present forms of urban passenger and freight movement. There has been limited discussion related to mitigating the impacts of air travel in the urban setting, and to integrating emerging marine options into the sustainable transportation network.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to build on our current sustainable transportation framework, envision and support an interconnected, user-based network of sustainable options, and attract and lever initial and ongoing investment in this development, with the aim of meeting all new transportation demand with sustainable transportation infrastructure.

iii. Telecommunications: The Emerging Virtual Transportation Infrastructure

Our expanding electronic networks are assuming an increasingly important role in our patterns of settlement and transportation. On the one hand, electronic shopping, banking, working and playing can reduce or eliminate the need for travel. On the other hand, it has the potential to encourage travel by allowing people to locate farther away from other people and services. With a North America wide trend towards "wired" communities, the human and physical interface in cities and communities is assuming new forms. In relation to transportation, telecommunications is neither a roadblock nor a panacea in its own right. However it is important to recognize its growing presence and consciously plan for it sustainable evolution. According to Dr Peter Newman:

Rather than favouring scattered development, the information based city needs intensive areas where people can meet and share their expertise, to plan and develop their projects. Electronic communication supplements face to face contact, does not replace it.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to evaluate and apply telecommunications options and innovations to meet sustainable ends, through dialogue and partnerships with relevant industries and interests.

C) INTEGRATION: For Efficiency, Cost-Effectiveness, and Convenience

i. Modes and Systems Integration: The sum of the modes and systems is greater than its parts. Linking transportation options and systems increases the use, efficiency and cost effectiveness of all the modes and, in turn, the entire system. It extends the reach and increases the market. While the transit systems across the Toronto region are integrated to a degree, there is great potential to link a much wider range of modes and systems seamlessly. It should be noted that integration goes beyond transport modes, to include links with networks of bikeways and walkways and other physical infrastructure and urban design geared to increasing the range of options and the ease of "switching" from one option to the other.

Through the Moving The Economy initiative, the City is currently exploring and developing an initiative called Integrated Mobility Systems based on "New Mobility" successes in Europe and smart card technology innovations worldwide. In France there have been actual commercial and pilot tests on developing both concepts together. The concept: One electronic card links a range of transportation options, including local transit and regional rail, car sharing, swipe card free bicycles, taxis, parking, and even transponder systems. (see IMS graphic and outline, appendix 7)

Integration also increases the efficiency of moving goods. As demonstrated at the recent OECD conference on innovations in sustainable transportation, intermodal and mixed mode applications to freight movement are increasing and paying off in many other large urban centres.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to lead the way in applying proven approaches, new technologies and creative partnerships to the development of an integrated, multimodal, cost-effective convenient, system both in Toronto and across the region.

ii. Integration of Functions: Moving People, Moving Goods, Moving Information: Our decisions about the ways in which we move people, goods, and information are all interrelated. At present, passenger travel congestion can slow down truck movement, truck traffic can cause both risk and inconvenience to passenger travelers, and movement of information allows people to locate differently, which can either reduce the need to travel or move goods, or increase it by allowing people to locate farther away. And all of this both affects and is affected by our land use decisions.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to make decisions that take into account the inter-relatedness of transportation functions in the ways that have least environmental and economic impacts.

iii. Integration of Governance Structures and Responsibilities: Responsibility for transportation policies and resources is spread across all levels of government. At present there is a need for greater and more efficient co-ordination of these responsibilities. While development at the regional level is key, there is also a need to re-involve the province and the federal level in urban transportation issues and infrastructure.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to generate interest and involvement by all levels of government in an integrated, coordinated way by demonstrating the relevance of sustainable urban transportation to our overall economy and quality of life. (See appendix 2 for listing of current policy and planning processes). It also lies in ensuring that the evolution of our governance structures is as smart, efficient, and seamless as the evolution of our transportation systems.

iv. Integrating the City and the Region: More and faster growth in population and in automobile use is happening in the region around Toronto than in the City itself. As the central employment and entertainment hub of the region, and with increasing cross-border travel, the City has a key role to play in developing an efficient, sustainable regional transportation and land use system. The GTSB is currently developing a regional transportation and land use plan, to which all municipalities, including Toronto, have an important stake. The value of the regional planning process will depend in large part on the clarity and vision provided by the participating municipalities.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to participate fully and actively at an early stage in regional sustainable transportation development.

· housing policy and homelessness

· fiscal policy

· telecommunications policy and telework

· industrial development

· health policy and provision

· labour and employment policies and practices

· tourism

· green industry

· energy policy

· environment policy

· food policy, production, and distribution

· trade and trans-border issues

· and more

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to develop and integrate related policies and sectors while achieving sustainable transportation goals.

D) INVOLVEMENT: Of Users and Providers

Transportation is used by everyone and affects everyone. Involving all decision makers: citizens, businesspeople and employers, educators, politicians, bureaucrats, and labour and community leaders, is a key to ongoing participation not only in developing an awareness of the issues but also in affecting the solution. This is beginning to happen at all levels in the face of rapid local and global changes and transportation challenges.

· A variety of workplace programs and supports have been initiated by business and labour in Toronto, including City of Toronto Transportation Management Associations (TMA's); Pollution Probe Clean Air Commute, Labour and CUTA led campaign for employer-provided transit passes, Toronto Environmental Alliance Car Pooling Initiative, University of Toronto Cashing Out study, the City of Toronto Corporate Anti-Smog plan, Wheel Excitement corporate bicycle commuter workshops, and more (see Directory of Sustainable Transportation). However the challenge in building upon and facilitating involvement in these diverse workplace initiatives will be to offer a coordinated one-stop shopping approach for busy employers.

· There is a range of school-based sustainable transportation initiatives sparking involvement by teachers, parents, and children, including Greenest City's Safe Routes to School, Transportation Options Blazing Trails through the Urban Jungle, the Community Bicycle Network's Bicycle Recycling Program, the City's Kid's Can-Bike Program, and the Toronto Board of Education's environmental education program. At the same time, trends are moving away from children using sustainable transportation because of increasing security and health concerns. Fewer than 50% of Canadian children walk to school. The challenge will be to maintain and increase support for and involvement in programs and initiatives that will set a foundation for future generations.

· In the former City of Toronto, informed citizen involvement has made an immeasurable contribution to the development of our current sustainable transportation infrastructure. In the new amalgamated City and throughout the region, as the issue becomes more pressing, it will at the same time become more of a challenge to sustain meaningful dialogue and involvement in sustainable transportation issues on a larger scale. For information on community efforts in sustainable transportation, see the Directory of Sustainable Transportation in Toronto.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to maintain and build diverse partnerships and mechanisms for meaningful involvement in this urgent issue.

E) INVESTMENT

In addition to investment of human resources, a successful sustainable transportation infrastructure requires financial investment, in the form of:

· Public/Government Funding

· Innovative Financing Mechanisms: Incentives and Disincentives

· Sector Development: Attracting Private Investment to Sustainable Transportation

While money doesn't necessarily translate into thoughtful and integrated sustainable transportation planning, it is essential, especially in the face of current changes, for maintaining and expanding our sustainable transportation capacity.

Unfortunately, at a time when demand is increasing, funding from senior levels of government is decreasing. The government funding playing field has never been level across modes. Considering the disproportionate amount of government subsidy towards private automobile and truck transport, it is both surprising and heartening that our sustainable transportation infrastructure has flourished to the point that it has. According to Joe Berridge in his recent report Reinvesting in Toronto: What the Competition is Doing:

What is clear is that Toronto is investing at about one fifth the rate of its competitor cities, that this investment has not been tied to private investment, and that philanthropic investment is nearly entirely absent in Toronto.

Through the Kyoto Climate Change initiatives, urban transportation is emerging as a key target for federal support, and provincially, while no specific commitments have been made to transit or sustainable transportation funding, there may be opportunities for supporting systems improvements and technologies that increase integrated transportation efficiency. Decisions to fund sustainable transportation initiatives will be influenced by the existence of integrated plans, proposals and partnerships supported by social, environmental, and economic rationales. Integrated and sustainable plans are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for funding allocations. For example, according to Robin Murray, former Director of Industry for the Greater London Council,

The British Government is forcing departments to bid for their own budgets and award it to them only if they create partnerships that will address the problems. Through such budget exercises there are opportunities for sustainable businesses and organizations to join in partnership.

From the point of view of generating revenues, municipalities as yet have limited powers to generate their own revenues for investment in the development of sustainable transportation infrastructure. For example, in Toronto 2 cents per liter of gas would translate into $100 million for transit and other sustainable transportation initiatives (Richard Soberman). Granting such powers of revenue collection to municipalities would open up a range of opportunities for local sustainable transportation repair and renewal.

It should be restated here that cities that invest in sustainable transportation spend less per capita on transportation, and bring a whole range of additional benefits. Were the transportation playing field to be more level, smaller investments would go much farther. Faced with Toronto's aging infrastructure that is costly to repair, investing in more long term sustainable solutions becomes more cost effective. For example,

In 1994, the City of Boulder, Colorado modeled the impacts of investing in new roads to relieve congestion. Their models revealed that new roadway expenditures of US $200 million would result in a 58% congestion rate of the city transportation system, while no investment would lead to 60% congestion. Instead of squandering millions for a 2% improvement, the city wisely chose to invest its money in the promotion of alternative modes, aiming to maintain congestion at current levels of only 20%.

Sustainable transportation providers are also seeking and applying innovative funding mechanisms and partnerships. They are considering a range of options, including user fees, distance based insurance, location efficient mortgages, vehicle registration fees, gas taxes, pricing signals, and more, to link incentives to sustainable transportation with disincentives to private automobile use (carrot and stick)

There is also an emerging trend, initiated by Calstart in California, and being developed here in Toronto through Moving The Economy, to attract investment to and create jobs in the growing sustainable transportation sector. (see Moving the Economy website <www.toronto.ca/mte>)

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to spend existing money more efficiently, generate new revenue that is more closely linked to actual costs and use, (through existing and new powers to the municipality) and stimulate increased public and private investment in sustainable transportation infrastructure. Our opportunity also lies in creating partnerships to establish innovative financial incentives to sustainable transportation.

Policies are 100% more effective if implemented. Occasionally policies are made with good intent but are not supported by enough staff and resources to see them through.

Our present opportunity lies in our commitment to implementing sustainable transportation and land use policies by allocating and managing sufficient staff and other resources to seeing them through.

G) INNOVATION: For Emerging Needs and Markets

In challenging times, innovation is most needed and often least supported. Around the world innovative and sustainable approaches to transportation systems are paying back in both social and economic terms.

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to build on innovations from elsewhere, and to provide a supportive context here in Toronto for sustainable transportation innovation to be developed, applied locally and exported.

H) INDICATORS OF PROGRESS: To Inform Future Action

Evaluation - both quantitative and qualitative, is essential to the success of specific sustainable transportation initiatives and to setting general future directions. The STWG has begun this process for incorporation into other reporting and monitoring processes currently being developed. (see appendix 3 for proposed indicator categories)

Our present opportunity lies in our capacity to develop cost effective, consistent and regular evaluation mechanisms that provide both qualitative and quantitative measures, and that provide information on both the negative impacts and positive benefits of the range of transportation activities.

8. IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP FOR TORONTO

Toronto as Leading Sustainable Transportation City:

A Co-ordinated Ongoing Mechanism for Meeting the Challenges and Reaping the Benefits

How, with all these challenges, needs, changes, and options, do we decide what to do, when to do it and who does it? We know that the next ten to twenty years will be a challenge regardless of whether we continue with business as usual or opt and act for a sustainable, liveable solution. While no one City government, or other government, or any person, corporation, or group could shift our transportation system single-handedly, the City can play a very important role in setting the tone, the direction, and the environment for sustainable transportation development here and across the region.

The Sustainable Transportation Working Group began a process for the new city. It developed an inventory of existing policies and initiatives (see Sustainable Transportation Directory), it identified an initial vision and framework for action, and it offered eight key steps to take within Toronto's specific context. But this was only the beginning.

The process must continue and expand in a concerted, integrated way within the City structure and in partnership with both users and providers of transportation across the region. For this we need a co-ordinated mechanism or plan. At this point in Toronto's evolution and growth, business as usual will neither address the urgent and looming challenges we face, nor will it take advantage of the rich array of opportunities for economic, social, and environmental benefit.

Unlike the Montreal, Ottawa or Vancouver regions, there is at present no transportation and land use plan for the Toronto region. Nor is there as yet an integrated plan for transportation and land use at the City of Toronto. Responsibility for the many components of urban transportation, land use, and transportation infrastructure at the City is spread across diverse City departments, committees and agencies, including Urban Planning and Development Services, Works and Emergency Services, TTC, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, The Office of the CAO, and more. In order to cost effectively achieve the goals of a sustainable transportation city we must bring together these components and successes and build upon them in an integrated way.

Good plans save money and time by avoiding and reducing duplication of effort and spending, especially when the subject is complex, sophisticated, and related to a variety of sectors and players. From the beginning they involve both those who will carry out the plan and those who will be affected by it. They take the time and commit the resources to build a solid foundation and achieve early buy-in. And most importantly they build in implementation mechanisms and accountability. Good plans also send a message that we are open for business. They act as tools for garnering the resources and partnerships needed for success.

Vancouver's very successful transportation plan took about a year and cost under $1 million. They are still reaping the benefits in terms of public buy-in and local commitment. Britain's transportation White Paper is getting a very positive response and sparking very positive results.

Few businesses would go forward confidently without detailed goals and an integrated mechanism or plan of action. Why would one of the world's major cities?

Toronto's current context makes co-ordinated planning both more challenging and more essential. The recent municipal amalgamation and development of the Greater Toronto Services Board gives us an opportunity to re-evaluate existing policies and practices, setting a clear direction for the future in transportation and land use issues and to help us become less reliant on single occupant motor vehicles. Both the Strategic Transportation Planning Group and the Transportation Implementation Plan of the Official Plan can provide key fora for ensuring and catalysing the appropriate and necessary processes and resources for making Toronto a leading sustainable transportation city.

9. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY

A top notch sustainable transportation system can be judged by the way in which it meets current and evolving needs within its current and evolving means. Addressing urgent and complex transportation challenges and reaping emerging opportunities and benefits will require concerted, co-ordinated, and immediate effort and leadership at the City of Toronto. We are fortunate to have a very strong base upon which to develop integrated sustainable transportation. By applying key steps outlined in this report, and by acting on the following recommendations, the new City of Toronto can build on successes of former municipalities, and best practices from elsewhere, to become a leading sustainable transportation City into the new millennium.

Recommendations Summary (see full recommendations on page 4)

The Environmental Task Force requests:

1. That City Council recognize the urgent and growing importance of sustainable transportation to our city's future, and build on the successes of the former municipalities to establish Toronto as a leading sustainable transportation city.

2. That the Commissioners of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works & Emergency Services report to their respective standing committees by May 2000 on staff and resource requirements for achieving the goals of a leading sustainable transportation city.

3. i) That this Sustainable Transportation Working Group report be submitted for incorporation of relevant elements into relevant planning processes with consultation with the Sustainable Transportation Working Group as required

ii) That all relevant departments, agencies and planning processes report annually to the proposed Sustainability Roundtable and City Council, beginning in May of 2000, on progress to date and plans for the future, for promotion of successes in these areas.

4. That the Commissioners of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works and Emergency Services work in partnership with the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) in consultation with relevant agencies and report back by February of 2000 on the feasibility and resource requirements for developing a two-tiered approach to sustainable transportation public outreach.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts

Negative Impacts Generated from Automobile Dependency

Environmental

· Transportation is the largest and fastest growing source of Greenhouse Gases in Canada. If no actions are taken, transportation Greenhouse Gases are projected to exceed 1990 levels by 26% in 2010 and 42% in 2020⁽¹⁾.

· Toronto was rated highest among international cities for nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions in a study conducted by the World Health Organization in 1990⁽²⁾

.· In 1990, 16.5 kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide, 63 tonnes of nitrous oxide, and 103 tonnes of volatile organic compounds were emitted daily in and around Toronto⁽³⁾

· In Ontario, about 67% of nitrogen oxides come from the transportation sector in Ontario⁽⁴⁾. Nitrogen oxides and their by-products can irritate the lungs, lower resistance to respiratory infection, corrode metals, and damage trees and crops⁽⁵⁾.

· In Ontario, 22% of volatile organic compound emissions come from road vehicles⁽⁶⁾.

· In Toronto, carbon monoxide is a major pollutant - 93% of which comes from motor vehicles⁽⁷⁾.

· In the former City of Toronto, 80% of transportation carbon dioxide emissions came from private automobiles⁽⁸⁾

· In Canada, 48% of carbon dioxide emissions originated through goods movement from trucks⁽⁹⁾

. If recent trends continue, transport will account for 53 percent of the increase in Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 2010. Freight would be responsible for more than half of the increase in transport emissions and more than a quarter of the increase in Canadian greenhouse gas emissions⁽¹⁰⁾.

· Between 1990 and 1995, travel by private automobile in Canada increased by 15%⁽¹¹⁾. This led to an increase in the consumption of total fossil fuels by 6%⁽¹²⁾.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

· Manufacturing an automobile requires approximately 450,000 litres of water which comes in clean and goes out polluted. The energy required to produce a vehicle is also very large, equal to about 12% of the energy used by the vehicle in its lifetime.⁽¹³⁾

· Water quality and quantity in Toronto's Don River are inadvertently affected by storm water runoff. Storm water runoff deteriorates water quality partly by the pollutants which it washes off streets, highways and parking areas. The amount of pollution washed into the river is closely related to the level of traffic in the area⁽¹⁴⁾.

· In Ontario alone, crop damage from high ozone levels (due to congestion) was estimated to be $70 million annually⁽¹⁵⁾.

· Decreasing automobile dependency would preserve vast areas of farmland that otherwise are destined to be paved over to meet the constant demand for more roads⁽¹⁶⁾.

· About 40% of the land in The Greater Toronto Area is dedicated to cars (including roads and parking lots)⁽¹⁷⁾.

Health

· The estimated annual health care cost in Ontario for disease attributable to car related air pollution is $646 million⁽¹⁸⁾.

· A 45% reduction of nitrous oxides and volatile organic compounds would result in 83 fewer deaths, 195 fewer hospital admissions and 5 million fewer symptom days, with a savings of between $400 million and $1.2 billion per year in Toronto⁽¹⁹⁾.

· After a smog day, 11-13% of hospital admissions are related to ozone. For children under 2 years of age, this figure is 15%⁽²⁰⁾.

· During the 1996 summer Olympics, the city of Atlanta saw a 40% overall reduction in acute asthma attacks. At the time, a city-wide strategy was in place to reduce traffic. According to Dr. Michael Friedman, a decrease in city-wide use of automobiles led to improved in air quality and a large decrease in childhood asthma attacks⁽²¹⁾.

· Areas with a high amount of traffic are not safe for cyclists and pedestrians; therefore limiting a person from taking part in physical exercise. According to a recent health study, heart disease would decrease 5 to 10% if a person was to bike or walk one-third of their short distance trips⁽²²⁾.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

· Personal stress due to driving on congested roads lead to "road rage"; this in turn increases the risk for accidents to occur. Between 1990 and 1996, 220 people were killed and another 12,500 injured because of aggressive driving caused by congestion and frustration of being in traffic for too long⁽²³⁾.

· Each year in Canada, there are about 43,000 collisions involving big trucks that kill or injure 12,000 people, partly due to the fact that 30% of big trucks were found to have safety defects⁽²⁴⁾.

· Driver fatigue is also another cause, since drivers are excessively worked for 100 hours a week. The US National Transportation Safety Board found that driver fatigue is a probable factor in 40% of truck crashes⁽²⁵⁾.

· According to the Coroner's Report published by the City of Toronto, there have been 51 fatalities involving cyclists between 1986 to 1999 and 13,087 injuries between 1986-1995⁽²⁶⁾.

Social

· A number of studies have revealed that residential property values have increased with reduced vehicle traffic. One study found that homes in a neighbourhood with traffic constrained had an average value 18% higher than comparative homes in a neighbourhood without such constraints⁽²⁷⁾.

· In Vancouver alone, the portion of children being driven to school has increased from 20% to 80% over the past few years. This trend is harmful since it hinders the child's ability to participate in physical exercise⁽²⁸⁾.

· Dependency upon cars leads to a decrease in the quality of public transit, therefore it takes much longer for a commuter to travel by bus than car. A 1992 survey of travel habits of 15,000 households found that during rush hour -- between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. -- commuters were spending more time on the road, traveling farther, and at a slower speed than in 1985⁽²⁹⁾

· Street environments designed primarily for automobiles encourage anti-social behaviour and crime since they enable offenders to make a fast escape from authorities⁽³⁰⁾.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

· When walking and cycling replace automotive travel, users save vehicle expenses while society saves on roadway and parking facility costs, reduced congestion and accidents, and negative environmental impacts⁽³¹⁾.

Transportation Expenditures as Percentage of Household Income

Chart from: Litman, Todd (1999). Transportation Cost Analysis Summary. Victoria: Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

Economic

· Motor vehicle crashes in Ontario in 1990 cost individuals, organizations and governments $9 billion⁽³²⁾.

· Of this $9 billion, $7.3 billion is accounted for disabilities pension and missed days⁽³³⁾.

· Property damage represents $1.5 billion; which is the cost to repair or to replace vehicles and to repair road infrastructure and buildings damaged in crashes⁽³⁴⁾.

· The remainder of $0.3 billion accounts for the time and material expended on crashes; this includes health care costs as well as emergency services⁽³⁵⁾.

· A study done in 1990 by John McCullum of Transport 2000 Ontario, revealed that the province was spending more than $1 billion a year just paying interest on funds borrowed to build roads⁽³⁶⁾.

· Another study performed in 1993 calculated that people in the Toronto area could save $74 billion and create thousands of jobs over the next 40 years simply by curtailing their use of the car⁽³⁷⁾.

· The study also estimated that each car owner could save $2,000 to $10,000 a year in fuel and repairs⁽³⁸⁾.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

· The average taxpayer in Toronto pays $700 per year in taxes to pay for road and traffic service⁽³⁹⁾.

· Transportation expenditures represent 20% of the average Canadian household income. Since transportation expenditures consume the highest portion of income, lower - income families face a tremendous financial burden⁽⁴⁰⁾

Transportation Expenditures as Percentage of Household Income

Chart from: Litman, Todd (1999). The Cost of Automobile Dependency and the Benefits of Balanced Transportation. Victoria: Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

· Each car parking space in Toronto takes over 300 square feet of land, costing $4000 - $20,000 to construct and $175 per year to maintain⁽⁴¹⁾.

