How does The City prioritize and plan for transportation infrastructure projects?
Keeping Calgarians on the move, whether by foot, bicycle, public transit or vehicles, requires thoughtful consideration and long-term planning. Investing in Mobility (2013-2022) is The City’s strategic plan for capital transportation infrastructure projects. It defines the priority and timing of these projects for the next 10 years to help inform Council’s capital budget decisions.
On Dec. 17, Council approved the recommended funding scenario of Optimize and Maintain for transportation infrastructure projects over the next ten years. This scenario focuses funding on projects that improve and maintain existing infrastructure and assets, while still taking into account funding for top priority major transit and road infrastructure projects.
Council also asked Administration to review the funding allocation of priority transit projects and to report back to the transportation committee with revised recommendations in February 2013.
2013-2022 Projected Capital Funding
Provincial and federal funding sources account for about 80 per cent of transportation capital funding. To address every project on the priority list, The City would need $4.5 billion over the next 10 years; however, capital funding for transportation projects is expected to decline significantly starting in 2013 as a number of provincial and federal funding programs will end (
see graph).
The City is projecting a $2 billion gap in funding over the next decade. This means some of the priority transportation infrastructure projects identified will remain unfunded until new funding becomes available. The Investing in Mobility plan prioritizes capital infrastructure projects based on the $2.5 billion in funding The City anticipates having during this period.
How are projects prioritized?
Projects are prioritized based on key directional documents and long-term plans, as approved by Council. Examples include:
Investing in Mobility uses a set of evaluation criteria based on these key documents to help prioritize projects in four infrastructure categories. Depending on the infrastructure type, projects are evaluated based on factors such as:
- Contribution to mobility choice. Land use support for transit.
- Ability to resolve existing bottlenecks.
- Improving travel reliability for goods movement and cars.
- Alignment with citizen concerns expressed through 311 calls.
What we heard from citizens
In September and October 2012, a series of Transportation information sessions was held in shopping centres across the city. The mall sessions provided an opportunity for citizens to share how they would prioritize infrastructure spending over the next decade.
Input from citizens indicates that people generally favoured optimizing and maintaining existing infrastructure, and investing in mobility hubs and transit corridors, which include mixed-use, cycling, public transit and pedestrian-oriented developments. There is also recognition of the ongoing need to invest in road infrastructure for goods movement and traffic growth. This feedback continues to be consistent with what we’ve heard in previous surveys and public engagement opportunities.
Next Steps
- Dec. 17, 2012 – Council approved the recommended Optimize and Maintain funding scenario, and asked Administration to review the funding allocation of priority transit projects.
- February 2013 – Report back to the Standing Policy Committee (SPC) on Transportation & Transit with revised recommendations on priority transit projects.
Related documents
The following documents were part of the SPC Report on Investing in Mobility considered by Council on Dec. 17. The complete set of attachments is also available online with the Dec. 12 SPC on Transportation and Transit meeting agenda.
