The Consultation Program for the Interprovincial Transit Strategy is comprised of four phases and is anticipated to be completed in mid - 2011. The program has been designed to inform the public and to provide several opportunities for input. The key objectives for each phase are as follows:

• Phase I (April/May 2009): Benefits and challenges of interprovincial transit
  
• Phase II (June/August 2009): Process for selecting a solution
  
• Phase III (February 2010): Confirmation and Prioritization
  
• Phase IV(June/July 2010): Progressing the Strategy
  

To review summary reports and input that has been recieved to date, please click here.

Phase I (April/May 2009): Benefits and Challenges of Interprovincial Transit

In Phase I, a range of consultation activities was carried out offering the public and stakeholders an opportunity to contribute their insight on the benefits and challenges of interprovincial transit. 


Over 30 organizations participated in a series of Stakeholder Focus Groups, approximately 70 individuals attended the Public Open Houses, and 52 participated in ‘Interconnect Cafés’ that were open to the public. The website received 930 unique visits (696 to the English site and 234 to the French site), and 22 browsers submitted comments. An additional 311 participants completed the online consultation exercise. In addition, 11 Comment Sheets and additional written submissions were mailed, faxed or emailed directly to the NCC.


While broad in scope, a number of issues were raised more frequently than others. These have been organized into the following four categories:

1. Regional Considerations
2. Planning and Infrastructure
3. Operations and the User Experience
4. Governance.

Some of the more frequent themes included:


• Politicians, the public and municipal staff need to consider the whole Region and not just their own community and/or ward boundaries.
• Interprovincial transit should be better integrated with land-use planning.
• Future decisions should consider existing rail corridors on both sides of the river.
• The Region is no longer just a ‘government town;’ transit planning must respond to changing demographics and employment demands of commuters.
• A more integrated governance structure would result in collaborative and coordinated communications, delivering a common transit message for the Region, in both languages.

Full comments, description of the activities and the results of the Phase I consultations have been compiled into a report that can be accessed here.

 

Phase II (June/August 2009): Process for Selecting a Solution

Phase II of the Consultation Program concluded in August 2009. During this phase, the Strategy Team sought comment on the evaluation criteria to be used to develop the best transit solution for the Region. Nineteen organizations participated in a Stakeholder Workshop, 13 Stakeholders submitted an Evaluation Criteria handout, 316 respondents completed an Online Questionnaire and nine submitted comments by e-mail or regular mail. In addition, the website received 1,942 unique visits.

Consultation activities focused on two sets of questions. The first set covered five transportation planning Pillars that were identified in Phase I as essential components for improving interprovincial transit. The five transportation planning Pillars are:  

1. Land Use
   
2. User Focus
   
3. Governance
   
4. Operations
   
5. Infrastructure.

Key comments on the transportation Pillars included: 

• The image of the Nation’s Capital is important and transit planning must consider the vision and look of Ottawa and Gatineau.
• Transit should accommodate multi-modal transportation from private vehicles (park and rides), to bicycles and on-foot.
  
• User input is essential, either through consultation or via membership in the governing body (i.e., should include independent experts, members of the public, users of the system, and bus drivers).
  
• ‘Value for money’ should be considered when making technology and infrastructure decisions.

The second set of questions asked during Phase II looked at six evaluation criteria categories that will assist in the development of the Interprovincial Transit Strategy. The six categories of evaluation criteria are as follows:

1. The Image of Canada’s Capital/Branding
   
2. Benefits to the User
   
3. Benefits to the Community
   
4. Sustainability
   
5. Achieves Planning Visions
   
6. Realistic.

Key comments on the evaluation criteria included:


• The resulting system should reflect an image of collaboration, efficiency and unity.
• Transit should support important economic and cultural drivers (e.g. commercial, community, medical, religious and ethnic centres).
• Fuel and technology choices should be the most sustainable and result in decreased emissions.
• The Strategy needs to ensure that the National Capital Region become more transit-oriented and decreases car-priority planning.
• A thorough business plan (including governance structure) is needed to secure funding from all levels of government and those senior levels of government need to contribute more funding to transit. 
  

A summary report on the process, findings and full comments received in Phase II is available here. 

 

Phase III (February 2010): Confirmation and Prioritization


During Phase III, the Strategy Team sought input into a number of transit options developed for each of the five transportation Pillars that are guiding the Strategy. Consultation activities were designed to provide stakeholders and subject-matter experts with an opportunity to assist in the fine-tuning of these solutions before they would undergo further refinement by the Strategy Team. 


Consultation activities were held between February 12 and 18, 2010, and included (1) a series of three stakeholder workshops and (2) a presentation and discussion with the Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers (CITE) National Capital Section members.  Each meeting served as an opportunity to update key stakeholders on the Strategy’s progress and to seek input to further refine the transit options being considered.


Specifically, participants at each the three Stakeholder Workshops and the CITE Luncheon were presented with the Strategy findings to date, and asked the following questions related to each pillar: 

1. User Focus Pillar: What are the most important ‘user focus’ elements for the short, medium and long-term?
   
2. Operations Pillar:  Rank the operational policies and service modifications by order of importance. 
3. Infrastructure Pillar: What are the challenges and benefits associated with each scenario presented?
4. Transit CityBuilding Pillar: Are there are elements of transit city planning that are missing?
5. Governance Pillar: Provide reactions and thoughts on the various governance options proposed.

A summary report on the process, findings and full comments received in Phase III is available here. 

 

Phase IV (June/July 2010): Progressing the Strategy

The fourth phase of the consultation program concluded on August 8, 2010 and included online and public opportunities to provide comment on the  interprovincial transit solutions that were refined as a result of the stakeholder input received at Phase III.  A summary report with an analysis of comments recieved at Phase IV will be made available soon.

The final recommendations that make up the Strategy will be made public in mid - 2011.