City of Whitehorse wants to know what residents want in new transportation plan

The City of Whitehorse is seeking input from residents on a plan that will shape the future of getting around in the city.

Work on the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) started in September 2020 and has now reached the first public engagement phase.

The plan involves everything from new roads, new bike lanes, new sidewalks and new multi-use paths throughout the city.

"It's a high-level document to guide how the city invests in one of its most expensive assets — and that's its transportation infrastructure," said Stefan Baer, a transportation engineer with the city.

"And we're trying to maximize the value of our transportation assets. So when we do an improvement, we want to make sure that we provide the most value that we can."

According to the project website, the city is preparing for Whitehorse's population to grow to more than 40,000 people in the next two decades. In both the near and long term, Baer said the city needs to be ready for change.

"The transportation master plan needs to consider where land use is going to be, where land use is going to be changed, where it's going to be intensified," said Baer.

That way, he said, "transportation infrastructure is provided at the right time to accommodate the needs of changing land use."

Baer said the plan also needs to factor in new modes of transportation like e-scooters, electric cars and perhaps one day, autonomous vehicles.

Baer said the project team has identified several "preliminary values" that the TMP will be built upon: accessibility, equity, efficiency, sustainability and safety. He said the city is now asking the public for its goals and priorities.

Common themes so far

So far, the city has hosted a webinar explaining the plan to residents. That was followed by an open house on Tuesday where city staff answered questions and took feedback from the public.

Baer stressed that the entirety of public input has not been analyzed yet and what he's heard personally represents only a glimpse of people's concerns. Still, he's found two common themes in conversations: safety and sustainability.

With the former, Baer said people are worried about close calls between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. They are also concerned about children's safety in school zones, he continued.

There is also heightened awareness about climate change and the role transportation has in contributing to it. Baer said many suggested improving the city's infrastructure for walking and biking.

"The public is identifying a need to change how we move around, given that transportation plays a major role in greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

Protected bike lanes

Both safety and climate change are important to Dan Bader, a Hillcrest resident who bikes year round.

Bader is often sharing the road with vehicles or pedestrians on his commute. He would like to see protected bike lanes that separate cyclists from road traffic, which can be found in European cities.

In his view, road design is important for safety, which gives people a transportation option besides driving.

"Whitehorse is a city built for cars and that's something I think the plan has an opportunity to change. We know that 61 per cent of our emissions in Yukon come from transportation," Bader said.

"Active transportation is an easy way to get people out of their cars to lower emissions. I feel great when I bike to work. [It] saves me a cup of coffee in the morning."

Bader said connectivity in the cycling network could also be improved. He noted "great pieces" in the Waterfront Trail and the Airport Trail, but finds it hard to get across the city seamlessly.

"And it certainly gets tougher the further you get from downtown," he said.

The city is still inviting people to weigh in, and to fill out a survey on the project website.

Citizen input will be used to create a draft of the TMP. A second phase of public engagement will come after. The final plan is expected to be presented to council next summer for approval.

"We're in the really early stages of [the] transportation master plan and nothing's being proposed at this point," Baer said.

"It's really purely to learn about what the public's priorities are with how they move around."