Staff Report #1
January 29, 2025
To All Commissioners
Re: Mobility Master Plan Update
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
The City of London Mobility Master Plan has been underway since 2022, with the underlying objective being to create a long-term plan to prepare London’s mobility system for change and growth expected from now to 2050. The completed Mobility Master Plan will be London’s first fully integrated mobility plan, considering all forms of mobility (general traffic lanes, bus lanes, cycling facilities, sidewalks and pathways which interconnect to provide access to a variety of destinations). Development of the plan is being completed in three phases based on the following guiding principles:
- Environmentally sustainable: Take bold action to address climate change and design and move in ways that protect and enhance the natural environment.
- Financially sustainable: Ensure mobility and its infrastructure is affordable for current and future generations.
- Equitable: Recognize diverse mobility needs and embed equity into decision making to enable everyone to move through the city.
- Healthy and Safe: Promote and protect the physical, mental and social wellbeing of all and encourage active living.
- Integrated, connected and efficient: Strengthen community and the economy with better access to people, places, goods and services as London grows.
Phase 1 of the development of the plan included an initial round of extensive public consultation. A summary report was provided to Municipal Council outlining stakeholder sentiments and confirming public support for the guiding principles. The next step in the process was the development of evaluation criteria that would be utilized to measure the various mobility infrastructure improvement options considered against the guiding principles.
Phase 1 also included the preparation of a Needs and Opportunities Report which included analysis of London’s land use, population, employment and mobility trends, as well as policy direction and broader societal conditions. The report includes a comprehensive overview of the current mobility system in London, with a focus on identifying key trends, issues and constraints. It concludes with a summary of the key needs and opportunities identified throughout this Phase 1 the study. The areas of focus identified in the report include:
- Area of Focus 1: Supporting London’s Desired Future Land Use
- Area of Focus 2: Make Transit the Option of Choice for More Trips
- Area of Focus 3: Make Walking and Cycling Preferred Mobility Options to Meet Daily Needs
- Area of Focus 4: Manage Road Capacity Strategically
- Area of Focus 5: Support London’s Role as a Regional Transportation Hub
- Area of Focus 6: Put People First on London’s Streets
- Area of Focus 7: Create a Mobility System that Enables More Equitable Participation in City Life
- Area of Focus 8: Prepare for Change
Development of the plan is now in Phase 2 of 3. Phase 2 included the development of draft policies and actions organized by the eight Areas of Focus. Public engagement on the draft policies and actions commenced in June 2024 and is ongoing.
Greater detail with respect to each of the identified Areas of Focus and the draft policies and actions is included on the City of London website dedicated page for the Mobility Master Plan. The following provides additional detail specific to the items included in Area of Focus 2, specific to public transit.
The survey with respect to Area of Focus 2 asks respondents to identify the most important goals from the following list:
- Transit is available, convenient and offers competitive travel times (e.g., implement transit priority signals and dedicated transit lanes, increase frequency of service to reduce wait times)
- Transit services are comfortable, inclusive and accessible (e.g., provide transit information in multiple languages, improve and increase awareness of Travel Safe program)
- The mobility system enables easy access to transit services (e.g., provide pedestrian crossings and appropriate bicycle parking facilities at stops, prioritize addition of sidewalks where there are transit stops with no connecting sidewalk)
- A set of cohesive mobility hubs act as anchors for both local and regional mobility, providing access to a range of mobility options with seamless transfers (e.g., consolidated regional bus stop locations, mixed-use developments at Mobility Hubs)
In parallel to the development of draft policies and actions, the project team was working on the development of mobility infrastructure recommendations. In April 2024, Municipal Council approved mode share targets for the Mobility Master Plan, which set a goal to increase the percentage of trips Londoners take using active modes of transportation and transit by 2050. This mode share target calls for an increase in the current walk, cycle, transit portion from 23% to 32.5% or greater and a decrease in the percentage of personal vehicle driving trips from 61% down to 52.5%. Capacity needs were then determined by mode based on forecasted population and employment growth to inform the identification of potential mobility infrastructure improvements projects.
In early December, a series of Draft Mobility Network Maps were released for public consultation, with public information sessions and drop-ins scheduled to occur throughout the months of December and January. Actual proposed Network Maps are set out in Enclosure I, summary commentary with respect to each mobility map is set out below.
Road Network
Strategic road projects are being proposed to manage congestion, support population growth and economic development and to further opportunities for implementing a network of complete streets. The proposed roads projects will expand capacity for people and goods movement, and upgrade corridors with new infrastructure (curbs, streetlights and sidewalks). The draft road network map and related timelines include recommendations that add capacity and improve traffic flow to better manage congestion and advance the implementation of sidewalks and bike facilities in areas lacking this essential infrastructure.
An additional network map of the road network is included which identifies a goods movement network. The intent of this recommendation is to plan for and support the safe and efficient routing of commercial vehicles (trucks) through the city.
Transit Priority Network
The recommendations associated with the Transit Priority Network are intended to improve the reliability of transit service, provide connections to important destinations throughout the city for more people, and manage congestion in general purpose lanes. The draft network includes recommendations to provide transit service in the early occupancy stage of new developments, offer travel training programs for youth, newcomers, people with disabilities and other interested individuals, improve and increase awareness of LTC’s Travel Safe Program to increase passenger comfort and safety, and prioritize adding sidewalks, bike parking and pedestrian crossings at bus stops.
The recommended improvements in the Transit Priority Network Map are broken down into the following categories:
- Rapid Transit – dedicated lanes where possible via road widening and provide new red curbside or centre running lanes that are used only by buses. This is complemented by enhanced transit shelters.
- Transit Priority Corridor – road widening only where needed to allow for the implementation of queue jump lanes, regulatory measures and transit signal priority.
- Transit Friendly Corridor – enhanced transit operations such as express routes which could include transit signal priority.
Cycling Network
The recommendations associated with the draft Cycling Network Map are intended to help create more inclusive and complete communities and provide people with convenient and equitable options and how they move around to access their daily needs. The draft network includes recommendations to implement a city-wide bike parking plan and provide secure bike storage at major destinations or events, create a street improvements pilot project team to implement active transportation improvements quickly, develop a business case for council for operational funding for a bikeshare and/or micromobility share service, and explore potential to provide better winter maintenance of boulevard cycling facilities and off-road multi-use pathways.
Pedestrian Network
The recommendations associated with the draft Pedestrian Network are intended to enable people to walk safely and in comfort to any place they need to go and provide connections between bus stops and jobs. The draft network map includes recommendations to support sidewalk infrastructure with elements that create a pleasant walking environment with trees and other landscaping, increased setbacks, and interesting building frontages, improve the safety and convenience of crossing at signalized intersections, implement a range of behavior change incentives to encourage walking, and prioritize the addition of sidewalks to transit stops where there is no connecting sidewalk.
As indicated earlier, public feedback with respect to each of the Areas of Focus actions and policies remains open until January 31, 2025, at which time the feedback will be compiled and reviewed in conjunction with the feedback collected through the current public information sessions relating to the various draft mobility network maps released in early December 2024 (see Enclosure I). It is anticipated that a report will be tabled with the Strategic Policy and Priorities Committee in the spring of 2025 which will include final recommendations for each of the identified networks for council consideration.
As identified on the Commission agenda, civic administration will present an overview of the various networks currently out for public consultation (see Enclosure I), during which the Commission can provide feedback.
Enclosure
I – City of London Presentation re Mobility Master Plan
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager