ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 27, 2003
Author/Local: D. Bracewell/6440
RTS No. 03423
CC File No. 5561
Meeting Date: June 10, 2003
TO: |
Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services |
SUBJECT: |
TransLink Capital Project Funding |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council request TransLink to work in partnership with municipalities to undertake a consultant review of TransLink's current capital programs as part of the development of a regional Long-Range Transportation Plan.
B. THAT Council request TransLink to broaden the project criteria eligibility and cost-sharing flexibility of its current capital programs (Major Road Network Minor Capital, Transit Related Road Infrastructure, and Bicycle Infrastructure) to ensure that municipalities can optimize delivery of their regionally significant road, transit, cycling, or pedestrian projects.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council has supported the formation of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority and its responsibilities for funding and governance of regional transportation facilities, including a Major Road Network, transit routes, and a bike network, and their respective components within Vancouver.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an overview of TransLink's current cost-sharing programs and how consideration of revising them would ensure that adequate funding is available to meet the City's emerging capital needs and an integrated regional transportation system.
BACKGROUND
Transportation Planning Context
The basic directions for transportation in Greater Vancouver were set with the adoption of the Livable Region Strategic Plan and Transport 2021 whereby transportation choices would be increased to help discourage the dependence on single-occupant automobile travel. Initiatives and funding would place a priority on walking, cycling, public transit, goods movement, and the automobile.
Consistent with this regional direction, the City of Vancouver has completed overall transportation strategies with its Transportation Plan in 1997 and a Downtown Transportation Plan in 2002 as well as land use plans including the Central Area Plan and CityPlan. These plans collectively emphasize creating a sustainable transportation system.
Vancouver, unlike many GVRD municipalities, is in a unique position as it has essentially completed its road network. While it will still be necessary to provide improved safety at some intersections with modifications such as left turn bays, the City is unlikely to undertake many road-building projects. This situation is different than some other municipalities where rapid growth is occurring in undeveloped areas where additional road infrastructure is required as part of an overall transportation network.
The growth in demand for longer distance transportation, especially for trips to the downtown, will need to be accommodated by improving alternatives to the car, primarily transit. Within activity areas, walking and cycling must also be enhanced to encourage these modes for shorter distance trips.
Greater Vancouver Trip Diary Survey
Recent Trip Diary surveys representing the typical travel behaviour of GVRD residents show that Vancouver has clearly been effective in decreasing the dependency on the private automobile. The combined 24-hour automobile driver and passenger mode share has decreased from 65% to 59% between 1994 and 1999 representing a reduction in over 45,000 daily automobile trips. These figures are demonstrable indicators that Vancouver is an inner urban city whose needs are not in further road network capacity improvements, especially compared to other subareas of the region.
The Trip Diary results also confirm that Vancouver has experienced significant progress in increasing its 24-hour transit and walking/biking mode shares. Between 1994 and 1999,transit increased from 18% to 19% while walking/biking increased from 16% to 22% representing an increase of over 34,000 and 100,000 daily person trips respectively.
While much of this positive shift towards these sustainable transportation modes is attributable to City initiatives that have encouraged residents to live close to employment centres, especially in the downtown, it is also due to the following:
· walking improvements such as the installation of pedestrian signals, corner bulges and local greenways
· cycling improvements including the expansion of the City's bicycle and greenways networks (increase of 70 lane-km on 12 bikeways between 1994 and 1999)
· transit improvements such as the introduction of the 99 B-Line service on Broadway where 20% of its riders shifted from the automobile to transit
These trends indicate that Vancouver is achieving an efficient and sustainable transportation system by supporting smart growth land-use principles and pursuing and facilitating capital investment that addresses all modes. It is important to continue developing this multi-modal network of travel options by optimizing the right balance of pedestrian, cycling, and transit infrastructure with roadway improvements.
Current TransLink Capital Programs
TransLink is currently developing a new long-range transportation plan that will support the region's growth strategy as well is its air quality and economic development objectives. This revised Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) will be completed by the end of this year and will clearly set out how the future programs and plans will be funded. As part of this process, TransLink is requesting municipalities to outline their capital needs that would be eligible for cost-sharing under its three current cost-sharing programs:
Major Road Network (MRN) Minor Capital Program
TransLink provides an overall planning and funding role for the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of the Major Road Network (MRN), approximately 2,200 lane-kilometres of arterial streets. Municipalities retain ownership and control of designated MRN streets and TransLink funding is available through the MRN Minor Capital Program for up to 50% of capital projects that improve the efficiency and safety of MRN roads. Eligible projects include capital improvements to intersections, geometrics, safety, and network continuity. Examples include new traffic signals, road re-alignments and left turn bays.
In addition to reserving $35 million in 2003 for future Major Capital road improvements, TransLink has provided $20 million for cost sharing in the MRN Minor Capital Program. This is up from $15 million in 2002 and $10 million in 2000. Funding levels for this roadway enhancement program have been intentionally increased to match the revenues generated by the additional gasoline tax of 2 cents a litre.
