The future of transportation
Posted Apr 8, 2010 06:09:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The first in a series of public meetings regarding the future of transportation in the region takes place tonight in Cambridge. The region is hosting the open forums in a bid to gather feedback on its latest Transportation Master Plan and its Draft Regional Transportation Corridor Guidelines.
The Master Plan has been developed to determine investment priorities and supporting policy for transportation over the next 20 years in the region. Director of Transportation Planning, Graham Vincent, says the region has a broad spectrum of roads all with different uses so the goal is to get maximum value out of each. Vincent tells 570’s Jeff Allan Show that the region is looking to create opportunities for “active transportation” wherever possible. Active transportation includes walking and biking so the region hopes to create pedestrian and cycling-friendly environments where it can. Vincent cites Homer-Watson Boulevard as an example of a road which has a primary purpose of moving vehicular traffic. But he says the boulevard area could have multi-use trails and wider sidewalks introduced to facilitate active transportation.
Vincent also points to the success of Grand River Transit’s i-Xpress bus service as a reason for adding dedicated lanes to roads such as Fischer-Hallman. The expansion of transit, according to Vincent, is a goal identified in the Master Plan as a means of moving more people more efficiently. This is meant to take the burden off roads which, Vincent says, will have to have 100 more lanes added by 2031 if we keep moving in our current state of development. He says there are also environmental benefits to more active transportation and mass transit, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less impact on the natural environment through reduced road building, and an improved social environment.
Tonight’s meeting will be held at the United Kingdom Club, 35 International Village Drive in Cambridge, from 6-9 PM. Future meetings are scheduled in Kitchener and Waterloo next Tuesday and Thursday.
