Canadian Rural Partnership
Research and Analysis

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August 2001 (revised in February 2002)

Prepared by:
Todd M. Gordon
Todd Gordon Consulting and Research

Prepared for:
Canadian Rural Partnership, Government of Canada
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Ontario Federation of Agriculture

This information is provided free of charge to the public. It may be reused provided that it is accurately reproduced and the source is credited. Persons using this information agree to save harmless Her Majesty in right of Canada and all her representatives against any claim resulting from its use.

Any policy views, whether explicitly stated, inferred or interpreted from the contents of this publication have been developed from the research by the Consultant, and should not be represented as reflecting the views of the Canadian Rural Partnership or those of member agencies or the Government of Canada.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2002

To obtain additional copies, please contact:

Rural Research and Analysis Unit
Rural Secretariat, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
1341 Baseline Road, Tower 7, 6th floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5
Fax: (613) 759-7105
E-mail: rs@agr.gc.ca

ISBN 0-662-39375-9
Catalogue No A113-1/3-2005E-HTML
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Publication Number 74501E
This publication is available on the Internet at: www.rural.gc.ca

Également offert en français sous le titre :
COLLECTION D'ÉTUDES SUR LE TRANSPORT EN MILIEU RURAL, Étude n° 3
Le réseau routier rural en Ontario : Où en sommes-nous? Quelle direction prendre aujourd'hui?
Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada No de publication 80036F

This is the third in a series of reports on research undertaken on rural transportation in Ontario, 1998-2001.

The first report was based on an examination of the rural experience of the Community Transportation Action Program (CTAP), a provincial initiative to stimulate greater coordination of local transportation services. Although short‑lived, the CTAP was very effective and provides many insights into how communities can develop their own transportation programs.

Report number two concerns rural youth and a survey of their transportation issues. Rural youth typically have a wide series of problems in "getting around" in rural areas, given their "pre-license" and "pre-access to a car" status. Hearing from rural youth themselves was the purpose of this research and forms the bulk of the report on rural youth transportation issues.

Report number four is based on an examination of elderly and individuals with disabilities living in rural areas and their mobility problems. Information is drawn from the literature and from comparative studies.

This report (number three) is a first look at rural roads and their future given the changes resulting from municipal restructuring and the "export" nature of the rural economy. It consults the views of key stakeholders and reports on an extensive survey with road user groups and municipalities.

Rural roads represent the basic infrastructure of the built environment and as such, reflect the origins of the settled society and the successful economic activities that have followed. It is a matter of some concern to a wide range of users that maintenance of rural roads will become increasingly problematic and expensive in the near future. It is in this light that a scan of perceptions on rural roads was undertaken to open up the issue and to identify the arguments, prospects, and fears that road users have in rural Ontario.

Tony Fuller
Guelph

Funding support for this environmental scan of rural roads in Ontario was provided by the following three agencies:

• The Special Research Fund at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA);
• The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA); and
• The Rural Secretariat of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada.

The author would also like to acknowledge the support and direction provided by the Sustainable Rural Communities Research Program at the University of Guelph.

The research was undertaken by Todd Gordon of Todd Gordon Consulting and Research. However, several people assisted with this project during both the research and report writing stages.

Tony Fuller provided guidance and insight during the entire project and provided editorial comment during the report writing stage.

Michael Barnycz, Peggy Boyd-Sloss, and Marni Herold conducted background research and assisted with editing and proofing. Genevieve Perry compiled survey data and provided preliminary survey analysis. Lynn Knapp of Renaissance Services standardized and improved the report formatting and improved the presentation of the diagrams and tables.

Finally, the survey analysis, which forms a substantial part of this research, would not have been possible without the willingness to participate on the part of respondents from a wide range of rural stakeholder groups. The information provided by these individuals, in response to often demanding survey questions, was invaluable in gaining a sense of rural road issues and concerns in Ontario. A special "thank-you" is owed to all survey respondents.

This research has benefited from the efforts of many. However, any errors, omissions, or inadequacies are the sole responsibility of the author.

Todd M. Gordon
August 2001

Todd Gordon Consulting and Research
218 Silvercreek Parkway North
Suite 248
Guelph, ON N1H 8E8
tgordon@sympatico.ca

Recent secondary research and anecdotal information has suggested that local rural roads in Ontario have been experiencing decline and deterioration. This document presents the findings of an environmental scan of the current state of affairs with respect to Ontario's rural roads and an overview of the issues facing both rural road users and the municipal governments that provide road services. Employing a scanning methodology, this study has taken a broad look at issues, largely from the perspective of the stakeholders, with the purpose of providing an updated overview for stimulating policy discussion and further research.

In spite of economic and social change resulting from such phenomena as globalization and the transition to the age of information, road transportation remains as important as ever to rural Ontario. However, provincial-municipal realignment in the province, along with economic and demographic change, has resulted in stress on the ability of rural municipalities to provide adequate road service. From the scan, it is evident that the demands placed on many rural roads have significantly increased. In general, one can identify several trends that are having an impact on rural roads. These include the following:

1. Agricultural activity in rural Ontario is changing. The nature of the province's agricultural activity is evolving. Ontario agriculture is increasingly exposed to competitive pressures from around the world. Evolution in production may be resulting in even greater agricultural use of rural roads as the flow of inputs and outputs grows and diversifies.



