London, Ont. looking for public feedback on developing 25-year plan to address transportation needs

Working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the City of London will be looking to Londoners for input on what the future of transportation should look like over the next 25 years.

This week, the city launched the public engagement process to hear from Londoners as they develop the Mobility Master Plan.

The plan, which will be developed over the next two years, will be a blueprint for how London addresses transportation infrastructure and projects.

“Traditional approaches to transportation planning have evolved. With this plan, we’re placing a new emphasis on access,” says Kelly Scherr, deputy city manager, environment and infrastructure. “The goal has always been to provide everyone with viable options to get around, but this study will explore how easy or challenging it is for residents to access their daily needs.”

The Mobility Master Plan will combine the transportation and cycling plans into this new “holistic plan” that addresses local priorities and integrates the land use goals outlined in The London Plan.

City staff are looking to develop a strategy that addresses London’s transportation needs while tackling climate targets and accessibility issues.

When asked about the longevity of a 25-year plan and ensuring it stays relevant as transportation needs change, Doug MacRae, director of transportation and mobility, says the goal is to align with London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.

The first draft of the plan, unveiled in February, outlines how the city plans to reach a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“There’s both technical thinking, but also the symbolism behind that target, and it will create a long-term vision,” MacRae says.

He adds that staff will be reviewing the plan throughout the years, ensuring it is up to date with new concepts and information.

A key part of London’s climate action plan hinges on reducing emissions from vehicles within the city, which is something Jay Stanford, director of climate change, environment, and waste management, hopes this will address.

“We have to convince people, so if you give them infrastructure and then hope they use it, or do you help them use what’s there now and then build more? You really have to do both.”

Following up on Stanford’s comments, Gregg Barrett, director of planning and development, spoke about the need to give Londoners more options for travel to reduce the number of cars on the road.

“I don’t think we can say it enough: it is about choice. It’s choice, not only for those folks who can have the discretionary ability to make that choice, but it’s also improving the choices for those folks who don’t,” Barrett said.

“For folks who have the car and rely on all those kinds of things, as Jay said, it’s about reducing the trips, it’s not eliminating the trips, it’s about providing the opportunity to make a choice to use another mode other than the car for a different kind of trip.”

Through community feedback and data already collected, the city is looking to develop a plan that addresses issues like improving access to jobs and daily needs, congestion, affordable transportation and inter-city travel.

The plan will also look at how to build on previous studies about making the city safer for women and girls and becoming more accessible for people with disabilities.

Staff will develop the plan in three phases from now until winter 2024, first through research and community feedback, then developing a way to implement the plan, and finalizing it before it is put into action.

Londoners interested in contributing their input to the Mobility Master Plan are encouraged to visit London’s Get Involved London page to comment on the Guiding Principles and answer questions about their personal mobility experiences. Over the next two years, there will be additional opportunities to provide input on the Mobility Master Plan, both online and through events taking place across London.