· Residential parking costs $1,200 per residential home⁽⁴²⁾.

Residential Parking Costs as a Percentage of Household Income

Chart from: Litman, Todd (1999). The Cost of Automobile Dependency and the Benefits of Balanced Transportation. Victoria: Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

· Annual cost of air pollution from cars is $15 billion a year in Canada⁽⁴³⁾.

· Automobile dependency tends to increase overall congestion costs.

· Automobile dependent cities such as Los Angeles and Houston have much higher per capita delays than cities with more balanced transportation, such as New York and Chicago⁽⁴⁴⁾

· Increasing highway capacity does not reduce traffic congestion, but grade separated transit can reduce congestion on adjacent highways by attracting travelers from their cars whenever congestion delays increase⁽⁴⁵⁾

· In Toronto alone, traffic congestion costs $1 billion a year through delays, pollution and other negative impacts⁽⁴⁶⁾.

· The Texas Transportation Institute developed an index for comparing congestion in different cities, and estimated annual congestion costs total $74 billion in the U.S⁽⁴⁷⁾.

· Another study which modeled congestion costs on the five classes of highways concluded that appropriate congestion fees on these roads average 4¢-5¢ per vehicle mile, with total annual congestion costs of $44 to $98 billion in the U.S⁽⁴⁸⁾.

· U.S. traffic congestion external costs, including travel time delay and increased fuel consumption, totaled $34 to $146 billion in 1991⁽⁴⁹⁾.

· The City of Toronto can reduce costs by eliminating employer-provided parking subsidies. By doing this, transit use will increase causing a virtuous circle of improved transit service. Eventually, this should increase the percentage of commuters who will choose transit over parking⁽⁵⁰⁾.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

· Almost 30% of travel during rush hour in Virginia was congested.

· The 2.5 million vehicle miles of congestion resulted in more than 46,000 vehicle hours of delay and almost 43,000 gallons of wasted fuel daily, at an estimated cost of about $332,000 to motorists⁽⁵¹⁾.

· Congestion in most of the United States' major urban areas is on the rise.

· The average driver spent 19 hours stuck in traffic in 1982, but 33 hours stuck in traffic in 1993. In 1993 alone, the total cost of congestion for the fifty urban areas studied was $51 billion, costing the average driver $470⁽⁵²⁾.

Endnotes

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd….

How Big is Toronto's Transportation Footprint?

Ecological Footprints

People depend on nature, which provides a steady supply of the basic requirements for life. Energy is needed for heat and mobility, wood for housing and paper products, and for quality food and clean water for healthy living. Understanding the load that humans place on the environment is a very important first step in understanding the dynamic of environmental issues. Every time that we turn on a light cook our meals, heat and cool our homes, jump in our cars and drive, we use some energy produced by burning coal, oil or gasoline. We also emit carbon compounds, acid gases, particulates and other wastes that cause global warming and ground-level smog.

The essential reality of today is that people are more dependent on nature's services now than at any previous time in history and this dependency is increasing not decreasing. Cities are extremely reliant on high levels of material flows driven by cheap fossil energy, resources and technology. The material flows necessary to sustain our consumer lifestyle and our cities make direct and indirect claims on land and ecosystems all over the Earth. By estimating these physical appropriations, it has been shown that the citizens of affluent countries typically require several times the sustainable ecological productivity of their regions.

The ecological footprint provides an accounting tool to determine to what extent people have an impact on nature. The concept was created by William Rees and was further developed by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel and the Task Force on Healthy & Sustainable Communities at the University of British Columbia. The ecological footprint was developed precisely to answer the question of what is sustainable and to estimate people's impact on the Earth (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). In 1998, Larry Onisto, Eric Krause and Mathis Wackernagel wrote a report entitled "How Big is Toronto's Ecological Footprint?", that estimated Toronto's ecological footprint at approximately 7.6 hectares.

Transportation Footprint

One major consumptive activity that is accounted for in the ecological footprint model is transportation. To estimate Toronto's transportation footprint, three approaches were taken (using different data sets) to estimate what proportion of Toronto's overall ecological footprint is linked specifically to transportation (see Tables ??). The results show that transportation is an enormous drain on our natural resources and that the land needed to support this activity is well above the geographical area that we live in. A "do nothing" scenario, developed for 2015, illustrates the "unsustainability" of the current trends, without intervention.

These estimations are first approximations only. Tables ?? are for illustrative purposes and the assumptions made were conservative. Please also note that these three approaches should not be compared to each other until the methods are calibrated. Further work will be done to improve upon the methods employed, the data used in the calculations and improve the ecological footprint as a transportation planning tool.

Methods and Data Used to Estimating Transportation Footprints

Estimation 1:

This estimation was based on the study "How Big is Toronto's Ecological Footprint?" where the 1996 total ecological footprint was estimated at 7.58 hectares and the projected 2015 footprint was estimated at 11.80 hectares (N.B. the 2015 projections were done using Canadian "business as usual" scenarios)

a) looked exclusively at personal transportation which represented 18.6 % of the total footprint (i.e. 1.41 hectares)

b) looked at personal transportation and the transportation of goods (including food) which represented 45.4 % of the total footprint (i.e. 3.44 hectares)

Estimation 2:

This estimation of the City's transportation footprint uses the daily trip numbers from the Transportation Tomorrow survey (which can be found in Section 5.2 on p. 10 of this report). Currently no projections are available for 2015.

This estimation of the City's Transportation footprint uses the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions stated in the 1995 State of the Environment Report prepared by the Metro Planning Department (i.e. Appendix D, p. A-59, Table D1: Carbon Dioxide Emissions (1988). The value reported was 10.15 million tonnes of CO₂. Projections for the year 2015 were made using a per capita method.

Key Assumptions made in Calculations

Population:

Toronto (1996) = 2,385,421

Toronto (2015) = 2,623,963 (10% increase)

GTA (1996) = 4,263,751

GTA (2015) = 5,969,251 (40% increase)

Area:

Toronto = 630 km²

GTA = 7,061 km²

Car Ownership Projections for 2015:

Toronto = 20% increase from 1996

GTA = 60% increase from 1996

Energy Content/Carbon Emission Data

All Energy Content/Carbon Emission Data is from the Special Advisory Committee on the Environment report, "The Changing Atmosphere: Strategies for Reducing CO2 Emissions", 1991 (p. 44, and Appendix 1)

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Rate:

One hectare of forest can sequester 6.6 tonnes of CO₂per year.

Appendix One: Transportation Impacts Cont'd…

Table ?? (A): The Transportation Footprint of Toronto

Method of Estimation	Year	Footprint (ha)	Appropriated Carrying Capacity (km²)	# of Toronto equivalents
1 (a)	1996	1.41	33,634	53
	2015	2.47	64,812	103
1 (b)	1996	3.44	82,179	130
	2015	5.90	154,814	245
2	1996	3.87	92,316	146
	2015	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	1996	1.65	39,359	62
	2015	2.06	54,054	85

Table ?? (B): The Transportation Footprint of the Greater Toronto Area

Method of Estimation	Year	Footprint (ha)	Appropriated Carrying Capacity (km²)	# of Toronto equivalents	# of GTA equivalents
1 (a)	1996	1.41	60,119	95	8
	2015	3.01	179,675	285	25
1 (b)	1996	3.44	145,436	231	20
	2015	7.07	422,026	670	60

APPENDIX TWO:

CURRENT POLICY CONTEXT RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION / LAND USE PLANNING

The following list represents just a sampling of the range of transportation planning and policy processes currently underway at various levels of government and by various agencies and institutions.

At the Municipal Level

! City of Toronto Official Plan (Planning Department)

! City of Toronto Strategic Plan (CAO)

! City of Toronto Environmental Plan

! City of Toronto Environmental Task Force

! City of Toronto and Transportation Options Economic Action Plan for Sustainable Transportation

! City of Toronto Anti-Smog Strategy Implementation (Healthy City Office, Green Fleets Committee)

! Toronto Atmospheric Fund Sustainable Transportation Focus

! City of Toronto Cycling and Pedestrian Committee

! Coroners Report on Cycling Fatalities

! City of Toronto Pedestrian Economics Committee

! City of Toronto Small Business / Economic Development Plan

! Greater Toronto Services Board Transportation Plan

! Transportation Plans for Various Regional Municipalities

! Pollution Probe GTA Transit Action Plan

! Board of Trade Transportation Caucus

At the Provincial Level

! GTSB Transportation Plan

! Ontario Economic Growth Plan

! Ontario Electronic Card Study

At the National Level

! Federal Transportation Table to meet Kyoto targets

! Labour Transition Discussions

At the International Level

! OECD Sustainable Transportation Eight-Country Backcasting Study

! Emissions Trading Process

! United Nations Sustainable Transportation Policy

! World Heatlh Organization Transportation Impacts Statements

! European Union Sustainable Transportation Policies and Initiatives

APPENDIX THREE: SUGGESTED TARGET / INDICATOR CATEGORIES

Members of the STWG offered the following preliminary categories for development of stringent targets and indicators for sustainable transportation as a foundation for a Toronto Sustainable Transportation Protocol. It will require a co-ordinated effort to establish targets that take into account already existing targets for the Toronto region and that correspond with or surpass current international targets. Targets and indicators for Toronto should also be developed and applied to correspond with all areas listed in the TAC New Urban Vision and all Key Steps for action detailed in the STWG Working Group Report.

GENERAL / ENVIRONMENTAL

· Transportation related air quality targets (CO2, NOX, VOCs, particulates, number of smog days)

· Decrease in transportation related hospital admissions

· Decrease in traffic injuries and deaths

· Improved Quality of Life indicators (including transportation related crime rates, community cohesion)

MOVING PEOPLE

· Modal shift (to walking, cycling, transit, car sharing / pooling, and other emerging sustainable options). Suggested starting point: OECD targets, and including TTC and GO ridership increase by 50 - 60% by 2020

· Reduction in number of single occupancy vehicles (suggested starting point: 20%)

· Reduction in vehicle kilometers travelled (VKT) by SOV's (suggested starting point: 20% by 2020)

· Reduction in number of car trips less than 7 km

· Increase in average speed of transit relative to cars

· Increase in service kilometers / miles of transit relative to road provisions

· Increase in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure relative to road provisions

· Decrease in average commute time / distance to work

MOVING GOODS

· Reduction in vehicle kilometers travelled (vkt) by trucks (suggested starting point 40%)

· Decrease in noxious emissions from trucks

· Increase in proportion of goods and food produced and distributed locally

NOT MOVING PEOPLE / GOODS

· Decrease in land devoted to automobiles (roads, parking, drive throughs, big box, etc)

· Increase in population in the City of Toronto (related to wise land use, live work arrangements, industry clusters, brownfield development, growth management) Suggested starting point: 1 million in next 10 years.

· Increase in appropriate use of telecommunications as travel replacement / goods movement replacement

· Increase in densities around transit hubs

ECONOMIC / SOCIAL

· Increased public and private investment in sustainable transportation infrastructure, systems, initiatives.

· Increased investment attracted to and employment created in sustainable transportation sector

· Reduction in public money spent on supporting automobile infrastructure

· Decrease in transportation related health costs (air quality and traffic collisions)

· Decrease in bicycle thefts

INFORMATION / INDICATORS

· Increased investment in promoting / communicating re: transportation issues, benefits, opportunities of s.t.

· Increase in citizen / user involvement related to transportation early in development process

· Increased research investment in beneficial effects of sustainable transportation initiatives / policies

· Increased investment in indicators and evaluation related to transportation trends, impacts, solutions

APPENDIX FOUR: TAC ACTION CHECKLIST

· Urban Structure and Land Use: Plan for increased densities and more mixed land use, including development of more compact, mixed use communities offering a range of housing types, with pedestrian friendly urban design as a prime objective; reurbanization of municipal core areas; a transit friendly grid pattern of local streets; pedestrian, cycling, transit and truck-friendly designs including sidewalks and foot paths, cycle lanes and paths; higher densities close to transit stops; and off street loading.

· Walking: Promote walking as the preferred mode for person trips, including: increased densities and mixed land use to bring origins and destinations closer together; design of public rights-of-way to encourage pedestrian use and not just motor vehicle use; protection from inclement weather; adequate lighting for safety and security; accessibility for the physically challenged; street level establishments close to the sidewalk

· Cycling: Increase opportunities for cycling, including: cycle lanes on the public right-of-way and separate cycle networks; assuring that the needs of cyclists are considered in the preparation of community / neighbourhood plans; storage facilities at transit stations and on transit vehicles to encourage bike and ride; storage facilities in the downtown core, suburban town centres, and other key locations; provision of cycle facilities as a condition of development

· Transit: Provide higher quality transit service to increase its attractiveness relative to the private auto, including: development of a hierarchy of transit services; giving transit funding and operating priority; improving comfort, security, frequency, on time reliability, geographic coverage, access for the physically challenged, and public information services; encouraging park-and-ride, kiss-and-ride, and bike-and-ride by providing appropriate facilities; integrating transit stations, schedules and fares in areas with more than one transit system; introducing preferential income tax treatment for transit use

· Automobile: Create an environment in which automobiles can play a more balanced role, including reducing travel demand by bringing origins and destinations close together through higher densities and mixed land use; designing new suburbs, major developments and redevelopments to be more walking, cycling, and transit friendly; employing traffic management techniques to achieve more efficient use of roads; encouraging flexible working hours and ride sharing and car sharing programs

· Parking: Plan parking supply and price to be in balance with walking, cycling, transit and auto priorities including: detailed studies to determine current and future parking supply and demand; emphasizing short stay over long stay parking downtown; on-street parking priced at a higher rate than off-street; on-street parking limited to off-peak periods; off-street neighbourhood parking structures incorporating retail and commercial uses; park-and-ride facilities integrated with the transit system; municipal enforcement to ensure a balance of parking supply with demand

· Goods Movement: Improve the efficiency of the urban goods distribution system, including co-operative efforts by the trucking industry to give municipalities a better understanding of how to meet industry needs; consideration by municipal authorities of the total goods distribution system in all stages of urban planning and development (i.e. urban development plan, community/neighbourhood plan, site development plans); requiring off-street loading facilities or zones for all new developments; encouraging industry to make more use of consolidated delivery services to congested areas; improving the truck route network through designated routes, better road geometrics, stronger pavement, etc.

