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Why update the Transportation Master Plan?
According to the Province’s Growth Plan, which shapes land use planning and development in Guelph, our population is expected to increase from 121,700 (2011) up to 191,000 by 2041, with employment increasing from 71,800 jobs (2011) to 101,000. The 2020 Transportation Master Plan Update will set the direction for sustainable transportation planning for 2031 and beyond, and includes accommodating this expected population and job growth in Guelph.
Updating the plan also incorporates any new policies or plans that were adopted since 2005, such as the Natural Heritage Strategy, the Cycling Master Plan and updates to the Official Plan.
Finally, the updated Transportation Master Plan will identify any changes that are required to the Official Plan in future to properly accommodate our projected population and employment growth and changes to transportation technology and behaviours.
What’s involved in a transportation master plan update?
There are four key steps to creating a transportation master plan:
- develop a vision, goals and objectives of what we want our community to look like from a transportation perspective, and how to get us there;
- collect and analyse data to understand how and where we move people and goods now and in the future;
- create policies to guide us in developing networks, services and programs to safely move people and goods where they need to go.
Planning for the future also means anticipating potentially significant changes to the transportation system such as ride hailing, driverless vehicles, electric transportation and shared vehicles. Our Transportation Master Plan must consider how the City of Guelph will position itself to respond to these changes.
The updated Transportation Master Plan will also include a review of provincial transit and highway initiatives that affect inter-regional travel patterns.
As part of the Transportation Master Plan update, the City will:
- review and update the vision for transportation in Guelph;
- analyze how Guelph’s transportation system has changed over time, and how this affects changes in travel patterns and behaviours;
- make transportation planning even more integrated with other City plans; and
- include the community throughout the process through updates and engagement.
The Transportation Master Plan update will inform future updates of the Official Plan, the Cycling Master Plan, the Transit Growth Plan, and other development–or travel–related plans.