New active transportation master plan: What does it mean?

Cycling advocates and politicians are celebrating the surprise decision to fund a $350,000 active transportation master plan for Windsor.

"This is a win for the cycling community, it's a win for pedestrians, it's a win for people who use and would like better public transit. It's a win for residents across the city," said Lori Newton, executive director of BikeWindsor-Essex.

While council originally approved the idea of doing an active transportation master plan in April 2016,it was not expected to receive funding until 2020.

The decision to fast-track the study stemmed from discussion Monday night on a proposed update to a policy on bicycle parking.

The decision was unanimous, a rare occurrence for a council that has had contentious battlesover transportation issues.

But what does this study actually mean?

What is active transportation?

According to Transport Canada, "Active transportation is any form of human-powered transportation. Walking and cycling are the most popular forms of active transportation and are often combined with other modes, notably public transit."

What plans doesthe city have on the books right now?

While the City of Windsor has a number of transportation plans, the immediate predecessor to the new active transportation master plan is the Bicycle Use Master Plan (BUMP), whichwas approved by council in 2001.

The key difference between the BUMP and the new active transportation master plan is that pedestrian issues such as the need for sidewalks will be incorporated into the document.

How much of the current planhasbeen implemented?

City engineer Mark Winterton admits thatwhile most of the BUMP's "low hanging fruit"has been implemented, it has been a challenge to introduce bicycle infrastructure to more complex areas, such as Riverside Drive, Cabana Road, and Dougall Avenue.

Aside from the infrastructure recommendations of the BUMP, other recommendations that have not been implemented include the creation of a cycling coordinator position in the transportation department.

Winterton says funding pressures were the main reason.

How long will this study take?

Now that council has approved the funding for a new active transportation master plan, Wintertonsaid he wants toget started right away, starting with the hiring of a consultant.

"I would like to have a (Request for Proposals) prepared sometime this summer...I would certainly hope to have somebody on board by fall of this year," he said, noting that it was an ambitious timeline.

After the consultant is hired, Winterton said the study would take a year to 18 months to complete.

What happens until then?

"We have council approval for $6.8 million worth of funding to implement some of these BUMP issues, including moving forward with the engineering for the Dougall grade separation," Winterton said, referring to an area cyclists and pedestrianscall the "Dougalldeath trap."

"We're going to be moving forward with all of those projects over the next year, so we'll be very busy...with cycling issues."

How do we know that new plan will be implemented?

Winterton said that, ultimately, itwould be up to council.

"Once we have the study done, we havethe projects identified, we (city staff) move forward with capital plans that are identified withinthe study...and then it would compete with other priorities on any given year's capital budget."