· Inter-Modal Integration: Promote inter-modal and inter-line connections, including designing the location of transit connections to be quick, easy and weather protected; minimize walking distances to transit; promote gateway / mobility centres; integrate fares and services between transit systems; consider inter-city links in developing urban area terminals for passengers and goods

APPENDIX 4: TAC ACTION CHECKLIST CONTINUED…

· New Technology: Promote new technologies which improve urban mobility and help protect the environment including telecommunications to reduce peak period travel demand and lessen the strain on the system; Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems and computerized signal control to increase the efficiency of existing road systems; vehicle locating systems to allow for demand responsive transit; enhanced pollution control equipment and standards for all motor vehicles to slow the increase in air pollution; fuel substitution and increased fuel efficiency

· System Optimization: Optimize the use of existing transportation systems to move people and goods including treating the road system as a multi use public facility which recognizes the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit, high occupancy vehicles, autos and trucks; making operational improvements through transportation management; promoting ways to flatten traffic peaks and shift modes through demand management; enhance transit services; implement supportive parking policies

· Special User Needs: Design and operate transportation systems which can be used by the physically challenged including using low floor transit vehicles; providing cost effective para transit services; establishing by-laws for minimum numbers of off-street parking stalls for the physically challenged; use curb cuts, ramps and other designs to improve access; provide for special vehicle access in parking structures.

· Environment: Ensure that urban transportation decisions protect and enhance the environment, including developing environmental codes of practice based on a national environmental policy; requiring environmental considerations to be an integral part of the urban development plan, community / neighbourhood plans and site development approvals; giving funding priority to the most environmentally friendly transportation options; considering mandatory regular inspections of motor vehicle emission control systems; encouraging the development and use of environmentally friendly power sources for vehicles

· Funding / Financing: Create better ways to pay for future urban transportation systems. Funding should be: stable over time; predictable in magnitude; transparent (open and easily understood by decision makers and the public); increasingly derived from users in proportion to benefits received; dedicated by law to urban transportation system enhancements; designed to foster an urban transportation system operating at the lowest possible cost.

APPENDIX FIVE: BORROWING FROM THE BEST

The following is a list of living, working examples of sustainable transportation systems and initiatives in all areas found in the TAC Action Framework, drawn from the STWG process and from the Moving the Economy Information base.

URBAN STRUCTURE AND LAND USE

· Mixed use zoning and land use applications and policies for improved access / use - (Toronto, U.S., Europe)

· Grow In, Not Out intensification and growth targets and boundaries - (Portland)

· Main streets (Toronto)

· Central Urban industrial sites to keep jobs in the City - (Vancouver) and eco-industry parks (can be clustered around rail stations)

· Low cost housing as a sustainable transportation and land use measure (to reduce need for and cost of transportation) (US)

· Encourage development around rail (Leipzig, New Jersey)

· Big Box location and development guidelines (several U.S. centres)

· Drive-through development guidelines (U.S. location TBA)

· Urban regeneration (London, U.S. cities)

· Traffic calming (Europe, U.S., Toronto)

· Innovative Urban Retail (Toronto) and pedestrianized retail centres (Europe, U.S.)

· On-site local waste management

· Street and station redesign to attract human and economic activity - (Toronto, train stations in Germany, U.S.)

· Cycling and pedestrian land use requirements (locations forthcoming)

· Bubble zones around schools

WALKING

· Walkable City policies and investments (Ottawa and Europe)

· Walking School bus (Australia, Toronto)

· Active and Safe Routes to School (Canada wide)

· Community retrofits for active transportation

· Sidewalk expansions

· Improved signage for pedestrians (London Jubilee Walkway)

· Retail friendly street design - Miami, Toronto

CYCLING

· Comprehensive on-street bicycle route networks (Scandinavia, Germany, Netherlands, Montreal)

· Bicycle commuter routes and trails on hydro and rail corridors (Iowa, Quebec)

· Company bicycle fleets (Palo Alto, California)

· Free City Bikes (Copenhagen, Austin)

· Zero Emission vehicles and other custom designs (Ghent, Belgium)

· Valet bicycle parking - Eugene, Oregon

· Bicycle registry for theft prevention (Toronto)

· Bike parking innovations (Japan, Holland)

· Community bicycle recycling and co-op ventures (Vancouver, Toronto)

· Bicycle Safety, education and promotion of active transportation (Toronto, U.S.)

· Active transportation products and fashion (world-wide)

· Cyclist activated traffic lights (Holland, Toronto)

· Pro-bicycle by-laws and exemptions (Bonn, Idaho, Toronto)

APPENDIX 5: BORROWING FROM THE BEST - CONTINUED…

TRANSIT AND RAIL

· Regional transit focus (Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa)

· Support and expand commuter rail system (Cape Town, Cleveland, Toronto, New Jersey)

· Cleaner transit fuel (Ballard fuel cells in Vancouver, Chicago)

· Cleaner transit vehicles (Boulder)

· Lighter transit vehicles (Ottawa Carlton)

· Taxi buses (Rimouski)

· Gitneys (Miami, Asia)

· Innovative public private transit combinations e.g. using school buses (Ontario)

· Revive under-utilized railways and rights of way (Philadelphia, Toronto)

· Weekly passes

· Transit passes for unemployed and welfare recipients

· Distance based fares (Hong Kong)

AUTOMOBILE

· Transportation Demand Management (U.S., Toronto)

· Car sharing (Zurich, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto)

· City Rideshare programs and trust funds (Los Angeles)

· Automated public urban vehicles (France)

· Cleaner cars - fuel cells, natural gas (world-wide)

· Lighter smaller cars (world-wide)

· Sunday road closures (Ottawa)

PARKING

· Parking pricing guidelines and innovations

· Employer "cashing out" of parking provision for use on other modes (U.S.)

· Provision of secure bicycle parking

· Transit and cycling supportive parking policies (Toronto Parking Authority)

GOODS MOVEMENT

· Increased use of rail for freight (Wisconsin)

· City Logistics - consolidating urban freight systems (Kassel, Germany)

· Green Fleets (Denver)

· Electronic Route Optimization (Toronto)

· Pedestrian Controlled Electric Recycling Vehicles (London)

· Floating Distribution Centres (Amsterdam, Dublin)

· Bicycle and other human powered delivery (Iowa, Toronto)

· Large items delivered by retailers (world-wide)

· Local Food Production and distribution, Community shared agriculture, food miles (Toronto, Chicago)

· Neighbourhood composting centres

INTER-MODAL INTEGRATION

· Integrated Mobility Systems (Paris, Toronto)

· Iron Highway (Canada)

· Intermodal Logistics centre (Canada)

· Bike racks on buses (Ithaca, Vancouver, Victoria)

· Mixed mode bicycle park and ride (Toronto, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany)

· Union Station (Toronto)

APPENDIX 5: BORROWING FROM THE BEST - CONTINUED…

NEW TECHNOLOGY

· Telework (Los Angeles, Canada, Cambridge)

· Electronic Fare collection (Hong Kong, Burlington, Ajax)

· Zero air pollution electric bikes

· Traffic demand signalling technology

· Ballard fuel cells and other innovative fuel technologies (world-wide)

· Natural gas and other alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles

· Road pricing technologies (Toronto, worldwide)

SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION

· Route optimization for fleets (Toronto)

SPECIAL USER NEEDS

· Para transit (Ontario - CTAP)

· Planning, infrastructure and sound cues for physically challenged (Toronto)

ENVIRONMENT

· Urban Green Tourism (Austria, Bavaria, Vancouver, Toronto)

· Green Development and Greenspace (Copenhagen)

· Urban design and urban parks (Toronto)

· Green Mapping (Malmo, New York, Toronto)

· Promotion, awards, incentives for positive action (U.S. EPA, Toronto)

FUNDING / FINANCING

· Employer provided Tax-exempt Transit Passes (U.S.)

