Sustainable Transportation Initiatives

Everything below is taken from here, starting at the end of page 4.

Sustainable Transportation Initiatives: Short-term Proposals
(September 19, 2007) Report from Deputy City Manager Richard Butts.
Committee Recommendations
The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee recommends that:
1. City Council support, in principle, the short-term Sustainable Transportation Initiatives
contained in Appendix 1 to this report in order to achieve, in part, the reduction targets
for greenhouse gas emissions contained in the “Climate Change, Clean Air and
Sustainable Energy Action Plan” approved by City Council.

Re: Pedestrians:
2. City Council:
a. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to develop criteria for the
establishment of temporary pedestrian streets and zones, such as “Pedestrian
Sundays”, and identify the appropriate resources to assist in the implementation
and promotion of events satisfying these criteria;
b. direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation
with appropriate City staff, to assess opportunities to establish a permanent
pedestrian street and report to the Planning and Growth Management Committee
on a public consultation process for the review and implementation of such a
facility;
c. endorse, in principle, the following four types of enhancements at signalized
intersections, as described more fully in the body of this report and in
Appendix 2, which give significantly greater priority to, and enhanced safety
for, pedestrians:
i. increasing the pedestrian crossing clearance times;
ii. replacing the flashing “DON’T WALK” displays with flashing “WALK”
displays;
iii. introducing pedestrian scramble phases (Barnes’ dance) at appropriate
locations on a pilot project basis; and
iv. expanding the “leading pedestrian intervals” or pedestrian head-start
feature to other intersections;
d. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in accordance with
Recommendation No. 2.c.iii., above, to evaluate and implement “pedestrian
scramble phases” on a pilot project basis at the following intersections:
i. Bloor Street and Bay Street; and
ii. Bloor Street and Yonge Street;
e. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in accordance with
Recommendation No. 2.c.iv. above, to identify approximately 20 appropriate
intersections for the installation, in 2008, of “Leading Pedestrian Intervals”;
f. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with
appropriate City staff, to assess opportunities for the narrowing of pavements, in
order to widen sidewalks and enhance landscaping, in conjunction with the
design of all road reconstruction projects and that any feasible narrowings,
following appropriate public consultation, be incorporated accordingly;
g. direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to finalize the
Streetscape Manual and that this manual be used as the standard in the design
and reconstruction of all City streets; and
h. direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation
with appropriate City staff, to develop and report back on a comprehensive
“green corridor plan” that would establish priority north-south green corridors
across the waterfront and identify opportunities to link these initiatives with
capital works and development-related projects.

Re: Cycling:
3. City Council:
a. direct the Executive Director, Facilities and Real Estate to assess the feasibility
of a bike-station in the redevelopment of Union Station;
b. direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to assess the
feasibility of a Bike Share program for City staff at all Civic Centres and to
develop a business case for commuter and community public bike share
programs and report back to the Planning and Growth Management Committee
on these initiatives;
c. authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to retain a
Transportation Consultant to undertake, in 2008, an Environmental Assessment
of an east-west bicycle route through the downtown area with the objective of
implementing the recommended route in 2009;
d. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to report on the feasibility
of establishing a bikeway on Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue, from Royal
York Road to Victoria Park Avenue, including the development of design
options and an assessment of the parking and traffic impacts, and report to the
Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on the results of this review; and
e. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the
General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, to investigate the feasibility,
assess the maintenance requirements and responsibilities, undertake the detailed
design and enter into negotiations with the owners and operators of the rail and
hydro corridors for the implementation of the bicycle trails identified in the
approved Bike Plan within these corridors, and to report back on the results of
this review.

Re: Parking:
4. City Council:
a. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to review and report on
modifications to the peak period stopping and parking restrictions on arterial
roads, where appropriate, on a City-wide basis in order to reduce traffic
congestion, improve surface transit service, and increase cyclist safety during
the “shoulder” periods; and
b. request the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA) to develop, in
consultation with municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, GO Transit,
and other motor coach carriers, a strategy for the construction of commuter
parking facilities throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in order to reduce
the number and length of single-occupant vehicle trips.

