Every five years the Regional Transportation Strategy for TransLink is reviewed, looking at the long-term plans for public transit in greater Vancouver. This Strategy establishes objectives for the region and also embraces provincial and regional land use objectives.
TransLink did a good job at outreach to get people involved in their strategy and participating in their surveys.
It is no surprise that the strategy is organized the same way as the 2050 Regional Plan with five main categories. The Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) is a long-term strategy that shapes the future of transportation in Metro Vancouver. It also looks at economic and environment indicators as well as emissions. TransLink is legislatively required to update the RTS every five years, which helps ensure that our transportation system evolves with the region.
Adopted in January 2022, the regional transportation goals are to create convenient, reliable, affordable, safe & comfortable, and carbon-free public transit.
Main initiatives in the strategy aim to bolster the current bike network, and support the development of semi-traffic calmed streets for walking, biking, rolling and transit.
The guidelines also inform regional land use objectives by increasing the rapid transit network from 100 to 400 kilometers, completing a comprehensive 850 kilometer bike network, and providing more frequent transit with shorter distances to people’s homes. That is solving what is known as the “last mile” for workers trying to use transit to get home.
What the strategy also does is reinforce that transit should be close to every home in the region, and encourages the use of shared devices which include electric bikes, scooters and even vehicles.
You can take a look at the snappy YouTube video below which outlines the strategy.
