Bow Valley Passenger Rail strengthening transportation links within the Calgary region

Calgary  Regional  Partnership  

Overview

•  Current  trends  in  transporta4on  in  Banff  •  Short  term  solu4ons  •  Long  term  op4ons  •  Sustainable  examples  •  The  concept  of  passenger  rail  •  Next  steps?  

Map of VIA Rail's routes in Canada

Transportation trends in Banff

Transportation trends in Banff

Transportation trends in Banff

•  Increase  in  total  vehicles  in  July  and  August  since  2012  •  54  days  (87%)  of  days  in  July  and  August  over  the  conges4on  threshold  

Transportation trends in Banff

•  4.2  million  visitors  annually  •  Conges4on/Traffic  Delays  up  to  1-­‐1/2  hours  •  Nega4ve  impact  on  visitor  experience  and  the  economy  

•  Emergency  response  4mes  

Short Term Solutions •  Scramble  crosswalks  •  Signal  4mings  changes  •  Conges4on  threshold  increased  to  24,000  vpd  

Long Term Options 1.  Build  more  infrastructure  

– Na4onal  Park  – Banff  &  the  built  environment  – Non  sustainable  /  Growth  Cap  

2.  Focus  on  intercep4ng  vehicles  and  moving  people  –  Intercept  vehicles  – Move  people  with  public  transit  – Sustainable  and  scalable  

Sustainable Examples

•  Regional  Transit  /  Banff-­‐Canmore  Ridership  increased  from  4,000  to  9,000  riders  per  month  since  service  started  in  2013    

Sustainable Examples

Banff  Pedestrian  Bridge    10,000  crossings  a  day  at  peak,  increase  in  pedestrian  and  cycle  river  crossings  of  30%  

Sustainable Examples Banff-­‐Canmore  Legacy  Trail/Rocky  Mountain  Legacy  Trail  Encouraging  visitors  and  Bow  Valley  residents  to  explore  the  landscape  in  an  environmentally  friendly  way.  Now  a_rac4ng  80,000  riders/year  

Benefits of Passenger Rail •  Visitor/ridership  a_rac4on  Reduc4on  in  

vehicles  on  highway  •  Reduc4on  of  vehicles/conges4on  in  Calgary  

region  +  Banff  townsite  •  Intermodal  connec4vity/commuter  benefits    •  Rail  infrastructure  already  in  place  •  High-­‐speed  is  not  a  prerequisite  

Benefits of Passenger Rail •  Intensifying  use  of  exis4ng  transporta4on  

corridors  •  Reducing  greenhouse  gas  emissions  •  Reducing  expansion  of  highways/roadways  

and  consump4on  of  land  •  Promotes  alterna4ve  living/employment  

choices  for  regional  residents  •  Reliability,  comfort  and  convenience  

The Concept of Passenger Rail

The Concept of Passenger Rail

Next Steps? •  Vision  for  the  service  and  long-­‐term  planning  

•  Calgary  Regional  Partnership  Involvement  •  Analysis  and  modeling  •  CPR  nego4a4ons  /  shared  track  4me  availability  •  Stakeholder  involvement:  

•  Calgary  Regional  Partnership  •  Canadian  Pacific  Railway    •  Government  of  Alberta  Transporta4on    •  City  of  Calgary,  Town  of  Banff,  Town  of  Canmore,  Town  of  Cochrane  •  Parks  Canada,  ID  #9  •  Rocky  Mountaineer  /  Banff  Caribou  Proper4es    •  Others?  

•  Iden4fy  issues  /  Summer  trial/pilot  service  

The Feasibility Study

•  A  staged  plan  for  the  introduc4on  and  growth  of  the  proposed  service  

•  Plans  for  infrastructure  investment  •  Plans  for  sta4on  loca4ons  and  facili4es  •  An  ini4al  capital  cost  es4mate  •  Ini4al  es4mates  for  opera4ons  and  maintenance  costs  at  each  level  of  service  

•  Plans  for  funding  capital  and  opera4ng  expenses  •  Requirements  for  passenger  cars  and  locomo4ves  

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