Lecture 6: The GTA and Transportaion

**New Urbanism**

An urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types.

Tenets of New Urbanism

1. Walkability
2. Connectivity
3. Mixed-use
4. Mixed housing
5. Aesthetics
6. Increased density
7. Sustainability

**Cornell, Markham**

From an affordable housing project (1988) to a New Urbanist community with some conventional designs

**Montgomery Village, Orangeville**

From a New Urbanist approach to a conventional design due to residents’ resistance to change.

**The Beach, City of Toronto**

New Urbanism succeeded due to political and community acceptance

**King West Village, city of Toronto**

From an industrial area to a trendy urban village - new Urbanism at its best

New Urbanism in City and Suburbs

New Urbanism works better in brownfield sites than greenfield sites because in the city there is no need to experiment and propose an alternative vision.

It can mimic the existing design without having to seek legitimization

**Brownfield Site**

any site that has been previously built on

**Obstacles to Change**

* Public and private actors’ disinterest to change hampers attempts to implement New Urbanism
* Existing regulations facilitate maintenance of the status quo
* Constraints imposed by the industry facilitate standardization over innovation

**Two movements within the Toronto region:**

1. Goods
2. People

**The region is strategically situated at the crossroads of rail & roads networks that connect it to:**

1. Northern Ontario
2. Quebec
3. Atlantic Canada
4. Western Canada
5. The US & Mexico

**How do urban regions attract global capital?**

Building globalized superstructures (airports & super highways) to accommodate international trade.

**Toronto Pearson Airport**

Canada’s largest airport

* land around Pearson is occupied by industrial buildings and crossed by a web of superhighways & major arterial roads

**Transportation in the 1970s/80s**

Arterial highway construction began after WWII replacing rails

**Trans-Canada Highway**

Connects the East coast of Canada to the West

**Role of Toronto Pearson**

provides access to several destinations in the US and around the world

**Who governs Toronto Pearson?**

GTAA (Greater Toronto Airport Authority) under a private not-for-profit model

**What was the intended purpose of the GTAA model?**

This model was adopted with the intention of freeing the decision-making process from the influences of governments as well as shareholders

**What does the GTAA do?**

Makes decisions unilaterally without any coordination in multi-level planning and governance - hence the GTAA is not an example of good regional coordination

**Automobiles in a Global City**

* The region is characterized by extensive car production, ownership & use


* The suburbs have been built on the logic of automobile transportation
* Automobile transportation has been at the core of Canadian transportation policy since WWII

**Extensive road Network**

highways and arterial streets

**Consequences of car use**

Gridlock & air pollution

**Who lobbies for general infrastructure connections?**

1. Big automakers and car part makers only lobby with the goal of keeping jobs
2. The Canadian Auto Workers is also absent from the debate
3. The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is more active and operates through formulation of transportation policy processes and participation in ad hoc committees & other governmental initiatives

**TTC (Toronto Transit Commission)**

A giant in a precarious financial position - tends to focus on the built-up core of the city because of urban density and the need for cost recovery

**Transit City (2007-2010)**

Light rail transits (LRTs), Scarborough rapid transit (RT) line & Bus RT

**Federal Transportation Policy**

The federal government has constitutional authority over transportation

Since the 1990s, it has moved towards deregulation while remaining strategically interventionist

Federal Transportation policy is based on a market-based transportation framework:

1. Privatization of Air Canada (1988-89)
2. Privatization of CNR (1995)
3. Transfer of ownership of major airports to non-profit private agencies (1990s)

**Provincial Transportation Policy (Metrolinx)**

1. Formed in 2006 as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority
2. Renamed Metrolinx in 2007
3. Merged with GO Transit in 2009
4. It’s a governmental agency that manages and integrates road transport and public transportation in the GTA & Hamilton area

**Local Transportation Policy**

* The GTA divide between downtown and suburban areas is evident in municipal transportation policies

**City of Toronto transportation**

Promotes public transit, cycling & walking

**Suburbs transportation**

Suburbs promote use of automobiles & trucks

**Problems with Metrolinx and its regional transportation plan:**

1. Less than 1% of spending is earmarked for alternative forms of transportation like bicycling & walking
2. The plan covers a period of 25 years though capital funding beyond year 15 is not guaranteed

**Who funds the TTC?**

Mock award for the “least funded” public transit system.

**Factors Influencing cycling rates**

* Built form
* Cycling infrastructure
* User and trip attributes
* Environmental factors
* Existing social norms and role models

**Cycling in Toronto**

* Toronto is subdivided in 625 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) – Approx. 5000 people
* Demographic variables do not play a role in affecting cycling rates
* Physical variables are instead significantly affecting cycling rates, especially the presence of a cycling infrastructure

**Shawnee Park**

North York - has potential for cycling but low cycling rates

* Contains no recorded cycling trips

The government should prioritize investment in:

* infrastructure
* policies & programs