The City has a new 10-year vision and guide for mobility decisions in the community, after Council’s endorsement of the Mobility Strategy last night.
Built around a vision of creating streets that work for everyone, no matter what mode of travel, the Mobility Strategy sets out actions that aim to make streets safer, more comfortable, prosperous and vibrant with easier access to sustainable mobility choices.
“Moving efficiently through the community is a priority we all share,” said Mayor Linda Buchanan. “For too long, cities have been designed with the car in mind, and this hasn’t provided people with the transportation options they need. That’s why we’ve adopted a new mobility strategy that will make it easier for everyone to get around, regardless of how they choose to travel. With this new strategy in hand, the City will be well-equipped to deliver a range of policies and infrastructure that will enhance movement for all people while contributing to a more sustainable future and strong economy.”
Actions to Support Streets That Work for Everyone
The Strategy becomes the City’s playbook and a guide for decision-making to make it easier for people and goods to move around in ways that are safer, help to reduce emissions and support a healthy city. Key actions include:
- Working with TransLink, the provincial government and North Shore local governments to deliver rapid transit across Burrard Inlet and to improve the flow of people and goods on the Upper Levels Highway.
- Reducing speed limits on local streets and redesigning intersections to minimize the risk of serious injuries and fatalities and making streets more comfortable for walking or cycling.
- Reviewing curb space use across the city to better meet the needs of street users.
- Supporting the movement of goods throughout the region by prioritizing reliability and sustainability, such as low-emission delivery services and operations, and more dedicated loading zones.
- Supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles and easier access to car-sharing services.
- Providing more street trees, making streets and public spaces rain-friendly and including places for neighbours to connect.
- Collaborating with employers to increase sustainable commuting and expanding youth-oriented programs that support safe and active travel to school.
The actions will be built into annual City work plans to ensure ongoing progress over the next decade.
Broadening Mobility Options and Improving Reliability
The Strategy acknowledges that addressing key mobility challenges like vehicle congestion, rising emissions and increasing demand for limited road space means a shift in thinking about, using and travelling on city streets.
From better experiences on transit and safer cycling routes to reducing demand on parking and improving pedestrian experiences on streets, the Strategy includes over 100 actions and choices to address the challenges the community faces. These actions focus on making it easier for people to choose a wider variety of safer and more environmentally sustainable ways to move.
Strategy Developed with Public Input
The public engagement process began in spring 2021, which sought feedback on the proposed guiding vision and goals for the Strategy. The public input identified key themes, including safety and experience on streets and in neighbourhoods; sustainable transportation options and alternatives to vehicles, affordability and accessibility of mobility options; and accommodating a wide range of new uses while ensuring movement of people and goods.
These themes helped inform the goals and actions proposed in the draft Mobility Strategy, presented for a second phase of public feedback in spring 2022, which supported refinements that shaped the final document.
Between the two engagement phases, the City facilitated over 50 stakeholder group meetings with partners, community groups, and peer agencies, and considered feedback through over 750 public survey responses on the City’s Let’s Talk engagement platform. The input collected will continue to help the City prioritize how the actions are implemented in years to come.
The full Mobility Strategy and information on the project is available at cnv.org/mobility.