· Dedicated Fuel tax (Vancouver)

· Location Efficient Mortgages (Chicago)

· Green transportation tax incentives (cycling fuel incentive - Canada)

· Rail Route banking to protect rail rights of ways (Victoria)

· Distance based vehicle insurance

· Urban Road Pricing (Scandinavia, UK, Toronto)

· User pay incentives for fuel and fleet savings (Edmonton)

· Clean Transportation Business Incubation (California, Toronto)

· Channel Parking revenues to sustainable modes and other parking taxation / pricing (Toronto)

· Economic Incentives for bicycle commuting (California)

APPENDIX SIX: SCENARIOS

A Few Door To Door Scenarios to Start:

· Going to work, door to door. You have a range of options. You may reach for your electronic pass card (see PASS illustration appendix 7) which, with a single swipe, gets you onto the fast and elegant regional transit system, which connects you seamlessly and at low cost to the frequent and comfortable local transit system. Or you may decide to skip your fitness class and avail yourself of the ready fleet of brightly coloured City free bikes, also connected through your electronic pass card. More than likely you will travel the rest of the way to work, and perhaps to some of your meetings today, on one of the many handy bike routes which form part of Toronto's comprehensive and safe bike route network which is lined with ample and secure bike parking. At work of course your employer provides you with showers and change facilities if you need them. To come home you may hook up with a car pooling buddy at work or in a nearby office tower. On the other hand, today may have been your telecommute day, and so you may not have traveled to the office at all.

· On vacation, door to door: To go away for the weekend, you can just get on line and book the most appropriate clean car or van from your local AutoShare business. Pick it up Friday night at your local transit stop with your electronic transit pass card, drive it home, pack, and away you go. Throw some rented mountain bikes in the trunk, or ask the car-sharing company to supply them.

· Visiting Toronto, door to door: Pick up a tourist pass at the airport or the beautifully renovated train station, or arrange for one on-line before you get here. It gets you around the city on a whole range of modes with the help of your urban green tourism map. If your bike breaks down, call the roving repair people and they'll be there in minutes 24 hours a day. Pick up or drop off your rented bike or blades at any participating hotel or tourist outlet. Get out of town for the day on the integrated regional transit system. See some art at Kleinberg, then hike around a bit and get back in time to shower and stroll to the opera.

· Disabled access, door to door: You can move freely around the city through the now universally accessible transit system and through a range of innovative, integrated paratransit options.

· Being a five year old, door to door: You can have much more fun with the kids on your walking school bus than when your stressed out dad used to drop you off in the car on the way to taking your brother to day care on the way to dropping your mom off at her work before finally getting to work himself half exhausted. Now your parents go to work together on the beautiful new integrated transit system and take your brother to the great day care at dad's work and they saved so much money by selling the second car and joining the car share that they are taking you on a holiday in two weeks.

· The journey of a tomato, a computer part, or a piece of furniture, door to door: Produce has been grown here in Ontario and dropped off at a local market, or delivered to your doorstep by Foodshare or Toronto Organics by a Clean Air Cargo vehicle. Computer parts arrived by train, and the train car slipped easily onto a truck, which went directly to the warehouse. Furniture has been delivered by the furniture store while the customer travels home on safe efficient transit.

APPENDIX 6: A Day in the life ...

It's 7:00 a.m. As Marc and Suzanne Martin slowly gain consciousness, the bicycle trailer delivery drops off the milk, fresh bread, fresh eggs, fresh fruit and daily paper they ordered by modem last night. It came from the local depot which gets regular deliveries from local farmers and which also houses local businesses like bakeries and cafes. Marc and Suzanne usually stop by to the depot for supplies and to catch up on local news on their way home from work. But Marc had a community meeting last night, and Suzanne worked a late construction shift. So they ordered their supplies by computer when they got home.

Marc and Suzanne are happy to have some precious time alone this morning because Marcel and Sophie -- their nine year old twins -- rode their bikes to school early for swim practice and bicycle choir. They took the new bike lanes directly to school. It sure was great that the local paint company and the local block and brick company got so much business by supplying the materials for those lanes (not to mention the new wide sidewalks everywhere). Now there are safe bike lanes on every street and road -- even out into the countryside. Not only that, the twins are looking healthier since they've been riding to school instead of depending on mum and dad for a drive.

The little ones aren't up yet, but the walking bus will arrive at 8:30 to pick up Simon, the four year old, and walk him to the local day care with the other children. Simon loves the walking bus because he gets to say hello to all the people on the streets who are walking and bicycling to work or to do their daily errands. He especially likes watching the red trolley bus click by.

Marc and Suzanne breakfast in the garden with the birds, the flowers, and the tomato and basil plants. Over the last few years, they've gradually converted their small lawn and what was the garage space into a garden and patio. The Martins haven't needed a parking space ever since they decided to get together with four neighbours and share a car. The car has a space over at the Smiths.

The car sharing works out well because they can still use it to get to the cottage or to do the kinds of trips that require a car. But they don't have much other use for it as most things they need are close by, and the town is so well served by regular transit. For visits to other towns, they prefer to take the train. Simon especially loves to take the train. And now, since they can take their bikes on the train in a special bicycle carriage car, they can even train to the cottage once in a while. The other great thing about their car sharing arrangement is that they only spend a quarter of what they used to on the car, and they can use the extra income for vacations and home improvements.

Some of the Martins' neighbours gave up their cars completely. They use rental cars for the cottage or for trips to relatives. This has been great for the local car rental agency, which now also rents bicycles and alternatively fuelled vans for moving house and doing other occasional heavy hauls. For those who can't drive, the car rental company now also rents out drivers at a very reasonable price.

After breakfast Marc wakes Simon and makes him some breakfast, while Suzanne gets ready for work. She usually tries to arrange local jobs with her employer, so she can walk to work. But today and for the next while she's happy to make a trip to the other side of town where there's an environmental retrofit she's working on. She's especially excited about this new housing project as it's converting a big old building into energy efficient living units. This job is a great opportunity for her to learn and share a lot of new skills, and to work with the community on where the community space and the bike repair and bike parking service will go.

It's now 8:15 and Suzanne has a five minute walk to the streetcar. It comes every ten minutes so if she misses the 8:25 the 8:35 will still give her plenty of time to grab a second cup of coffee when she gets in. There's a new smart technology on the streetcars that gives priority to transit and bikes at lights, so it makes the trip across town much faster. The new low floors also mean that more seniors and people with disabilities get to travel around freely on transit.

APPENDIX 6: Day in the Life Scenario Continued…

Suzanne gets out her transit pass which has been provided by her employer. It's great that businesses are now able to deduct the cost of providing transit passes from their taxes. Suzanne's employer goes one step further and guarantees her a cab fare home if there's a family emergency or if she's sick. Many employers have done this because they've begun to see the employee health and productivity benefits of supporting transit, walking, and biking to work. This practice has been great for the two local cab companies. Before she goes downstairs to say goodbye to Marc, Simon, and Helen, the two year-old, who has just woken up, Suzanne grabs her newspaper. The pleasant streetcar ride is a great time for her to catch up on the baseball scores.

Although Marc has an office nearby, it's Tuesday, so he's staying home with little Helen this morning. He has a home office with a big window that looks out to the garden. Through the open window he can see Helen happily throwing worms into the compost with the neighbours' children as he mulls over the agenda items for the video conference that's scheduled for 10 a.m. Video conferencing has really made life easier. He can now hook up through his phone line and video monitor with his colleagues in other cities and towns. While occasionally it's fun to take the trip to Winnipeg and meet with people in person, the video conferencing technology allows him to hook up regularly without having to spend his life travelling.

Marc's job is actually helping others save travel time, too. Marc used to work at the local auto plant operating the expensive robots that assembled the cars. It was a bit boring, but he indulged in his passion for computer networks during non-work hours. When the plant converted to train, transit and bike manufacturing, he could have decided to stay there with his colleagues, but he had an idea. He would turn his passion into a job. He would organize a car pooling computer network. Because of the clean air and sustainable transportation policies adopted by the new government, they were very interested in this as a way to clean the air and save money. His entrepreneurial spirit paid off.