Re: Transit:
5. City Council:
a. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to review, in consultation
with the Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission, opportunities to
introduce or extend left turn prohibitions at intersections, or alternatively
introduce advanced exclusive left turn phases at signalized intersections, in
order to reduce the delays to streetcar service and enact the necessary by-laws to
implement these regulations as soon as possible;
b. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the
Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission, to explore opportunities
to improve the current system of traffic signal priority for transit vehicles so that
it would only apply to transit vehicles that are behind schedule or to maintain
headways;
c. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to review, in consultation
with the Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission, opportunities to
introduce transit queue jump lanes and far side bus bays to improve transit
service at congested intersections, keeping in mind the impact of these facilities
on sidewalks and landscaping at these locations;
d. endorse the implementation of shoulder bus lanes on the Don Valley Parkway,
between York Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East;
e. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to request the Ministry of
Transportation, Ontario, to undertake whatever amendments to the Highway
Traffic Act are necessary to implement the shoulder bus lanes on the Don Valley
Parkway and to report on the implementation as soon as possible;
f. direct appropriate City and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) staff to work
with the Province to investigate the feasibility of a pilot project that would see
the introduction of automated enforcement camera technology to enforce
turning, stopping and parking prohibitions that are designed to improve transit
service; and
g. direct the Chief General Manager, Toronto Transit Commission to ensure that
all new Light Rail Transit (LRT) vehicles purchased by the TTC are equipped to
handle some form of Proof-of-Payment (POP) system.

Re: Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Initiatives:
6. City Council show leadership in promoting transportation demand management (TDM)
strategies by:
a. directing staff to negotiate with the newly-created Greater Toronto
Transportation Authority (GTTA) and other municipalities within the region to
jointly fund and support the continuing TDM efforts of:
i. the region-wide Smart Commute Association; and
ii. the Smart Commute North Toronto, Vaughan and Smart Commute
Northeast local transportation management associations;
and that staff report back to Council by the end of 2007 for funding approval
upon completion of these negotiations.
b. supporting the implementation of the existing guidelines on alternative work
arrangements (including compressed work weeks, flexible work hours and parttime
hours) and directing the Executive Director, Human Resources to develop a
policy on “teleworking”;
c. supporting the provision of on-street, reserved parking spaces for car sharing
vehicles in selected locations; and
d. encouraging the GTTA to undertake, as a priority, a region-wide study of road
pricing.

Re: Other Initiatives:
7. City Council:
a. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services and the Chief Planner and
Executive Director, City Planning, to report on:
i. the establishment of a permanent City staff committee to liaise with
representatives of the cartage and courier industries, building owners,
managers and tenants on commercial vehicle servicing issues, including
the access and parking needs of pick-up, delivery and servicing vehicles;
and
ii. possible strategies to encourage a greater proportion of courier deliveries
and pick-ups to be made by bicycle;
b. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to incorporate the
assessment of both the off-street and on-street impacts of the loading/pickup/
delivery/servicing needs of major new developments as a requirement of the
City’s new Traffic Impact Study guidelines that staff are currently developing;
c. endorse the use of taxis as an acceptable sustainable transportation alternative
and direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with
representatives of the taxi industry, to examine opportunities and measures to
make taxis more convenient and readily available to users;
d. direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to undertake a review of
the existing operations and regulations of the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)
lanes in the City and report on effective changes, and that the GTTA take the
lead in a review of HOV facilities throughout the GTA to ensure consistency
and continuity on a region-wide basis; and
e. request the GTTA to meet with the transportation agencies in the GTA to
explore opportunities for collaborative Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
initiatives.

Re: Monitoring the Effectiveness of These Initiatives:
8. City Council:
a. direct staff of Transportation Services and City Planning to work with staff of
the Toronto Environment Office (TEO) to develop improved methods for
measuring the environmental impacts of sustainable transportation initiatives for
inclusion in the broader monitoring and evaluation framework proposed by the
Climate Change Plan.
Financial Impact
Most of the short-term sustainable transportation initiatives presented in this report can be implemented from funding within the Transportation Services 2007 Capital Budget and the proposed 2008 Capital Budget. Some of the proposals, however, need to be further developed and assessed in terms of their potential financial impact and funding requirements. These financial impacts, including the identification of any potential funding partnerships with other orders of government, will be addressed in any future reports required for the approval of these specific initiatives.

