Transportation Committee

WHEREAS the Strategic Road Safety Action Plan Update report recommends continuing following the Safe Systems Approach to road safety; and WHEREAS under the Safe Systems Approach, the City has a responsibility to provide roadway infrastructure that is intuitive and forgiving; and WHEREAS costs to retrofit the City’s vast roadway network in keeping with the Safe Systems Approach is in the billions of dollars; and WHEREAS leading countries like Sweden, the Netherlands and Australia that have adopted the Safe Systems Approach have dedicated significant funding within the national budgets to help jurisdictions implement infrastructure changes to further progress towards zero fatalities and serious injuries; and WHEREAS Canada has adopted a Safe Systems Approach as part of its most-recent National Road Safety Strategy; and WHEREAS recently announced changes to the Federal Road Safety Transfer Fund Program increased funding by $30 M over the next three years and now allows funding to be allocated to the municipal level across Canada; and WHEREAS the Province of Ontario typically provides funding for road safety research and awareness activities; THEREFORE be it resolved that City Council, through the Mayor, formally request that the Government of Canada and Province of Ontario establish significant dedicated road safety infrastructure funding to help fund road safety projects within the City of Ottawa to further progress towards zero fatalities and serious injuries .

That the following two clauses be added to the report recommendations: 1. That the City of Ottawa adopts the goal of zero fatalities with a meaningful year over year reduction on our streets by 2035, with a focus on safety for the most vulnerable users of our transportation system—pedestrians, school children, older adults and cyclists. 2. That staff bring back options, as part of the 2021 SRSAP annual report, with operational and capital cost implications that will work towards zero traffic fatalities on our roads by 2035.

WHEREAS 30 km/h is the target operating speed which minimizes severity of motor vehicle collisions involving cyclists or pedestrians under a Safe Systems Approach to road safety; and WHEREAS cyclists and pedestrian volumes are highest within the Core; and WHEREAS the City of Ottawa’s Strategic Road Safety Action Plan recognizes that one fatal or serious injury collision is one too many; and WHEREAS staff have undertaken an evaluation of the cost to implement measures to bring all roadways within the Core Residential Gateway Speed Limit areas into compliance with the POLICY FOR POSTING A 30 KM/H SPEED LIMIT ON AN EXISTING ROADWAY as part of response to Motion 16/5, Item G, included as Document 2 in the Strategic Road Safety Action Plan Update report; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Transportation Committee recommend that staff develop a plan within existing budgets for the gradual implementation of 30 km/h speed limits in all Gateway Speed Limit areas within the Core Residential area as defined in the Strategic Road Safety Action Plan, and the By-ward Market, and with the intent to meet the requirements for a posted 30 km/h speed limit, in consultation with Ward Councillors through their Temporary Traffic Calming budgets and other funding mechanisms, as per the policy for posting a 30 km/h speed limit on an existing roadway.

the City is establishing its Term of Council Priorities (2019-2022), including a high-level Priority of Integrated Transportation Whereas interprovincial heavy truck traffic on King Edward Avenue continues to degrade the liveability of the community through which it crosses Whereas there are potential options to mitigate the negative impact of the high volumes of truck traffic through the downtown, such as a traffic tunnel or a new interprovincial crossing Whereas interprovincial bridge crossing (planning, design, construction, operations, funding) are under federal jurisdiction and the connections to provincial highway systems are the responsibilities of the respective provinces Whereas the tunnel option, connecting the 417 to the MacDonald Cartier bridge, would resolve the City of Ottawa issues of having interprovincial trucks going through our Downtown streets Whereas the tunnel option is the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario as per their mandate to connect 400 highways to interprovincial crossing, never achieved in Ottawa. Therefore be it resolved that the City of Ottawa reaffirms and identifies this downtown heavy truck traffic issue as a Term of Council priority that is in dire need of a solution And further be it resolved that the City of Ottawa work closely with the Federal government on its re-initiation of a new interprovincial crossing study and other related studies pertaining to strategic transportation planning between the two provinces

That Transportation Committee recommend that Council, sitting as Committee of the Whole, approve the Transportation Committee 2020 Draft Operating and Capital Budget, as follows: 1. The Public Works and Environmental Services Department Budget, as follows: a) General Manager’s Office and Business Support Services - Operating Resource Requirement (page 2); b) Roads Services, as follows: i) User Fees (page 5); ii) Operating Resource Requirement (page 4); c) Parking Services, as follows: i) User Fees (pages 8-12); ii) Operating Resource Requirement (page 7); 2. The Transportation Services Department Budget, as follows: a) Traffic Services, as follows: i) User Fees (pages 15-17); ii) Operating Resource Requirement (page 14); b) Transportation Planning Operating Resource Requirement (page 19); 3. Innovative Client Services Department Budget, as follows: a) Fleet Services, as follows: i) User Fees (page 22); ii) Operating Resource Requirement (page 21); 4. Transportation Committee Capital Budget (pages 23-26) [Individual projects are listed on pages 43-132].