COQUITLAM, B.C., July 5, 2022 – How people and goods move in, through and around Coquitlam is changing. As a result, the City is developing a new Strategic Transportation Plan (STP).
The City adopted the current STP in 2012. Since then the City has made progress in increasing sustainable transportation in Coquitlam such as walking, cycling and public transit. There has also been significant changes in transportation over the last ten years, including the addition of SkyTrain, consideration of different kinds of street users, and emerging technologies to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.
A new STP will provide a refreshed long-term vision for Coquitlam’s transportation network with a focus on prioritizing key actions and policy changes for the next 10 years. It will also provide an opportunity to incorporate transportation elements such as micromobility (e.g. scooters / e-scooters, bikes / e-bikes), autonomous and connected vehicles, and technologies that were not present (or less present) in 2012.
How to Get Involved
There will be several opportunities for community engagement over the course of the STP’s development starting with a public survey available now at letstalkcoquitlam.ca/transportationplan. The goal in this first phase is to build awareness of the Plan update and to gather feedback about how people get around, as well as any challenges in using environmentally friendlier forms of transportation.
Ultimately, the updated STP will balance public feedback along with technical analysis, best practices, other City plans and strategies as well as regional plans and strategies, budget and overall community need.
Future opportunities to provide feedback in later phases of the STP’s update will be posted on the project’s engagement page at letstalkcoquitlam.ca/transportationplan. Those interested can also sign up for email updates through that page, or through the City’s NotifyMe email service at coquitlam.ca/notifyme.
Developing the Plan
The revised STP will be developed through five phases spanning approximately 18 to 24 months.
- Phase 1: Preparing – compiling relevant background information, identifying gaps in data.
- Phase 2: Discovering – understanding the City’s existing transportation system and identifying challenges and opportunities.
- Phase 3: Visioning – developing a vision for the transportation system with supporting goals and targets.
- Phase 4: Planning – identifying long-term transportation network plans, policies and actions to achieve the goals and targets outlined.
- Phase 5: Implementing –establishing priority projects and initiatives for implementation, and developing a monitoring plan.
The final, updated STP will align with other City plans such as the recently-adopted Environmental Sustainability Plan and the Economic Development Strategy in development, while also applying the City’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. It will also integrate with more regional plans such as Metro 2050, Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy, as well as Transport 2050, TransLink’s regional transportation strategy.
Coquitlam’s Commitment to Climate Action
Coquitlam is committed to taking action on climate change by promoting practices that reduce greenhouse gases and conserve energy, both at the City and within the community.
Coquitlam’s Climate Adaptation Strategic Plan augments more than a decade of City climate action. This has included signing the Climate Action Charter in 2007, advocating for the world’s governments to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, using low carbon and energy efficient technologies in our civic buildings, and initiating programs such as monitoring energy use in buildings, staff education, energy-sharing systems, LED lighting and a growing “Ecofleet” of electric, hybrid and right-sized vehicles.
The City also fosters climate action in the community by establishing energy efficiency requirements through the BC Energy Step Code for new building permit applications, energy efficiency rebate programs, adopting anti-idling regulations and a growing electric vehicle charging network (see www.coquitlam.ca/evcharging). For more information about the City’s climate action work, visit www.coquitlam.ca/climateaction.
Media contact:
Dragana Mitic
Manager, Transportation
604-927-4303
dmitic@coquitlam.ca