Review of Active Transportation Plans in Atlantic Canadian Communities: Motives, Hurdles, and Pitfalls.

In larger urban centres, the key motivation behind promoting active transportation is often driven by transportation demand management. The modal shift from automobile trips to active modes of transportation such as walking and cycling is intended to reduce the dominance of the single occupancy vehicle as the primary mode of transportation. Decreasing single occupancy use is intended to lessen traffic congestion and promote environmental sustainability and healthy lifestyles. But in smaller urban centres without serious traffic congestion and with limited capital resources, the motivations behind active transportation are often different. Recently, several medium-sized communities have undertaken active transportation plans in Atlantic Canada. This paper presents a review of recently-developed or in-progress active transportation plans. The motivation for community groups to steward the development of these plans will be discussed. The active transportation and bikeway plans developed for Colchester- Truro, Nova Scotia, and Corner Brook, Newfoundland were reviewed along with knowledge of other plans in development in Atlantic Canada, current demographic trends, and current practice of planning active transportation facilities. This paper will explore the background conditions in these small to medium Atlantic Canadian communities. The motivating factors behind active transportation plan development will be reviewed. To provide a successful plan and implementation program, the stakeholder consultation program is vital. The project team also requires an understanding of the political and human factors inherent in active transportation planning, a deviation from the traditional engineering approach. (A) For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD numbre E220308.