Implementing an Active Transportation Plan
This is the stage where the rubber meets the road. The AT Plan has been produced and reflects the input of a whole community. Now the plan must be realized.
Adoption by Council
Even with financial and other support from a municipality, council must still formally endorse the completed AT Plan. If you have done your work and if councillors and staff have played a role in developing the AT Plan, you should be assured of their support.
By formally adopting the AT Plan, council is committing to implement and fund the policies, infrastructure, education, and promotion of the plan. Be sure to thank council for all their support of AT in your community.
Celebrate the Plan
Make sure to launch your AT Plan with lots of fanfare! This is an important moment for your community and a chance to garner even more media and public attention. Consider tying the launch of the AT Plan with the opening of a new piece of AT infrastructure or during an event like International Walk to School Month at a local school. Invite the community and the media. Remind those in attendance that the new municipal AT Plan is responsible for the investment they are seeing unveiled.
Long-Term Financial Support
After the AT Plan is complete, more funding will be required to cover infrastructure, policy, promotion, and education programs. The work that was done to build strategic alliances and secure municipal buy-in pays off at this time. Begin lobbying your AT champions who are on council or who are municipal and provincial staff. Start an advocacy campaign with all your strategic partners. The AT Plan identified priorities and the successful implementation of these priorities will be a result of the great groundwork that was completed earlier in the process.
The Ecology Action Centre has a detailed list of potential funding sources.
Here are several categories of possible funding sources.
Strengthening Strategic Partnerships
Establish and maintain close contact with provincial and local transportation representatives so that any projects that might affect your municipality are known and discussed well ahead of formal scoping. Consider AT in existing and future planning documents, such as a Municipal Planning Strategy, or working closely with Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR) on provincial road projects. It is more cost-effective to implement an AT infrastructure project at the same time that TIR is repaving or widening a road than to do it afterwards.
By supporting your AT Plan, the town or municipality is expected to contribute financially within their municipal budget. It is extremely important that the AT Committee work with municipal council to develop a multi-year budget allocation for implementation of the identified priorities.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s AT Plan calls for spending $20 million over 20 years. The municipality will contribute one third of this amount, which means two thirds of the funding must come from other sources.
While finding funding to implement an AT Plan can be a challenge, there are other opportunities beyond municipalities’ budgets.
Federal Funding
The federal Gas Tax Fund provides stable, predictable funding to municipalities in support of environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure projects such as green energy, public transit, water and waste water infrastructure, and local roads. Many municipalities identified AT as a goal in their Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) and have been able to apply the money from the Gas Tax Fund to implement their AT priorities. For instance, in Bridgewater, the town spends almost all its gas tax funding on AT.
In addition, other federal departments such as Transport Canada and Natural Resources Canada may contribute to AT investments. Keep your ears open for funding opportunities. This is where your earlier efforts at networking and identifying key stakeholders come in handy.
The networks you have fostered, whether social, business, or government, will pass on funding ideas and information to your committee. So, keep your networks updated and your partners informed of your needs and priorities.
Federal agencies such as the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation may also provide funding. However, these agencies usually provide funding for large infrastructure projects.
Having AT policy and priorities embedded in municipal and provincial planning strategies allows access to this level of funding.
Provincial Funding
In addition to funding available from the Department of Health and Wellness, the Government of Nova Scotia’s many departments offer funding that can be used to support AT. For instance, the Department of Natural Resources’ Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Infrastructure Fund can be accessed to support trail development for both motorized and non-motorized uses. The Department of Seniors offers grant programs such as the Age-Friendly Communities Program and the Positive Aging Fund, which can fund AT projects that meet their goals.
The Department of Energy has a new Nova Scotia Moves fund to support sustainable transportation projects.
Active Transportation Committees requesting input from Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR) should contact the District Director for the assignment of an appropriate representative. This is most likely to be the Area Manager (AM), as improvements recommended in a Plan will generally be the (financial) responsibility of the municipality, with permits or advice needed from TIR should they need work done within a provincial right-of-way. However in instances where the AT Plan covers a county, it may be more appropriate to have the Construction Manger (CM) involved, as road improvements will undoubtedly require capital funds. The District Director can decide who, or if both parties, should be involved. In some instances, it may be appropriate for the Special Projects Engineer, who is responsible for AT, to be the contact.
Health Funding
Funding is available through some health organizations. The Public Health Agency has a new initiative called Building the Business Case for Active Living, encouraging businesses to invest in physical activity programs for employees. Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness also has regional funding opportunities available. Community Health Boards also have small grants available for locally designed projects. These organizations encourage active lifestyles and can be a huge resource to you.
Municipal Funding
Being able to get your municipal council to endorse your AT Plan is only part of the process. Now, your committee needs to ensure council includes AT priorities in the annual municipal capital and operating budgets. Including AT infrastructure investments in the annual operating budget places the debate over AT investment in the public realm. Municipalities may not have direct sources of money that people can apply to, but they do have money within the annual budget that can be used at the discretion of council and municipal staff. An example of this would be in Halifax Regional Municipality, where a business can request that a bike rack be placed on municipal property outside their business. If the request meets certain municipal guidelines, then the rack is installed free of charge to the business.
