International Active Transportation
BACKGROUNDER
FINAL DRAFT - SEPT 27, 2007
Introduction
As challenges relating to congestion, climate change, smog, urban sprawl, infrastructure construction costs and personal health take on growing importance across Canada, there is increasing public demand for a transportation system that is environmentally sound, socially inclusive and fiscally responsible. There is also an increasing concern for public health as a result of physical inactivity. Active transportation (AT), which refers to human powered forms of transport, can help meet this demand by shifting work, school and shopping trips routinely made by single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) to non-motorized modes such as walking and cycling.
In its 2007-2009 Sustainable Development Strategy, Transport Canada committed to achieving a consensus among federal departments, provinces/territories and municipalities on the value of a national AT strategy. This document complements the department's work by outlining national-level action plans that have been developed in the United States, New Zealand and England. Using a table format, it provides a quick scan of the context in which each AT strategy evolved along with a description of related goals, action plans and results achieved to date.
In general, while each country's governance[1], geography, population, climate, transportation network, urban development pattern, consultation methods and available budgets are quite different, their AT strategies all take an integrated, government-wide (and usually sector-wide) approach to increasing safe cycling and walking. To attain desired results, the US, England and New Zealand have focused their efforts on leadership, guidance, capacity building, demonstration projects and partnerships pertaining to the 5 E's: Engineering, Encouragement, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation.
In order to meet challenges related to entrenched transport attitudes, key players acting independently of one another, media relations, funding inequities (compared to other modes of transport), data deficiencies and political issues, AT officials employed by the three governments have discovered that they must find champions, work proactively with local authorities and NGOs, be cost effective/efficient, celebrate gains, remain flexible and recognize that progress will be an iterative process that does not end with the release of a strategy or implementation plan. Indeed, they have found that the action plan is just the start of a journey towards more sustainable, safe and healthy transportation choices.
In Canada, ...
[1] For detailed information on how the US, UK and New Zealand govern, see Review of International Urban Transportation Policy Frameworks, Strategies and Governance Models at:
https://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/environment/UTSP/docs/TC Report Final.pdf
