Showcase Proposals - Proposal Summaries

Background

London, situated in the heart of southwestern Ontario, has a population of over 335,000 people. Its recent growth and transportation issues are representative of many mid-sized Canadian cities.

The proposed showcase would build on the success of past initiatives, and move ahead with the support of a wide range of community stakeholders. The proposed strategies would affect the demand for and supply of all modes of transportation, and would take place at locations throughout the city.

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Traffic management 

The showcase would include a range of measures to better manage road operations:

• Advanced traffic signal control — London is already planning to implement a computerized traffic signal control system. The showcase would upgrade the system to make it responsive to varied traffic conditions. 
• High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane feasibility study — The showcase would examine how HOV lanes might be implemented in the Richmond and Oxford Street corridors. The potential impacts on traffic operations, air quality, safety and costs would also be examined—information that would be helpful for other mid-sized cities. 
• Intersection improvement program — The showcase would initiate a program of intersection modifications to make travel by all modes more efficient. Simulation software would be used to assess the impacts of possible changes to traffic signal timing and roadway geometry.
• Pedestrians, cyclists and traffic mix would all be considered. 

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Transportation demand management 

The showcase would implement a number of measures to influence the demand for transportation. It would:

• Conduct a psychographic analysis to identify segments of the population that are likely to adopt more sustainable travel behaviours. The study would also serve as a baseline measurement of public opinion related to transportation, against which showcase impacts could be measured. 
• Promote Active and Safe Routes to School to all elementary schools in London, and aim to launch projects at half of these schools 
• Encourage the adoption of trip reduction programs by institutions and businesses in London’s important health care sector, and by groups and individuals within a selected neighbourhood 
• Provide incentives for drivers to properly dispose of older, fuel-inefficient vehicles 
• Establish a multi-stakeholder group to act as a hub for the promotion of transportation demand management solutions to London’s congestion and air quality issues 

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Active transportation

The showcase would make improvements to local bike paths that would encourage cycling by integrating on-road and off-road routes, adding missing links, improving connections and rebuilding hazardous corners.

London has a sidewalk improvement program that corrects high-priority deficiencies each year. The showcase would enhance it by incorporating the results of the psychographic analysis and an examination of transit demand patterns. Walkway lighting would also be improved, based on a new priority scoring system.

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Public transit

Transit priority measures would be implemented along the Richmond and Oxford Street arterial road corridors.

The showcase would also implement exhaust after-treatment equipment on at least 50 London Transit Commission buses, to reduce diesel particulate emissions by up to 30 percent.

Public education would target opinion leaders and policy influencers, with the expectation that their voices would create a broad-based platform for transit-supportive messages in the community.

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Expected benefits 

This proposed showcase would be expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Other benefits would include:

• Increased levels of transit use and physical activity 
• Reduced fuel consumption and air emissions 
• More efficient movement of people and goods 
• Reduced transit travel times and operating costs 
• Improved public safety 
• Enhanced public understanding of the need for more sustainable transportation systems 

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Impact assessment 

Showcase impacts would be measured using a range of tools:

• Traffic operation models 
• Greenhouse gas emission models 
• Collision statistics 
• Before-and-after public attitude surveys 

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Partners 

The contributing partners in this showcase would include:

• City of London 
• Delcan 
• IBI Group 
• London Transit Commission 
• Keigan Systems 
• mh New Media 
• Makin’ Headlines 
• Insights 

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Cost

The proposed showcase cost of $9.1 million is divided as follows:

• Traffic management — $4.7 million 
• Transportation demand management — $0.4 million 
• Active transportation — $2.5 million 
• Public transit — $1.3 million 
• Monitoring and communications — $0.2 million 

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Note: This information reflects the proposal as submitted by the applicant, and does not reflect the views of Transport Canada.

View the detailed proposal (PDF, 1451.83KB)	View a map of the proposed showcase (PDF, 1867.65KB)