Smaller Granting Schemes
Small granting programs generally have less onerous reporting and evaluation requirements than other funding programs. An example is Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Walkability Grants. Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) offers small grants for recreation-focused projects. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities operates the Municipal Green Fund, supporting projects that contribute to the sustainability of cities. Some municipalities have community foundations that invest in local projects. Even tourism associations who become aware of the tourism benefits of making a region more AT friendly may offer grants.
New Funding
Partner with your local downtown business association or chamber of commerce to improve the end-use facilities in your downtown business district. Bike racks, benches, bus shelters, and street beautification schemes are just a few ideas. These items do not cost a lot of money and are very visible. You could partner with individual businesses or families who want to donate money in the name of a loved one. Or consider developing an ad campaign with a local business to place its logo on a bus shelter or bike rack.
Maintain Strategic Partnerships
The partnerships you worked so hard to create at the beginning of this process should be maintained to keep up the momentum on AT. Arrange for regular meetings with strategic partners where they update you on what they are working on. In addition, ask them for their input on upcoming projects. In some cases, strategic partners may be able to contribute funding or in-kind contributions for projects.
A crucial partnership that you don’t want to overlook is the one you should have with Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR). As they manage all provincial roads, a TIR representative should be on your AT committee. If they are not, make sure that you build a positive relationship with them and ask to be included in their 5-year work plans.
Ongoing Public Outreach
Celebrate the successful completion of every project, small or large. Make sure that citizens, stakeholders, and the municipality see positive results. An annual newsletter or short report to the community can be very helpful. An AT webpage, that lives on the municipality website, could act as a place where these success stories are told. Citizens can visit the website and see what has been completed, what projects are still outstanding, and receive other valuable AT news.
Take Advantage of Every Opportunity to Make Improvements
From the installation of a few kilometres of bike lanes to the placement of a small bench at a trailhead, every AT-related project counts. If there is an opportunity to make an improvement, don’t worry about the size or level of impact. Just get it done. All of this incremental progress is working to make your community more AT-friendly. However, keep connectivity and the big picture in mind.
Evaluation
It’s crucially important to measure your progress and the results that come from the successful implementation of your AT Plan. Here are four important areas of evaluation below.
Choose Key Indicators and Measure Regularly
Remember all that data about your community that you collected through asset mapping and needs assessments? This is where you can use it. You will need to be able to show quantitative improvements to your community and you can use comparative data (before AT interventions and after) as evidence. Routinely measuring key indicators will help build your business case, strengthen presentations to stakeholders, and inform your communications strategy.
Develop Annual Work Plan
Each year, your AT committee, in conjunction with the municipality, should develop a detailed work plan. It should include projects to complete, education and enforcement campaigns, the preparation of new policy documents, public presentations and events, funding applications, etc. For bigger projects or longer campaigns, it may be necessary to start planning years in advance. At the end of each year, review the plan and its successes and address any shortcomings. Make sure that your work plan is realistic; AT investment takes time.
Implement Accountability Strategies
Annual work plans should always be tied back to the original goal and objectives of your AT Plan. This type of evaluation framework (below) can assist you in keeping the end goal in sight, while helping to guide you through the nitty gritty details of implementation.
Document Success and Challenges
It is essential to document your successes and indicate areas for improvement. This can be done through reports to municipal council and funders, or in more creative ways. Community annual reports can be made available to citizens at bike shops or AT events and can highlight successes of the last year and plans for the future. Websites devoted to AT in your municipality are a “green” alternative to printed reports and can incorporate photos, videos, and social media.
Grassroots Activism
All AT champions must remember that politics can have an impact on AT planning. Municipalities with budget constraints have many competing priorities and powerful lobbies can push for the reallocation of funds toward their interests. We’ve all seen road construction and maintenance trump an AT investment or improvements to public transit. In addition, an election may bring a completely different council to power, one with different priorities from its predecessor.
This reality is the reason to keep AT in the news and ensure the public is both informed and invested in AT improvements in your municipality. When citizens are involved, it makes it harder for governments to change course or alter their commitments. This grassroots movement involves participation, not only from your AT Committee members, but from your strategic partners, local cycling or walking groups, seniors clubs, and high school youth. They need to speak up in support of the AT Plan and ensure that the municipality stay the course.
What is your part in all this?
Well, if you are a municipal employee, you know you can’t engage in direct advocacy, but you can (quietly) inform and encourage citizen groups to speak out strongly on AT.
Conclusion
It is our great hope that this guide has helped you take your AT vision and make it a reality in your municipality. All it takes is a keen public, support from partners, networking, a little elbow grease, and patience.
A few key things to remember:
Inspire yourself with examples of vibrant AT-engaged communities around the world.
Expand your network and talk with and listen to many people.
Don’t reinvent the wheel — other municipalities in Nova Scotia have had great success. Feed on their examples.
Use technology and social media to your advantage.
Celebrate and publicize ALL of your successes.
Use AT yourself. A lot. And encourage everyone you know to travel this way as well.
Think creatively and positively! Remember—you can’t generate and implement an AT Plan alone. The plus side is that working with others who share a common dream can be inspiring and uplifting.