IF YOU BUILD IT, WHO COMES AND WHY?

By:

Cassie Smith, M.Sc., Transportation Demand Management Strategic Lead, EnviroCentre

While the adage ‘if you build it, they will come’ often holds true for transportation infrastructure, it may not be sufficient to achieve significant increases in use, especially among diverse residents and for various types of trips. Trips to destinations like grocery stores, schools, and arenas often require the transportation of large goods or multiple passengers, posing additional challenges to sustainable modes of transportation. People with disabilities, children, youth, older adults, and those with caregiving responsibilities may have specific needs and desires related to transportation infrastructure, especially regarding separation from vehicular traffic. These issues are explored in the master’s thesis, What Will It Take to Make Non-Work Trips Sustainable? A Feminist Analysis of Transitions in Transportation Policies and Practice”. Through a case study of Ottawa, Canada, the municipal government policies and resident responses are examined to understand how they support or restrict transformative change to mobility, particularly for non-work travel. 

The analysis applies theories of sustainability transitions and finds limited signs of innovation and exnovation. There is a lack of recognition regarding the urgent need to transform the transportation status quo. For instance, while policies support a ‘safe systems approach’, the City of Ottawa does not adopt or use the term Vision Zero in its new Official Plan or Transportation Master Plan. This timid approach is reflected in interviews with residents and their responses to policy implementation. Resident responses to projects from two different neighbourhoods emphasize the importance of reducing the presence and prominence of automobiles in changing mobility practices.  The findings of this research suggest that to change mobility practices, there is a need to create momentum through parallel changes that support sustainable mobility and move away from automobility. Improvements to active transportation infrastructure continue to be important, but policy makers can enhance their effectiveness by combining them with road diets, safety interventions (e.g., lower speed limits, traffic calming), plans to lower VKT (vehicle kilometres travelled), and supportive land-use policies. In addition to a material focus, initiatives to support building sustainable transportation skills and developing compelling reasons to switch to sustainable mobility can facilitate change.

*Full article in the 2024 winter edition of the CARSP Safety Network Newsletter

Bio 

Cassie Smith is a sustainability researcher and safe streets advocate. Her experiences caring for children in a car-centric suburban environment during the climate crisis inspired her to complete a Master of Arts in Geography at Carleton University. She is the Transportation Demand Management Strategic Lead at EnviroCentre, a non-profit focused on climate action. She is a board member of Bike Ottawa, leads a school bike bus, and organizes Kidical Mass Ottawa events. Cassie is a self-proclaimed ‘cargo bike mom’ who wants to make it possible for all people to safely and confidently travel by sustainable modes of transportation.