2. The province is also witnessing increased demand for rural tourism and recreation activities. This demand is, in part, resulting from the demographic shift - the aging of the so-called "boomer" generation, representing a significant component of the population and one with relative wealth and abundant leisure time.



3. There has been increased niche manufacturing activity in rural Ontario, and the potential for more. Together, this evolving economic activity has tended to increase the burden on the existing rural road network. An efficient and safe rural road system is vital for the success of all rural economic activity.



4. Many parts of Ontario have witnessed increased traffic on the rural road network from commuting and from the pursuit of the routine activities of a more diverse rural population. Road-related problems associated with the urban-rural fringe may be expanding further into the countryside as workers commute further distances and the transportation patterns associated with modern life become more complex.

1. The realignment of provincial-municipal service responsibilities resulted in the province withdrawing direct subsidies for local roads. Municipalities are now completely dependent on the local property tax base to generate funding for rural road maintenance. Funding for roads is a major issue and rural municipalities are struggling to finance their infrastructure requirements.



2. The new municipal act and increased municipal responsibility for road maintenance have resulted in the development of new voluntary standards for local road maintenance.



3. Increased responsibility, reduced funding options, and the continuing importance of providing road services has resulted in the increasing use of performance measurement within municipalities.



4. Rural municipalities do not appear to have access to the range of funding and management options available to their urban counterparts and to senior levels of government.

This report outlines a number of significant issues and challenges currently facing rural roads in Ontario. The report then provides analysis of a survey conducted to generate more insight into the nature and extent of these issues and challenges. Following the survey analysis, the report provides some context for the rural road situation in Ontario by examining the characteristics and condition of rural roads in other Canadian provinces and selected American States.

Initial research focused on groups that represent road users in Ontario. These groups include, but are not limited to, the following organizations:

1. The Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA)
2. The Association of Ontario Road Superintendents (AORS)
3. The Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA)
4. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
5. The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA)
6. The Canadian Automobile Association - Ontario (CAA - Ontario)
7. The Municipal Engineers Association (MEA)
8. The Ontario Motor Coach Association (OMCA)

1. Deteriorating rural road conditions
2. Inadequate rural road maintenance
3. Deteriorating bridge conditions
4. Inadequate bridge maintenance and replacement programs
5. A variety of rural road safety issues

1. Municipalities;
2. Municipal associations;
3. Agriculture and agribusiness;
4. Tourism;
5. Economic development; and
6. Other rural industries.

1. Ontario's rural roads are under pressure and deteriorating.



2. All user groups suggested that more should be done to improve rural roads or at least prevent further deterioration.



3. Municipalities are struggling to maintain and improve rural roads. Many are deferring major capital projects and feel forced to neglect or minimize some maintenance activity.



4. Many of Ontario's rural bridges are in an advanced stage of deterioration. Inadequate bridges may pose the single greatest threat to the economic viability of some rural areas over the long-term.



5. Most respondents specifically identified the need for some type of rural bridge reconstruction program.



6. All of the survey groups strongly recommended dedicating a portion of provincial fuel tax revenue to the maintenance of rural roads. Failing this dedication, respondents suggested that some other form of stable funding is necessary to allow municipalities to adequately maintain the rural roads in the province.



7. Municipal response to the transfer of former provincial highways to municipal responsibility was neutral overall. Most municipal respondents did not object to the transfers in principle. However, many were dissatisfied with compensation, the condition of transferred segments, and, in some cases, the criteria used for making the transfers.



8. Respondents in all groups identified a wide range of safety concerns on rural roads, including the following:



1. Excessive speed;
2. Drivers not adjusting their driving habits to rural road conditions;
3. Poor surface conditions;
4. Narrow lane widths;
5. Narrow shoulders;
6. Poor visibility and inadequate sight lines, particularly at intersections;
7. Poor design geometry;
8. Conflicting use (e.g. autos - trucks - farm machinery); and
9. Inadequate winter maintenance.


9. Many road user groups expressed concern regarding increased truck traffic on rural roads, both from a safety perspective, and from the perspective of the uncompensated damage large trucks cause. As with most issues, the trucking issue is more complicated than meets the eye. First, the public perception of trucks as inherently unsafe may be distorted. Second, commercial vehicles pay as much, if not more, in user fees to the provincial government. Again, the issue may be one of directing some of those user fee revenues to the maintenance of rural roads, thus offsetting some of the lack of compensation for road wear and tear.



10. Municipal respondents identified a wide array of innovative practices employed, in part, in an effort to ameliorate funding pressures. Most of these were technical innovations used in actual maintenance and construction activities. However, some practices are directed towards improving administration and management and these include such things as road management software.