The Smart Commute North Toronto, Vaughan and the Smart Commute Northeast
transportation management associations have been funded, in part, by the City Planning Division in the amount of $135,000.00 annually, over the last three years. Currently, funding arrangements for the Smart Commute Association (SCA) and the related activities of the local transportation management associations are at a transitional stage, while the newly-created Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA), in consultation with the regional municipalities, determines its role in meeting the gap created by the expiry of the federal government’s Urban Transportation Showcase Program, which had provided vital start-up funding during these three years. It is expected that similar contribution levels will be needed in the future, but the exact amounts cannot be determined until the current negotiations with the GTTA are concluded. City staff should be in a position to report to Council on the proposed
new funding arrangements for this program by the end of the year.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

Summary
City Council, in considering the “Climate Change, Clean Air and Sustainable Energy Action Plan: Moving from Framework to Action” (the “Climate Change Plan”) at its meeting on July 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2007, adopted, among other things, reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions for the Toronto urban area as well as a reduction target for locally generated smog-causing pollutants. Reductions in these harmful emissions from the transportation sector can be brought about through a combination of technical, behavioural and urban structure changes.

The transportation-related recommendations contained in the “Climate Change Plan” are largely being dealt with separately. The purpose of this report is to present a number of additional sustainable transportation initiatives, beyond those contained in the “Climate Change Plan”, that could be implemented fairly quickly and, in most cases, at relatively little expense.

Although each initiative may seem modest in scope, collectively they signal a new way of looking at, implementing, and operating the City’s transportation system and provide a launch for more fundamental City-building changes that will be required to achieve the long-term vision of a truly sustainable transportation system for Toronto. These initiatives will also form a component of the longer-term and broader-scoped Sustainable Transportation Implementation Strategy that City Council, in dealing with the “Climate Change Plan”, has directed staff to prepare in order to achieve the reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions and smog-causing pollutants.

Background Information
2007-10-03-pw09-2
(http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/pw/bgrd/background...)
2007-10-03-pw09-2.app1
(http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/pw/bgrd/background...)
2007-10-03-pw09-2.app2
(http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/pw/bgrd/background...)
Communications
(September 29, 2007) e-mail from Lani Choi (PW.New.PW9.2.1)
(September 28, 2007) e-mail from Michael Polanyi (PW.New.PW9.2.2)
(September 28, 2007) e-mail from Zihao Li (Michael), Rosedale Heights School of the
Arts (PW.New.PW9.2.3)
(September 28, 2007) e-mail from Christine Stait-Gardner (PW.New.PW9.2.4)
(October 1, 2007) e-mail from Waleed Ahmed (PW.New.PW9.2.5)
(October 1, 2007) letter from Brian Shifman, Executive Director, Smart Commute - North
Toronto, Vaughan (PW.New.PW9.2.6)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Kristen Courtney (PW.New.PW9.2.7)
(October 2, 2007) letter from Fred Sztabinski, Project Co-ordinator, Toronto Coalition for
Active Transportation (TCAT) (PW.New.PW9.2.8)
(October 2, 2007) letter from Hamish Wilson (PW.New.PW9.2.9)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Kelsey Carriere (PW.New.PW9.2.10)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Albert Koehl, Bells on Bloor, Angela Bischoff, Take the
Tooker, and Kristen Courtney, Bikes on Bloor (PW.New.PW9.2.11)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Wayne Scott, Hoof & Cycle
(TOBMA) (PW.New.PW9.2.12)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Anglea Bischoff (PW.New.PW9.2.13)
(October 3, 2007) submission from Transportation Services and City
Planning (PW.New.PW9.2.14)

Speakers
Gary Welsh, General Manager, and John Mendes, Director, Transportation Infrastructure
Management,Transportation Services
Michael Louis Johnson, Streets are For People
Shamez Amlani, Streets are For People (Submission Filed)
Kelsey Carriere, Co-Founder, Streets are For People
Albert Koehl, Bells on Bloor
Hamish Wilson (Submission Filed)
Kristen Courtney (Submission Filed)
Don Watterson, Curbside Cycle
Helen Riley, Feet on the Street
Wayne Scott, Hoof & Cycle (Submission Filed)
Margaret Hastings-James
Margaret Hastings-James, on behalf of Angela Bischoff, , Take the Tooker (Submission Filed)
Justin Peters, Business Development Manager, Skymeter Corporation