Local Transit Planning Moving Forward - Update

Report Purpose

This report provides Council with progress to-date on local transit planning.

Recommendation

THAT the November 22, 2022, report, Local Transit Planning Moving Forward – Update, be received for information.

Council and Committee History

Report

Administration started work on the two aspects of investigating local transit in Beaumont after the May 10 Council meeting. The following provides an update of each.

Local Transit Feasibility Study

Administration worked with ISL Engineering to define the scope, process, timelines and other matters that are required to conduct this study. The project began at the end of August 2022.

The first engagement opportunity was held between September 23 and October 11, 2022. Details of the engagement activities are provided in the ‘Public Engagement and Communication’ section of this report. A copy of the preliminary survey results is attached with this report for reference.

The project team is currently analyzing results from this survey and together with findings from research and technical works, will be making recommendation on the most suitable, if any, local transit system for Beaumont. The final report will be presented to Council in the Spring of 2023.

Pilot Bus On-Demand Transit Service

Administration investigated what would be required to set up the pilot project, such as the scope of the pilot, procurement requirements, timelines, etc. By early September, Administration was ready to approach a possible service provider for further action. Throughout the pilot project preparation, the project team assumed that the on-demand transit pilot service would run concurrently with the feasibility study. The initial rationale was to use the ridership data from this pilot study to feed into the analysis of feasibility study for a recommended local transit system in Beaumont.

The project team is recommending that the pilot study be postponed until after the feasibility study is complete to ensure resources are applied in line with the findings of the feasibility study. It is the opinion of the project team that if the feasibility study recommends that the City provide local transit in the community, Administration can either run a pilot of the recommended transit system to test the idea or design the recommended transit system without running a pilot study to test it. Administration will further evaluate this after the feasibility study is complete.

Financial Implications  

The development of the feasibility study is funded through existing approved operating budget.

The cost of the pilot on-demand transit service or any future local transit delivery system is currently not known but will be determined through future planning and design of the program.  If moving ahead, any costs to operate a local transit delivery system will require a future budget approval from Council prior to implementation.

Public Engagement and Communication

The project team organized a public engagement opportunity to reach out to the community between September 23 and October 11, 2022. The project team set up a booth at the Taste of Beaumont event to talk to residents for input on local transit services. An online survey was available for residents to provide their input during the engagement period as well. Other engagement methods included the City of Beaumont webpage, social media, print newspaper ad, digital sign, and communication cards. As a result, there were over 260 survey responses and the project team is currently analyzing the results from the survey. Preliminary survey results are included as Attachment 1 to this report.

The project team plans to reach out to Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Commission and Leduc County for their input to the feasibility study.

A second round of engagement with the public is planned for early Spring 2023 to obtain levels of support for the transit feasibility study results prior to presenting the final report to City Council.

Legislative Authority

Section 3(b) of the Municipal Government Act that the purposes of a municipality include providing services, facilities or other things that, in the opinion of council, are necessary or desirable for all or part of the municipality.

Strategic Alignment

Building Our Tomorrow, Today - Our aspiration: Future-proof growth for a safe, inclusive, and vibrant community

Our Connectivity: Transportation Master Plan

• Local Transit Connections
• Harmonize local and regional transit and increase provision as Beaumont grows.

Attachments