In previous years Vancouver has been able to match its share of allocated MRN Minor Capital Program funds (approximately 20% of the total). However, it appears likely that the City will be using less than 50% of its allocated $3.9 million in 2003, leaving a balance of over $2 million in unused capital funds.
Transit Related Road Infrastructure Program
The Transit Related Road Infrastructure Program (TRRIP) provides funding of 50% to 100% for bus related improvements such as signal modifications, bus bulges, roadway geometric improvements, transit priority studies and bus stop improvements. The amount of funding varies depending on whether the improvements also benefit the municipality (50%), or whether they are justified solely by the transit system (100% TransLink). Initially, only projects on the MRN were considered for funding. As a result of lobbying from City and other municipal staff, the program was revised in 2002 to fund projects located both on and off the MRN.
Vancouver has typically received approximately $300,000 per year of available TRRIP funding. TransLink will be providing over $3 million region-wide for cost sharing in transit related projects in 2003. This represents an increase of half a million from 2002.
Bicycle Infrastructure Program
The Bicycle Infrastructure Program helps encourage increased use of bicycles as a transportation mode by providing 50% cost-sharing for improved bicycle facilities and programs that encourage people to cycle. TransLink works with municipalities to identify regionally significant bike routes and assists funding new construction through this program Over the last 2 years, Vancouver received approximately $200,000 per year of Bicycle Infrastructure Program funding and anticipates receiving up to $500,000 in 2003.
Similar to the MRN Minor Capital Program and TRRIP, the Bicycle Infrastructure Program has also increased its cost sharing funding from $750,000 in 2002 to $1.5 million in 2003. However, these funding levels are still well below the anticipated cycling program that was envisioned as part of the original TransLink STP.
What about a Pedestrian Infrastructure Program?
Almost all trips begin and end as a pedestrian and walking was most recently described in TransLink's original STP as the "cornerstone to a region's efficient ground transportation". However, there continues to be no dedicated cost sharing program for new or improved pedestrian related construction that specifically encourages municipalities to design safer and more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and amenities.
DISCUSSION
Review of TransLink's Capital Programs
The net effect of these various programs is the creation of a number of anomalies that tend to distort the City's priorities such as:
· road-building funding remains unused while bike routes are underfunded
· bike lanes on Knight Street (which present safety issues) would be eligible for Minor Capital funding but shifting cyclists to a parallel street that is safer, cleaner, and less disruptive to goods movement would not be funded under this category
· transit bus bulges are funded while pedestrian corner bulges generally are not
· road infrastructure in outer suburbs is funded whereas many pedestrian facilities for an inner-City Sustainable community are not be funded
To address these anomalies, staff recommend a consultant review TransLink's current capital programs to better understand how the various cost-sharing funding assists each municipality in delivering their regionally significant road, transit, cycling, and pedestrian projects. In partnership with the municipalities, this review could be completed as part of the development of the new regional long-range transportation plan (see Recommendation A).
Emerging City of Vancouver Capital Needs
The following figures compare the apparent shortfall between the future anticipated TransLink capital programs (based on status quo) and the City of Vancouver's emerging capital needs. It is noteworthy that Vancouver could potentially be spending more capital funds annually on cycling infrastructure projects than roadway, transit, and structure related projects. This does not include the capital funds being spent annually on pedestrian infrastructure such as pedestrian traffic signals, corner bulges, and sidewalks.
The shortfall between Vancouver's current cost-sharing allocations and our emerging capital needs highlights the need for TransLink to consider restructuring its future capital programs including broadening its project eligibility requirements. In addition, TransLink should consider providing more cost-sharing flexibility to allow municipalities to shift their allocated funding between available TransLink capital programs (see Recommendation B).
Consideration of such matters would allow urban centres such as Vancouver to continue to fund its more urgent capital needs, cycling and transit infrastructure, at the same time allowing other municipalities to expand their road infrastructure, where applicable. More overall program cost sharing flexibility would continue to promote funding equity amongst all of the regional municipalities, which is a key goal for each of the respective TransLink capital programs.
Finally, more flexibility in general would allow both TransLink and municipalities to better respond to its ability to leverage Federal and Provincial cost sharing programs such as the Border Infrastructure Fund (e.g. Knight Street) or the Urban Transportation Showcase Program (e.g. Main Street and the Central Valley Greenway).
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This report describes the types of annual cost-sharing capital programs that TransLink provides to assist municipalities in improving the region's transportation system and their current process to review these programs as part of its new long-range transportation plan. Given Vancouver's unique transportation context within the region, recommendations concerning broadening the project criteria eligibility and additional cost-sharing flexibility are presented to ensure that both the City's and region's priorities and capital needs are integrated and supportive of a liveable and sustainable transportation system.
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