11. Most of the respondents across all survey groups indicated that they thought that the current state of Ontario's rural roads is having a negative impact on many industrial sectors.

The study also includes an overview of the rural road situation in the other Canadian provinces and in selected American states. This comparative analysis included an examination of a number of economic, demographic, and road network characteristics for each of the jurisdictions. These characteristics were included to identify similarities and differences between the jurisdictions that potentially bear on the current state of affairs beyond funding and specific issues.

One dominant characteristic shared by all the Canadian provinces is that most have gone, or are undergoing, municipal restructuring and realignment in provincial-municipal responsibilities. Beyond the experience of some form of change, however, there appears to be considerable difference among the provinces with respect to what is changing and how these changes affect rural roads. In Alberta, for example, there has been change in the responsibility for some roads. Unlike Ontario, however, realigned responsibilities in that province have resulted in the province taking on responsibility for certain county roads rather than transfers of provincial highways to municipalities.

Another common theme across the country is the belief that federal and provincial fuel tax revenue must be invested in roads at all levels of jurisdiction. This is true even in provinces where there is less evidence of widespread concern regarding the state of rural roads.

In general, the Canadian provinces other than Ontario appear to be somewhat more involved in the rural road network. Several have utilized the federal infrastructure partnership to make significant investment in rural roads.

It is in the Western provinces, particularly Saskatchewan, where the rural road situation may be approaching the level of concern evident in Ontario. Again, there are complex reasons for this situation, but a major factor is the increase in rural road use resulting from federal transportation policy with respect to the movement of grain. The removal of the significant grain transportation subsidy has resulted in abandonment of rail lines and the consolidation and rationalization of the operation of the major railways. Consequently, more grain is moving by truck and much of that movement is occurring on rural roads. In Saskatchewan, this change is accompanied by the depopulation of rural areas. This phenomenon is occurring in part because of the relative instability experienced in agriculture for the past number of years.

In contrast, the Atlantic Provinces appear to be relatively quiet when it comes to rural roads. The exact reasons for this are not clear, although it appears that the provincial governments are more directly involved in rural roads and this may have created relative stability. In addition, these provinces have relatively small road networks (with the exception of Newfoundland).

Findings from the comparative scan of selected American states were somewhat different. The states used for comparison were selected based on a number of characteristics, including the following:

• Availability of relevant information
• Relative proximity to Ontario
• Similarity in climatic conditions ¹
• Similarity in topography
• Size and proportion of rural settlement; Perceived relative "rurality."
• Relative importance of agriculture and/or forestry and/or mining - thus relative importance of the primary industries
• Relative importance of tourism activities in rural areas
• Relative importance of rural manufacturing activities
• Degree of similarity of trends in all of the above, including demographics

¹ This means at least some similarity to one or more of the multiple broad climatic conditions experienced across the considerable breadth of rural Ontario.

Based on the above criteria, the following states were chosen for analysis:

1. Minnesota
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan
4. Ohio
5. Pennsylvania
6. New York

Rural roads in many of the states face similar pressures to those in Southern Ontario. However, the rural road situation in the United States differs significantly than that in Ontario for several reasons. First, it appears that state investment in road transportation is generally higher than in Ontario. Second, there is significant federal investment and involvement in road transportation generally. Although the federal government makes little or no direct investment in local roads, the strong support of state transportation activity indirectly aids local roads. In addition, the state governments are directly involved in local roads. Finally, there appears to be much greater cooperation between all levels of government with respect to road transportation. For example, the federal government plays a significant role in information management and technology transfer, and the state and local governments cooperate significantly in planning activities, both land-use and transportation.

Despite the positive attributes mentioned above, there are rural road issues in the selected states. Minnesota in particular appears to be suffering some of the agricultural transportation issues faced by the western provinces. There is also evidence that rural roads and bridges have experienced deterioration in the recent past. This situation appears to have been ameliorated by a recent resurgence of interest in transportation infrastructure at the federal level. Again, the influence on rural roads is likely indirect, but it would appear that road and bridge decline at all levels has been slowed and may even have been reversed. This is in stark contrast to the situation in Ontario, where, if the survey results are indicative, the rural road situation is still in decline and the principal stakeholders have yet to find a way to significantly improve the situation.

The final section of the report is a brief look at the role of innovation in preventing or ameliorating rural road deterioration. The survey responses revealed a number of innovative ways in which municipalities are using innovative practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their maintenance and upgrading activities. However, there are a number of limitations in the application of innovations to rural roads management. One is the fact that innovation in itself typically requires significant investment to implement. In addition, the results of the implementation of an innovative practice may take years to assess. Finally, innovation is not a perfect substitute for adequate funding. Effective maintenance of Ontario's rural road network will require substantial and stable funding regardless of the level and type of innovative practices that municipalities are able to employ.

The full report is available in PDF format or by contacting:

Rural Research and Analysis Unit
Rural Secretariat, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
1341 Baseline Road, Tower 7, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5
Tel.: 1-888-781-2222
Fax: 1-800-884-9899
E-mail: rs@agr.gc.ca

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