Since then, Marc has moved into contracting to companies to help employees set up telecommuting systems. He also hooks up local food and supply depots to computer networks to allow home delivery by bicycle trailer. This new delivery service is especially useful for all the seniors in the town. Sometimes the students and part-timers who do the bicycle delivery jobs stop in and say hello when they deliver the meals and the medications. And service has really improved since the new fat-tire bike and trailer designs and the new snow ploughing services came together to make human powered delivery a year-round possibility.

As Marc fires up his computer he remembers last night's community meeting to plan Maple Street. It's one of the streets in town that is left over from the car dominated days. Even though the speed limits have been reduced, it's still six lanes wide and very straight. Because a child was killed by a speeding car there last month, members of the community felt it was about time to get together with local planners, artists, builders, and gardeners to rearrange the street to make it safer and more beautiful. Not only that, there's not much business happening on Maple Street, so making it more walkable and beautiful will bring more shoppers and street life there, if it's anything like all the other streets that have been rearranged in town.

This line of musing led Marc to think that since these community meetings started happening, people have changed a bit. At first, when people in the community were asked to participate in the process of making their streets liveable, cleaner, more fun, and better for business, there was a little reticence and cynicism. Some thought it would be no use because no-one would listen anyway, and others wanted to build the perfect uncompromising utopia. But as changes actually started to happen, more and more people got invovled in creative decision making, and taking on the parts of redesigning the neighbourhood that they found fun. Quite a few even made jobs for themselves out of it.

The video phone snaps Marc out of his happy musing. The topic of today's videoconference agenda is another new network that Marc is being invited to co-operate on. It's a multi-shareholder tourism project. It seems that a number of corporate, government, and community groups are interested in setting up a national green tourism network. This way people all over the world -- and even within Canada -- can key in via modem to find out how to explore Canada's cities, towns, and wilderness by foot, by bike, by kayak, by roller blade, by transit, and by train.

APPENDIX 6: Day in the Life Scenario Continued…

The network gives 24 hour tourism information and reservation possibilities. It provides maps of urban and wilderness hiking routes with information on how to keep the routes green. It highlights hotels and B&B's that have sprung up along the new trans-Canada BikeWay, and it supplies information on bike rentals and 24 hour roving bicycle repair services across the country. It also provides on-line green travel insurance bookings. To Marc, this seems like a really fun project to work on. It also has great potential locally, as he's heard a lot of talk down at the depot about ways to get little B&B's and sustainable campsites going along that new bike lane that they just extended out of town and all around the gorgeous lakeshore. He'd love to put that on line. It's fun to have out-of-town visitors.

When the videoconference meeting was over, Marc walked Helen over to daycare which was right next to his favourite bookstore. Since they sold the car, Marc has a lot more money and time to enjoy the bookstores, cafes, galleries and theatres that seem to have flourished in town. And he's not alone. Business is buzzing on the widened, cafe-speckled sidewalk. Thanks to the local gardening club and garden stores, flowers, and even fruit trees are everywhere, adding profuse colour and scent to an already vibrant community and retail centre. It seems that more out of towners are attracted to the community, too.

Marc remembers a time when driving around finding a parking spot and then dealing with the honks and din of traffic on a crowded Saturday morning made shopping a real chore. Now it's a pleasure to walk or bike to town, grab some groceries, visit the home improvement and gardening centre, and chat with friends on the street. The banking and bill paying Marc used to have to squeeze in on Saturday morning is now done by computer. All in all, Marc and Suzanne and their family seem to be able to get more done at a more relaxed pace. Things are closer by, and people are healthier, more creative, and more productive.

In this vibrant business community, crime seems to have dropped dramatically. For one thing, more people are employed locally so there's less motivation to get money by illegal means. For another thing, there's hardly a time when the town's not buzzing, so the eyes on the street deter a lot of the potential crime. Finally, local citizens have become involved in redesigning their community, and have begun to take ownership of the town, and feel it is theirs to protect. They feel confident and supported in speaking out when their space is being violated in some way.

It seems pretty straightforward to have people meet their needs locally through appropriate technology, wise planning and citizen involvement. But the successes it's brought in terms of creating jobs and re-invigorating the economy have gained international attention. While at first some argued in favour of keeping up with the international Joneses, this locally based innovation and entrepreneurial spirit seems to have made much more sense for the environment, the economy, and the community.

Sue Zielinski, in Report on Environment and Economy for IISD Conference for Human

APPENDIX EIGHT: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP

Participants and Contributors -- Environmental Task Force Sustainable Transportation

Working Group

In a variety of ways, the following people generously contributed their time, knowledge, and skills to the development of the Sustainable Transportation Working Group Report.

Councillor Jane Pitfield, Chair; Brad Aggarwal; Greg Allen; Jason Anderson; Ken Ashdown; Suzanne Barrett; Michael Berger; Debbie Bernardi (admin support); Pamela Blais; Richard Brault; William Brown; John Burns; Wayne Chan;John Charlton; Frances Chung; Connie Clement; Sarah Climenhaga (Transportation Impacts); Kevin Currie; Jed Dadson; Joan Doiron; Ed Drass; Peter Duckworth Pilkington; Maggie Easton; Daniel Egan; Trevor Fleck;Frances Frisken; Lilien Gibbons; Anna Gibson;

Richard Gilbert; Dino Grande; Ellen Greenwood; David Hanna; Franz Hartmann; Lynne Heise (Directory - staff)

John Hopkins; John Hutchison; Councillor Irene Jones; Ruth Johnson; Chai Kalevar; Jackie Kennedy; Councillor Blake Kinnahan; Eric Krause (Ecological footprint); Stephen Lam; Sylvia Langer; Jason Lassaline;Councillor Jack Layton; Edward Levy; Sari Listiadji (Transportation Impacts); Andrew Macbeth; Alison MacGregor; Andrew McCammon; Frank McLean; Rod McPhail; Carol Mee

Ram Mendiratta; Sandy Mimmo; Tom Mulligan;

Indra Nathani (admin staff); Mike Nelson; Ron Neville;

Ron Nielsen; Ken Ogilvie; Anna Pace; Lou Pagano;

Kim Perotta; Catherine Pitt (Directory - staff); Liz Reynolds

Dave Roberts; Sandra Rodrigues; Tonya Rose; Michael Rosenberg; Lisa Salsberg; Beth Savan; Tina Silbestri

Judy Simon; Nancy Smith Lea; Ross Snetsinger; Richard Soberman; Greg Stewart; Ian Stuart; Tammy Sutherland

Peter Swinton; TIE Committee; Monica Tang; Stephanie Tencer; Jeremiah Tesolin; Fraser Thomson; Shannon Thompson; Stephanie Thorson; Graham Todd; Susan Tomihiro; John Tranciopoulos; Franca Ursitti; Laura von Zittwitz;Anita Watkins; Phillip Webb;John Wellner (Policy compilation); Jane Welsh; Jane Weninger; George Wheeler; Susan Witherly; Mike Wolczyk; Mark Zarkowski;

Sue Zielinski (Working group co-ordinator, report writer);

Marlene Ziobrowski; Derek Zoldy

END NOTES FOR APPENDIX ONE ON TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS

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Please note that council and committee documents are provided electronically for information only and do not retain the exact structure of the original versions. For example, charts, images and tables may be difficult to read. As such, readers should verify information before acting on it. All council documents are available from the City Clerk's office. Please e-mail clerk@toronto.ca.

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