So this is the infographic describing Transport 2030, A strategic plan for the future of transportation in Canada. It really seems that the summary provided so far is missing the mark on urban transportation issues. Read on for my thoughts... While this is the Federal Governments strategic transportation plan, and technically, the Federal Government does not plan, design or maintain our Municipal or Provincial transportation systems, it just doesn't seem right that a Country wide transportation plan would ignore the issues most pressing to everyone in their day to day lives. It would be nice just to provide some progressive direction that can trickle down from the top and help support (or nudge if necessary) Provincial and Municipal governments towards a more sustainable transportation system. While they don't plan it, they do provide funding towards local projects, perhaps there could be a Federal mode hierarchy that is used to allocate funding for municipal and provincial projects on the basis of their ability to support a shift to sustainable transportation. Now that would be interesting! Below are the actions for the five different themes with some commentary provided in red following each one, oh, and a 6th Theme... Urban Transportation, just in case anyone in the Federal Government happens to read this... Theme 1: The Traveller : Where we go from here We will:
So we seem to be missing a few travelers here, what about all those trips by walking, cycling and transit (outside of the Quebec City Windsor corridor). The plan seems focused on long distance travelers and their rights rather than focusing on shorter distance trips we make every day. Theme 2: Safety: Where we go from here We will:
So that was the safety part, very little about street design, enforcement, separation of users on different modes, seems like we'll just wait for technology to come along and save the day. Theme 3: Green and Innovative: Where we go from here We will:
Given this is the green category, I would have liked to see more emphasis on encouraging travel by sustainable modes of walking, cycling and transit through prioritized infrastructure funding for those modes. I'm curious how much funding the federal Government gives to road and highway projects v other modes. Theme 4: Waterways, Coasts and the North: Where we go from here We will:
Theme 5: Trade Corridors to Global Markets: Where we go from here We will:
New Theme 6: Urban Transportation: Where we go from here
(Just to be clear, this one is fake, just my thoughts) We will:
Comments
|