Master Transportation and Official Plans

Each city in Ontario is mandated by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to develop policies on how land in our community should be used. It is prepared with input from residents and ensures that future planning and development will meet the specific needs of our community. Ontario Official Plans need to be revised on a 4-year cycle, and cities are required to follow the Official Plan when making decisions around land use.

A section of the Official Plan deals with the development of transportation options. In order to develop that section, our city does a Transportation Study, and the final report from that study serves as a "Master Transportation Plan". This plan contains specific policies, programs, and lists of prioritized roads projects that are then incorporated into the Official Plan.

More information on Official Plans: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

There are some weaknesses with this process. Our current Transportation Master Plan (TMP) is focused on road design, construction and maintenance. It does not include provisions for planning for transit. The study that is undertaken is also tailored to fit the environmental assessment for roads process, which is required by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. This makes for a long, complicated document that is not easily understood by the average resident.

While the TMP can recommend specific directions like a Master Transit Plan, or a Multimodal Transportation Plan, the current process does not produce a holistic view of transportation in our city.

We support:

making the process and final reports more user-friendly so it can be understood by all residents
including all modes of transportation, including transit
a Council-approved long-term implementation plan with goals for all modes of transportation
better engagement opportunities for citizens

Our feedback on the Official Plan and Transportation Plan processes are here:

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