Under its recently updated Transportation Master Plan (TMP), York Region plans to spend about $8.54 billion to ensure its growing population and workforce will be able to get around safely and will have transportation options over the next three decades.
In that time, its population is expected to grow from 1.2 million people to more than two million and the number of jobs here will reach nearly one million.
The total price tag includes $4.07 billion for transit, $3.97 billion for roads – including active transportation improvements – and $496 million for stand-alone active transportation projects. Proposed actions and initiatives will be brought forward through the annual capital planning business and budget process.
Among other things, the Region says the TMP will focus on ‘transportation equity,’ which means providing options that are inclusive and recognize a diversity of personal abilities, age, gender, income and culture. The revamped TMP will also focus on reducing car travel, especially during rush hours, as well as fiscal and environmental sustainability to ensure transportation investment remains affordable and continues to consider environmental impacts.
York Region reviews the TMP every five years to ensure the Regional transportation network meets the needs of motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders. “Input from the community has always played a lead role in the TMP since the first plan in 2002,” Lauren Crawford, manager of transportation long-term planning, says in a video introducing the TMP.
Accomplishments in that time include the introduction of bus rapid transit to provide fast, convenient service and easy connections to urban centres and bringing subway connections to York to support growing populations, stimulate economic growth and reduce traffic congestion, she reports. Additional accomplishments include transforming roads and improving intersections to improve traffic flow, provide safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists and support public transit service investments; and installing high occupancy vehicle lanes and bicycle facilities to provide more options to more people and to save travel time.
The TMP was developed in coordination with the Region’s Municipal Comprehensive Review Process, which includes updates to the Regional Official Plan and Water and Wastewater Master Plan. Visit york.ca/TMP to learn more about the public consultation process and previous TMPs.
