Jason Stockfish | [email protected]
Council was presented with a Public Transportation Study and Action Plan during the Feb. 14 committee of the whole meeting.
The study was commissioned to WSP Consulting in the fall of 2021 after a public transportation pilot project using a fixed-route bus service found public support.
Erin Toop, senior transportation engineer with WSP, presented the action plan to council.
鈥淲e kicked off the project at the end of the summer and worked through stakeholder and public engagement through October and November of last year, and then we started developing and assessing public transportation options for Jasper at the beginning of the wintertime,鈥� Toop said.
In the first phase of the action plan, demographics and feedback from stakeholders were used in determining which transit customers to target.
Groups identified as benefiting from a public transit system included those who want to access typically congested areas during peak season, those who live in town and don鈥檛 have their own vehicle and seasonal employees living in staff accommodations outside the townsite.
Transit would also benefit visitors who come in on mass transportation services with no access to a private vehicle, front-country campers who want to leave their RV in the campsite while visiting the townsite and local students who live with their families in employee housing at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
The second phase of the study included stakeholder and public engagement where WSP received positive feedback about the 2021 pilot project, as well as 鈥渁 desire for Jasper to be seen as a leader in public transportation and environmental sustainability,鈥� Toop said.
Additional feedback addressed the fact that transportation services are currently being offered by private businesses in Jasper and that integration of these services would be helpful in the creation of a public transit system.
From there, WSP obtained schedules and information on services offered by existing entities such as Fairmont, which has buses for shuttling guests and staff, and Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD), which operates the school bus that transports students to and from Jasper Park Lodge during the school year.
Both Fairmont and GYPSD are interested in integrating their services, and Marmot Basin is interested in exploring the idea in the future, Toop noted.
The public survey conducted by WSP reached out to about 370 residents and around 90 visitors.
Responses to the survey were filtered based on public priority, visitor priority, traffic congestion, whether there were existing services already operating or whether the 2021 pilot had serviced those areas.
The highest priority transportation modes indicated by residents, visitors and stakeholders were the fixed-route bus and on-demand bus and bike sharing.
Toop explained that the foundation of Jasper's transportation system would be the creation of a fixed-route bus that would operate seven days a week and run on a schedule between some of Jasper鈥檚 most visited spaces, including Lake Annette and Lake Edith, Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, and Whistler and Wapiti Campgrounds.
Administration said that 鈥済iven the municipality鈥檚 limited internal resources, the report recommends implementing the fixed-route bus service using a fully contracted model over at least the first three years.鈥�
E-bike sharing would also play a key role in a municipally-provided transit system 鈥渁s consultation found that e-bike sharing is an attractive option for Jasper residents and visitors,鈥� administration explained.
鈥淭he service would be complementary to the bus service鈥nd would provide an opportunity to support active transportation that could meaningfully reduce congestion in the townsite.鈥�
Administration noted the report recommends that starting in summer of 2023, the municipality should work alongside local partners to explore e-bike sharing or rental stations.
The report suggests the municipality source materials from 鈥渙rganizations that can provide a full suite of compatible equipment, including the bicycles, docks and charging infrastructure (and that) e-bikes should be compatible with Parks Canada鈥檚 current policy on e-bike use on trails, which requires that bikes are pedal assist.鈥�
The municipality would look to secure local support for the operation and maintenance of the equipment from existing businesses capable of providing this support.
CAO Given said that administration sees a really good opportunity available to the municipality as the federal government recently made an announcement about capital funding similar to the transit planning grant that was used to commission the action plan compiled by WSP.
The funding program applies specifically to rural transit and provides significant funding that isn鈥檛 available to private sector operators, and so the municipality would have an interest in taking advantage of the program to build out its zero-emission fleet, Given added.
All councillors voted in support of Mayor Richard Ireland鈥檚 motion that council receive the action plan and that committee direct administration to begin the next steps identified in the plan, with a focus on establishing a fixed-route bus service beginning in 2023 and conducting a e-bike sharing pilot project in 2023.
