THUNDER BAY - The city’s first transportation master plan completed in 1989 focused vehicle capacity on area roads. The new master plan being developed 28 years later has shifted the focus to pedestrians and accessibility.
“I think the previous plan was very focused on vehicle travel, but now we have more community interest in seeing all of the users accommodated, whether it’s cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, as well as vehicles and goods movement,” said Kayla Dixon, director of engineering and operations with the city of Thunder Bay.
On Wednesday, the city of Thunder Bay held the first of three public consultation meetings to gather feedback on the new transportation master plan.
The transportation master plan is being developed in cooperation with the consulting firm IBI Group Inc. and will provide the city with guidelines for investing in transportation infrastructure for the next 20 years.
The plan will be informed by other strategic plans already developed by the city, including the active transportation plan, the transit master plan, the Earthcare sustainability plan, the multi-year accessibility plan, the corporate strategic plan, and the Age Friendly City Services action plan.
“The city’s strategic documents all need to work together to make sure we are looking at a cohesive plan that can help move the city forward,” Dixon said.
According to Suzette Shiu, consultant project manager with IBI Group Inc., the transportation master plan will look at all modes of transportation and how to make a cohesive transportation network for the city.
This won’t be a simple task, Shiu said, because Thunder Bay faces some unique challenges when it comes to transportation.
“There is only so much space on a road right of way and it’s how to balance the needs of the motorists, the cyclists, the pedestrians, moving goods, and moving a bus,” she said. “I think one of the challenges right now is Thunder Bay is quite a spread out city. Trying to have strong transit or active transportation sometimes does work better when there is a higher density. That is one of the challenges. Getting around is a little more difficult when you are not driving.”
Leading up to the public consultations, Dixon said the city is constantly receiving feedback on transportation issues, and she has found that there are common issues that arise again and again.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in walkability, improving cycling within the city, as well as the thought of complete streets and making transportation networks available to all users, transit users, people who have accessibility issues,” she said. “Those types of issues are brought forward pretty regularity.”
Those issues arose again during the public consultation session on Wednesday, as many people pointed to accessibility, road sharing, and safety as the most pressing transportation concerns.
“We need shorter bus routes,” said Darlene Ray, who added that it takes her more than an hour to travel by bus from her home on the corner of Arthur Street and Edward Street to Intercity Mall.
“And we need a route for seniors,” Ray continued. “Now they are making the seniors with walkers and people with walkers, in order to catch a bus closer, you have to cross Arthur Street and it’s dangerous.”
Patricia Lambert agrees that there needs to be more options for getting around the city other than a car.
“Public transit only gets you to some places,” she said. “We need to be looking at what’s available and what our needs are and matching them rather than just putting them in places and just expecting the other part to expand to meet those needs. So I think it’s better land use.”
Lambert added that better sidewalks, safer bike lanes, and slower speed limits would also get more people active and help make pedestrians feel safer.
“We need consistent speed limits in this town,” she said. “If everything was a 40km/h, not a 50km/h here, or a 60km/h there, people would anticipate the speed of traffic.”
Kelly Henderson said she is excited for the future of transportation in the city and would like to see all transportation modes addressed in the new master plan.
“I’m excited to have a livable city that accommodates all kinds of needs, walkers, bikers, people of different mobility’s as well as vehicles,” she said. “I do feel that we are a really car centered city right now.”
Two additional public consultations for the transportation master plan are planned for 2017. An online survey is available at the Transportation Master Plan website.
